Alchemy

A brand-new alchemical item had been completed.

The exquisitely carved jade talisman gained an air of mystery from the ancient Dragon Script, resting quietly in its creator's hand.

Only Dragon Blood could activate it and make it shine with its own light.

Yayoi took out a chain he had prepared earlier, threaded the jade talisman onto it, and wore it around his neck.

After all, it was a piece of jade jewelry. It looked nice, too.

There wasn't much summer vacation left. After getting Yan as a test subject, Yayoi had been busier than he'd been in a long time.

Every day, he ran all sorts of experiments on blood, recorded data on the effects of injecting Dragon Blood into small animals, and added to the animal specimens that already filled an entire room.

Dragon Blood caused drastic changes to the genes of living creatures. The longer a creature survived, even by a single second, the more Yayoi could learn from it.

What was more, Yayoi's blood was a hybrid of the Divine Tree and the Dragon Clan, so studying it could reveal even more.

As a result, Yan's daily physical training sessions with Yayoi had grown shorter, much to her displeasure.

But after Yayoi promised her a gift for the start of the school year, Yan chose to forgive him. She even agreed to help him keep an eye out for Uchiha blood.

Yayoi couldn't help but marvel at how capable Yan was.

Without her, even if he'd known about the Uchiha, he probably wouldn't have been able to get a sample.

The experiments continued at a feverish pace as he investigated the secrets of Dragon Blood and the Ten-Tails—or, more precisely, the Divine Tree Bloodline.

If the Senju Clan hadn't disbanded, he would have liked to study how the original Senju Bloodline reacted with the Uchiha bloodline.

His own Senju Bloodline had fused with Dragon Blood, and the two had practically become different kinds of blood.

What was more, under the endless purification of Blood Rage, both bloodlines were evolving toward their original forms.

Blood Rage, in particular, struck Yayoi as fascinating.

He was different from those in the Dragon Clan who had embarked on the Path to Godhood.

His human genes were just as powerful. Judging by how they were portrayed in the anime, the Divine Tree might even be stronger.

His abilities didn't seem particularly impressive yet, perhaps because he was only a Senju and lacked the Uchiha Gene.

Even so, his Dragon consciousness, which was only at the Fourth Generation level, couldn't suppress the Divine Tree.

That might have prevented Blood Rage from progressing.

Yet under extreme conditions, both bloodlines tried to devour each other, and even began actively strengthening themselves.

It was like an arms race. Both sides threw everything they had into the struggle and kept pushing forward, which instead allowed Yayoi to maintain a balance.

But Dragon Blood was ultimately more complete. The Divine Tree within the Senju Bloodline alone wasn't enough to form a complete Divine Tree.

Though by delving into the depths of his genes through Blood Rage, he could also trace his bloodline back to the original Uchiha Gene that had awakened it, that would take time.

And as time passed, Dragon Blood's rate of erosion would gradually surpass the Divine Tree's.

If he couldn't resolve the imbalance by then, Yayoi would be in serious trouble.

So for now, he was focused on uncovering the secrets of the Uchiha bloodline. Once he did, he could complete the Divine Tree Bloodline within his body—but he couldn't let it gain the upper hand.

That meant injecting Uchiha genes during the limited window when Dragon Blood had completely overtaken the Divine Tree but was still under control.

If his predictions were right, that would bring about his first major leap forward.

His Dragon genes would evolve into a Third Generation, and his Divine Tree Bloodline would be completed.

The Divine Tree Bloodline was incredibly powerful, with immense potential. As long as he continued to grow, he could even break through to the Second Generation while still maintaining the balance.

If he could get past this hurdle, the road ahead would be full of promise.

Yayoi could almost see hope within reach. But first, he needed to uncover the secrets of the Uchiha bloodline.

After all, genes weren't something he could just inject at random. He needed to study them and find the best genes among the Uchiha.

Research was always a long and tedious process. In the time that followed, Yayoi failed to discover anything useful.

He did, however, preserve the blood Yan had mentioned.

Now, he was carving a newly purchased piece of jade.

He collected the shavings for recycling.

He put his other work on hold until future research, since the first day of school was tomorrow.

"Good morning, Rin."

After greeting her, Yayoi returned to his seat under Rin's gaze. He was a little surprised that Yan hadn't shown up yet, but soon closed his eyes to rest.

Yan was usually punctual, so her sudden lateness was surprising. But he had a bigger concern: he'd become a panda.

Yesterday had been another sleepless night.

Today, Yayoi hadn't brought any medical books. He'd already mastered all the medical books at home, so next he'd have to go to the library or seek out a renowned teacher.

But Konoha had almost no renowned medical teachers. There were only a handful who could teach Yayoi, and their positions were sensitive. He didn't dare approach them without good reason; if they noticed something was off, he'd be in trouble.

Still, he was only in his second year. There was no rush. He could take a quick nap for now.

Surely the teacher would understand his dedication to studying.

Of course, if Yayoi ranked fifth in the class, the teacher might actually believe him.

But Yayoi only wanted to keep as low a profile as possible, and on the surface he was merely an average student. He'd probably end up standing outside as punishment.

The noisy whispers around him seemed like the perfect lullaby, and Yayoi closed his eyes.

"Yayoi-kun, where's my gift?"

Yan's voice suddenly came from beside him.

Yayoi jolted awake, eyes wide as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Why are you sitting here?"

Yan was sitting prettily at the desk to his right. The extra who'd been there before had been moved to the back row.

Yayoi was about to say that students weren't allowed to change seats without the teacher's permission, but Yan's words cut him off.

"Yayoi-kun, don't worry. I already told the teacher. As the top student, I'll help you catch up."

Yan gave a soft laugh, her eyes full of sly amusement.

"All right."

Yayoi knew where Yan had gone during that time.

Still, having a desk mate he could talk to was a good thing.

"The gift."

Yan held out her fair hand, her bright, dewy eyes fixed on Yayoi.

"Here. Handcrafted, and the only one of its kind in all of Konoha."

Seeing how eager she was, Yayoi handed Yan the jade pendant with Dragon Script that he'd stayed up all night making.

The green jade seemed to hold a verdant glow, and the mysterious Dragon Script added to its air of mystery. But, to make it more suited to a girl's taste, Yayoi had changed its shape to a circle, turning it into a pendant with a classical beauty.

"It's so pretty!"

"I'm glad you like it."

Yayoi smiled and said nothing more.

The pendant he'd made for Yan wasn't one of his practical alchemical items.

He'd chosen an Alchemical Circuit that increased its hardness. It didn't do anything else, but it made the pendant sturdy enough.

He'd already activated it with Dragon Blood. Since it had no specific function, it wouldn't break down over time; it was just a beautiful ornament.

Yan took the pendant and clearly couldn't bear to put it down. She'd never seen one so beautiful.

Its design was completely different from other jewelry, and it had a gentle, graceful air.

Rin caught sight of the pendant out of the corner of her eye, and it drew her attention, too.

So pretty. She'd never seen jewelry like it.