At that moment, Karot really wanted to open Orochimaru's head to see its internal structure and what was different inside. Karot had only said it casually, but he didn't expect Orochimaru to turn it into reality and even upgrade it.
With a thousand words on his lips, Karot could only utter one.
"Orochimaru- senpai, you're amazing."
Orochimaru thoroughly enjoyed Karot's words. "Since I can't beat you in strength, it's not bad that I'm miles ahead of you in the field of technology."
"This is..."
Karot saw a transparent glass dome containing a naked man. Karot recognized this man—no, everyone in Konoha recognized him, because his image was etched on the Hokage Rock.
"Yes, you read that right. It's the First Hokage."
Orochimaru stood next to Karot, and the two stood side by side as he spoke.
"You're incredibly bold, Orochimaru- senpai. If Tsunade finds out, you're in for a world of trouble."
"Do you even need to tell me? You can only enter this place with my permission."
Thinking of Karot's bizarre ability, Orochimaru continued.
"Except for you, of course."
"It's just an empty shell!"
Karot did not sense the presence of a living person within Hashirama Senju's body.
"This was originally the place where I researched the perfect body for myself. He was one of my options."
Orochimaru pointed at Hashirama Senju's body and said.
"But what I didn't expect was that after the cells were generated, his appearance became fixed, and I couldn't change it no matter what I did."
"This is probably the charm of perfect Hashirama's cells."
Orochimaru wore a strange smile as he said these words.
Seeing Orochimaru like this, Karot was overjoyed. Only Orochimaru like this could cooperate with him. Both of them had an unyielding spirit, and only in this way could they go far.
"You must have tried using this body, Orochimaru- senpai, right?"
Karot knew about Orochimaru's obsession with Hashirama's cells, so there was no reason for him to remain indifferent to having such a perfect experimental subject right there.
"Of course, but every attempt ends in failure. It's as if this body is rejecting the foreign soul."
"The moment the soul enters the body, it is strangled."
Orochimaru simply couldn't accept this outcome. To possess a treasure trove but be unable to use it was extremely painful, which is why he invited Karot here. Although this place had been exposed, given Karot's personality, he wouldn't say a word.
"Is there only one possibility: that the soul's power is insufficient, causing it to be destroyed by the body's own power?"
Karot offered his explanation: This is Hashirama Senju, the man known as the "God of Shinobi," whose strength is beyond question. After the battle, his soul strength would be second to none in the Ninja World.
Karot's words made Orochimaru fall into deep thought. Orochimaru hadn't considered this reason before, since the other experimental subjects succeeded as soon as their souls entered their bodies, so Orochimaru had never thought about it in this direction.
"What you say makes a lot of sense, but right now, where in the entire Ninja World can one compare to Hashirama Senju?"
"Why search within the Ninja World?"
Karot's words gave Orochimaru a sudden inspiration. "Yes, why did I only think of searching in the Ninja World? I could summon Hashirama Senju back from the Pure Land!"
Orochimaru smiled, Karot already knew Orochimaru had a plan. Before summoning, Orochimaru would definitely make all the necessary preparations, after all, it was Hashirama Senju. Of course, that was from Orochimaru's perspective. For Karot, if Orochimaru couldn't handle the situation in the end, it would be a simple matter of one hand; one hand could easily destroy Hashirama Senju. The only thing that could make Karot want to take action was the Six Paths realm. He wondered if the Six Paths realm possessed the strength of some "gods."
With a clear direction, Orochimaru's spirits improved considerably; Karot had finally solved a problem that had been troubling him for a long time.
After examining Hashirama Senju's body, Orochimaru led Karot to another glass enclosure. Inside, everyone had the exact same face as Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru- senpai, what's going on here?"
Karot knew Orochimaru wouldn't have brought him here for no reason. Orochimaru wasn't that bored; he always did things with a purpose.
"The engulfing power of the Hashirama Cells is too strong; my cells can only withstand 60% of that power."
"These bodies you see all possess 60% of the First Hokage's strength."
"These are my perfect bodies. Do you think they can withstand the power of the Ten-Tails?"
It's unexpected that Orochimaru intended to use this method. Previously, Karot and Orochimaru had discussed having Orochimaru possess Madara Uchiha's body with Karot's help, using it as a vessel for the Ten-Tails to ascend to the Six Paths. It seems Orochimaru has taken a different approach. It appears Orochimaru still prefers his own body.
"It should work!"
After all, Karot wouldn't dare make a guarantee without having experimented with it.
"Sometimes I wonder, does becoming one of the Six Paths mean I can only become the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki?"
"This question has been swirling in my mind. The Ten-Tails is simply a beast. I really don't believe that the first person to reach the Six Paths would think of this method of becoming Six Paths Ten-Tails Jinchuriki."
"The Ten-Tails should be like a battery, providing energy to the Jinchuriki. That's how the One-Tail through Nine-Tails are. Why is the Ten-Tails an exception?"
"Could it be that the power of the Ten-Tails is different, just like the difference between Natural Energy and Chakra? Using Natural Energy can make you a sage, so using the power of the Ten-Tails can make you the Six Paths?"
Orochimaru's words caused Karot to explode on the spot, and the method Orochimaru mentioned was indeed feasible.
"That might actually be possible!"
"You think so too, right? Based on this view, I've paid a huge price these past few years to search for this power—a third power, different from Chakra and Natural Energy."
"During this chance encounter, a sudden inspiration struck me: could different types of Chakra within the human body be combined to create a new power?"
"Persistence pays off! Extensive experiments have indeed revealed a pattern: some powers can be fused, but these powers must originate entirely from the same person. Therefore, cloning technology has been a great help. These clones are rich in Chakra of all attributes."
Orochimaru waved his hand excitedly, pointing ahead to where he had finished defeating the clones, and said to Karot.