Hashirama Cell Transplant

Without much thought, Uchiha Shūichi made his decision. While Uchiha Itachi's Mental World was still in chaos, he hit him with a round of Kotoamatsukami, stuffed him straight into a sack, summoned the Great Snake, and sent him to Orochimaru's Base.

This was a living Mangekyo Uchiha. Although one of his eyes had gone blind due to Izanami, he was still unquestionably among the finest possible test subjects.

Besides, the eye blinded by Izanami was not beyond recovery. With Hashirama Cells in hand, Orochimaru definitely had the ability to restore Uchiha Itachi.

In the original story, Orochimaru had regarded Uchiha Itachi as the body he most wanted to take over. He only settled for Uchiha Sasuke later because he couldn't defeat Uchiha Itachi.

This time, Orochimaru could finally get his wish. The only question was whether, now that he had White Zetsu, Hashirama Cells, Yamato, and so many other test subjects, he would still care about Uchiha Itachi's body.

Uchiha Itachi, Orochimaru, and Shimura Danzō, who would soon undergo Body Modification... Once I control these people, perhaps I'll soon be able to completely control Konoha!

All that remained... was to wait!

Uchiha Itachi's disappearance went unnoticed by the Uchiha Clan for the time being.

After all, Uchiha Itachi was an Anbu squad captain, and Anbu missions were often measured in months. Moreover, Anbu secrecy rules meant that Uchiha Itachi could not possibly leave behind any clues in advance.

Therefore, even though Uchiha Itachi vanished without a word, the Uchiha Clan would not grow suspicious unless several months passed.

Shimura Danzō's disappearance likewise drew little attention from Konoha's upper ranks.

The Third Hokage quickly noticed that his old friend was no longer in Konoha.

However, before leaving, Shimura Danzō had still instructed the Root Ninja to delay their report for some time. They only said that he had left Konoha to carry out a classified mission, without revealing any details.

"Damn it, Danzo! He left without reporting again! What exactly is he trying to do?"

Inside the Hokage Office, the Third Hokage looked at the mission notice Shimura Danzō had left behind. Other than the time Danzo and the Root Ninja had departed the village, there was no information recorded.

After venting a little, the Third Hokage sighed and stamped the mission document, then gave the Root Ninja several orders that would accomplish nothing:

"When Shimura Danzō returns to the village, have him submit a mission report to me! I want to know in detail exactly what he did!"

Because Shimura Danzō had done this sort of thing far too often before, the Third Hokage was angry, but he never suspected that something might have happened to Shimura Danzō.

Root was originally Konoha's dirty glove. Many of its missions were things the Hokage wanted done but could not do himself, preferably without even knowing about them...

That was the nonsense Shimura Danzō had once spouted, and for some reason, Hiruzen Sarutobi had simply accepted it.

Shimura Danzō used that as an excuse to do quite a few outrageous things, and Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that perfectly well.

Still, the Third Hokage's control over Konoha Village remained fairly solid. As long as something happened within the village, it basically could not be hidden from him.

As for what happened outside the village, the Third Hokage could not be bothered to interfere. Konoha was not the world police; it was the Shinobi World's largest violent organization. Bullying a few ordinary ninja organizations was only natural.

Unfortunately... if the Third Hokage had known Shimura Danzō's current condition, he definitely would not have remained so composed.

Within Orochimaru's secret base, Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō stood in the middle of the training ground, watching a Root Ninja who had just finished surgery. Orochimaru remained calm, but Shimura Danzō's expression carried a hint of excitement.

The masked Root Ninja had one arm wrapped in bandages. As the bandages were slowly unwound, they revealed pale skin and four strange eyes embedded in it.

They were Three Tomoe Sharingan, the pride of the Uchiha Clan. Growing from that pale arm, they gave off an indescribably horrifying, nauseating feeling.

Yet the way Shimura Danzō looked at that arm was as though he were gazing at the lover of his dreams. He reached out, gently stroked the arm twice, and said:

"Use the power of that arm. Let me see just how powerful Wood Release and the Sharingan can be when combined!"

"Yes, Lord Danzo!"

The Root Ninja remained expressionless. Forming hand seals, he circulated the Chakra in his body according to the pattern he had long since learned.

"Wood Release—Wood Clone!"

A humanoid tree grew out of the Root Ninja's body and quickly transformed into an identical copy of him.

"Wood Release—Thorn Kill!"

A great number of thorn-covered branches erupted from the ground, wrapping around several humanoid targets and shredding them into pieces in an instant.

"Wood Release—Explosive Tree Spear!"

Thick, resilient trees shot forward like spears, piercing straight through the targets before them and even smashing through the wall behind them.

Shimura Danzō nodded. This Wood Release was about as powerful as Yamato's. Naturally, it could not compare to Senju Hashirama's.

But Shimura Danzō had never expected to reach the heavens in a single step. For Hashirama Cells to grant Wood Release at this level was already an unexpected delight to him.

More importantly, the Hashirama Cells were safe. The Root Ninja had used Wood Release so many times, yet the Hashirama Cells remained perfectly quiet, showing no sign of erosion whatsoever. Shimura Danzō revealed a satisfied expression.

For the Darkness of Konoha, the Wood Release granted by Hashirama Cells merely broadened his arsenal. What mattered most was that a large quantity of Hashirama Cells could greatly increase his stamina and Chakra, even slowing his current aging.

Yes, the life force contained within Hashirama Cells was enough to make Shimura Danzō ten or even twenty years younger, restoring the stamina and Chakra of his prime. That was the true reason he had always pursued Hashirama Cells.

"It seems your research really does have some merit, Orochimaru... Then it's my turn next!"

After watching his subordinate Root Ninja's demonstration, Shimura Danzō finally gained confidence in Orochimaru's research. Orochimaru, standing nearby, gave a sinister smile.

"Don't worry. The Hashirama Cell arm prepared for Lord Danzo has long since been completed."

With that, Orochimaru lightly clapped his hands. One of his subordinates took out a summoning scroll, and with a bang, a brand-new Hashirama Cell arm appeared atop the scroll.