Hashirama Cells

Konoha, Year 41.

Another morning. Genichi had long since mastered using the Transparent Rasengan instantaneously to catch opponents off guard head-on in battle. Remembering his agreement with his teacher, Orochimaru, he prepared to leave the training grounds.

As he passed the training ground nearby, he suddenly spotted Minato Namikaze sitting quietly beneath a tree, intently reading the book in his hands.

Something was off. Very, very off.

Minato Namikaze had been pushing himself alongside Genichi since childhood. Everyone had seen how hard he worked, so how could he be lounging around reading in broad daylight?

Genichi suppressed his presence, quieted his steps, and slowly crept closer.

Then he suddenly dashed forward and planted a hand on the book. "Minato, what are you sneaking a look at?"

Minato jumped, too. He hadn't been especially alert in the village, and he'd been so engrossed in the book that he hadn't noticed what was happening around him.

"Oh, it's you, Genichi. This is a novel our teacher, Jiraiya, wrote recently," Minato answered honestly.

Hmm? One of Jiraiya's novels? Reading it alone in secret? Could it be...?

It already existed this early? Well, then I have no choice but to criticize it.

He closed the book and took a look: Tales of a Gutsy Ninja.

Genichi frowned. So it was this one. He flipped through it briefly. "Why is it so short?"

Minato scratched his head with one hand and said with a smile, "Haha, Teacher Jiraiya said he was inspired by his new student. He's only just started writing it, but the story's pretty good. I get the feeling that junior student is easy to get along with. When I have a child someday, I'll name him Naruto, too."

Hearing that, Genichi couldn't help rolling his eyes. His new student must be Nagato. He really is easy to get along with. When they meet, I'll put on a little show for you with a [Super Shinra Tensei]—the vanishing village trick.

"Have you learned the Flying Thunder God Technique? Can you use the Rasengan properly? Aren't you going to keep training your Taijutsu? At your age, at this time of day, you should be training hard. How can you sit here reading a novel? Will you be able to sleep tonight?" Genichi wasn't interested in the book, so he continued putting pressure on Minato.

Minato had long since grown used to Genichi's occasional eccentricities. He smiled, completely unruffled.

Inside Orochimaru's laboratory in the Forest of Death.

"These are the cells of the 'God of Shinobi.' Fascinating, aren't they? He died decades ago, yet his body is still this active. If we couldn't detect the absence of his soul, it would be as if Hashirama Senju hadn't died at all, but was merely asleep."

Orochimaru gazed obsessively at the treasure in the culture dish, then continued, "According to your theory, the Kekkei Genkai—Wood Style—should be a fusion of Water Release and Earth Release chakra under the influence of Yang Release."

"Wood Style also displays tremendous vitality, and its power far surpasses that of every other Kekkei Genkai. Would you like to take part? Together, we could recreate the power of the 'God of Shinobi.'"

Perhaps the exceptionally high-quality Yang Release in Asura Chakra caused a unique change when Wood Style emerged. Perhaps the power of Senjutsu was especially compatible with Wood Style. Or perhaps Hashirama's bloodline had regressed toward its origins, mutating in the direction of the God Tree.

Genichi neither agreed nor disagreed. Hashirama Senju was, of course, powerful—he was the only reincarnation of Asura who could use Wood Style. But that didn't mean Wood Style itself was powerful.

"Teacher, have you ever considered that Wood Style might just be an ordinary Kekkei Genkai?" Genichi said unhurriedly.

"Since when could a Kekkei Genkai be called ordinary? Besides, this is the power of the God of Shinobi who ended the Warring States period. It's so unique that even his descendants couldn't inherit Wood Style." Orochimaru hadn't expected his student to react so coolly, but knowing Genichi's talent and intelligence, he continued, "You seem to have a different opinion. Let's hear it."

Genichi studied the data on the "Hashirama Cells" in his hands and continued, "Madara Uchiha's younger brother, Izuna, also had the Mangekyō Sharingan, yet he still died at the hands of the young Senju Tobirama. But can you imagine the Second Hokage defeating Madara Uchiha? Heh. Not every Mangekyō user is Madara Uchiha."

"So not every Wood Style user will be Hashirama Senju. It's always the person who's powerful, not the technique."

"Rather than gambling with living human lives, hoping to find the one-in-ten-thousand person who can withstand the 'Hashirama Cells' and awaken an ordinary 'Wood Style,' we should focus on something more worthwhile."

"Something more worthwhile? What?" Orochimaru licked his lips, even more curious about Genichi's ideas.

"Vitality. Powerful vitality. Most ninja are limited by their fragile bodies and lack of chakra. If we can suppress the invasive nature of the 'Hashirama Cells' and turn them into a solution that enhances the body..."

Genichi continued explaining his idea. "Combined with the fact that 'Hashirama Cells' are exceptionally easy to cultivate, we could greatly improve the potential and strength of ninja on a large scale. Konoha, perhaps even the entire Ninja World, would enter a new era."

Before Orochimaru could recover from the future Genichi had described, Genichi added, "And if you're determined to use Wood Style, there's another way."

Orochimaru usually felt intellectually superior to other ninja, especially Jiraiya. The only person who could make him feel inadequate in that regard was his own student.

Orochimaru couldn't help sighing. "You've come up with another idea? At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if you told me one day that you were the reincarnation of the Progenitor of Chakra—the Sage of Six Paths."

Genichi understood his own situation. Orochimaru was exploring without knowing where the path led, while Genichi had a rough idea of the destination. That was why he was able to find the key to the problem time and again.

"Heh, of course not. Back to the point: if the reason other people can't withstand the invasive nature of the 'Hashirama Cells' is Hashirama's powerful Yang Release, then what should we do next?" Genichi asked with a smile.

"You mean Yin Release? The Sharingan?" Orochimaru immediately hit on the answer as he got into the swing of things. "The Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan? How interesting. After a thousand years of conflict, they could suddenly join forces, with their powers complementing each other.

"What a pity." Thinking of his teacher's and Shimura Danzō's attitude toward the Uchiha Clan, he knew there was no way they would use the First's cells to strengthen the Uchiha Clan.

"The village won't agree. You may not know this, but the Konoha High Command and the Uchiha..."

"I know. So we'll have to wait before continuing these experiments. Once you or I become Hokage, we can keep exploring the mysteries of chakra." Genichi cut him off. "Well, Teacher Orochimaru, do you have any intention of becoming Hokage now?"

To be honest, over the years, his student's occasional flights of fancy—and the mysterious information he seemed to have found, whether among the Senju Clan or the Uchiha Clan—had led Orochimaru to secretly launch several research projects. His daily schedule was packed, and even during wartime, he found time to build a few laboratories.

Thinking of how Sarutobi Hiruzen spent so much time in his office handling administrative affairs, Orochimaru had no interest in the position of Hokage. He only wanted to stay in the laboratory and explore the meaning of life.

Orochimaru looked Genichi in the eye for a long moment before speaking. "Have you already begun to feel constrained by the village, Genichi? I think becoming Hokage is utterly meaningless, so I have no such intention. But if you're interested in the position, I'll stand up and support you."

If he didn't have time to become Hokage, training a student who would become Hokage wasn't a bad alternative.

"Then thank you, Teacher Orochimaru. Oh, by the way, you wouldn't conduct human experiments on people from your own village right in front of its future Hokage, would you?" Thinking of Orochimaru's defection in the original story, Genichi gave him a warning.

"Is that an order from Lord Hokage? It seems I'll have no choice but to obey," Orochimaru joked.

At this point, before Nawaki's death and the series of events that led his teacher to choose Minato Namikaze as Hokage, Orochimaru had no intention of leaving Konoha.