Secrets of Wood Release Cells

Relying on the formidable stamina he had gained from his past lying-flat skill, Jueming threw a punch.

Senju Akira was sent flying.

Then, Jueming hurled grass leaves at her.

Ssh! Ssh!

The grass leaves pierced her body like blades embedded in a tree!

Blood flowed eerily from that body of fused wood and flesh...

Ssh! Ssh!

Jueming fired in quick succession with both hands.

He sent grass leaves flying at every part of Senju Akira's body.

Senju Akira had lost her human form. He had no idea whether she even still had vital points.

In any case, Jueming tried attacking every possible spot.

Senju Akira rose, trembling.

As her wounds piled up, blood began spurting from them.

She charged at him again, leaving sprays of blood in her wake as if she had blood to spare.

Konoha's nights were quiet.

Especially after nine o'clock, when there was essentially a curfew.

And now it was already past eleven. There was even less chance of anyone being around.

Not to mention that the Senju Clan compound was rather remote.

Inside the small room, the two chased and fought each other. No one would likely notice what was happening within.

"Jueming, stop! Listen to me..."

Senju Akira opened her mouth to speak.

But Jueming had completely stopped paying attention to her.

What was there to say to someone who had strayed onto such an evil path?

With his astonishing decisiveness, Jueming forcefully seized the upper hand.

Whenever Senju Akira approached, he exploited her inability to see and knocked her flying with a punch.

Once she was sent flying back, Jueming flung grass leaves with both hands, inflicting more wounds across her body.

Within minutes, he had turned her entire body into a pincushion.

"Good chance!"

Seeing Senju Akira stagger to her feet, her movements clearly slowing, Jueming rushed forward and unleashed a barrage of blows.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Supported by his strengthened body, Ninja Body Fist hammered relentlessly into Senju Akira's horrifying form.

With a thud.

At some point... Senju Akira collapsed completely to the floor.

Whether her injuries were too severe, she had lost too much blood to remain standing, or Jueming had simply beaten her into critical condition, he did not know.

Jueming climbed directly on top of her, pinning down Senju Akira's grotesque body.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He raised his fist and struck blow after blow.

Every punch sent blood, flesh, and wood splinters flying together.

"Jueming..."

Senju Akira's body trembled as she lay on the floor.

Shakily, she extended her only intact hand toward him.

"I really wanted... to go to school..."

Senju Akira's hand fell limply, never moving again.

"..."

Jueming stopped punching. He stared silently at the scene before him as fury ignited in his heart.

"Mito Uzumaki, I need an explanation!"

At the Great Elder's home in the Senju Clan compound.

The old man stood there with an awful expression, saying nothing.

Jueming stood opposite him.

On the platform before them lay Senju Akira's terrifying, grotesque, twisted corpse.

Not long ago.

After Senju Akira died.

The Great Elder had appeared and taken Senju Akira away with him.

After returning to his home, he had gone down to the basement.

Within that special space.

The lights illuminated the platform.

"Jueming."

Seeing the hostility on Jueming's face, the Great Elder knew there were things he had to say.

"You must be wondering why Senju Akira became like this. Yes, she was Senju Akira. She was the Senju Akira you knew..."

It had all begun several decades ago.

The outbreak of the First Ninja World War had stemmed from the death of Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi.

After he died.

The accumulated conflicts erupted.

No one had dared to make a move while he was alive. Once he died... the other ninja villages began acting without restraint.

At the time.

Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage, had considered studying the Cells of his elder brother, Hashirama Senju, in order to recreate Wood Release.

Ninja were ruthless.

For Konoha's benefit.

Even his elder brother's corpse could be desecrated.

Before long, Tobirama Senju's research produced results.

He discovered that Hashirama Senju's Cells possessed far too much vitality. Once a test subject came into contact with them, they would die suddenly.

Branches grew from some test subjects' bodies.

Others fused with flesh and became half-human, half-wood.

Some even transformed directly into twisted, horrifying trees.

In short, they all died.

After repeated failures, Tobirama Senju halted the research.

Some time later.

Tobirama Senju died as well.

Not long after his death, the First Ninja World War came to an end.

Konoha, which had suffered devastating losses during the war, once again considered restarting the Wood Release experiment plan.

And so... a new attempt to recreate Wood Release began.

This time.

There were more volunteers, and more deaths.

Among them... were members of the Senju Clan.

After massive casualties, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, flew into a rage.

He directly ordered the Wood Release experiment plan permanently sealed away.

He even declared all matters related to Human Experimentation taboo, forbidding anyone from conducting research or experiments.

Thus...

For Konoha, Human Experimentation became something that could not be touched.

From then on, things seemed peaceful...

However.

The side effects caused by the Wood Release Restart Experiment at the time ran extraordinarily deep...

Some Senju Clan ninja.

Did not die immediately after receiving the transplant.

Instead, they survived for several hours, days, or even months.

"During that time... many Senju Clan ninja slept with their wives or husbands, and thus had children..."

The Great Elder closed his eyes, as though immersed in that painful past.

Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi, had children who did not inherit Wood Release.

So theoretically, the children born from intercourse between husband and wife should have been fine. They should not have been consumed or harmed by the powerful Hashirama Cells.

"But we were all too naive!"

The Great Elder shook his head and spoke in anguish.

Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki's children being fine.

Did not mean everyone else's children would be fine.

The children borne by the wives of those Senju Clan ninja injected with Wood Release Cells... or the children those ninja themselves gave birth to, were also contaminated by Hashirama Cells.

Simply put, it was a DNA Genetic Virus, Jueming thought.

What the Great Elder said was more or less the same as what Mito Uzumaki had told him.

Their accounts were nearly identical.

Once someone carried the DNA Genetic Virus, their children had a certain chance of developing the condition.

In other words, being consumed by Hashirama Senju's Cells.

Just like cells turning cancerous.

Cells that looked perfectly normal could suddenly develop cancer.

Wood Release Cells possessed powerful vitality—namely, Physical Energy.

And Senju Clan ninja were generally born with the Yang Attribute, which also leaned toward Physical Energy.

That meant.

Putting Wood Release Cells into a Senju Clan ninja was like throwing gasoline into liquefied gas.

Once the two mixed, they would only become more volatile.

Senju who lacked powerful Mental Energy and a powerful Yin Attribute.

Found it difficult to balance the terrifying vitality of Wood Release Cells.

Therefore...

"People had a certain chance of going insane, or even..."

The Great Elder looked toward Senju Akira's corpse.

Of becoming like Senju Akira.

"So that was why you said... I was about to go insane too?" Jueming frowned and asked.

"That's right." The Great Elder nodded.

"But the problem is... my parents should have been quite young when they had me. Going by the timeline, they shouldn't have caught the Wood Release experiments... Could they have received Wood Release Cell injections when they were children?"

Learning that he might become like Senju Akira did not frighten Jueming.

After all... he already had the system and had awakened the Grass Release Bloodline Limit. He should be fine.

"Or was it my grandparents—my parents' parents—who received Wood Release Cells?"

"No."

The Great Elder shook his head.

"Neither."