Powerful First Hokage Cells, Orochimaru Comes Calling (Please Recommend)

As soon as Shiraha said this, Nawaki, Tsunade, and Kushina all turned their attention to him.

Even Nawaki himself had instinctively avoided talking about his leg injury. It was a despair-inducing subject, yet Shiraha had brought it up on his own.

"Are you serious?! Shiraha!" Nawaki found it hard to believe, but his face was filled with hope. His emotions instantly became complicated, and he no longer had his earlier composure.

"What are you talking about, Shiraha?!" Tsunade's brows rose, a hint of anger in her voice.

Because she had no way to cure Nawaki. Limb Regeneration was something that was almost impossible to achieve.

Legend had it that her grandfather, the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, could heal any injury on his own, but she had never seen it firsthand.

Even if First Hokage Cells possessed extremely high vitality, that did not mean they could regenerate severed limbs.

And even if they could, the current level of medical technology was utterly incapable of applying First Hokage Cells to the human body.

By saying this, Shiraha was giving Nawaki hope he should not have. His future disappointment would only be greater, perhaps even turn into despair.

Tsunade had noticed her younger brother's unusual calmness from the start, but she could not expose it.

She would not give up on treating him, but before there was any real hope, she did not dare make any promises.

Shiraha understood Tsunade's emotions and explained,

"Tsunade-sensei, I've studied your cells, as well as Nawaki's cells.

Nawaki's cellular vitality is even a little stronger than yours.

That means that as time passes, once his body fully develops, his cellular vitality will become even stronger.

Based on my preliminary experiments, theoretically speaking, if his cellular vitality increases another tenfold—

There is hope for his severed limb to heal itself.

And since he is First Hokage-sama's grandson, once Medical Ninjutsu reaches the point where First Hokage Cells can be used in the future, the chances of curing his broken leg will be even greater."

This was the conclusion Shiraha had reached through research. The reason he had not raised it before was because First Hokage Cells were strictly sealed away, and even Tsunade did not have the authority to access them. But because of Nawaki, there should now be hope of obtaining them.

Doing this might not only cure Nawaki, but also allow Shiraha to obtain First Hokage Cells.

According to his deductions, First Hokage Cells should meet the requirements for the cells of a Super Radiation Creature.

Although Shiraha had not even reached Third-Class Apprentice yet, it was necessary to prepare in advance for advancing to First-Level Warlock.

Once he advanced to First-Level Warlock, setting aside the increase in strength, his Mental Power and Magic Power would undergo a qualitative transformation. That would also be of tremendous help in researching Cell Technology for Limb Regeneration.

"Big sister... is that true?" Nawaki instinctively looked to Tsunade. After all, his sister was a medical expert.

"Theoretically, it's possible." Tsunade looked at her younger brother's heartbreaking expression and nodded with difficulty. "It's just..."

"It's just that the hope is very small!" Shiraha finished Tsunade's sentence for her, then added,

"Nawaki, current medical technology can't do it, and even in the future, it might not be possible.

Even Tsunade-sensei can't guarantee it.

But I believe I can!

I'll spend my whole life overcoming this technical challenge!

This is a promise between men!"

"Shiraha!" Nawaki suddenly burst into tears.

The strong shell he had put up was shattered by Shiraha.

Tsunade wept uncontrollably. She ached for her younger brother, and Shiraha's sincerity and ambition had moved her as well.

Shiraha had not given up, yet she, the sister known as a "medical expert," had subconsciously given up in her heart.

"Nawaki, I'll work hard together with Shiraha! We'll definitely cure you!"

"Big sister—!" Nawaki let out a heart-wrenching wail. Pain, grievance, regret, and all sorts of emotions tangled together.

The guards outside were alarmed and came in to check on them.

When they saw the siblings clutching each other and crying, they quietly retreated again.

"Kushina," Shiraha softly prompted, then left the hospital room with Kushina, leaving the space to the siblings.

Letting Nawaki fully vent his emotions was definitely better than forcing himself to appear strong.

Because he would have to persevere through the hardest road ahead on his own.

Because the Eight-Tails Riot had broken out in Kumogakure, the Anbu who had recently stopped monitoring Kushina had appeared again, though there was only one of them.

Even so, Shiraha and Kushina could not speak freely. Even the time Kushina spent talking with Kurama had sharply decreased.

That day, Kushina stayed at Shiraha's house until dark. The two lay on the sofa watching television.

Television already existed in this era, though there were very few programs—only a handful. They were watchable at best, merely a way to pass the time after dinner.

After what happened to Nawaki, Kushina seemed to have become even more dependent on Shiraha.

"Kushina, it's getting late. I'll walk you home."

Shiraha checked the time and gently nudged Kushina, who had fallen asleep against his shoulder.

Kushina rubbed her sleepy eyes and put down the cat pillow she had been hugging. "Mm... what time is it?"

"Almost nine."

Shiraha escorted Kushina all the way to the large residence near the edge of the village.

Come to think of it, aside from sleeping at night, Kushina spent more time at his house than at her own.

"Kushina, don't overthink it. Get some good rest," Shiraha softly comforted her when he saw that she was feeling down.

"Okay! Shiraha, I'll train hard and protect you properly in the future."

Kushina's expression suddenly turned serious.

Shiraha paused, then smiled. "Shouldn't I be the one protecting you?"

"You're so weak. Of course I'm the one protecting you."

That hurt.

He wasn't weak, okay?

Kushina was just ridiculously overpowered!

Now that Kurama was no longer interfering, Kushina's strength was improving rapidly.

More importantly, she seemed to have found the motivation to grow stronger. Her enthusiasm for training had already surpassed Shiraha's.

"Hmph! Don't get too full of yourself. Sooner or later, I'll catch up to you, and then..." Shiraha did not say the words "pin you beneath me." Considering the power of Kushina's fists now, he temporarily did not dare overstep his bounds.

"We'll talk about it then. Good night." Kushina jogged off toward the residence.

Shiraha smiled and waved.

The Nine-Tails Chakra he could sense could only be described as unfathomable, as deep and vast as an abyss or sea.

If Kushina could reconcile with Kurama and completely master his power, Shiraha felt that even if he advanced to a Second-Level Warlock, or even a Third Level Grand Warlock, he might not necessarily be able to defeat her with certainty.

Kushina had such immense potential that at least her future safety would be assured. That put Shiraha somewhat at ease.

Maybe he really would end up living off her for most of his life!

Shiraha returned home and began tidying up the messy coffee table, then organized the bookshelf beside the television.

Compared to reading in his room, he preferred curling up on the sofa.

Ding-dong!

Shiraha had just finished cleaning and was about to go upstairs to meditate when the doorbell rang at the entryway.

"Did she forget something again?" Shiraha looked at the sofa, which had already been cleaned, and assumed Kushina had returned.

But when he opened the door, an unexpected person stood outside—Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru-sama?"

Shiraha froze for a moment.

"Sorry for disturbing you with such a late visit," Orochimaru said politely. His voice was noticeably hoarser than before.

"Not at all. It's an honor to have you here. May I ask..." Shiraha replied respectfully. He guessed that Orochimaru might have visited Nawaki and learned what he had said that afternoon.

"I came to ask you this: are you truly confident? Are you determined to devote your life to research with such faint hope, all for that child Nawaki?" Orochimaru stared intently at Shiraha, as though trying to see through him.

Shiraha answered seriously, "Yes! But it isn't solely for Nawaki. I enjoy exploring the unknown. Science and research are endless; anything is possible!"

"Science and research are endless, anything is possible... You really dare say that. Cough, cough, cough!"

Orochimaru chuckled softly, only to be seized by a violent fit of coughing. An unhealthy flush appeared on his pale face.

"Once this war ends, I'll conduct research in this area. When that time comes, follow me.

I want to see whether you are as talented as Tsunade says.

Before then, figure this out first."

With that, Orochimaru took a scroll from his robe and handed it to Shiraha before turning to leave.

Shiraha opened the scroll to examine it, and his eyes immediately lit up.

Orochimaru had simply given him something so precious.

Clearly, Orochimaru wanted to seize every possible chance to cure Nawaki.

Shiraha was even more puzzled.

Orochimaru cherished Nawaki so dearly and cared so much about the bond between master and disciple, so why would he ultimately embark on the path of murdering his teacher?

As for Kushina, earlier it was written that her Chakra control was poor because she was born with an enormous amount of Chakra, making it difficult to control. Later, she still struggled because she had not received guidance from the system before Mito died, and afterward she was disturbed by Kurama. Therefore, poor control does not conflict with her talent for Sealing Jutsu. In the anime, Kushina could still suppress the Perfect Nine-Tails even as she was dying. It is easy to imagine that after she reached adulthood, Kurama would have had no chance to interfere with her. As she grew older, her Chakra control gradually improved, and then she learned Sealing Jutsu. There is no contradiction at all.

In the first part of the story, Sasuke was the Top Graduate of his class and was already close to the level of an ordinary Chunin when he graduated, yet he only learned tree-walking after joining Kakashi's team. This shows that precise Chakra control is an advanced technique: first, it is difficult to train, and second, there is no point in teaching it too early.