The Experiment Begins with Cloning Samehada

The journey of several hundred miles from the Land of Whirlpools back to the Konoha eastern front camp was slow, taking Uchiha Chen seven or eight days.

During this time, he basically instilled all the current common knowledge of the Shinobi World into Uchiha Hikari, and also obtained some 'knowledge' about the Uchiha of the Warring States period from her.

For example:

"What kind of Uchiha laughs after awakening the Mangekyō? Those with siblings laugh; those without don't."

"What is the hardest weapon of the Uchiha? It is the Six Paths Stone Tablet preserved within the clan and the mouths of the Uchiha."

"These are all cultural treasures of the Uchiha!"

Uchiha Chen glanced sideways at the innocent-looking Uchiha Hikari, truly not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

The era Hikari belonged to was the peak period, more than a decade before the Uchiha 'Izanagi' rebellion, when the Uchiha dominated the Shinobi World from the outside, and internal conflicts were limited to verbal sparring—

Thus, many Uchiha jokes mocking each other were born.

"We're here!"

Looking at the faint outline of the frontline camp in the distance, Uchiha Chen took off the Konoha forehead protector he had been wearing on his arm and handed it to Hikari.

"Put on the forehead protector and walk in with me confidently. If anyone questions you, glare at them with your Sharingan, but don't take action."

This outpost was the main station for the Uchiha clan on the eastern front, and the guards were basically all Uchiha clansmen. There were many Uchiha coming and going, so with the Sharingan leading the way, there was no need for things like ninja identification numbers or secret codes to prove one's identity.

"Mm!"

Hikari took the forehead protector, untied her hair ribbon, and tied the protector around her head.

The two walked directly toward the outpost camp.

"Big Brother Chen!"

A guard standing at the camp gate waved excitedly at Uchiha Chen.

The guard at the gate turned out to be Uchiha Chen's little fanboy, Uchiha Tekka, which made entering the camp even easier.

"Tekka, has there been any big news on the battlefield lately?"

After casually writing his name in the registry, Uchiha Chen flipped the page of the logbook and started chatting with Tekka.

"The biggest news isn't that you discovered Kirigakure capturing the Three-Tails, Big Brother Chen?

I heard from the clansmen that Suikazan Fuguki also died at your hands. Your bounty in the underworld has reached 40 million ryo!"

"Fake news!"

Uchiha Chen waved his hand. "Fuguki was killed by the Kirigakure people themselves."

Although I ordered it, and although Samehada is still in my Sealing Scroll, the one who did the deed was Yagura's subordinate.

After chatting with Tekka for a few more sentences, Uchiha Chen led Hikari directly into the camp.

"Are you very popular in the clan?"

Hikari followed behind Uchiha Chen with her head down, her tone somewhat subtle.

Uchiha Chen turned to look at Hikari, thinking to himself that this was bad, and spoke cautiously:

"I think you should let go of everything in the past and embrace the world with a new identity. What do you think?"

"I'm not as petty as you think."

Hikari rolled her eyes at Uchiha Chen. Now she was becoming more like a person rather than a 'weapon', and her outward emotions were increasing:

"I won't blame the clansmen of a hundred years later for what those clansmen did to me. It's just... never mind!"

Hikari shook her head.

She was just a little envious.

What should he do after returning to the battlefield?

Kill a few more Kirigakure ninjas for fun? Better not.

Uchiha Chen dove straight into the laboratory left behind by Orochimaru.

Although the shadow clone had Yagura's sponsorship, the purchase and customization of experimental equipment were nowhere near that fast, so he had to make do with Orochimaru's laboratory for now.

"Hashirama Cells, they really are overbearing!"

In the culture medium, the Hashirama Cells extracted from the White Zetsu—who knows how many generations removed—displayed terrifying phagocytic ability and vitality. After absorbing only a small amount of nutrient solution, they began to divide crazily, turning into a mass of 'flesh-tree' that would make one's sanity drop just by looking at it.

Uchiha Chen activated the laboratory bench's sterilization program, and the flesh-tree, which was ferociously waving its bloody branches, quickly turned to ash in the thousand-degree flames.

The terror of the Hashirama Cells was far beyond Uchiha Chen's imagination.

Even cells that had been degraded for who knows how many generations could have such strong vitality.

What about the original cells? What about when Hashirama was alive? What about when he entered Sage Mode?

"With such powerful vitality, would he really die from the exhaustion of a great war? Or did he die years after the Battle at the Valley of the End?"

Uchiha Chen stared at the ashes left after the burning with a solemn expression, muttering to himself:

"Or is it that he chose to end his own life to prevent himself from truly becoming a 'tree', a 'small God Tree' that could devour Chakra and all things?"

This was a question Uchiha Chen could not know.

However, Senju Hashirama was undoubtedly the most unique among all the successive reincarnations of Asura:

He was the only Asura reincarnation to ever surpass the reincarnation of Indra, and the only one to possess the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai.

"Forget it, these aren't things I should be considering right now, and I'm in no rush to transplant Hashirama Cells anyway."

Uchiha Chen shook his head and cast his gaze toward another massive incubation tank in the laboratory.

A large, purple-black fish covered in barbs was swimming around inside it contentedly, occasionally sticking out its large tongue to lick the glass.

"Samehada, it's time for today's sampling!"

"Gurgle gurgle!"

Samehada was quite dissatisfied, but after Uchiha Chen fed it a portion of his own Chakra, it obediently allowed him to extract some somatic cells from its body.

Having succeeded, Uchiha Chen hurriedly stored these cells away and then pushed a large water tank over from the other side of the laboratory.

At the bottom of the tank lay a pile of translucent, crystal-clear little beads, each about three to four centimeters in diameter, all a pleasant white-yellow color, looking much like cooked sago pearls.

These were the eggs of a large saltwater fish in the Shinobi World known as the Spiked Sharkfish.

This fish is primarily active in the waters south of the Land of Fire, reaching lengths of 1.5 to 3 meters as an adult, with a back covered in barbs; it was the fish Uchiha Chen had carefully selected for its external traits being most similar to Samehada.

More importantly, this fish reproduces through external fertilization, and unfertilized eggs are treated as a food ingredient in the southern Land of Fire, making them very easy to obtain.

The egg cells of the Spiked Sharkfish and the somatic cells of Samehada are both significantly larger than human cells, which lowers the precision requirements for nuclear transfer surgery.

By removing the nucleus of the Spiked Sharkfish egg cell and inserting the nucleus of a Samehada somatic cell, he could achieve the cloning of Samehada.

He could even attempt to implant the previously discovered 'Kekkei Genkai Chimera' or 'Attribute Body' to try and clone a Samehada possessing different attributes and Kekkei Genkai!

Uchiha Chen's eyes manifested the pattern of the Mangekyō; the insight of his scarlet pupils had been elevated to the extreme, and one hand gripped an extremely thin glass tube.

Right now, his eyes were the ruler, and his hands were the machinery, far superior to even the most skilled eighth-grade craftsmen who could distinguish errors of one-hundredth of a millimeter with the naked eye and hand-craft millimeter-level components.

Samehada cloning experiment, attempt one, begin!

Friends who are familiar with me know that the pacing is only just beginning now.

Seeking recommendations, follow-up reads, and votes!