Takuno was also taken aback by Kimimaro's answer, then couldn't help but size him up.
Even as a child, he already had that peculiar appearance, with two red dots on his forehead, holding a bone knife, and the smell of dirt still on his hands.
One could see scratches on the cell walls, and the marks were still fresh.
It was clear that before Takuno arrived, Kimimaro had been scraping the walls with his bone knife.
At this moment, Takuno also sighed, thinking that if he needed a subordinate, Kimimaro would indeed be the best kind of subordinate.
However, he didn't need one, and Kimimaro's Kekkei Genkai illness meant he wouldn't live for many more years.
This Kekkei Genkai illness was so stubborn that even Orochimaru, who delved deepest into human anatomy, and Kabuto, who possessed incredibly high medical skills, couldn't solve it even when working together.
In the original story, he lived to be fifteen, but without Orochimaru and Kabuto, he definitely wouldn't live to fifteen.
Takuno had no intention of researching Kimimaro's Kekkei Genkai illness; since those two great masters couldn't do it, he wouldn't waste his time.
"Alright, then let me rephrase that: can you give your body to me?" Takuno said directly, having no intention of manipulating him, thus no need to use trickery.
Immediately, Kimimaro became wary; even as a child, he could understand the meaning of that sentence.
However, as soon as Takuno finished speaking, his hand had already touched Kimimaro's forehead, and instantly, countless incantations burst forth from that spot, spreading over his body.
At this point, when Kimimaro tried to use his Kekkei Genkai, he found that he could no longer communicate with the bones that were once as easy to use as his own limbs; even his hands and feet slowly lost all strength, and he eventually collapsed to the ground.
Takuno lifted Kimimaro's small body; he intended to freeze his time at this moment, keeping his Kekkei Genkai illness in its pre-break out stage.
He also didn't plan to use the Chimera Technique to fuse with him right now, as that Kekkei Genkai illness was no joke.
If it weren't for Orochimaru taking Kimimaro later, he wouldn't even be taking Kimimaro now.
As for this Kekkei Genkai illness, Takuno felt that it couldn't withstand Hashirama cells, but the problem was that he himself would likely struggle to resist the erosiveness of Hashirama cells.
Therefore, the Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai could only be integrated once everything was ready and he could resist the Kekkei Genkai illness.
Afterward, he stood within the Kaguya Clan's territory, deep in thought.
In the Land of Water, there was also Haku, the young boy who used Ice Release, often mistaken for a girl.
He wasn't interested in using the Chimera Technique to fuse with Ice Release, and at this time, Haku's parents were still alive, and his Kekkei Genkai hadn't been discovered, so they were still living 'happily' together.
However, compared to the relatively famous Kaguya Clan, Haku lived in an unknown small village, making him a bit difficult to find.
So, should he spend a lot of time searching for him?
Takuno recalled everything about Haku; after coming to this world, his memory seemed to have improved greatly, and some memories from his previous life that he might not have remembered were now accessible.
He also knew this was due to his increased spiritual energy, which was a good thing.
Finally, he summoned some crows and instructed them to find a village where it always snowed year-round.
Even in the Land of Water, there weren't many places that snowed all year, so it shouldn't be too difficult.
Although crows, as Summoned Beasts, couldn't perform reverse summoning, lacked a complete inheritance, and could hardly speak relying on his half-baked method of raising Summoned Beasts.
But the crows' intelligence itself was decent; although he had to give them specific task requirements each time, they could understand and execute them, making them a truly good summoned beast.
Takuno watched the crows fly off with their mission; these were the second batch of crows searching for people.
That's right, there was also a first batch that had already been helping him search for people.
The first batch of crows was very numerous and was currently searching for targets all around, centered on Takigakure.
They were looking for Jugo, the natural Sage Body who couldn't control it!
Although Jugo's village wasn't mentioned in the original story, his Sage Body could almost certainly be attributed to Ryūchi Cave.
And the ninja that Orochimaru encountered from Takigakure after cultivating Sage Mode and emerging from Ryūchi Cave were from Takigakure, so even if Ryūchi Cave wasn't in Takigakure, it should be nearby.
It was always correct to have the crows spread out from Takigakure as the center.
Moreover, finding Jugo only required him to speak to you; as long as the crows confirmed that he could understand their language, his identity could basically be confirmed.
Thinking of Jugo, Takuno suddenly paused.
After connecting all the characters related to Orochimaru, he finally understood why he always had a strange feeling; because the timeline felt very wrong!
He looked at Kimimaro in his arms and confirmed that he was only two or three years old, and Jugo would also be around two or three years old at this time.
According to his memory, these two should have been in their teens when they met, meaning they wouldn't meet for nearly ten years.
Orochimaru's Cursed Seal, in his impression, should have been researched based on Jugo's constitution, and Orochimaru's disciple Anko Mitarashi had the Heaven's Cursed Seal imprinted on her before his defection.
So, the problem is, Orochimaru's defection isn't too far off from now, at most a year or two.
Within these one or two years, would Orochimaru first find Kimimaro, then have Kimimaro's body instantly age to his teens to find a Jugo who had also instantly aged ten years, persuade him, and then conduct research?
Takuno rubbed his temples; this timeline was truly a mess.
Perhaps he remembered incorrectly; perhaps during this time, Orochimaru was researching the Cursed Seal based on Jugo's clansmen, and then Jugo's rampage destroyed the village, severing Orochimaru's research materials, but also revealing Jugo's existence.
Thus, Orochimaru then sent Kimimaro to find Jugo, bringing these two together... it seemed this was the only explanation.
Takuno sighed; no matter what, he needed to find Jugo before Orochimaru.
He had no intention of using the Chimera Technique to fuse with Jugo; there were still uncertainties with his constitution, and fusing in that unstable state was not a good thing; no matter how strong, someone who loses their mind will always have a method found to restrain them by a clear-headed person, thus losing their life.
So, instead of using the Chimera Technique to fuse with Jugo, it would be better to create something similar to a Cursed Seal using his constitution, like Orochimaru did.
While thinking, Takuno also used the Summoning Jutsu to go to the experimental base to settle Kimimaro, and then returned to Konoha.