Experiment

Three days later.

Inside Orochimaru's secret laboratory.

A trial officially began.

Orochimaru stood outside a glass window.

His expression was calm as he watched the laboratory, but his heart was already in turmoil.

He had spent five whole years preparing for this experiment.

He had poured immense effort into it, even giving up his bid for the position of Hokage at one point and placing all his focus on this experiment.

Yet now, he had handed control of the experiment to a Uchiha clansman who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy.

Orochimaru felt no reluctance. Instead, his gaze was filled with even greater curiosity and interest.

Over the past few days, while observing Uchiha Ao's preparations, he had discovered many details and secrets that he had never paid much attention to in his previous research.

Before the experiment, the environment had to be completely sterilized. Various disinfectants also had to be prepared to maintain what was called a "sterile" environment.

Bacteria?

A species he had never known existed.

Only through Uchiha Ao's explanations did he understand that, in places invisible to the naked eye, all kinds of disease-causing germs lurked. The existence of these tiny microorganisms could multiply the failure rate of an already difficult experiment.

Following Uchiha Ao's description, Orochimaru personally built the first experimental device known as a Microscope.

He truly saw what these so-called "germs" looked like—tiny little bugs occupying every corner.

Most familiar of all was the "mold" that appeared when food spoiled! It could actually move in subtle ways.

This discovery completely changed some of Orochimaru's deeply ingrained beliefs.

It allowed him to confidently hand this crucial experiment over to Uchiha Ao for practice.

Uchiha Ao straightened his white coat, put on a mask and two layers of gloves, then donned a sealed Snakeskin Sterile Suit that concealed his entire body tightly. After thoroughly disinfecting himself with alcohol, he finally stepped up to the operating table.

He examined the test subject before him.

A whole person.

They were about the same age.

The slight twitching of the boy's eyelids proved that he was not the Cadaver Uchiha Ao had seen in his previous life.

His hands trembled slightly, not out of fear, but excitement.

For the first time, he was touching a complete Cadaver.

An incredibly strange feeling welled up inside him.

His eyes flashed, and a row of words appeared on the Light Screen.

"Experiment Completion Progress: 58%!"

It was not a hallucination.

This was a tool that had crossed over with Uchiha Ao.

No matter what kind of experiment he conducted, the experiment's progress would appear before his eyes at any time.

In his previous life, relying on this Light Screen, he had become his mentor's favorite student and completed several key national-level projects.

He had never expected that after dying suddenly from overwork, the Light Screen would cross over with him as well.

As long as he continuously completed the preparations and experimental procedures, he could steadily advance the success progress until the experiment was complete.

Under normal circumstances, the preliminary preparations accounted for around fifty percent of the progress.

The more thorough the preparations, the higher the progress and the less likely the experiment was to fail.

If the preparation progress did not reach forty percent, then the experiment was basically impossible to succeed.

For the experiment progress before him to reach fifty-eight percent meant the preparations had far exceeded expectations.

As long as he followed the steps, success would come easily.

The procedure for this experiment was not difficult. He only needed to inject First Hokage Cell Serum into the boy's heart.

Just as Uchiha Ao ran through the procedure in his mind, a girl dressed in a white coat and covered in protective gear pushed over a tool cart, studying Uchiha Ao with a suspicious look.

"Hold out your hand!"

Uchiha Ao gave the order in a calm tone.

The girl let go of her hand and noticed that he was spraying the liquid from a bottle onto his hands.

"Smells like alcohol?"

"This is such an important experiment, and you're still drinking? Can't you show some respect for Lord Orochimaru's research?!"

Anko's cheeks flushed red as she demanded angrily.

She could not understand why Teacher Orochimaru had entrusted such an important experiment to a boy who looked about her age.

He had even promised that, if the experiment succeeded, the boy would take her place as his assistant!

Those fair, delicate hands of his did not look like they had ever performed an experiment.

His movements were utterly unfamiliar.

There was not a trace of a Chakra Blade in sight.

He actually needed to use metal blades for the experiment.

He was clearly a complete amateur!

He did not look like someone who understood experiments at all.

Anko was furious. Though she had obeyed her teacher's orders and served as an assistant, her heart was filled with jealousy and resentment.

It was only because of her teacher's orders that she had not shown it.

Out of respect for her teacher, she had kept it hidden.

She had no intention of causing trouble.

But if Uchiha Ao performed poorly during the experiment and failed to complete it, she would definitely make him regret coming into this world.

"Shut up and watch carefully!"

Uchiha Ao said coldly.

From the moment Anko entered the room, he had already entered his working state. He carefully examined her from head to toe and disinfected her entire body.

A trace of humiliation and anger surged within Anko. Without drawing attention, she glanced toward Teacher Orochimaru, who was watching from outside the window.

Bastard!

He was deliberately making her look bad in front of her teacher!

She had only just earned Orochimaru's recognition. Even after becoming a Chunin, she had willingly given up the village's arranged post to become an assistant by her teacher's side. She did not want this guy to snatch her position away so easily.

Only after completing the examination did Uchiha Ao begin checking each item with Anko.

"Are all the materials ready?"

"They're ready."

"Environmental check... temperature twenty-two degrees, humidity fifty-six percent, sterilization measures completed. Mm... bake at high temperature for two hours!"

"First Hokage serum!"

"Here."

"Where? Exact location!"

"First shelf of the tool rack. Double-wrapped to ensure sterility."

"Scalpel, surgical scissors, hemostatic forceps..."

"Second shelf of the tool rack."

"Today's experimental subject status record?"

"Hanging on the wall to the left. The subject's heart has no organic lesions, myocardial blood supply is normal, and it has been confirmed that there are no antibodies in the body that reject Hashirama Cells."

"Very good, Anko! Check the sterility of every instrument once more, disinfect them again, then begin the experiment after letting them sit for fifteen minutes!"

"..."

"Inspection complete! All instruments have undergone secondary sterilization. Microscalpel sharpness meets standards, and the suture needle can conduct chakra normally. The patient's anesthetic effect has been confirmed, all bodily sensation has completely disappeared, and vital signs are stable—heart rate sixty-eight beats per minute, blood pressure one hundred twenty over eighty millimeters of mercury."

After three consecutive days of coordination.

Anko had already developed the habit. Although she deeply resented Uchiha Ao for trying to take her position as an assistant, she had to admit that this process had made every stage of experimental surgery far clearer to her. She knew every step she needed to take next and could ensure that the required results of each step were fully presented.

Although she had never performed this experiment before, she already understood the entire process by heart.

She had never experienced this feeling when serving as Teacher Orochimaru's assistant.

It was an entirely new experience.

The experiment proceeded in an orderly fashion.

Anko noticed that Uchiha Ao did not use a Chakra Blade to make the incision as her teacher did. Instead, he used a specially forged metal scalpel to effortlessly cut open the patient's chest.

The surgical incision revealed a slowly beating heart.

The next step was to accurately locate the area of the heart where the injection needed to be administered.

During the injection, the major cardiac blood vessels and conduction bundles had to be avoided. The serum had to be pushed in slowly; if any leakage occurred, the injection had to be stopped immediately.

Using the prepared serum catheter, he inserted it into the heart and injected the serum into the test subject's heart.

Then came the ventricular suturing and the closing of the chest cavity.

Uchiha Ao had prepared thoroughly. The outcome had long been decided.

Three hours passed.

Only after the test subject's chest cavity had been completely closed

did Uchiha Ao let out a heavy breath, a smile appearing at the corner of his lips.

He turned and looked at Orochimaru, who had remained outside the window the entire time.

His lips moved slightly.

Through the mask of his sterile protective suit, he spoke a few words.

"The experiment succeeded!"