Three days later.
Deep in a forest in the Land of Rice Fields.
Uchiha Ao followed Orochimaru and finally reached their destination.
After some trouble,
they entered the base. Once Jugo and Kimimaro had been settled in,
Orochimaru immediately summoned several of his important subordinates and introduced them to Ao.
"This is Oto."
Orochimaru pointed to the girl kneeling before him.
She looked about fifteen or sixteen, with black hair and a baby face.
Two boys stood behind her, their heads lowered.
Ao couldn't make out their faces.
"Lord Orochimaru... Lord Ao..."
The girl called Oto raised her head and bowed respectfully.
Ao nodded without replying, then looked at his teacher in confusion.
The girl hadn't shown anything special. He couldn't understand why Orochimaru considered her a perfect vessel.
"Teacher, is she really suitable?"
The girl frowned and looked at Ao, slightly displeased.
"Ao, do you know what Oto is capable of? She was born with an affinity for all five chakra natures, and her chakra reserves are three times those of an ordinary person. Once she's also injected with Hashirama Serum, they'll increase considerably."
"Combined with her young body and feeble soul, she's already quite suitable as the target of my first reincarnation."
Orochimaru spoke with a frown.
There was one more reason he hadn't mentioned: Oto's spiritual power was weak, so she wouldn't put up much resistance during the jutsu.
That would make the first experiment easier.
It would also reduce the risk of anything going out of control.
"Teacher... What's so impressive about the Third? An affinity for all five chakra natures doesn't mean he can combine all five Chakra Nature Transformations!"
Ao said, exasperated.
He hadn't expected Orochimaru to pick someone like her as his first test subject.
He was a little disappointed.
"How can an ordinary person without any Kekkei Genkai be called a perfect vessel?"
"Teacher, if you really want to reincarnate, I think it'd be better to wait a little longer. If we can figure out how to combine every Kekkei Genkai in a single body, we could perfectly merge the Senju and Uzumaki physiques, the eyes of the Uchiha and Hyuga, and the Kaguya clan's bones—all those Kekkei Genkai. That might let us create the perfect vessel for you."
Ao put forward his idea.
He knew it would be extremely difficult. Setting aside the problem of bloodline incompatibility, the technology available at this stage was nowhere near capable of genetic recombination.
It would take a great deal of research, with plenty of groundwork and time.
"Ao, that's an excellent idea. But could we achieve it in our lifetime? This isn't an ordinary research project."
"Even my research into fusing Hashirama Cells has taken nearly ten years."
Orochimaru sighed softly. He'd entertained the same idea himself.
But he wasn't young anymore.
Time had taken its toll on his body, and his chakra reserves had stopped growing.
That meant his body had reached its peak and was beginning to decline.
He'd seen the same thing happen to his teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
He was getting old, too.
"Isn't that why you have me? Don't worry, Teacher Orochimaru."
Ao saw that Orochimaru was putting on that act again, and immediately played along.
He'd just realized that his teacher seemed to enjoy wearing that regretful expression.
He was deliberately trying to stir Ao's emotions.
"Teacher, I recently reviewed all your research. In the experiments involving Hashirama Cells, I noticed that they differed from other cells in some way. Could that mean there's something more unusual inside them that can change a cell's abilities?"
Ao offered a hint. Although he understood how genes worked and the entire process of preparing them,
he couldn't simply come out and say so.
Orochimaru needed to understand it for himself.
Nothing would leave a deeper impression than isolating a gene sequence by hand.
Ao outlined one of the prerequisites for studying gene sequences: unraveling the mysteries of cells and understanding the substances inside them and what they did.
If they could take an entire cell apart, they would discover the existence of genes.
At this point, thanks to his research into Hashirama Cells, Orochimaru had already begun uncovering some of the mysteries of cells.
But his attention wasn't focused on that. He was devoted to his plan for immortality and hadn't yet systematically organized his earlier data or examined cells in greater depth.
Orochimaru was exceptionally talented, and his research progressed quickly.
On his own, he could even keep pace with an entire era of development.
In the future, he would even independently create cloning technology.
He would create an army of clones.
Orochimaru fell silent for a moment, then looked at Oto with suspicion and murmured, "Could I really have chosen the wrong person?"
Oto abruptly raised her head and declared, "Lord Orochimaru, you made the right choice. I'm the perfect vessel."
"I'm willing to become your body!"
She glared fiercely at Uchiha Ao. It was this man's words that had made Lord Orochimaru doubt her.
"You... Damn you!"
The girl sprang to her feet, furious and humiliated, and charged at Uchiha Ao.
She reached behind her with her right hand, pulled out a Kunai, and lunged straight for Ao's heart.
Ao's expression didn't change. His Three Tomoe Sharingan appeared, and with just one look, he took complete control of her. Her mind plunged into endless darkness, and her body froze in place.
"Her spiritual power is weak. She'll make a good subject for a practice test."
"Knowing how particular you are about choosing vessels, I doubt she meets your standards, Teacher."
Ao assessed the girl.
His words struck right to the heart of the matter.
He gave her a gentle push, and she fell onto the ground, unconscious.
Orochimaru didn't scold him. Instead, he nodded in approval and said,
"Ao-kun, you're even more particular than I am when it comes to choosing a vessel! An affinity for all five chakra natures is an incredibly rare gift."
"In all these decades in Konoha, there have only been three people with it... Senju Tobirama, my teacher Sarutobi, and me."
Orochimaru told him the truth. He clapped his hands lightly, his expression utterly cold.
He'd noticed that Ao seemed to have overlooked one crucial factor while gathering information on Kekkei Genkai.
"Let me tell you something... If you want to go far in research, you must master every chakra nature."
"That's one of the most basic requirements for studying forbidden jutsu."
"If you can't sense the nature transformation of a particular chakra, it'll be very difficult to find a way into any research involving that chakra."
"Just as you said, Kekkei Genkai are combinations of Chakra Nature Transformations."
"In fact, mastering all five chakra natures is a prerequisite for further research into combining and creating Kekkei Genkai."
"That's the foundation of Kekkei Genkai research."
"That's why I chose this girl as my reincarnation vessel."
Orochimaru taught him, passing on some of what he'd learned about research.
Ao nodded thoughtfully.
What Orochimaru had said did make sense.
"Teacher, I've actually found that chakra doesn't just have five natures. There's also the chakra formed from the power of the Sharingan and the life force of Wood Release! They're clearly different from the five chakra natures described in books."
Ao raised a question.
He briefly explained how he understood the Sharingan's power and Wood Release, treating them as two distinct chakra natures and naming them Yin Release and Yang Release.
Combined with the original five, that made seven chakra natures in all.
"If someone mastered every Chakra Nature Transformation and then found a way to combine them, what kind of Kekkei Genkai would they create by merging all seven chakra natures, Teacher?"
Orochimaru's eyes lit up. It was as if he'd discovered an entirely new direction for research. He nodded in approval and said, "Fascinating... Truly fascinating, Ao! Your idea is far bolder than mine."
"If someone really created an ability that combined all seven Chakra Nature Transformations, could it still be called a Kekkei Genkai?"
"Combining three chakra natures in Iwagakure created what's known as the Kekkei Tōta, Dust Release."
"Seven... That's beyond imagination!"
Orochimaru murmured.
His eyes gleamed brighter and brighter.
Now this was the kind of research that offered a real challenge—and something to occupy the endless years of his future immortal life.
"It's a possibility, but we're still a long way from it."
"Let's begin the reincarnation experiment first! I want to see the risks and results of Living Corpse Reincarnation."
Orochimaru forcibly suppressed the idea that was growing in his mind and changed the subject. He looked at his other two subordinates and ordered them,
"Asami, Shin, get Oto to her feet and come with me to the laboratory."
At the name Shin, Ao's gaze snapped over. He saw a handsome, frail-looking boy shakily getting to his feet, his face filled with fear of Orochimaru.
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