Second Completion

The news of the Third Kazekage's disappearance was like a boulder cast into a placid lake, stirring a sense of urgency in Kyohaku Uchiha's heart that refused to subside. It was as though the hourglass counting down to war had suddenly accelerated, every falling grain of sand striking against his nerves. He could no longer wait methodically.

After returning to Konoha from that border mission, he barely paused to rest. Without even reporting to Orochimaru's laboratory, he headed straight into his secret underground space. The cold lights flickered on once more, illuminating his pale face and intense concentration.

Several carefully preserved test tubes glimmered faintly atop the experimental table. On one side was a White Zetsu Cell culture solution containing the traits of the God Tree, serving as an all-purpose foundation; on the other were several tubes of vibrant blood taken from surviving members of the Uzumaki Clan.

The Second Completion Plan's objective—fuse the Uzumaki Bloodline to obtain its vast reserves of chakra and tenacious vitality, laying a solid foundation for more complex fusions to come.

There was no room for even the slightest error. He took a deep breath and forced himself into a state of absolute calm. His mind began operating like the most efficient biological computer, perfectly merging the fragmented medical knowledge from his previous life, the advanced biotechnology he had learned from Orochimaru in this life, and his own unique understanding of chakra and genetics.

The first step was in-depth analysis. Using an improved microscopic observation technique—combined with the Sharingan's perceptive power—he analyzed the activity of Uzumaki Cells, the unique fragments within their genetic sequence, and the Yang-nature chakra traits they contained to the finest degree. Countless streams of data formed complex three-dimensional models within his mind.

The second step was adaptive weakening. The Uzumaki Bloodline was powerful, but its exclusivity was equally astonishing. Attempting a direct fusion would be no different from playing with fire. Carefully utilizing the exceptional tolerance and harmonizing properties of White Zetsu Cells, he created a special "buffer matrix." He extracted the active factors from the Uzumaki Cells and injected them into the matrix for preliminary "taming" and "adaptation," weakening their aggression while preserving their beneficial traits.

The third step was pretreatment of his own cells. He drew samples of his own blood and likewise used the White Zetsu Cell matrix to nourish and strengthen them, increasing their affinity for and capacity to bear the incoming external power.

The entire process was tedious and precise, like performing a prolonged surgery on the microscopic level. He barely slept, relying on Soldier Pills and minute doses of stimulants to maintain his extreme concentration. The laboratory held only the faint hum of machinery and the occasional sound of his quiet calculations.

The miraculous traits of White Zetsu Cells, which lay somewhere between plant and animal, played a crucial role at this moment. Like the most versatile neutralizer and adhesive, they could soothe the restlessness of the Uzumaki Cells while lubricating their connection with Kyohaku's own cells. Many barriers of rejection that should have been theoretically impossible to overcome miraculously found a point of balance through the intervention of White Zetsu Cells.

Days passed. After countless adjustments, reactions, centrifugations, and purifications, the fluid in the test tubes finally stabilized. It took on a deep, harmonious amber hue, with starlike points of light slowly flowing within, radiating life-energy fluctuations that were both immense and gentle.

The Kyohaku Uchiha–Version Uzumaki Gene Serum was complete.

There were no cheers and no excitement. His eyes held only icy exhaustion and absolute focus. After carefully checking the data one final time and confirming there were no mistakes, he slowly injected the serum, condensed from countless hours of effort, into his vein.

Unlike the gentle nourishment he had experienced during his first fusion with White Zetsu Cells, this sensation was far more... overwhelming!

The instant the serum entered his body, it transformed into a warm yet unstoppable torrent of life force that surged through his limbs and bones! Every cell seemed to cheer in delight, greedily absorbing this unprecedented nourishment. His chakra pathways were violently widened and reinforced to an unprecedented extent, becoming tougher and broader, capable of containing an almost terrifying flow of chakra. The total amount of chakra within him began soaring at an astonishing rate, easily breaking through one bottleneck after another before finally stabilizing at a staggering level—far beyond that of an ordinary Jonin, approaching and even surpassing many Elite Jonin renowned for their chakra reserves!

He could clearly feel his vitality becoming incomparably tenacious and his recovery ability reaching an absurd level. Even the subtle lingering injuries left behind by past training were instantly healed.

Yet even as his power rapidly climbed, a deep exhaustion originating at the cellular level quietly began to spread.

The body's evolution did not come without a price. Forcibly fusing two powerful external bloodlines—White Zetsu and Uzumaki—placed an immense burden on the body, even with White Zetsu Cells acting as an all-purpose foundation to harmonize them. His cells needed time to fully adapt to and assimilate this new power. His genetic sequences needed time to undergo stable recombination and expression.

A month later, all energy fluctuations gradually subsided. Standing before a water mirror, Kyohaku felt the oceanic chakra and vigorous vitality within his body. The Second Completion had been successfully completed.

However, he could also clearly sense his body's "saturation" and "rejection threshold." An instinctive intuition told him that, for a short time, his body could no longer withstand another genetic fusion of the same scale. Forcing it would only result in genetic collapse and cellular annihilation.

"One year..." he murmured, reaching his conclusion. His body needed at least a year to fully adapt to its current changes, to thoroughly transform the power of the White Zetsu and Uzumaki bloodlines into his own foundation and solidify his base. Only then could he consider the next Completion and touch upon even more powerful and dangerous Kekkei Genkai, such as the Shikotsumyaku and the Byakugan.

The clouds of war had already gathered thickly, yet he had no choice but to suppress his impatience and follow the most fundamental laws of life.

He slowly clenched his fist, feeling the power within it—power sufficient to alter the course of a small battle.

The Second Completion was complete, granting him the vast chakra reserves and tenacious vitality he had anticipated.

What followed would be a period of consolidation and waiting.

At the same time, it would be a period of final preparations for the coming war.