Orochimaru left.
He was in a hurry, and seemed to have forgotten that the task he had originally given Uchiha Ao was to conduct research related to Kekkei Genkai.
He had only outlined the general direction at the time.
He had told Ao to start preparing.
He hadn't actually specified any concrete goals.
Since Orochimaru hadn't left him any specific instructions,
Aoba was happy to have some free time.
He began preparing for some of his plans for the future.
The first thing he needed to figure out was the connection between Senju and Uchiha bloodlines.
It would be even better if he could completely understand the so-called power of Asura and the power of Indra!
These were tied to the most fundamental forces behind Kekkei Genkai.
Perhaps they could even be traced directly back to Otsutsuki bloodlines or the power of the God Tree.
Those two were the very foundations of the Naruto World.
The entire power system of Naruto revolved around them.
Ao's current foundation consisted of First Hokage Cells and Uchiha blood.
The blood cells containing Wood Release had taken root and were flourishing inside his body.
Only the Uchiha bloodline remained dormant.
After carefully recording the data for the past few days, Ao had to admit that the Kekkei Genkai inherited from the First, the reincarnation of Asura, was in a class of its own in this world.
The serum's transformation alone had increased his Chakra at least threefold, while his body had undergone a complete transformation.
Even without deliberately supplementing his diet, he had grown five centimeters taller during this period.
He now stood at 170 centimeters, meeting the minimum height requirement and making up for the physical deficit caused by malnutrition in his previous life's childhood.
It had taken what would have taken others years to cultivate in Chakra, and compressed it into half a month.
No wonder it was so hard for ordinary ninjas to make a name for themselves in this world.
With bloodline monsters everywhere, how could an ordinary person's talent compare?
And that was without even mentioning the occasional freaks born with unusually strong bloodline traits among the ninja clans.
Ao had spent three days getting a thorough understanding of his physical condition.
Body (Constitution) 40, Spirit (Mental Strength) 38, Ninjutsu 32, Strength 30, Chakra 38. His overall score came to 35.6.
He barely qualified as an Elite Chunin.
Building on this, Ao added several other basic stats he remembered from his previous life.
These were the five visible attributes: Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, Intelligence, and Strength, along with three hidden attributes: Speed, Hand Seals, and Spirit (Chakra).
In Ao's data, Spirit corresponded to Intelligence, representing intellect and mental strength! He changed the Spirit stat from his previous life to Chakra, representing chakra reserves.
Ao combined some of those standards to create these eight stats, each still scored out of one hundred.
By this system, Kakashi Hatake at his peak would have the following stats: Ninjutsu 100｜Taijutsu 90｜Genjutsu 80｜Intelligence 100｜Strength 70｜Speed 90｜Chakra 60｜Hand Seals 100.
His overall score would reach 86.25!
That was already above the threshold for Kage Level, but his obvious weakness in Chakra reserves meant he only just met the requirements for a Jonin.
Compared to the Kakashi Hatake who would later be nicknamed "Kakashi of the Sharingan,"
Ao was still a long way from matching him. He wasn't even qualified to enter the arena.
Ao understood this deep down.
The power he had gained from the First Hokage serum had given him a taste of what was possible.
He made it his breakthrough point and began a new round of research.
By continually increasing the serum's proportion in his blood,
Ao had reached his body's limit after three days of experimentation.
His body could withstand injections of, at most, seven doses of First Hokage serum.
Any more, and the Uchiha cells in his body would go into a frenzy.
His Chakra had also risen to Jonin level.
His score had broken 60.
It seemed easy enough.
But he had risked his body collapsing and dying to achieve it.
This body's potential had run its course.
Jonin was the limit.
There was no way to improve further.
This was as far as an ordinary person could go, even after giving everything they had.
Should he give up?
Ao clutched his chest as his heart pounded.
His stubborn gaze betrayed his unwillingness to accept this.
Bloodlines really were the greatest limit on power.
No, I can still get stronger.
A cry rose in Ao's heart.
He refused to settle for Jonin-level strength and become cannon fodder in this world.
Even if it cost him his life, he would break through his body's current limits.
Right now, the only one he could rely on was the one outside.
Without changing his expression, he peered through a gap in the bedroom window and saw the White Snake Sage coiled around the raised platform outside.
Would the White Snake Sage help him?
Ao's heart stirred.
He'd take a gamble!
He would bet that the White Snake Sage wouldn't stand by and let him die inside the temple.
After all, he had only just become a successor to Ryūchi Cave.
If the White Snake Sage wanted to meddle in the fate of the outside world,
she would have to rely on him and Orochimaru.
The short list of names on the Contract Scroll showed that the White Snake Sage was cautious. Since she intended to use him, she wouldn't let him die so easily.
He still had value!
What's more, before leaving, Teacher Orochimaru had specifically asked the White Snake Sage to look after him.
There was a good chance the sage wouldn't sit by and do nothing.
After weighing everything, Ao gritted his teeth and made his decision.
He continued, injecting the eighth dose of First Hokage serum into his vein.
He'd take the risk!
At worst, he would die. He could use the Spirit Transformation Technique to escape as a spirit, beg the sage for help, and have her turn him into a snake spirit so he could possess a snake's body.
The serum flowed through his body with his blood.
The delicate balance between the Uchiha bloodline and First Hokage Cells inside him shattered completely.
As the concentration of First Hokage Cells increased, a quantitative change triggered a qualitative one.
The terrifying, tenacious vitality they unleashed took the form of something completely unexpected: the blood serum, from which most of the cells had originally been removed, now reverted to its ancestral form and developed into entirely new First Hokage Cells—and the most terrifying kind of all: stem cells...
Shit!
Ao's face changed dramatically as he noticed what was happening, and he cursed under his breath.
In the biological terminology he remembered from his previous life, the process the First Hokage Cells were undergoing was called—Cell Recombination!
Under normal circumstances, regular cells could never revert to stem cells. That was common knowledge.
But there was one exception.
In his previous life, it was known as—Cancer Cells! They could proliferate malignantly, defying the normal laws of genetic inheritance!
They completely destroyed the body's normal functions, invaded other cells, caused the body's organs to collapse and fail, and ultimately led to the loss of all vital signs and death.
Ao finally understood why so many accidents had occurred during Orochimaru's experiments transplanting First Hokage Cells, and why Kinoe had been the only one among so many test subjects to survive.
So that was it!
With Orochimaru's talent, even research into the soul—a field so unscientific that it couldn't be explained by science—had been child's play for him.
He had even managed to research forbidden techniques like reincarnation and body possession.
How could a simple cell transplant possibly stump a genius scientist like Orochimaru?
The problem wasn't Orochimaru's research ability.
It was that First Hokage Cells refused to follow any rules.
They could trigger genetic recombination within themselves, and once their numbers reached a certain point, they could recombine their genes and create stem cells...
In theory, that made immortality possible.
After all, stem cells were the source from which all life developed.
As long as the stem cells didn't run out, the body would never age.
Shit!
Ao couldn't help cursing again.
How had the First, who possessed a body like this, died!?
Was it a Kekkei Genkai disease?
Or some other cause!
His thoughts began racing. He was thoroughly enjoying the process of thinking.
The feeling of uncovering a hidden truth made his very soul tremble with excitement.
It was incredible!
He even forgot that his body was on the verge of a life-or-death crisis.
At that moment, the First stem cells began using the nutrients in Uchiha Ao's body to rapidly produce new First Hokage Cells in his blood, gradually replacing parts of his body.
His flesh was being devoured by the First Hokage Cells and converted into new energy, which in turn continued to divide and produce more First Hokage Cells.
This was the most terrifying side effect of First Hokage Cells.
An ordinary person's body simply couldn't withstand being devoured by them.
Ao felt a tearing sensation spreading through every part of his body.
His head began to spin.
His expression remained unchanged as he carefully observed the First Hokage Cells, while his body suddenly released all its Chakra, unleashing a storm of Chakra.
The serum in his blood vessels had broken through their walls and spread into every cell in his body. This triggered massive internal bleeding, turning his skin a bruised blue.
His body was falling apart.
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