Gene Fusion

As the year slowly drew to a close, Uchiha Gen gave the five of them a break while he returned to the Clan Land for the annual clan meeting, summary, and dividend ceremony.

"I'm giving you a month-long vacation. Each of you gets one hundred thousand ryo in spending money as a New Year's gift. On February 1st, if I don't see you in the cave, don't blame me for being ruthless."

The five nodded obediently upon hearing this. They now understood that Uchiha's so-called experiments did not seem particularly dangerous. At most, they had some blood drawn or a strand of hair plucked.

They were fed, housed, and provided for every day. If they lacked anything, they only had to tell Uchiha Gen, and it would be delivered the following week. Most importantly, if they wanted to go out, all they had to do was request leave and agree on a date. Where else in the world could they find such a good deal?

What the five did not know was that Uchiha Gen's human experiments had claimed quite a few lives. They simply did not participate as bloodline donors.

If they had paid closer attention to their surroundings, they would have noticed that all the bandits and highwaymen within a hundred miles had vanished, as though they had evaporated into thin air.

In truth, every one of them had entered Uchiha Gen's laboratory. How could experiments be conducted without people dying? Besides, he needed to test the compatibility of these genes. Over time, the corpses piled beneath the cave had nearly filled the place.

At present, he had only preliminarily fused the genes of the Uzumaki and Yuki Clans. The rest needed time to slowly catalyze.

He also needed to solve the problem of lab rats. No one within a hundred miles was willing to devote themselves to his cause anymore.

After everyone went their separate ways, Uchiha Gen returned to the Clan Land and dispelled his Shadow Clone Technique. A vast amount of memories flooded into his mind. His body only swayed for a moment before he recovered. Last time, his head had hurt for over half a day. The reason for such a major improvement was the two new bloodlines within him.

"The Uzumaki constitution really is incredible. It not only replenished my vitality, but also increased my Chakra limit. It's gone up by a full fifty percent now!"

That was only shortly after the fusion. Once it fully fused, it could probably double or even triple.

However, the other bloodline brought both pain and pleasure. The Yuki Clan was naturally androgynous, and after fusing with it, Uchiha Gen's skin began to grow smooth and delicate. He had now become a man with permanent beauty filters on.

"Damn it, it looks like my beard has shrunk right back in!"

His body had originally aged quickly due to his depleted vitality. Though only eighteen or nineteen, he had needed to shave every two or three days. Now he had directly reverted to factory settings, his chin clean as polished jade, paired with skin as soft and tender as a baby's... Tsk, tsk.

After his mind finished integrating the memories from the past six months, he carefully sorted through several notable events.

The first was that the Uchiha Clan had welcomed a surge of newborns. One infant's name had been marked by the Shadow Clone because that Uchiha child was called Kagami Uchiha.

In the original story, he had started the whole traitor trend. His direct junior, Shisui, had inherited his will and even led another child, Itachi, astray. It was like toenail fungus—one infection spreading to two.

The second major event was the Land of Fire Daimyo summoning Madara. Uchiha Gen did not pay much attention to it, though. In his eyes, the Daimyo was nothing special. If he offended him, then so be it. If the Daimyo dared cause trouble, Uchiha Gen would not mind replacing him with a more obedient ruler.

After that came the various clan account books, mission statistics for the clan members, clan businesses, and so on.

Once he finished reviewing the figures, he stood and stretched lazily. It was time to visit his "long-unseen" two older brothers. He wondered how much their strength had improved compared to the original story.

Hopefully, I haven't changed the plot too much. I don't think I've done all that much, and I haven't even killed a single important character... They should still be alive.

Without knocking, Uchiha Gen walked straight into Madara's room. Madara and Izuna were sitting face-to-face, while Izuna chattered away without pause.

"Big Brother, my Lightning Release has reached the proficient level now. Once I learn that Kirin after the New Year, the next time we fight the Senju, I'll split that damn Tobirama's head open!"

"And that Lightning Cutter, Big Brother, let me tell you, the power and speed of that ninjutsu are absolutely outrageous..."

Uchiha Gen quietly approached. Madara had already noticed him, but what was with that look in his eyes? Amazement?

His gaze lowered. Izuna was so absorbed in his speech that he had not noticed anything. Looking at Izuna's back, Uchiha Gen felt an indescribable sense of closeness. No matter how arrogant one was outside, one would always let down one's guard at home. That was the family bond born of blood.

"Big Brother! Second Brother!"

"Happy New Year!"

Madara gave a slight nod, the corner of his mouth lifting almost imperceptibly. Izuna's reaction upon hearing Uchiha Gen's voice was rather exaggerated.

He sprang to his feet, turned back excitedly toward Uchiha Gen, and opened and closed his mouth without managing to say anything. Then he simply lunged forward and gave him a bear hug.

Izuna was now over 1.7 meters tall, so hugging Uchiha Gen did not look out of place. But...

"Third Brother, you..."

Izuna sniffed, his face scrunching up. Why did Gen smell like a woman? When he looked more carefully at his face, he was immediately stunned.

"You! Who are you?! Why does your voice sound exactly like Third Brother's?!"

"I..."

Seeing this, Madara shook his head. Still, he had already grown used to it.

"Why are you making such a fuss? Sit down. Let Gen properly explain what he has been doing for the past six months."

Madara held the highest standing in the family. Ever since their father died, the saying that the eldest brother was like a father had truly come to pass.

After sitting down, Uchiha Gen habitually brushed a strand of hair beside his ear. Even Madara found the gesture slightly awkward.

He had heard of women giving birth, but this was the first time he had seen a real example.

"Over the past six months, I mainly found a remote valley to cultivate some secret techniques. I also developed several Uzumaki Sealing Arts. They're all very powerful. I'll place them in the scroll archive later, and you can take a look."

"Then I went to the Land of Water. I felt that our horizons should not be limited to the Land of Fire, so I investigated the ninja clans there and secretly copied several clan secret techniques while I was at it."

"After that..."

Madara and Izuna listened intently. Through his account, an image formed in their minds of someone who devoted himself wholeheartedly to the clan, exhausting himself with tireless effort and barely having a day to rest.

"Third Brother, what I'm most curious about is how exactly you ended up looking like this?"

"Um... Well... Second Brother, have you heard of the Yuki Clan?"

"Yuki?"

Izuna shook his head, indicating that he had not. Madara was also deep in thought, unable to make sense of it. It seemed to be a ninja clan from the Land of Water.

"The Yuki Clan possesses a Kekkei Genkai that can turn a person's Chakra into ice. But because of the nature of their bloodline, everyone in that clan is rather... well, feminine."

"So, your appearance is...?"

"That's right. I learned Ice Release! I'm just not very proficient with it yet."

The two of them immediately sucked in a sharp breath. Learning another clan's Kekkei Genkai?! How was that even possible?!