Why No "Madara Cells"?

He had lived for so many years and seen countless so-called "geniuses."

A genius like Kakashi was a genius in the eyes of others.

Gifted with intelligence, learning everything quickly, making people envious and jealous.

But he had seen plenty of such geniuses.

They were merely better at learning than others.

Yet Qingyu was different.

At the age of six, this child had already stepped outside the framework of the mundane world.

What he pursued was survival.

And the pursuit of survival was, in essence, the pursuit of infinite knowledge.

This was fundamentally different from the frogs at the bottom of a well.

"Qingyu-kun is truly a strange person."

Orochimaru extended his long tongue and slowly licked his lips.

This was a small habit that only appeared when he felt extreme pleasure.

"However, I am also such a strange person."

[Trait available for collection: Serpent's Gaze]

[D-rank Trait: Serpent's Gaze]

[Effect: You possess a level of caution beyond that of an ordinary person, allowing you to quickly deduce the most advantageous choice even in chaotic situations.]

Qingyu looked at the prompt text appearing before him, feeling a slight joy in his heart.

The effect of this trait was very practical.

It was equivalent to a passive skill that forced calmness.

When a person faces danger, anything can happen.

Even someone who is usually bold may, in the moment of truly facing life and death, become stiff and have a blank mind due to the instinct of fear.

That was instinct, a physiological reaction that could not be forcibly suppressed by willpower.

But with this trait, he could maintain a calm mind in any situation and quickly make the optimal judgment.

For a ninja, a calm mind is sometimes more important than powerful ninjutsu.

"Since Qingyu-kun is so interested in ninjutsu, I shall teach you one more."

Orochimaru was clearly in a good mood and took the initiative to offer an extra lesson.

He began to weave hand signs, and Qingyu activated his Sharingan.

It was the same opening stance for Fire Style, but the way Orochimaru mobilized his chakra afterward was completely different from "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu."

"Fire Style: Snake Bullet."

Orochimaru opened his mouth, and a stream of fire erupted from it.

Unlike ordinary Fire Style, which spreads out in a fan shape, this flame automatically condensed in the air into a winding, slithering snake shape.

The fire snake formed by the flames bared its fiery fangs and headed straight for the wooden target.

Boom.

The snake-shaped flame hit the bullseye, leaving a charred mark upon it.

"A D-rank ninjutsu, characterized by the ability to control the trajectory of the flames to a small degree."

Orochimaru turned around, signaling for Qingyu to give it a try.

He wanted to know if there were subtle differences in Qingyu's talent for each chakra nature, as this was important data for his research.

Qingyu closed his eyes, recalling the chakra pathways he had seen with his Sharingan, then opened them and formed the same hand signs as Orochimaru.

Following that, Qingyu opened his mouth and spat out a stream of fire.

The flame twisted in the air, faintly taking the shape of a snake, but it did not fly very far before dissipating, leaving only a few sparks drifting in the air.

Orochimaru nodded slightly.

To reach this level on the first attempt already far exceeded his expectations.

He estimated that in a day or two, he would be able to master this technique.

This child's talent was even higher than he had anticipated.

In that case, wasn't this the perfect subject for observation?

After long periods of research, Orochimaru had vaguely sensed that the Uchiha clan and the Senju clan seemed to have some sort of connection.

The two were sometimes extremely repulsive to each other, and at other times, they could fuse.

However, "Hashirama Cells" were very special, completely crushing the cells of other Senju clansmen and Uchiha cells.

Why is it that no one in the Uchiha clan possesses a singularity like the Hashirama Cells?

Or could it be that the legendary Madara Uchiha might also possess such a special ability?

If there are Hashirama Cells, why are there no Madara Cells?

The two were bitter rivals, evenly matched in their struggle throughout their entire lives.

Orochimaru speculated that Madara Uchiha must have had some unique traits; otherwise, he would not have been on par with the strength of Hashirama Senju.

After a long while, Orochimaru watched Qingyu, who continued to weave hand seals for his training.

He could not help but shake his head and let out a soft chuckle.

Orochimaru only vaguely felt that there might be a deeper connection between the two, but this was merely his own conjecture.

After all, Madara Uchiha had been killed by Hashirama Senju decades ago, and his body had supposedly been secretly collected by the Second Hokage and likely destroyed; even he could not locate the corpse, making it an impossible matter to verify.

When he left the laboratory, the sky had already turned dark.

Qingyu walked on the road home.

Having learned three new ninjutsu in a single day, plus the traits dropped from Orochimaru, his harvest could be considered quite bountiful.

Pushing open the door to his home, the lights in the living room were on.

Tsunade had rarely stayed in today; she was sitting on the sofa, holding a sheathed katana, examining it over and over.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, she looked up and set the sword down on the coffee table.

"You're back?"

"This is for you."

Qingyu changed his shoes, walked over, and picked up the katana.

The scabbard was dark brown, and the surface looked brand new.

Qingyu gripped the hilt and slowly drew the blade from its sheath.

A flash of cold light flickered under the living room lights.

The length of the blade was slightly long for his current stature, but not to an exaggerated degree.

"Use this as a transition until the Sword of the Thunder God comes down."

Tsunade leaned back against the sofa, crossing her legs.

"Many thanks, Sister Tsunade."

Qingyu suddenly felt that, at times, she was quite conscientious.

In the blink of an eye, the day of the final exams arrived.

Today was the day of the final tests.

The atmosphere in the examination hall was much more tense than usual; even the most boisterous students were sitting quietly in their seats, flipping through their notes for a final cram session.

Qingyu walked over to sit next to Kakashi and asked casually:

"How are you prepared for this time?"

"I specifically sought out my father for special training for a few days."

Kakashi replied.

"This time, I will be either first or second."

The implication was that he was determined to secure the top spot.

"Don't be so confident, Kakashi."

Qingyu shook his head.

During this period, he had been going on morning runs with Might Guy, and both of their training volumes had been increasing.

As a result, because of his traits, he became more energetic the more he ran, and Might Guy was also stimulated to become increasingly disciplined, causing his training volume to skyrocket.

If the exam were purely about releasing ninjutsu and genjutsu, Might Guy's level would indeed be quite poor.

But if it were actual combat, that would be a different story.

After all, everyone had mastered very few ninjutsu right now, and when a real fight broke out, taijutsu was the thing used most often.

"That's right, Kakashi, my eternal rival! Don't you dare underestimate me!"

Might Guy leaned in from the side, clenched his fists, and revealed arms that were a circle thicker than those of his peers.

Beneath that green spandex suit were muscle lines that were already beginning to take shape.

Kakashi looked at Might Guy's lean, strong physique, and his eyelid twitched.

He had no idea how Might Guy trained; the guy's muscles just kept growing as if they were being inflated like a balloon.