Naruto: The Ōtsutsuki Bloodline Development Manual

"Damn it, where did that kid go..."

Jiraiya was rushing deeper into the bone forest, his face filled with worry. He had no idea what condition Kitagawa Minamoto might currently be in.

Looking at the eerie surroundings, even someone as experienced as Jiraiya couldn't help but swallow nervously.

"This creepy manifestation—is this Shikotsumyaku? How is it so powerful?"

Having survived countless wars, Jiraiya was no stranger to Shikotsumyaku, but this display's scale and power far exceeded his expectations.

The once lush and vibrant forest had transformed completely.

The towering trees had been replaced by thick, sharp, white bone spikes. Even under the blazing sunlight, the chilling aura permeating the area remained palpable.

If not for his quick reflexes earlier, leaping onto Manda's back and using the giant snake as buffer alongside Orochimaru, his current situation might have been far worse.

As for Manda's condition? Neither Jiraiya nor Orochimaru seemed concerned...

"Kid, you'd better be okay!"

Retracting his gaze from the surroundings, Jiraiya quickened his pace once again. Before long, he finally spotted Kitagawa Minamoto in the bone forest depths. The boy was smashing his way through bone spikes as he made his exit.

"Phew..."

At that moment, Jiraiya finally released a relief sigh. For a while, he had felt his heart pounding out of his chest.

But his relief quickly transformed to concern as he noticed Minamoto's tattered clothes, riddled with tears and cuts in several places.

"Kid, are you alright?"

Leaping over quickly, Jiraiya didn't wait for Minamoto's response before initiating examination.

"Huh? Lord Jiraiya?"

Minamoto had sensed Jiraiya approaching long before his arrival, but hadn't expected such abrupt reaction. Smiling, he implemented cranial negation.

"Relax, I'm fine. No concern necessary."

"Better safe than sorry."

After thorough examination, Jiraiya finally relaxed.

Though he found it strange that Minamoto's clothes were so damaged while his body remained unscathed, he decided it wasn't worth dwelling upon.

"What transpired here? Did your opponent create all this?"

"Yes, that individual unleashed massive Chakra surge, and this is the result. I don't know where he disappeared to afterward."

Minamoto nodded, showing no concealment intention.

"That individual was truly unusual. He could extract bones from his body for combat. I remember reading about this somewhere—it seems like..."

"The Kaguya clan, from Kirigakure."

Jiraiya interjected, offering succinct explanation before implementing cranial negation with mild disbelief.

"But that individual far surpasses any Kaguya clan member I've ever encountered. None could achieve something of this scale."

That was undoubtedly true. After all, Kimimaro was so fearsome that even his own clan feared him, imprisoning him at young age.

In Minamoto's memory, it somewhat resembled a certain Uchiha who received similar treatment in a certain game.

"Upon reflection, those two clans truly demonstrate remarkable similarity..."

The Uchiha were notorious for emotional instability, while the Kaguya clan's reputation for madness was equally well-known.

The Kaguya clan, like the Uchiha, had been ostracized to village outskirts due to violent tendencies and frequent conflicts with others.

Both clans had also attempted coups, only to meet identical fate—extermination.

It was difficult not to view them as equally ill-fated "geniuses and lunatics."

"If Kirigakure hadn't isolated itself from the world, perhaps the Uchiha would have learned from the Kaguya clan's downfall and restrained themselves."

Minamoto silently mocked the situation mentally before turning to Jiraiya with curiosity.

"By the way, Lord Jiraiya, what about Orochimaru? And how's our mission progressing?"

"When all that chaos erupted, I was concerned about you, so I didn't bother tracking him."

When Orochimaru was mentioned, Jiraiya's expression turned somewhat awkward, though he quickly forced laughter.

"Alright, don't concern yourself with details. Despite minor complications, this great sage still accomplished the task!"

"..."

A few minor complications?

Minamoto glanced at Jiraiya with peculiar expression, then turned to observe the vast bone forest behind him.

His gaze seemed to communicate, If you'd heeded my earlier advice, would this outcome have been avoided?

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Even though Minamoto hadn't spoken, Jiraiya's face flushed with embarrassment.

Sometimes, silence conveyed more than words...

"Alright, the mission's complete. Let's depart!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Minamoto didn't bother arguing with Jiraiya. After all, from his perspective, the mission was indeed complete, regardless of viewpoint.

[Exclusive Side Quest with Jiraiya Completed]

[Reward: Kimimaro's Special Yang Power]

Meanwhile, in another forest within the Land of Hot Water, Orochimaru was observing Jūgo as he treated Kimimaro.

Jūgo possessed unique technique called Cellular Regeneration Absorption, which allowed Chakra-infused cell transfer to injured persons for healing.

However, this required recipients to bear his Cursed Seal and adapt to it. If they couldn't, intervention was impossible.

To Orochimaru, this treatment seemed largely futile. Kimimaro's issues weren't merely external injuries; the real problem was his Kekkei Genkai disease.

"That last Dance of the Seedling Fern must have exacted significant toll..."

Orochimaru frowned. The Dance of the Seedling Fern was Kimimaro's ultimate technique, one he never wanted Kimimaro to utilize.

Yet, this time, Kimimaro had been forced into such desperate situation, which left Orochimaru feeling quite frustrated.

This would undoubtedly delay his plans.

"Still, that kid was quite interesting..."

Orochimaru's gaze remained calm as he observed the injured Kimimaro lying on the ground, but his thoughts drifted to the boy he had briefly glimpsed—Kitagawa Minamoto.

He didn't know or care about the boy's name, but now found himself intrigued, especially by the boy's techniques.

Jūgo had already described the battle in detail: the boy was fast, strong, and most notably, wielded Lightning Release technique with three distinct properties.

It was this Lightning Release that allowed the boy to overwhelm both Jūgo and Kimimaro, even forcing Kimimaro to use the Dance of the Seedling Fern.

"He's taken Lightning Release shape transformation and nature transformation to the extreme, hasn't he?"

As ninjutsu master, Orochimaru immediately understood the boy's Purple Electricity nature.

For someone so young to create such technique—it was sufficient to make even Orochimaru take notice.

"And he's following Jiraiya..."

Orochimaru licked his lips, thought suddenly forming in his mind.

"Could it be... another Minato Namikaze?"

As the idea crossed his mind, Orochimaru's initial interest faded.

Jiraiya always demonstrated knack for raising irritatingly talented students...

Implementing cranial negation, Orochimaru dismissed the thought. Currently, the priority was location departure.

Who knew if Jiraiya's "dog nose" would detect him again?

"Fortunately, it seems Jiraiya has taken the bait. Let him and the Akatsuki tear each other apart..."

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