Kei placed one hand on Fukashi's head, activating the Psycho Mind Transmission.
"Hōzuki Fukashi? This guy is actually a descendant of the Second Mizukage?"
"Did he pull some strings to get a long-term assignment outside the village? If so, who wouldn't? With how things are in Kiri, anyone who could escape would."
"Whoa~ He really knows some impressive stuff!"
"So that's the principle behind the Hydrification Technique? They call it a secret jutsu, but honestly, it's basically a bloodline limit! No wonder I can't use it..."
"Water Gun Technique, Water Gun: Two Guns, Great Water Arm Technique, ...."
"Huh? This guy has actually read Gengetsu's ninjutsu scrolls and even formed a contract with his summoning beast, the Giant Clam?! That's insane!"
The more he saw, the more excited he became.
Back when he worked in the Analysis Team, he had learned about the Hōzuki clan's exclusive Hydrification Technique through the memories of captured Kiri ninjas.
Unfortunately, even though he understood the entire principle and training process, [Water Release Mastery] still couldn't let him perform this secret jutsu.
But with powerful Hōzuki clan Water Release techniques like the Water Gun Technique at his disposal, he was already making a huge profit.
Not to mention... the legacy of the Second Mizukage!
In the original story, Gengetsu didn't have many appearances, but the few episodes he was in were enough for Kei to grasp his immense strength.
Even though he had no real fighting spirit during the battle against the Allied Shinobi Forces and was constantly holding back...
He still managed to toy with them like they were nothing.
His Steaming Danger Tyranny even dragged the Second Tsuchikage, the creator of the bloodline selection, to the grave with him.
The bloodline selection was a level above the bloodline limit.
With such a powerful legacy, as long as he found someone with enough talent to inherit it, he could at least cultivate a Kage-level ninja!
How much sorrow can one bear? Like a eunuch in a brothel...
Kei glanced at Fukashi with pity.
This guy actually had decent Water Release talent, but unfortunately, his genjutsu talent was abysmal.
He couldn't wield the techniques' true power.
The reason he pulled strings to get this external assignment wasn't to escape the Bloody Mist policy, but to escape the gazes of his clan.
Even though he had received Gengetsu's legacy and the clan's full support... Because he had failed to meet their expectations, the pressure from the clan elders' hopes and disappointment, as well as the mockery and scorn from his fellow clansmen, was suffocating him.
Fukashi struggled to wake up as Kei temporarily ended the memory reading.
The mental trauma from the A-rank genjutsu, along with his desperate attempts to resist it by colliding his spiritual energy in a near-suicidal manner, left him dizzy, his vision darkening as he dry-heaved.
"Why not just lie down and take it? Wouldn't that make it easier?" Although Kei pitied Fukashi's situation, he had no intention of going easy on him.
Just like if he had fallen into the hands of another village's ninja, they wouldn't show him any mercy.
In a world of assassins where everyone had blood on their hands, being soft-hearted as a ninja was the same as seeking death.
Ignoring Fukashi's retching, Kei swiftly executed the Mind Body Switch Technique and effortlessly seized control of his body.
He recalled the chakra requirement to summon the Giant Clam that stored the summoning scroll, based on the memories he had just read.
Then, controlling Fukashi's body, he bit his fingertip and rapidly formed hand seals.
Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram!
A cloud of chakra smoke rose.
A massive clam, over two meters in diameter, appeared in the laboratory. Its tough outer shell gave off an aura of incredible resilience.
Kei, still controlling Fukashi's body, patted the clam's shell.
The tightly closed clam slowly opened...
Inside lay a large summoning contract scroll, about one meter in diameter.
How dare you?! That's our summoning beast! How could you do this?! Fukashi's soul was forced into a corner of his consciousness, his eyes filled with rage as he watched the contract scroll being taken out.
Kei infused his spiritual energy with his chakra, transforming it into overwhelming Yin Release energy, and struck Fukashi's soul with a powerful palm.
Already injured, Fukashi's spiritual energy suffered another severe blow. The deep, soul-crushing pain caused his spirit to curl up into a tiny ball, letting out faint groans of agony.
Meanwhile, Kei's main body, waiting at the side, took the contract scroll that had been handed over.
Opening it, he saw that the first name on the scroll was Hōzuki Gengetsu, followed by more than ten other names. He sighed in exasperation.
It was clear that the Hōzuki clan had desperately tried to cultivate a successor worthy of Gengetsu's legacy.
But unfortunately, after more than ten attempts, every single one had ended in failure.
"Well, it's a hassle, but I'd rather go through the trouble than risk someone being resurrected by Edo Tensei and still being able to summon this thing."
Kei took out a blood storage vial from his ninja vest pocket, dipped his finger in fresh blood, and signed his own name at the bottom of the scroll.
As he felt the contract binding him and the summoning beast, he nodded in satisfaction.
Then, forming a quick hand seal, intricate sealing patterns rapidly condensed in his palm.
He slammed his hand onto the contract scroll, right over Gengetsu's name.
The sealing technique spread rapidly, invading the contract's core and directly severing the link between Gengetsu and the Giant Clam clan.
Gengetsu's name, once written in blood and still bright red even after decades, gradually turned pitch black as it lost its contract power.
Without hesitation, Kei continued applying the Contract Seal.
The seal was an advanced sealing technique of the Uzumaki clan.
In the original story, Minato had used this exact seal to sever the contract between Obito and the Nine-Tails, preventing him from summoning it again.
When Kei had studied sealing techniques under Kushina, he had specifically focused on mastering this one to avoid falling into Madara's schemes in the future.
His proficiency was almost on par with his effortless use of the Four Limbs Weighting Seal.
He applied the Contract Seal over ten more times.
With the final seal placed over Fukashi's name, the summoned Giant Clam dissolved into smoke and disappeared from the research facility.
Kei looked at the contract scroll. Now, his was the only name that remained in vivid red.
After a moment of thought, he summoned the Giant Clam once again and handed the contract scroll back to it for safekeeping.
According to Fukashi's memories, the Giant Clam clan lived in an unknown, uncharted sea far beyond the reach of the shinobi world.
The only reason the Second Mizukage had managed to form a contract with them was because he had done something as reckless as Jiraiya once did.
Without having any prior summoning contracts, he had blindly attempted a Summoning Jutsu.
The only difference was, Jiraiya had been teleported to Mount Myōboku by the summoning force.
But thanks to his exceptional chakra reserves, which were already vast even in his youth, Gengetsu had instead summoned the Giant Clam clan's ancestor—a massive clam known as Shen.