Experiments with Hashirama Cells
While Sunagakure was in complete chaos, Konoha, its neighbor, remained peaceful and undisturbed.
After returning home and having a good night's sleep, Kazashiro arrived at the Konoha Research Bureau early the next morning with the scroll containing the Hunting Corpse.
"Oh, it's Kazashiro!"
As soon as Kazashiro stepped into the Research Bureau, he heard a slightly surprised female voice.
The familiar scent wafted over, Anko, still as carefree as ever, ignored the fact that Kazashiro had become the Hokage and simply put her arm around Kazashiro's shoulder.
"You've finally come to my rescue? Please, Fifth Hokage, let me go to the front lines!"
Anko's tone carried a hint of pleading, and the surprise on her face faded into utter despair.
She simply couldn't stand her teacher, Orochimaru. Being around him meant dealing with all sorts of strange corpses every day, and sometimes she even had to deal with them herself.
This resulted in her classmates being promoted to Special Jonin and Jonin, while she remained a mere Chunin.
"Didn't you really like your teacher?"
After struggling for a moment, Kazashiro couldn't break free from Anko's grasp and asked her with a helpless expression.
"But my teacher rarely leaves the house these days. I'm still young, and I want to see more of the world."
Anko looked at Kazashiro pitifully, while increasing the strength of her arm, as if she would never let go unless Kazashiro agreed.
"Alright, alright, I'll talk to Orochimaru."
Kazashiro had no choice but to agree with a wry smile.
"Yay!"
Upon hearing Kazashiro's agreement, Anko gave Kazashiro a tight hug, her face instantly clearing of despair, and skipped off to attend to her own business.
This girl...
Shaking his head helplessly, Kazashiro straightened his collar, preparing to search for Orochimaru's whereabouts.
The hurried footsteps came and went, and Anko returned to Kazashiro's side.
"Look at me, I was so happy, who did you come to see?"
Suddenly remembering that she hadn't had a chance to ask Kazashiro why he came, Anko returned.
"Of course, it's your teacher."
In the laboratory, Orochimaru stared at Setsuna's nearly dissected corpse on the dissection table, his eyes filled with a fanatical curiosity.
Hashirama Cells, again Hashirama Cells.
The white creature from before, and this remnant of the Uchiha, both carried this substance.
The problem that was difficult to solve during his collaboration with Danzo was now being solved by someone else outside the village.
Interesting...
Like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, extracted a portion of Hashirama Cells, and placed them in a petri dish.
Orochimaru had considered the idea of using the Uchiha bloodline to Hashirama Cells before.
Unfortunately, Danzo suddenly cut off his research funding at that time, which prevented the plan from being implemented in the end.
Now...
With the substantial financial support of Konoha, Orochimaru can fully utilize his wisdom without violating human ethics.
"Fifth Generation Hokage, please come in."
Just as Orochimaru was preparing to further study Setsuna's corpse, Hiruko's voice rang out, reminding Orochimaru that an uninvited guest had entered his laboratory.
"The Fifth Generation?"
Upon hearing this address, Orochimaru turned around, looked at his junior brother whom he hadn't seen in a long time, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
"What a rare guest!"
He was looking forward to Kazashiro's arrival, because every time the other person came, he brought him new inspiration, and he figured this time would be no exception.
Sure enough, after exchanging greetings, Kazashiro took out a scroll and summoned a corpse that had already turned into a desiccated corpse.
Having already handled all sorts of corpses, Orochimaru was naturally not frightened by Kari's terrifying appearance. Instead, he squatted down and began to study him with great interest.
Reaching out to stroke Gari's dry, dark skin, Orochimaru didn't take long to identify the Ninjutsu that had caused the injury.
"This is Scorch Release."
"That's right, Scorch Release. The owner of this corpse was also someone important; he was Kari, a member of the Explosion Release squad from Iwagakure."
The name of the hunter still enjoys a certain reputation in the Shinobi World, so Hiruko was the first to show a look of longing upon hearing the other's name.
He has been dedicated to researching the fusion of Kekkei Genkai, so he is particularly excited.
"Explosion Release, that's certainly interesting."
Orochimaru nodded, Hiruko to take the corpse aside.
Feng rolled his Byakugan as he watched Hiruko lick his lips and take away Kari's corpse. Anyone who didn't know better would think that this guy had some ulterior motive.
"How's the investigation of Setsuna's body going?"
Without looking at what Hiruko was going to do, Kazashiro turned to Orochimaru and asked.
"Interesting. This guy has Hashirama Cells, just like that creature called White Zetsu."
Upon hearing Kazashiro's question, Orochimaru went to the lab table and casually picked up a research logbook to look through it.
"Can it be applied to the human body?"
Kazashiro knew the wonderful uses of Hashirama Cells. Having them could slightly reduce the damage caused by the Mangekyō Sharingan, which was very important for Obito and Hikaru.
In the final battle to come, I'll still need these Uchiha to contribute to Konoha.
"We'll have to test it to see."
Orochimaru glanced at Kazashiro, seemingly considering using him as a test subject.
What are the odds of success?
Kazashiro swallowed hard. If he was confident of success, he might as well be the guinea pig.
"About 20%."
Orochimaru spoke directly.
Never mind then.
Kazashiro shook his head frantically, deciding to wait until the technology was more mature before making a decision.
"However, if it's Yamato, the success rate can reach 99%."
Orochimaru's next words left Kazashiro puzzled.
"Yamato has already successfully mastered Wood Release, so continuing to inject it won't be of any use, right?"
"Heh, that level of Wood Release?"
Orochimaru scoffed, dismissing Yamato's Wood Release with disdain.
"Undeniably, his Wood Release was indeed the first step from nothing, but its range and lethality are far inferior to those of the First Hokage."
Isn't that obvious? The First Hokage was someone who piloted a Yamato and slew the Nine-Tails. Compared to him, Yamato isn't even as good as his toes.
"I can gradually enhance Yamato's Wood Release abilities, and at the same time, use his research data to adjust the dosage for use on others."
Orochimaru stared intently at Kazashiro.
Kazashiro is considered Yamato's guardian, and according to Konoha's current regulations, he must consult the person in front of him.
"I'll ask Yamato when I get back."
Kazashiro didn't want to make any decisions for others. Even if the success rate of this matter was so high, wasn't there still a one percent chance of failure?
Although he often treated Yamato a beast of burden, he was somewhat reluctant to let him die at Orochimaru's hands.
This is one of the children I've watched grow up.