A Thousand Cuts

Itachi Uchiha gradually gained the upper hand, once suppressing the woody transformation until only a third of his body remained affected.

As time passed, all the liquid in the IV bag was injected into Itachi Uchiha's body.

"Itachi! The infusion is over now, but don't celebrate just yet. The battle for your body officially begins now. You must completely suppress every Wood Release cell within you and force back all the remaining woody transformation. Once your body returns to normal, that will count as an initial success!"

Doichi Hyuga said with a smile.

"You still can't let your guard down. Not if you want to turn into a tree!"

Doichi Hyuga added, chuckling as he watched Itachi Uchiha.

"..."

Itachi Uchiha parted his cracked lips, but he could not say a single word. The floor beneath him was soaked with water, all of it sweat that had streamed from his body as he resisted the pain!

"You can drink water, but you can't lose focus!"

Doichi Hyuga hung up another IV bag, removed the needle, and placed the infusion tube into Itachi Uchiha's mouth.

This way, he would not choke and get distracted! Doichi Hyuga was a very meticulous man.

It was better to keep the test subject alive, since he would be useful for gathering experimental data later!

The liquid in the IV bag was a bluish green, a highly concentrated nutrient extract Doichi Hyuga had prepared in advance.

Green, healthy, and pollution-free. One bottle meant he would not need to eat for three days; its energy density was no joke.

What followed was an intense tug-of-war: advance and retreat, retreat and advance.

Another four hours passed, and Itachi Uchiha barely managed to keep the woody transformation below his elbows.

"I nearly died! Don't you owe me an explanation?"

Itachi Uchiha stared darkly at Doichi Hyuga, with a powerful urge to attack him.

"You can talk now? Congratulations! You're already ninety percent successful. But don't get complacent. You still need to keep working!"

Doichi Hyuga smiled and tapped Itachi Uchiha's wooden hand, producing a series of crisp thunk, thunk, thunk sounds.

"Don't change the subject! If I'd known it would be this dangerous and painful, I'd rather have waited for death!"

Itachi Uchiha's anger rushed to his head, and the woody transformation crept farther up his arm.

"That's enough, Itachi! Calm yourself. You need peace of mind to succeed."

"I came fully prepared. That injection just now was only one of my measures! No matter what happens, you won't die!"

Was that the drug he injected when I was about to turn into a tree? It really did pull me back from the brink of death. Doichi Hyuga hadn't lied to me. Perhaps he really is confident.

Itachi Uchiha's expression improved considerably, though the veins on his face continued to throb violently. The muscles beneath his skin constantly twitched and twisted, as if countless insects were burrowing through him.

It was simply like being sliced apart a thousand times!

"You still have that kind of medicine, right? Give me another injection! My entire body itches like countless bugs are crawling inside me, and waves of intense pain keep stabbing through me. It feels like tens of millions of needles are piercing my body over and over!"

"Are you sure you want that? This is a rare opportunity to temper your willpower!"

A rare chance to observe you, and you want to ruin it? Dream on.

Doichi Hyuga gave him a "kind" reminder and continued persuading him.

"Only someone with an unbreakable will can become a true powerhouse. You're someone I consider strong. Are you sure you want to give up?"

Doichi Hyuga coaxed him.

"..."

Itachi Uchiha was utterly speechless. This pain was worse than death.

"Then why don't you try it?"

"Heh! When I first began training, I endured pain you can't even imagine: my body tearing apart, my bones shifting out of place, my internal organs being pierced, and more."

"And I endured those pains for at least a year. Without that kind of will, how could I possess my current strength!"

Doichi Hyuga looked at Itachi Uchiha teasingly and continued feeding him nonsense.

"..."

Itachi Uchiha had nothing to say. He had no confidence that he could defeat Doichi Hyuga. When his Sharingan had briefly glanced over Doichi Hyuga earlier, he had seen terrifying chakra surging through him, powerfully and swiftly suppressing the First Hokage Cells and rapidly clearing the blocked blood vessels.

With such powerful willpower and chakra, wasn't it only natural for Doichi Hyuga to possess such tremendous strength?

Itachi Uchiha could only submit. What else could he say? He could only grit his teeth and endure it.

"I originally planned to inject the First Hokage Cells all at once, but I was afraid you wouldn't be able to withstand it and would die immediately! An infusion was already the gentlest method; it gave you more time to adapt!"

He explained with a smile. He had to keep his tool stable.

"I'm sorry! I misunderstood you! You put so much effort into this for me. Thank you very much!"

Itachi Uchiha: Thanks so much~

"I've already removed the most violent components from the First Hokage Cells!"

Of course, the main thing he had removed was the First Hokage's personal spiritual will. At least Itachi Uchiha would not end up like Uchiha Madara, walking around with an ugly face growing out of his chest and showing it off everywhere.

After removing those components, the First Hokage Cells' potency had decreased considerably, leaving only eighty-nine percent of the original cells' strength. Aside from Uchiha Madara, Itachi Uchiha was probably the person with the strongest First Hokage Cells in his body.

Even without perfect purity, surviving them with Mangekyo Sharingan was still a near-death experience. Uchiha Madara was ridiculously strong and possessed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, so he could directly overpower the First Hokage Cells. Ordinary people truly could not do that.

Kenji Uchiha had used White Zetsu, which was itself an inferior imitation of the First Hokage.

Danzō was another case entirely. Even that arm was not his, and he needed the Sharingan and Mangekyo Sharingan to suppress it, so there was even less comparison to be made.

Itachi Uchiha gathered all his strength and struggled for another two hours before finally eliminating the woody transformation completely.

After holding out for eight or nine hours, Itachi Uchiha finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"How do you feel?"

Doichi Hyuga asked.

"The itching and pain aren't as intense anymore. My vision has recovered somewhat, and my ocular power seems to have increased too."

Itachi Uchiha activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and said this after carefully sensing the changes.

"That evil, chilling feeling from the Mangekyo Sharingan has faded quite a bit! Perhaps your eyes may even advance further in the future!"

Doichi Hyuga observed him for a while and gave an objective assessment.

The Rinnegan was probably out of the question; it would take far too long. But ocular power on the level of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan might be worth looking forward to.

After all, even Uchiha Madara had waited several decades despite possessing the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

However, Uchiha Madara had gone blind in one Eternal Mangekyo eye after using Izanagi, and restoring that eye must have taken quite some time as well.

"Within the next seven days, woody assimilation may still occur! If your Wood Release goes out of control, stay calm! Just suppress it with your Mangekyo Sharingan's ocular power and chakra. Your Mangekyo Sharingan's ocular power will continue to increase gradually, making suppression easier and easier! Once your body slowly adapts and the discomfort disappears completely, there will no longer be such a risk!"

"Take these three suppressants with you. If anything uncontrollable happens, inject them promptly for forced intervention."

Doichi Hyuga handed Itachi Uchiha three syringes, then gave him a scroll as well!

"This is... a Wood Release ninjutsu scroll!"

Itachi Uchiha opened it, looked inside, and said in surprise.

"Once your body has completely adapted, you can try practicing Wood Release!"

"Also! Congratulations on your rebirth, Itachi!"

Doichi Hyuga examined his masterpiece and spoke with a smile.

"Doichi! Thank you!"

"You can rest in the laboratory for a few days. That would be safer!"

"No! I can't be gone for too long. Kisame Hoshigaki isn't easy to brush off!"

"Fine! Handle it however you see fit! I'm going back to sleep first. It's already late at night!"

Itachi Uchiha rested for the night, then hurriedly left before dawn.