"Sure."
As soon as Masaki Uchiha finished speaking, he vanished from Orochimaru's sight.
What?
So fast!
Before Orochimaru could even process the shock,
a huge hand had already clamped over his face and slammed him hard into the ground.
"Bang!"
A massive hole opened in the ground, and even the walls shook. The blow had been far stronger than the one he'd used against Danzo.
At that moment, a hand slowly emerged from the mouth of the misshapen corpse lying in the hole.
[Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique]
Watching Orochimaru crawl out of the corpse's mouth, Masaki Uchiha remained unmoved and said calmly, "You've seen what I can do now, haven't you, Orochimaru?"
"I was almost killed by you, Masaki." A trace of wariness appeared in Orochimaru's eyes, but the desire in his gaze burned even hotter. "So this is the power of the Uchiha? Truly not to be underestimated."
"Give me the things. I want to see the person now."
Orochimaru took a jar containing a piece of flesh infused with Hashirama Cells and a scroll containing the Biological Cell Extraction Technique from the laboratory equipment, then handed them to Masaki Uchiha.
With the items in hand, Masaki Uchiha finally felt at ease. The Uchiha Clan's strength would soon increase tremendously, bringing him one step closer to his goal.
"Now I'm very curious. What exactly was the experiment you mentioned yesterday, Masaki?"
"It's about combining four Kekkei Genkai: the Byakugan, Sharingan, Wood Release, and Shikotsumyaku."
Masaki Uchiha took out a storage scroll.
"Bang!"
When the smoke cleared, a young man's corpse in the robes of the Kaguya Clan lay on the ground, along with a white eyeball soaking in a glass jar.
At the sight, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly. He recalled that the Hyuga Main Family had lost a pair of Byakugan during the Third Great Ninja War. Kirigakure was said to have stolen one, while the other had supposedly been destroyed. He hadn't expected it to be in Masaki Uchiha's hands.
In fact, Kirigakure had obtained both Byakugan. When Masaki Uchiha heard that the eyes had gone missing, he knew Kirigakure was responsible.
As luck would have it, he'd received orders from Sarutobi Hiruzen at the time to head to the battlefield in the Land of Water.
He'd taken the opportunity to reclaim one of the Byakugan. Few people knew about it; even Kirigakure thought it had been destroyed.
Although experiments combining Kekkei Genkai weren't an area that interested him, he was willing to give it a try for his benefactor.
"I can try, but I can't guarantee any results."
Masaki Uchiha's lips curled slightly. He took another storage scroll from behind him. "This is a hundred million ryō to sponsor your research, Orochimaru. If you make a major breakthrough in this experiment, the Uchiha will sponsor you with another hundred million."
"I'm sure that won't be difficult for you, Orochimaru."
"Of course. I'll definitely have results within a month." Hearing that, Orochimaru was delighted. He couldn't help it—the Uchiha were offering far too much.
Experiments consumed a great deal of money, especially the immortality research Orochimaru had long been obsessed with.
Lab equipment, supplies, specimens—he either had to pay for them or spend time taking missions. The paltry earnings from those missions weren't even enough to buy a small piece of lab equipment.
Compared with the days when he'd "eat one day and go hungry the next," the blissful life he now spent in the laboratory every day was impossible for Orochimaru to refuse.
At the thought, a trace of ingratiation crept into Orochimaru's expression.
"Masaki, this way, please. He's in the laboratory inside."
Creak.
As the door opened, a muscular young man sat inside. He looked up at the entrance, and when he saw Masaki Uchiha, his face immediately lit up with excitement.
"I heard the commotion outside and knew you'd come, Masaki," the muscular man said.
"I'm here to take you home, Kaito. I heard your strength has improved quite a bit. Let's spar once we're outside and see how much stronger you've gotten." Masaki Uchiha smiled, just as delighted.
The muscular man was Kaito Uchiha, Uchiha Eishin's second older brother.
At Masaki Uchiha's request, he had helped Orochimaru with his Hashirama Cells experiments.
Anyone who had watched Naruto knew that when an Uchiha with the Sharingan received Hashirama Cells, the side effects were almost nonexistent. That was why Masaki Uchiha had dared to send someone for the experiment.
To be on the safe side, he'd originally planned to send someone else. But when Kaito Uchiha found out, he insisted on participating to improve his strength. Masaki Uchiha couldn't talk him out of it, so he agreed. The risks were low and the rewards high, so he let Kaito have his way.
"Sounds good. I want to see how much stronger I've gotten, too." Kaito Uchiha agreed confidently.
Masaki Uchiha turned to Orochimaru. "We'll be going now, then. I'll be waiting to hear from you." As he spoke, he held up a hand beside his ear, forming the shape of a six, then led Kaito Uchiha away.
Watching them leave, Orochimaru couldn't help wondering what his teacher and the others would do if the Uchiha Clan's strength surged. How would Konoha's other ninja clans choose sides?
Konoha would probably be quite lively in the future.
"Heh. I'd better get back to my experiments. The rest has nothing to do with me." Orochimaru shook his head, clearing away his distracting thoughts, and murmured, "The path to immortality is what I'm after!"
The Uchiha Clan's training ground.
"Kaito, attack me with all your strength. Let me see everything you can do now," Masaki Uchiha said.
Kaito Uchiha didn't hesitate. "Here I come!"
He dashed forward and punched Masaki Uchiha in the chest.
"Thump!"
Masaki Uchiha blocked the attack with one hand.
"Not bad. Your strength has improved tremendously. Keep going."
Kaito Uchiha didn't lose heart. His punches grew faster and heavier.
"Ha! Ha! Ha!"
Unfortunately, Masaki Uchiha easily blocked them all with one hand.
Seeing that he couldn't break through Masaki Uchiha's defense with Taijutsu, Kaito jumped backward to put some distance between them and formed Hand Seals.
[Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique]
A giant, orange-red fireball, about ten meters across, shot toward Masaki Uchiha.
As the fireball drew closer, Masaki Uchiha remained completely calm. He raised his right hand toward it and formed Hand Seals with his left.
[Chakra Secret Technique: Redirect and Release]
"Zzt!"
With just one hand, he stopped the blazing fireball dead in its tracks right in front of him. Masaki Uchiha was completely unharmed.
That was because this secret technique trapped all the fireball's heat inside it without letting even the slightest bit escape.
"Kaito, here's your fireball back." With a little effort, Masaki Uchiha lifted the fireball over his head and hurled it at Kaito Uchiha.
Seeing Masaki Uchiha catch a ten-meter fireball with one hand stunned Kaito Uchiha.
He hadn't expected Masaki to have become even stronger. He could form Hand Seals with one hand and catch ninjutsu with the other.
Even more incredible, he could throw my own jutsu back at me.
What a freak.
When the fireball flew toward him, Kaito immediately stopped his wild thoughts.
Kaito quickly formed Hand Seals:
[Water Style: Water Formation Wall]
A huge stream of water appeared out of nowhere in front of Kaito Uchiha, blocking the Great Fireball Technique.
Seeing that Kaito's Water Formation Wall was much thicker than before, Masaki Uchiha was delighted. Hashirama Cells really were full of surprises.
"Zzz!"
The water evaporated with a piercing hiss, and the mist grew thicker and thicker.
Gradually, it enveloped the entire training ground, and both figures vanished into the dense fog.