He looked up at Orochimaru.
"I'm ready, Teacher Orochimaru."
"Hahaha." Orochimaru looked at Lihuo, approval in his eyes. "Your attitude toward research is right up my alley, little Lihuo."
With that, he headed for the laboratory door with Lihuo, without looking back.
Lihuo couldn't help wondering whether Orochimaru already had other secret bases at this point.
But just as they reached the door, Orochimaru stopped in front of a wall beside it.
"Open!"
At Orochimaru's soft command, the solid wall slowly faded into a phantom, revealing a secret chamber behind it.
Lihuo's eyes widened. He couldn't understand how he had passed this wall so many times without noticing anything.
Orochimaru saw Lihuo's surprise and said with a hint of smugness,
"This isn't genjutsu. It's Sealing Jutsu, which can completely isolate the presence inside. As your teacher, I do have a few tricks up my sleeve."
With that, he walked straight into the secret chamber, and Lihuo hurried after him.
As soon as he entered, Lihuo felt an incredibly abundant life force that made every cell in his body grow extremely active.
Ever since gaining Yang Release Chakra, Lihuo's ability to sense life force had greatly improved, but he had never encountered such an abundance of it.
"You may have already sensed that this place is different from the outside world."
Orochimaru spoke calmly.
"It's filled with powerful life force, and its source is right there."
Orochimaru raised a hand and pointed to a corner of the secret chamber.
Following Orochimaru's gesture, Lihuo looked over and saw a piece of bodily tissue soaking in a culture dish.
"Could this be..."
"That's right. They're the cells of the First, Senju Hashirama."
Orochimaru had expected his words to frighten Lihuo. He had even imagined Lihuo fleeing and telling Sarutobi Hiruzen about it.
But, to his surprise, Lihuo reacted with nothing more than curiosity. This undoubtedly raised Lihuo's standing in Orochimaru's eyes.
"You're probably curious about how I got Hashirama's cells."
Orochimaru spoke slowly.
Lihuo said, "I'm not curious."
"Then you must be curious about why I built this secret chamber."
Lihuo said, "I'm not curious."
"Then you must, must be curious about what I plan to do with Hashirama's cells."
Lihuo said, "I'm not curious."
Orochimaru: ( ̀⌄ ́)
"You have to be curious!"
Sensing the faint trace of killing intent in the air, Lihuo realized that something was off with his teacher.
Only then did he explain,
"I won't ask about the origin of Hashirama's cells. If you haven't told me, it must be because I shouldn't know."
"The life force here is far too abundant. Without a seal, it would soon attract other people's attention."
"As for the last question, the First was famous for his Wood Release, which brought an end to the era of chaos. I assume that's why you're researching it, Teacher Orochimaru."
Clap, clap, clap!
After hearing Lihuo's reasoning, Orochimaru's irritation turned to approval.
"I have to say, little Lihuo, you really are impressive."
Orochimaru said,
"This research finally yielded results a few days ago!"
Orochimaru led Lihuo to a culture dish containing a boy who looked about four or five years old.
Orochimaru gently stroked the culture dish with his pale fingers.
"He's the only test subject to survive after being implanted with Hashirama's cells."
"Which means..."
Lihuo cut in,
"It means he'll be able to use Wood Release someday."
Orochimaru nodded.
"That's right."
"But the risk of implantation is still very high. Apart from the test subject in front of you, no one has successfully integrated Hashirama's cells."
Orochimaru sounded somewhat disappointed.
But Lihuo said,
"Why not implant Hashirama's cells in just part of the body?"
Orochimaru replied,
"Partial implantation would carry an even greater risk. Hashirama's cells would absorb the test subject's chakra uncontrollably, and eventually they'd grow into a giant tree."
"Couldn't you weaken the activity of Hashirama's cells to make them controllable?"
Orochimaru still shook his head.
"Weakening the activity of Hashirama's cells would only make them lose their original function."
Then Lihuo used Obito and Danzo, whom he had seen in the original story, as examples and offered Orochimaru a suggestion.
Orochimaru's eyes lit up.
"That's a very interesting proposal. It sounds highly feasible!"
Orochimaru could barely contain his excitement, as if he had already figured out how to put the idea into practice.
Afterward, Orochimaru and Lihuo discussed the mysteries of Natural Energy.
As an old Naruto fan who had watched the "Pain's Invasion" arc ten times, Lihuo could clearly explain the details of Natural Energy to Orochimaru.
But Lihuo chose not to, because he knew:
"When the birds are gone, the bow is put away; when the cunning hare is dead, the hound is cooked."
Just as Sakumo had said, Orochimaru was a man who never acted without a reason.
Revealing all his cards too early would be dangerous without overwhelming strength to back them up.
So Lihuo chose to reveal his knowledge a little at a time, using it to gain more benefits from Orochimaru.
They both understood that sentiment came second in their teacher-student relationship. Mutual benefit came first.
Discussing science with Orochimaru also allowed Lihuo to gain a tremendous amount of knowledge.
It was knowledge the Ninja Academy didn't teach—genuine cutting-edge science.
"No wonder Kabuto Yakushi became so powerful just by inheriting Orochimaru's legacy," Lihuo couldn't help remarking.
The two talked happily until evening. Sensing that it was getting late, Orochimaru said to Lihuo,
"Do you remember the field exercise I mentioned before?"
Lihuo nodded.
"There's an A-rank mission available now: escorting Sunagakure ninja back to their village. I've accepted it. We leave in three days."
After hearing Orochimaru, Lihuo asked,
"Why do we have to escort Sunagakure ninja back to their village?"
Orochimaru nodded. What he had said earlier had actually been a simple test for Lihuo.
It was meant to assess a ninja's ability to analyze a situation.
Blindly accepting a mission without carefully analyzing it could easily lead to disaster.
"These ninja are actually rogue ninja. They stole a secret technique from the Sand Village, but Konoha eventually captured them."
"It's called an escort, but in truth, we're handing them over."
At that, Lihuo finally understood the mission.
"So we need to watch out for anyone who covets the secret technique, right?"
"That's right. This secret technique is very powerful, so plenty of people want it."
Seeing Lihuo's grave expression, Orochimaru chuckled unconcernedly.
"Come on, don't be so serious. I'm going with you."
Lihuo nodded. He knew that with Orochimaru there to back him up, things probably wouldn't go too badly, but it was hard not to feel nervous when his very first mission was an A-rank one.
"All right, that's enough for today. Use these three days to say goodbye to your friends. We'll be gone for at least half a month."
Orochimaru saw Lihuo out of the laboratory.
Over the next few days, Lihuo prepared for the mission. He gathered everything he needed and informed his friends and elders.
Obito, Lu Miao, Guy, and the others were still attending school. They all told Lihuo to be careful on the way.
Kakashi was preparing for the Chunin Exams. By the time Lihuo returned, Kakashi would probably have been promoted to Chunin.
Sakumo's parting words were especially meaningful. When he learned that Lihuo was going to Sunagakure, he thought for a moment, then removed his own sword!
"Little Lihuo, this sword is called the White Fang. I'm lending it to you!"
"Uncle Sakumo..."
The sword felt cold in his hand. Lihuo looked at the blade, which Sakumo had kept in excellent condition, and could faintly sense the sharp aura it held.
"Uncle Sakumo, you know I can't use a sword."
Lihuo looked at Sakumo with a hint of confusion, unsure what he meant.
Sakumo smiled.
"This sword isn't for you to use. It's for them to see."
"This sword is a protective charm..."
Lihuo cut in,
"And a death warrant."
Sakumo nodded approvingly.
"This sword tells your enemies that if they want to kill you, they'd better be ready to face the consequences of being hunted by the Konoha White Fang."
"It's also a way to draw out those who hold a grudge against the Konoha White Fang!"
Lihuo finally understood.
"Uncle, you want to use this to put me through the wringer."
Sakumo nodded.
"With Orochimaru backing you up, the worst that can happen is that you'll have a close call. So this sword is another safeguard I'm giving you!"
Moved by Sakumo's thoughtful gesture, Lihuo was deeply touched.
Three days flew by, and Lihuo was fully prepared to set out.
Little did he know that a huge conspiracy awaited him!
Before you continue