In the dim underground laboratory, an array of intricate glass tubes bubbled softly.
Orochimaru stood before a laboratory bench cast from refined steel, his slender fingers gently swirling a transparent test tube.
A thick liquid giving off a dusky violet glow flowed within the tube.
The liquid held both the ferocious vitality unique to wood release cells and the unfathomable essence of Ōtsutsuki Yin-Yang Release from Black Zetsu's tissue.
Footsteps drew closer, and Qian Ye pushed open the heavy stone door and walked in.
"Orochimaru-sensei, I heard you managed to produce the finished version?"
Qian Ye casually pulled over an iron chair and sat down, his gaze settling on the test tube in Orochimaru's hand.
Orochimaru turned around, his golden, serpentine eyes blazing with excitement.
"Qian Ye, the Black Crystal you brought back is nothing short of a gift from the gods."
"Once neutralized by Black Zetsu's Ōtsutsuki origin, the aggressively invasive nature of the Hashirama cells actually became as docile as a lamb."
"I combined Sea King life essence with those two components and refined the first stable dose of the Type-Zero Drug."
Orochimaru held the test tube out to Qian Ye, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.
"The energy contained within it is unimaginably vast. If an ordinary Jonin recklessly drank it, their body would most likely burst apart."
Qian Ye took the test tube and pulled out its wooden stopper. A rich medicinal fragrance washed over his face, carried by a faint surge of air.
"Ordinary people might not be able to handle it, but I've always had a big appetite."
Without the slightest hesitation, Qian Ye tilted his head back and drained the entire tube of purple drug.
The liquid slid down his throat into his stomach, as though he had swallowed a mass of scorching