Gene Fusion

Time slowly dragged toward the end of the year. Uchiha Yuan gave the five of them a vacation, while he himself returned to the Clan Land for the annual clan meeting, year-end summary, and dividend ceremony.

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

After hearing that, the five obediently nodded. By now, they understood that Uchiha's so-called experiments did not seem dangerous. At most, he drew some blood or plucked out a strand of hair.

They were fed, housed, and provided for every day. If they lacked anything, they only had to tell Uchiha Yuan, and it would be delivered the following week. Most importantly, if they wanted to go out, they only needed to ask for 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 plenty of people had died in Uchiha Yuan's human experiments. They simply did not participate because they were only bloodline donors.

If they had paid closer attention to their surroundings, they would have noticed that every bandit and mountain outlaw within a hundred li had vanished, as though they had disappeared from the face of the earth.

In reality, all of them had entered Uchiha Yuan's laboratory. How could experiments be conducted without casualties? Besides, he needed to test the compatibility of these genes. After so long, the corpses piled beneath the cave had nearly filled the place.

For now, he had only preliminarily fused the genes of the Uzumaki and Yuki Clans. The rest would need time to slowly catalyze.

He also needed to solve the issue of test subjects. No one within a hundred li was willing to donate themselves for his cause anymore.

After everyone went their separate ways, Uchiha Yuan returned to the Clan Land and dispelled his Shadow Clone Technique. A massive flood of memories surged into his mind. His body swayed for only a moment before he recovered. Last time, he had suffered a headache for more than half a day. The reason for such a great improvement was the two additional bloodlines within him.

"The Uzumaki physique really is incredible. It not only replenished my vitality, but also raised my Chakra limit. It's increased by a full half already!"

That was while the fusion had only just begun. Once it was fully complete, it would probably increase twofold or even threefold.

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

"Damn it, my beard seems to have shrunk right back in!"

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

Once his mind had fully absorbed the memories from the past half year, he carefully sorted through several unusual events among them.

The first was the boom in Uchiha newborns. One infant's name had been marked by the Shadow Clone, because that Uchiha child was called Uchiha Kagami.

In the Naruto story, he had set the bad example of becoming a traitor. His direct junior, Shisui, had inherited his will and led another child, Itachi, astray. It was like nail fungus—infect one, and it spread to two.

The second major event was the Land of Fire Daimyo summoning Madara. Uchiha Yuan did not care much about it, though. The Daimyo was nothing special in his eyes. If he offended him, then so be it. If the Daimyo dared make trouble, Uchiha Yuan would not mind replacing him with an obedient one.

After that came the various clan ledgers, mission records for clan members, clan businesses, and so on.

After finishing the review, he stood up and stretched. It was time to visit his two "long-unseen" older brothers. He wondered how much stronger they had become compared to the original story.

Hopefully I haven't changed the plot too much. I don't seem to have done much, and I haven't even killed any important characters... Nothing should be gone, right?

Uchiha Yuan did not knock. He walked straight into Madara's room. Madara and Izuna were sitting across from each other, while Izuna talked nonstop.

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

"And that Lightning Cutter—Big Brother, I'm telling you, the power and speed of that ninjutsu are absolutely outrageous..."

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

His gaze lowered. Izuna was so absorbed that he had not noticed anything. Looking at Izuna's back, Uchiha Yuan felt an indescribable sense of closeness. No matter how proud they were outside, they would always open their hearts at home. That was the family bond born from blood.

"Big Brother! Second Brother!"

"Happy New Year!"

Madara nodded slightly, the corners of his lips barely curving upward. Izuna's reaction, however, was somewhat exaggerated when he heard Uchiha Yuan's voice.

He sprang to his feet, turned around excitedly to stare at Uchiha Yuan, and opened and closed his mouth without managing to speak. Then he simply rushed over and gave him a bear hug.

Izuna was now over 1.7 meters tall, so hugging Uchiha Yuan did not look strange. But...

"Third Brother, you..."

Izuna sniffed, his face scrunching up. Why did Yuan smell like a woman? When he examined his face more closely, he was instantly shocked.

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

"I..."

Seeing the situation, Madara shook his head. Still, he was already used to it.

"Why are you making such a fuss? Sit down. Let Yuan properly explain what he's been doing for the past half year."

Madara held the highest status in the family. Ever since their father died, the saying that the eldest brother was like a father had proven true.

After Uchiha Yuan sat down, he habitually brushed the hair beside his ear. Even Madara found that gesture somewhat awkward.

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

"For the past half year, I mainly found a remote valley to cultivate a secret technique. I also researched several Uzumaki Sealing Arts. They're all very powerful. I'll put 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: someone exhausting himself for the clan, working tirelessly almost every day.

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

"Hmm... well... Second Brother, have you ever heard of the Yuki Clan?"

"Yuki?"

Izuna shook his head, indicating that he had not. Madara was also thinking, but could not come up with anything. It seemed to be a ninja clan from the Land of Water.

"The Yuki Clan has a Bloodline Limit that can turn a person's Chakra into ice. But due to their bloodline characteristics, everyone in that clan looks 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 breath. He had learned another clan's Bloodline Limit?! How was that possible?!