Improvement of Strength and Winning Over

"Very well."

Before the words of Masaki Uchiha had even faded, he had already vanished from Orochimaru's sight.

Nani.

Such incredible speed.

Before Orochimaru could even process the shock, a large hand clamped onto his face and slammed him violently into the ground.

BOOM.

A massive crater erupted in the floor, and the walls shuddered; the force was far greater than when he had attacked Danzo.

Inside the crater, a hand slowly reached out from the mouth of a corpse with a crushed skull.

Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique

Watching Orochimaru crawl out bit by bit, Masaki Uchiha remained unmoved and said indifferently, "Senior Orochimaru, have you seen enough now?"

"I was nearly killed by you, Masaki-kun." A flicker of wariness appeared in Orochimaru's eyes, yet his gaze, filled with desire, grew even more intense. "Is this the power of the Uchiha Clan? Truly not to be underestimated."

"Give me the items. I want to see the person now."

Orochimaru retrieved a jar containing a chunk of Hashirama Cells and a scroll detailing the Biological Cell Extraction Technique from his laboratory equipment and handed them to Masaki Uchiha.

With the items in hand, Masaki Uchiha finally felt at ease. The future strength of the Uchiha Clan would see a massive increase; he was one step closer to his goal.

"I am quite curious now, Masaki-kun—what exactly is the experiment you mentioned yesterday?"

"It concerns the fusion of four Kekkei Genkai: the Byakugan, the Sharingan, Wood Release, and the Shikotsumyaku."

Masaki Uchiha produced a storage scroll.

POOF.

As the smoke cleared, the corpse of a young man wearing the attire of the Kaguya Clan appeared on the ground, alongside a white eyeball floating in a glass jar.

Seeing this, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly. He recalled the pair of Byakugan lost by the Hyuga Main Family during the Third Great Ninja War; it was rumored that Kirigakure had stolen one, and the other had been destroyed. He had not expected it to be in the hands of Masaki Uchiha.

In truth, Kirigakure had obtained the pair, and Masaki Uchiha had known it was their doing the moment he heard the Byakugan were missing.

It just so happened that he had received orders from Sarutobi Hiruzen to head to the Land of Water battlefield at that time.

He had taken the opportunity to retrieve one of the Byakugan. Few people knew of this; even Kirigakure believed it had been destroyed.

Although bloodline fusion experiments were not his primary interest, he was still willing to give it a try for his wealthy benefactor.

"I can attempt it, but I cannot guarantee results."

The corners of Masaki Uchiha's mouth curled upward as he pulled another storage scroll from behind him. "This is one hundred million ryo to sponsor you, Senior. If this fusion experiment achieves a major breakthrough, the Uchiha will sponsor another one hundred million ryo."

"I trust this is not a difficult task for Senior Orochimaru, is it?"

"Of course. There will certainly be results within a month." Orochimaru was overjoyed upon hearing this; he had no choice, the Uchiha were paying far too much.

The cost of conducting experiments now was astronomical, especially the immortality-related research that Orochimaru obsessed over; it was a bottomless pit for funds.

Between laboratory equipment, consumables, and test subjects, if he didn't spend money, he had to waste time going out on missions. The pittance he earned from those wasn't even enough to buy a small piece of equipment.

Compared to the days of "starving one meal to eat the next," the wonderful life of spending every day in the laboratory was something Orochimaru could not refuse.

At this thought, a hint of sycophancy appeared on Orochimaru's face.

"Masaki-kun, please, this way. The person is in the laboratory room inside."

Creeeak.

As the heavy door opened, a sturdy young man sat inside. He looked up toward the entrance and, seeing Masaki Uchiha, his face immediately lit up with excitement.

"I heard the commotion outside and knew it was you, Masaki," the sturdy man said.

"I've come to pick you up, Kaito. I hear your strength has improved quite a bit. Let's go outside and spar later to see how much stronger you've become." Masaki Uchiha also wore a pleased smile.

The sturdy man was Kaito Uchiha, the second older brother of Uchiha Eishin.

He had been entrusted by Masaki Uchiha to cooperate with Orochimaru in the experiments involving Hashirama Cells.

Anyone who had watched Naruto knew that an Uchiha possessing the Sharingan would face near-zero side effects from injecting Hashirama Cells; this was the reason Masaki Uchiha dared to send his own people for the experiment.

To be safe, he had originally intended to send someone else, but once Kaito Uchiha found out, he insisted on going to improve his own strength. Masaki Uchiha couldn't refuse him, so he agreed. Since the risks were low and the rewards high, he let him be.

"Sounds good. I also want to test how much my strength has increased." Kaito Uchiha agreed, full of confidence.

Masaki Uchiha turned back to Orochimaru. "Senior, we shall take our leave. I look forward to your news." He gestured with a 'six' sign near his ear before leading Kaito Uchiha away.

Watching them leave, Orochimaru couldn't help but wonder how the Third Hokage and the others would handle themselves if the Uchiha Clan's strength surged, and how the other ninja clans of Konoha would choose their sides.

The future of Konoha promised to be quite lively.

"Heh, I'd better get back to my experiments. Other matters have nothing to do with me." At this thought, Orochimaru shook his head, cleared his mind of distractions, and whispered, "The path to immortality is my only pursuit!"

Uchiha Clan Training Grounds

"Kaito, attack me with everything you've got. Let me see your full strength as it stands now," Masaki Uchiha said directly.

Kaito Uchiha did not stand on ceremony. "Here I come, then."

He lunged forward in a single stride, throwing a punch toward Masaki's chest.

"Boom!"

Masaki blocked the attack with just one hand.

"Not bad. Your strength has increased significantly compared to before. Continue."

Hearing this, Kaito was not discouraged, though his punches grew faster and heavier with every strike.

"Atatata!"

Unfortunately, every single one was easily blocked by Masaki Uchiha's single hand.

Seeing that he could not break through Masaki's defense with taijutsu, Kaito leaped backward to create distance and began weaving hand signs.

[Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique]

An orange-red fireball about ten meters in size flew toward Masaki.

Watching the fireball draw closer, Masaki remained completely unruffled. He raised his right hand toward the fireball and formed a seal with his left.

[Chakra Secret Technique: Redirect and Release]

Sizzle.

With just one hand, he brought the scorching fireball to a dead halt right in front of him, remaining completely unscathed.

This was because the secret technique locked all the heat of the fireball within itself, preventing even a single spark from leaking out.

"Kaito, I'm returning this fireball to you." With a slight exertion of force, Masaki Uchiha hoisted the fireball above his head and hurled it back at Kaito Uchiha.

Seeing Masaki catch a ten-meter fireball with only one hand, Kaito Uchiha was stunned.

He hadn't expected him to have grown even stronger; performing hand signs with one hand and catching ninjutsu with the other.

What was even more absurd was that he could return the very ninjutsu he had unleashed.

A monster.

Seeing the fireball flying toward him, he immediately cast aside his wandering thoughts.

Kaito quickly wove hand signs:

[Water Style: Water Formation Wall]

A massive torrent of water manifested out of thin air in front of Kaito Uchiha, blocking the Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique.

Seeing that Kaito's Water Formation Wall was also much thicker than the ones he used to cast, Masaki Uchiha felt a surge of joy; the Hashirama Cells truly were a source of immense surprise.

Sssss.

The water hissed as it evaporated, emitting a piercing sound as the mist grew thicker and thicker.

It gradually filled the entire training ground, and the figures of both sides vanished into the dense fog.