One-Tenth of a Hashirama Body

Ten minutes later.

Three human-shaped craters had appeared in the ground above the abandoned underground base on the outskirts of Konoha.

Jiraiya lay sprawled in the largest one, his white hair disheveled and his face swollen like a pig's head.

His left eye was bruised blue, his right eye purple, and he was missing a tooth.

He had given up resisting entirely.

Orochimaru was in slightly better shape.

Only his left cheek was swollen, his collar was torn, and a bump the size of an egg rose from his forehead.

After all, Tsunade had taken most of her anger out on Jiraiya.

Thud, thud, thud!

Hurried footsteps came from the distance.

Three ninjas in security uniforms rushed onto the scene, weapons in hand.

"What happened? We heard a huge crash over here—"

The Chunin leading them stopped mid-sentence when he saw who was there.

Tsunade stood with her arms crossed, expressionless.

Orochimaru leaned against a pile of rubble, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.

Jiraiya lay in the crater like a dead dog.

The three security officers exchanged glances.

Their leader silently put away his kunai.

"Nothing to worry about. Lady Tsunade and the others were... sparring."

He signaled to his two subordinates.

"Let's go."

The three turned and left, walking even faster than they had arrived.

Once they were ten meters away, one muttered, "Three Jonin fighting... Why would we get involved? Do we have a death wish?"

The wind carried his words to Tsunade.

She snorted.

"All right." Tsunade kicked Jiraiya. "Get up. We're going back."

Jiraiya let out a dying groan.

"Tsunade... I'm innocent... I only came to confess my feelings to you..."

"Confess?"

Tsunade looked down at him, her eyes narrowing.

"Your way of confessing was to kick down the laboratory door and start fighting Orochimaru right in front of me?"

"That was a misunderstanding..."

"Try having fewer of those."

Tsunade couldn't be bothered arguing. She grabbed Jiraiya by the back of his collar and dragged him across the ground like a sack.

"Orochimaru, come on. Back to your laboratory."

Orochimaru stood and dusted himself off.

He glanced at Jiraiya being dragged away and showed a rare flicker of sympathy.

But only a flicker.

The idiot had wrecked his laboratory.

Two people and a limp heap of a man returned to the underground base, now almost unrecognizable.

Tsunade tossed Jiraiya into a corner.

Thud.

The back of his head struck the wall with a dull knock.

Jiraiya: "..."

He couldn't even be bothered to groan.

Tsunade flexed her wrist and looked at Orochimaru.

"How much data did you record?"

From the pile of shattered instruments, Orochimaru dug out a scanner that had somehow survived intact.

He brushed off the dust and switched it on. The screen lit up.

"Luckily, the core data finished transferring before you lost control."

He scanned the screen and unconsciously licked his lips.

"Come here. I'll run a full examination."

Tsunade walked over and held out her arm.

Orochimaru took out a portable blood sampler.

Though most of the laboratory had been smashed, he had hidden a set of backup equipment in a corner.

A researcher was always at least that cautious.

Blood sampling. Chakra fluctuation testing. Cellular activity analysis.

Orochimaru worked quickly, his eyes growing brighter by the moment.

Five minutes later, he set down the instrument.

"The results are in."

"Tell me."

Orochimaru took a deep breath.

"The activity of your cells has reached... one-tenth that of First Hashirama's cells."

Silence fell for a moment.

From the corner, Jiraiya mumbled groggily, "What... only one-tenth of what..."

Tsunade said nothing.

One-tenth.

At first, the number didn't sound like much.

But who was Hashirama?

The God of Shinobi.

The life force in his cells was practically a cheat code in this world.

One-tenth might not sound impressive.

But Tsunade knew what it meant.

She closed her eyes and focused inward.

At the spot on her forehead where the Strength of a Hundred Seal sat, warmth was slowly flowing.

It was the feeling of Chakra gathering and being stored.

Before, the process had been as slow as honey pouring from a bottle in winter.

Now it was like turning on a faucet!

Tsunade's eyes snapped open.

"The Yin Seal is gathering Chakra..."

"Ten times faster."

Tsunade clenched her fist.

She could feel the steady, abundant power within her body.

Unlike when she had lost control, it was gentle and manageable now.

But the reserves behind it were nothing like before.

"And this is only version 1.3."

Orochimaru licked his lips.

"If we keep refining it..."

"One step at a time."

Tsunade cut him off.

"First, we need to understand all the data from version 1.3. Record every measurement clearly. Find out how much the body can withstand and whether any side effects show up later. We need to confirm everything."

"We take this one step at a time."

For once, Orochimaru had no answer.

But after thinking it over, he nodded.

"You're right. Science requires patience."

Tsunade clapped her hands in satisfaction.

She turned toward the limp heap in the corner. Jiraiya had passed out completely.

She hoisted him onto her shoulder.

His head bobbed behind her back as he murmured in his sleep, "Tsunade... marry me..."

Tsunade's expression didn't change as she headed for the exit.

"Orochimaru."

"Yes?"

"What you do with the laboratory is your business. Just know where to draw the line."

"And remember!"

"Don't give those people in Root anything they can use against you."

Orochimaru smiled without giving a definite answer.

"Don't worry."

Tsunade carried Jiraiya out of the base. A cool night breeze met her face.

Refreshing.

She looked up at the night sky.

The Yin Seal was gathering Chakra ten times faster.

At this rate, completing the Strength of a Hundred technique was within reach.

And when that happened...

The corners of Tsunade's mouth lifted slightly.

"This world is going to get a lot more interesting."