The Human-Eating School

"If she truly awakened Wood Release, that would be a good thing!"

"She was expected to go into labor in another three months."

"When a woman gave birth, her body naturally weakened. A jinchuriki was no exception. By then, the power sealing the Nine-Tails would undoubtedly be at its lowest. An accident could happen at any time," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a worried expression.

He was genuinely concerned about Uzumaki Kushina. If the Nine-Tails were accidentally released, it would definitely cause a massive disaster.

Although Konoha had already attached sufficient importance to this and made thorough arrangements regarding the Nine-Tails,

They had deployed enough personnel for prevention and drawn up a tight protection plan for Kushina.

Still, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not shake his unease.

He could not be called a timid man, but he was certainly an elderly man who pursued absolute stability.

As far as this matter was concerned, he felt that adding several more layers of insurance when necessary would not be excessive. No amount of caution was too much.

When it came to suppressing the Nine-Tails' power, there were only three options: the Uzumaki Clan's sealing techniques, the First Hokage's Wood Release, and the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan.

Although Hiruzen Sarutobi had always claimed that he held no prejudice against the Uchiha Clan, that was simply impossible.

At most, he was a broad-minded village leader capable of reluctantly trusting some members of the Uchiha Clan.

Entrusting the Uchiha Clan with managing the Nine-Tails was out of the question.

Besides, his old teammates nagged in his ear every day, so Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally had no desire to bear the blame of defying everyone's wishes.

Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi would never consider seeking the Sharingan's power. He would even arrange for people to keep an eye on the Uchiha Clan in advance.

After thinking it over, only one answer remained—Wood Release.

Konoha needed the power of Wood Release. Or rather, it needed the First Hokage's power to suppress tailed beasts.

"Hiruko, you truly are very talented. You have already found your own path."

"Have you made any progress on regaining the First Hokage's power?" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Hiruko expectantly.

"Ordinary Wood Release and the First Hokage's Wood Release are completely incomparable. They cannot be lumped together," Hiruko said eloquently.

Over the past half year, Konoha had relied on the Life One serum provided by Hiruko to greatly increase the number of mid-level ninja, creating a flourishing scene where everyone could become a soldier.

For ninja, losing more than a decade of lifespan was nothing. Without great power, they would only die at their enemies' hands, their lives vanishing in an instant.

The pursuit of power was human nature, but wanting more after getting what one wanted was only natural as well.

Konoha's higher-ups had already deeply realized just how trustworthy Hiruko's talent and potential were. He had actually manifested a power as formidable as Wood Release in jonin.

They had already reserved the benefits and slots for their own confidants, so naturally, they hoped Hiruko could continue bringing Konoha even greater power.

It would be even better if he could replicate Hashirama Senju's power that had once dominated the ninja world.

The Third Hokage was also deeply eager for power. Otherwise, he would not have agreed to research Hashirama Cells back then.

Whether for Konoha's current safety and stability or for its ability to face more enemies in the future, he hoped to obtain more research results from Hiruko.

"Recreating the First Hokage's power is actually possible. However, it requires someone with particular qualifications, such as a person with Uzumaki Clan blood."

Hiruko then glanced toward his bedroom and continued, "If Tsunade were willing to accept the experiment..."

If Tsunade could master Sage Mode and undergo Hiruko's human experiments, she would probably possess fifty or sixty percent of the First Hokage's power.

Together with Wood Release techniques, she would basically become a lesser Hashirama.

An Uzumaki clanswoman like Uzumaki Kushina, with immense vitality and Chakra reserves, could also bring out considerable power from Wood Release.

She might even be able to draw out the Nine-Tails' Chakra within her body and unleash even more powerful Wood Release ninjutsu.

Although she might still fall short of Hashirama Senju, reaching the level of the Wood Release wielded by Madara Uchiha, who had Hashirama's face growing from his chest, was still possible.

Hiruko had once told Minato that Uzumaki Kushina had great potential.

The reason he specifically mentioned Tsunade was that high-quality Chakra could bring beneficial evolution to the body.

If one possessed high-quality Wood Release Chakra, the body could absorb vast amounts of natural energy without being eroded or mutated by that energy.

That way, Tsunade's genes might undergo beneficial mutation. Moreover, Tsunade herself was an inheritor of Hashirama Cells, and Hashirama's genetic factors were already present within her body.

Therefore, she truly had a certain chance of becoming the next lesser Hashirama.

Furthermore, with Hiruko's assistance, the Wood Release energy within Tsunade could be continuously increased. Her future prospects were still quite promising.

In the original work, the Otsutsuki Clan's evolutionary principle also relied on high-quality Chakra to drive the optimization and advancement of their genes.

They directly consumed Chakra Fruits condensed from the life force of entire planets. Although doing so would directly destroy all life on those living planets, it truly elevated their lifeforms to a higher level.

By comparison, the Otsutsuki Clan's combat ability might not be particularly outstanding, but their level of life was beyond the reach of ordinary people.

The Otsutsuki Clan planted God Trees on planets, and the God Trees grew at an astonishing speed.

Their roots spread to every corner of a planet, constantly absorbing the life Chakra of every living creature on it.

Once all Chakra had been drained, the God Tree would bear a Chakra Fruit.

This Chakra Fruit was a fusion of astonishing energy and genetic-factor cells. By consuming this fruit, the Otsutsuki Clan could complete their own evolution.

High-concentration Chakra allowed this clan to keep evolving.

Once the fruit ripened, every form of life on that planet would meet its end.

The Otsutsuki Clan, meanwhile, would harvest the fruit and head to the next planet, repeating their plunder and evolution.

In addition, the Otsutsuki Clan could refine Chakra into pills and consume them for more efficient use.

They would even turn living guardians into Chakra Fruits and eat them.

Like harvesting and consuming a great human medicine, this practice was practically steeped in the flavor of the human-eating school found in fantasy novels.

Moreover, the Otsutsuki Clan planted trees everywhere and carried out destructive extraction on life-bearing planets, causing planets to perish, life to vanish, and forests to disappear.

Their actions were extremely similar to the human-eating school found in fantasy novels.

It was simply a low-budget fantasy world.

"Minato's child?" Hiruzen Sarutobi was startled upon hearing this. He then took several puffs from his pipe, becoming even more concerned about protecting the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki. He believed...