Devouring Cells, Wood Style Power

The moment Lin Mu clicked "Use," he felt a tingling itch in his chest.

That was exactly where the small piece of flesh had flown into when he first obtained the Hashirama Cells!

It seemed that when he had acquired the Hashirama Cells, the system had already helped him fuse them into his chest.

But Lin Mu didn't want to dwell on that right now; his heart was filled with pure excitement!

Hashirama Cells—those were Hashirama Cells!

Through the Hashirama Cells, Lin Mu could awaken his first character module—the Hashirama Module!

Who was Hashirama? He was the God of Shinobi! The reincarnation of Asura, son of the Sage of Six Paths!

He was the leader of the Senju Clan, one of the founders of Konohagakure, and the First Hokage of the Land of Fire's Hidden Leaf Village.

During the Warring States period, he relied on his incomparable strength to capture the Nine Tailed Beasts, and during the Five Kage Summit, he followed the advice of Tobirama to trade money for the beasts, distributing them equally among the five great nations.

The Nine Tailed Beasts, which struck fear into the hearts of everyone in the ninja world, were as fragile as toys before the Wood Style: Wood Human Technique of Hashirama!

His strength was even superior to Uchiha Madara, who was known alongside him as a "Legendary Shinobi."

After recalling the immense power and great achievements of Senju Hashirama, Lin Mu suppressed his excitement once more and began to carefully sense the changes in his body.

The itch that had started in his chest began to spread throughout his entire body.

"Mmm..." The sensation was incredibly comfortable, making Lin Mu feel as if his very soul had been sublimated.

As his own cells transformed into the wood-style cells of Hashirama, Lin Mu noticed his physique changing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

His muscles gradually filled out, his hair grew longer, and even his height slowly increased.

Time passed, and three hours later, the transformation of the wood-style cells reached its end.

Compared to three hours ago, Lin Mu could only be described as having been reborn.

If he had previously been a thin, weak, and ordinary ten-year-old child, he now possessed the budding appearance of a youth.

Lin Mu stood up and shook his body, his bones popping like firecrackers.

He clenched his fist tightly, feeling an inexhaustible amount of power surging through him.

He pulled up the system panel again, and indeed, it had changed significantly.

First, Lin Mu's rank had jumped directly from Genin to Mid-level Chunin.

Such strength was comparable to Gaara during the Chunin Exams.

Lin Mu had a feeling that he might even be able to fight Rock Lee after he opened the Fifth Gate.

Scanning the system panel further, Lin Mu discovered a new column.

Physique: Kekkei Genkai--Wood Style Body (Can evolve into Sage Body; Sage Art can be purchased in the system store.)

At the same time, the Ninjutsu column had also changed—

Ninjutsu: Wood Style Jutsu

Indeed! When Lin Mu saw the words "Wood Style," his heart surged with joy once again.

Wood Style was a Kekkei Genkai created by Senju Hashirama by fusing the nature transformations of Earth Style and Water Style chakra.

Possessing the Wood Style Body, Lin Mu's comprehension of Earth Style and Water Style ninjutsu would also be greatly enhanced.

Not to mention that Wood Style itself possessed immense power!

Just as Lin Mu was excitedly experiencing his new body, he suddenly caught sight of a fruit knife on the table.

Lin Mu paused, thought for a moment, and then stepped forward to pick it up.

He slashed hard across his own arm!

Immediately, a deep, long wound formed under the sharp blade.

But what was incredible was that the wound began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The only sensation Lin Mu felt was a slight consumption of chakra, but compared to the massive amount of chakra provided by the Wood Style Body, it was completely negligible.

"That's right, this is Hashirama's seal-less healing."

Watching the rapidly closing wound, Lin Mu felt even more excited. He clearly remembered Uchiha Madara once saying that on the battlefield, no one could kill Hashirama!

With this safeguard, Lin Mu had gained another powerful layer of protection in this strange world.

Furthermore, Lin Mu could purchase Sage Art from the store in the future to upgrade his Wood Style Body into a Sage Body, making him even more formidable.

Of course, that was still a long way off for Lin Mu. He pulled back his thoughts, deciding to try out the Wood Style Jutsu first.

Lin Mu immediately calmed his mind, extended his right hand, and tried to condense chakra into it.

Creak—creak—

Lin Mu's right hand gradually turned to wood at a speed visible to the naked eye.

As he injected more chakra, Lin Mu could clearly perceive the hardness of his right hand increasing steadily.

Lin Mu felt that he could punch through a wall right now!

Lin Mu would certainly never do such a thing; he wasn't about to tear his own house apart just to test a new ninjutsu.

Lin Mu swept his gaze around the room, finally settling on the wooden table in his home.

"Bang!"

The sturdy solid wood table shattered instantly upon impact.

How powerful! Lin Mu marveled, stroking his fist in admiration.

A long while later, he stared at the shattered table on the floor, focusing his chakra and channeling it onto the debris.

Then, a miraculous scene unfolded.

From the broken edges of the table, which had split into two, wooden buds slowly sprouted and intertwined, and before long, the table was as good as new.

What a miraculous technique!

And this was only Lin Mu having just come into contact with his Wood Style Body; once he became proficient in the future, he would be able to unleash various ninjutsu without even needing to weave hand signs. This alone would give him a massive advantage in combat.

Just as Lin Mu was undergoing the transformation from Hashirama Cells and experiencing his Wood Style Body, Orochimaru was already losing his mind in a secret base deep within the forest.

"Hashirama Cells, where are my Hashirama Cells?!!"

The woman Orochimaru had transformed into no longer possessed that calm, graceful demeanor from before.

She now had a human torso with a snake's tail, a green face, and fangs, looking like a monstrous Medusa ready to devour anyone in her path.

Watching the frenzied Orochimaru, the test subjects soaking in the liquid-filled glass tanks shivered in terror, completely devoid of the ferocity they had shown when facing Lin Mu.

"Was it him?"

The frantic Orochimaru suddenly froze, recalling the brat he had spotted in the thicket earlier.

"Hehehe, what a detestable little brother he is!"

Orochimaru suddenly shifted back into the image of the beautiful woman with bright eyes and white teeth, though the chill in her words had not diminished in the slightest.

Orochimaru turned and walked to the glass tank, gently stroking the surface as if speaking to the test subjects or perhaps just to herself.

"Hehehe, when I destroy Konoha tomorrow, you had better hope I don't find you, little brother."

The test subject inside the glass tank that Orochimaru was stroking huddled in the corner, motionless, as if it had lost all signs of life.