Chakra Genetics and Bloodline Engineering

In the evening, due to a rare victory for the Hokage faction in decades, several clansmen dragged Uchiha Chen along, insisting on celebrating with a meal.

After the meal, someone suggested heading to an izakaya to grab a drink and talk about life with the ladies.

"We're heading out then, Chen!"

Uchiha Inabi hummed a little tune, arched his brows triumphantly, and teased:

"Even if you are a great hero of the Uchiha, there's a time and place for everything!"

"Hahaha!" The group roared with laughter, then slung their arms around each other's shoulders and headed toward the red-light district.

"Bullshit!"

Walking back to the clan compound alone, Uchiha Chen kicked a small pebble on the ground, feeling despair toward this twisted Shinobi World:

An era where a ninja could kill without blinking at seven or eight years old.

An era where one could get married at fourteen.

Yet, the laws of the Land of Fire actually stipulated that one could not drink alcohol under eighteen, and that it was illegal to sell alcohol to minors?

"Chen-kun!"

Just as Uchiha Chen was about to reach the clan compound, a hoarse, magnetic voice suddenly rang out.

Uchiha Chen scanned his surroundings and spotted a young man in a black kimono hiding in the shadows of a streetlamp not far away.

He had shoulder-length hair, black eyeliner, and purple eyeshadow, which, combined with his golden slit pupils, made his gaze look incredibly terrifying.

Seeing Uchiha Chen look over, Orochimaru curled the corners of his mouth slightly and licked his lips.

"Mr. Orochimaru!"

Uchiha Chen approached Orochimaru quite naturally. "You were looking for me?"

"I have obtained the things you wanted." Orochimaru chuckled, clearly in a rather good mood:

"And regarding the genetic material you mentioned earlier, I have made some quite interesting discoveries! You know where to find me."

With a "poof," the Shadow Clone used to deliver the message vanished.

Facing Orochimaru's summons, Uchiha Chen fell into deep thought.

The technological development of the Shinobi World was quite distorted; some things looked like 22nd-century sci-fi under the influence of chakra, while others were as backward as the 17th or 18th century.

Previously, the Shinobi World's understanding of biology was basically at the cellular level.

During the Third Great Ninja War, in order to learn more advanced Medical Ninjutsu and better preserve his own life, Uchiha Chen had leaked some biology knowledge he learned in high school in his past life to Orochimaru, thereby gaining preferential treatment on the battlefield.

If he weren't an Uchiha, he might have long since been taken as a disciple by Orochimaru, who admired him.

But at this point in time, just as the Hokage faction had suffered a setback, making contact with Orochimaru...

After a long while, Uchiha Chen decided to head to Orochimaru's laboratory in the village.

There was no other reason; with the Mangekyō pupil technique of his Prosthetic Eye, he believed he was capable of dealing with Orochimaru, and he was also very interested in Orochimaru's "discovery."

Under the pitch-black night, a figure darted through the Forest of Death, finally diving into the hollow of a giant tree.

Passing through layers of seals and traps, Uchiha Chen entered the underground laboratory.

In the cold and damp basement, many translucent glass jars were lined up along the walls, filled with bizarre products that caused a loss of sanity just by looking at them, and the air was permeated with an indescribable, strange odor of mixed chemical reagents.

Uchiha Chen was long since accustomed to this. Following the humming sound emitted by the experimental equipment, he soon found Orochimaru in a lab, staring intently at the workbench.

"You're here? Wait a moment!"

Orochimaru fiddled with the microscope and other experimental equipment. After a series of beeps from the instruments, sheets of paper filled with graphs and text were spat out from the printer behind him.

"Take a look at these cell diagrams first!"

With Orochimaru's permission, Uchiha Chen picked up the data and sat to the side.

Oval-shaped, nucleolus not obvious, these are human tissue cells; this cytoplasm is very light, with a large number of small granules, these are neutrophils...

Uchiha Chen scanned through them quickly, until he saw a cell with a cell wall and a vacuole, and suddenly stopped.

Cell wall, vacuole.

Based on his shallow high school biology knowledge, things with these characteristics should generally be plant cells.

However, The note Orochimaru had written next to this cell diagram was:

Human Meridian Cell!

Yes, although people in the Shinobi World were similar in appearance and structure to the humans of Uchiha Chen's past life on Earth, there was a distinction in their inner essence:

For example, people in the Shinobi World had 130 trillion cells, while Earthlings only had 40 to 60 trillion.

Furthermore, people in the Shinobi World had a "Chakra Meridian System" that permeated their entire body, just like a circulatory system.

The cells that made up the Chakra Meridian System were actually plant-like?

Uchiha Chen thought of the God Tree planted by the Otsutsuki.

"As expected of you, Chen-kun! You spotted the key point at a glance!"

Orochimaru turned on the sink at the laboratory bench, scrubbing his hands while his neck twisted a full one-hundred-and-eighty degrees in an inhuman fashion, his sharp, hawk-like gaze fixed directly on Uchiha Chen:

"I am convinced that the mysteries of Chakra must lie within these meridian cells. However, for now, I would like you to take a look at something else first."

Orochimaru stepped aside to clear space on the lab bench, gesturing for Uchiha Chen to observe the microscope he had prepared.

Inside the microscope was a long 'tadpole,' a male reproductive cell.

"Chen-kun! This cell was provided by an unnamed Special Jonin of the Sarutobi Clan. Pay close attention to the rear ring in the middle section of his reproductive cell's tail!"

Uchiha Chen immediately activated his Sharingan, utilizing its powerful observational prowess to examine the tail of the 'tadpole.'

"There is a small amount of semi-autonomous organelles similar to mitochondria and chloroplasts in this area!" Orochimaru's voice was filled with immense excitement:

"A few months ago, his reproductive cells did not contain this structure!

It was only two months ago, after he completed the nature transformation of the Fire attribute, that some of his reproductive cells began to carry these organelles.

Therefore, following your naming convention for mitochondria and chloroplasts, I have named these organelles 'Attribute Body'.

They are capable of inheriting the attributes of Chakra!

Families like the Uchiha and Sarutobi, who excel at Fire Style, have descendants who almost all possess talent for Fire Style. This is because many ninjas within the clan have completed Fire Style nature transformation, passing these Attribute Bodies down to their offspring!"

Uchiha Chen nodded.

Nature transformation was already considered a highly sophisticated ninjutsu technique; those capable of practicing it were generally at the level of Special Jonin or higher.

This perfectly aligned with the phenomenon in the Shinobi World where "the descendants of the strong generally excel at the same elemental releases as their parents."

But at most, this only verified the inheritance of Chakra attributes; it didn't seem like a major discovery, did it?

Seeming to sense Uchiha Chen's doubt, Orochimaru quickly produced a diagram of a reproductive cell and pointed to the location where the 'Attribute Body' had just been observed:

"Chen-kun, do you know how many types of ninjutsu-based Kekkei Genkai there are in the Shinobi World?"

Uchiha Chen quickly recalled the common ones: Magnet, Lava, Ice, Boil, Scorch, Storm, and Explosion, along with the less common ones like Crystal, Steel, Transparent, Typhoon, Scorching, and Swift.

"About a dozen or so?"

"Twenty!"

Orochimaru's voice was resolute, filled with confidence in his own research:

"There are exactly twenty types of ninjutsu-based Kekkei Genkai, no more and no less! And next..."

Orochimaru's smile grew increasingly frantic, yet his eyes became clearer and more determined, like a pilgrim who had finally caught sight of his goal:

"I will show you the truth of the Kekkei Genkai!"