Secret Laboratory

So, Snake Auntie, could you please tone down your whole vibe a little? Qiuyang frowned and grumbled.

Orochimaru's eyes were wide and round, bloodshot with the terrifying veins of someone who had suffered from insomnia for years. He looked ready to swallow Qiuyang whole.

There was no other emotion in his eyes, only an overwhelming, boundless desire for the Sharingan.

"What marvelous ocular powers! If only my hands hadn't been... Damn it, damn that old Third Hokage!"

Otherwise, he could have tried using force to see if he could get his hands on the Uchiha body in front of him right away.

What, you want to fight?

Qiuyang rolled his eyes, then suddenly noticed that the cell solution in the glass tube contained more than one kind of chakra energy...

There seemed to be another, extremely faint energy circulating within it.

If not for the Sharingan's extreme sensitivity to chakra, he never would have noticed such a tiny difference.

Qiuyang was startled. Thinking of how Snake Auntie was always coveting his body, he figured she must have added something to the solution.

He asked in a low voice:

"Orochimaru, I've told you before: none of your techniques work against these eyes!"

"Gah... You've already got the Hashirama Cells, haven't you? I never tried to trick you, Qiuyang."

"I've already discovered what you did to the Hashirama Cells. I suggest you come clean. Otherwise, I can use genjutsu to make your favorite subordinate tell me..."

Qiuyang walked over to Yakushi Kabuto, still trapped in the frozen space, and threatened Snake Auntie with using genjutsu on him.

Orochimaru hurriedly stopped him, explaining that Kabuto would die as soon as he fell under genjutsu. It was a failsafe Orochimaru had specifically put in place to ensure his trusted subordinates' loyalty.

It was a method not unlike Root's.

Orochimaru wasn't ready to lose Kabuto, a subordinate who was so capable and easy to work with.

"Besides, those Hashirama Cells you're holding were made by this boy under my guidance."

These Mangekyo really were incredible. They could even spot something this tiny.

Orochimaru was thrilled. After thinking for a moment, he continued explaining, confident that Qiuyang didn't know the truth:

"That's simply how the First's cells behave. All I could do was reduce their tendency to divide so they could fuse with your cells successfully."

Qiuyang heard this explanation and stared at Orochimaru's eyes, deeply suspicious, for quite a while.

Unfortunately, he knew nothing about microscopic cells, and Snake Auntie the old fox kept wearing that faintly sinister smile. Qiuyang couldn't spot anything amiss.

He had no choice but to let it go for now.

In any case, after getting the Hashirama Cells, Qiuyang wasn't going to use them directly. He'd test them first.

"If I find anything wrong, just you wait..."

Since he still needed Snake Auntie's help later with sealing Tailed Beast fragments, Qiuyang had no intention of backing out of the trade they'd agreed on.

He pulled out a scroll he'd prepared in advance, quickly formed Hand Seals, and released the White Zetsu he'd captured at the Uchiha Ruins.

Orochimaru wasn't the only one with ulterior motives. Qiuyang had his own, too.

As a longtime Naruto fan, he knew that when Yamato's improved cells were added to a White Zetsu like this one, they would make it more like the First.

But he wasn't about to give Snake Auntie anything that good. Who knew if she might research something even more powerful than Sage Kabuto?

"Hmm? What is this thing... Zetsu?

"Qiuyang, how did you capture him from the Akatsuki?"

Orochimaru had spent some time in the Akatsuki, so he recognized the white half of the Akatsuki member Zetsu. His expression shifted from confusion to utter shock.

There was someone with the Rinnegan in the Akatsuki. How on earth had Qiuyang managed to capture Zetsu?

"That's right, it's him. Take good care of this thing. You'll thank me after you've studied him."

As Qiuyang spoke, Snake Auntie's body suddenly wriggled a few times. Several snakes emerged from underneath her and slithered toward White Zetsu, binding him tightly.

Qiuyang hurriedly jumped aside, disgusted once again. Snakes emerging from under Snake Auntie's body was like...

Like she'd hatched them on the spot...

Couldn't she use a more normal method?

Even if she couldn't use her hands, she could... Hm? Wait, Orochimaru could only use his feet, couldn't he?

"I like this item you've traded me."

He could see if he might get some information about the Rinnegan out of it.

And with that, the first trade between them was complete.

Qiuyang put away the Hashirama Cells and was about to leave when Orochimaru suddenly spoke up:

"Qiuyang, you haven't released my subordinate."

"Oh, just wait here for half an hour. He and White Zetsu will recover on their own."

Orochimaru: "You must have a way to make it happen sooner..."

"I do, but if I don't teach you a lesson, you'll think I'm easy to push around. Every time, I have to make a move before you'll cooperate."

In other words: You think I'm easy to manipulate? Sit here and wait half an hour.

Qiuyang's answer left Orochimaru speechless. His expression shifted several times, but in the end he had no choice but to accept it. He sat in silence and waited for the spatial seal trapping Kabuto to thaw.

Qiuyang shrugged, as if to say he had only himself to blame, then left.

He was in quite a hurry now. First, he planned to set up a secret laboratory and thoroughly study whether the Hashirama Cells could fuse with his own.

Forty minutes later...

The ocular power maintaining the spatial restraint around Kabuto finally faded, and Kabuto regained consciousness. The first thing he did was look around for Qiuyang:

"Lord Orochimaru, what just happened? Where's Uchiha Qiuyang? Where did he go? Damn it!"

"He's already gone, Kabuto. Pick up Zetsu from the ground, and let's get back to the base laboratory right away..."

Gone? How could that be?

Seeing Orochimaru's gloomy expression, Yakushi Kabuto suppressed his doubts, picked up Zetsu, who had somehow appeared on the ground, and returned to the base with Orochimaru.

Only after they arrived back at the base did Kabuto slowly piece things together. It seemed that after that Fire Release technique, he must have been hit by something and lost consciousness.

Genjutsu?

He gritted his teeth and swore viciously to himself: Uchiha Qiuyang, just let me run into you again. Next time...

Let's set aside for now Snake Uncle's delight upon discovering that White Zetsu had a Wood Release body. When Qiuyang returned to the suburbs, some distance from Konoha, he used an Earth Release technique to carve out a simple underground laboratory.

Then he bought all kinds of equipment for experiments and hauled it into the lab. His bulging wallet promptly shrank by more than half, which broke his heart.

And this was only a rudimentary laboratory!

If he wanted a sophisticated lab like the one belonging to that scientist Snake Auntie in the anime, Qiuyang's money wouldn't even come close to covering it.

For the first time, he truly understood how expensive research could be. It was the sort of undertaking that couldn't be sustained without the resources of an entire village.