Katsuyu Mikoto! Ame-no-Minaka!

The meeting at the Hokage Building had just ended. Kagami Uchiha walked slowly toward the building's deepest recesses, with the silent Danzo at his side.

There lay a top-secret research chamber left by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. Layer upon layer of barriers had long shielded it from detection and prying eyes. Ordinary shinobi would never set foot inside.

The heavy black stone doors slid apart, releasing a peculiar scent of medicinal solutions, chemicals, and faint vitality.

Cool white ninjutsu lights illuminated a vast research hall that stretched deep into the building.

Sealed glass containers, precision ninja tools, and towering stacks of experimental scrolls and data reports filled the stone benches.

Research shinobi in matching gray-white coats moved between stations, heads down and busy with their assigned work.

Some adjusted the Chakra Extraction Devices. Others compared bloodline data or recorded changes in living cells as they divided.

The two men's arrival did not disturb them. Kagami led Shimura Danzō down the central aisle, taking in the room bit by bit.

The entire laboratory was quiet and solemn. Only the faint scratch of pen on paper, the drip of reagents, and the low hum of instruments broke the silence. Its atmosphere was rigorous and cold.

A row of specially sealed vessels in the central area held strands of fresh, softly glowing green tissue—the cells of Hashirama, the First Hokage.

Derived culture solutions, compatibility agents, and fusion samples stood in neat rows. Half-finished products, failed samples, and experimental remains had all been sorted and stored.

At last, the researchers noticed movement at the door and looked up together.

Seeing the newly appointed Hokage, Kagami Uchiha, the research leads immediately set aside their work and hurried forward to bow.

"Lord Hokage!"

Kagami raised a hand slightly, his expression calm.

"No need for formalities. Carry on."

His gaze settled on the central Hashirama Cells cultivation chamber. "How is the compatibility research progressing?"

The lead researcher stepped forward and gave a careful report.

"Lord Hokage, stable cultivation of Hashirama Cells and the low-rejection compatibility trials have entered their final phase. Countless earlier experiments have given us a basic understanding of how the human body rejects Senjutsu cells. We've also eliminated most of the risks of uncontrolled growth."

"At our current rate of experimentation and data refinement, we should achieve a critical breakthrough within three years at most."

The researcher glanced discreetly at Danzo's missing arm before adding, "By then, we should have a stable, low-risk cell transplantation technique. There's a strong chance Lord Shimura's arm could be fully restored through transplantation and regeneration using Hashirama Cells."

Danzo stood silently nearby, his empty right sleeve shifting faintly in the breeze.

A flicker of hope and emotion crossed his dark eyes, so slight it was almost impossible to catch. Then his usual composure returned.

Kagami nodded and turned his attention elsewhere.

He spotted two strikingly young figures.

In one corner, ten-year-old Orochimaru crouched alone before a workbench. Pale-skinned, with narrow, cool eyes, he meticulously copied a report on cellular rejection with a brush.

Hiruko stood at a nearby bench. Back at the Ninja Academy, he had been an unremarkable student of ordinary ability. No one had expected much of him.

But Kagami had recognized his rare instinct for studying the human body and its tissues, and had given him the chance to enter this top-secret laboratory.

When Hiruko saw Kagami approaching, he immediately stopped writing. He looked up, undisguised admiration in his eyes.

After bowing respectfully, Hiruko said, "Lord Hokage! You're here."

Kagami studied the boy before him. Hiruko had fair skin, gentle features, neat light-gray hair, and pale red eyes.

This seemingly harmless boy would one day develop the infamous Chimera Technique through his research.

At its core, it was a forbidden technique for fusing bodies and cells.

Its primary effect was to fuse the tissues of shinobi or summoned beasts with the user's own body, seizing their abilities—including full inheritance of another person's Kekkei Genkai.

Kekkei Genkai were generally passed down through bloodlines. Apart from a tiny handful of gifted shinobi, ordinary shinobi might go their entire lives without access to such powers.

The Chimera Technique could change that.

But it carried enormous risks. The fusion was forced and crude, placing an immense burden on the body. If it went out of control, the body could easily break down.

In the original story, Hiruko's body had eventually been covered in bandages because of the damage caused by years of human experimentation and forced fusion.

Yet that had been the result of Hiruko's research alone. What if he had all of Konoha behind him?

Take Hashirama Cells. If they could be fused stably with human tissue, deeper research along that path might yield a technique for safely integrating and sustaining foreign Kekkei Genkai.

Then Konoha could field a large, stable corps of Kekkei Genkai shinobi.

Storm Release units for ranged attacks, Steel Release units with formidable defenses, Swift Release units with extraordinary speed...

The balance of the Shinobi World would change completely!

Damn, just imagining it was exciting!

Kagami drew his thoughts back and smiled warmly at Hiruko. "Keep up the good work, Hiruko. Everyone in Konoha has a place where they belong. Fighting on the battlefield isn't the only way to serve the village. You may contribute even more by conducting research here. I have faith in you."

He paused, glanced at Orochimaru, then looked across the other young researchers.

"Konoha's future rests with you."

The words eased the tension in several researchers' faces.

Hiruko's chest rose and fell, his admiration deepening. He bowed low. "I won't let you down, Lord Hokage!"

Orochimaru merely glanced at Kagami without speaking. But the brush in his hand paused for an instant. As he returned to the data before him, he silently committed those words to memory.

The older research shinobi nodded as well. In the shinobi world, battlefield achievements earned the greatest praise, while those who buried themselves in research were easily overlooked. The Hokage's recognition left them feeling valued.

Danzo watched in silence, his face unreadable. He simply memorized their faces.

If Kagami values you, then I, Shimura Danzō, will keep an eye on you too. But if you ever fail to live up to his expectations...

Then...

Kagami did not interrupt the researchers any further. He stood quietly before the central Hashirama Cells cultivation chamber, lost in thought.

Once the Hashirama Cells were stable, his Mangekyō Sharingan would no longer be at risk of blindness. Obito Uchiha had possessed only an ordinary Mangekyō, yet after merging with White Zetsu, who had been created using Hashirama Cells, he could use his abilities without limit.

The tablet at the Uchiha Clan's Naka Shrine said that one god, seeking stability, divided yin and yang; when those opposing powers acted together, All Creation could arise.

Black Zetsu had fabricated much of what was written there. But one point remained: fusing the Uchiha Clan's ultimate Yin Release with Hashirama's ultimate Yang Release held at least a slim possibility of producing the Rinnegan.

In his previous life, however, Kagami had read on countless forums that the true requirement for the Rinnegan was the union of an Indra reincarnation with the Chakra or physical power of an Asura reincarnation. Only when those two primal powers became one could the Sage of Six Paths' Chakra be recreated, allowing the Sharingan to evolve into the Rinnegan.

By that logic, gaining the Rinnegan's power was impossible for him from the outset. The current Indra reincarnation, Madara Uchiha, was still alive, and the next would be Sasuke Uchiha.

But the Sharingan reflected the heart. A Mangekyō's abilities mirrored its wielder's deepest desires and obsessions.

Since arriving in the Shinobi World eighteen years ago, Kagami had wanted only two things: to survive and to gain the strongest power.

When his Mangekyō Sharingan awakened, its two abilities had been Katsuyu Mikoto and Ame-no-Minaka.

His left eye, Katsuyu Mikoto, had a simple ability: it used ocular power to drive rapid division and healing in his own cells, much like Hashirama's regeneration. It worked only on him, consumed enormous power when healing severe injuries, and hastened blindness if used too often.

His right eye, Ame-no-Minaka, could seize and fuse multiple kinds of Chakra from different sources. It broke down the barriers between powers, refining the resulting energy and raising its fundamental quality. But forcibly combining conflicting properties could easily backfire. There was also a limit to how much it could hold at once, and sustained use likewise drained his ocular power.

In short, these eyes could steadily refine and strengthen the nature of his power. They also improved his chances of developing the Rinnegan along a path that did not depend on being a reincarnation of Indra or Asura.

Behind him, Danzo watched Kagami standing motionless. "Kagami, now that you've taken the Hokage Position, when do you plan to hold the formal succession ceremony?"

Kagami came back to himself and waved a hand. "There's no rush. The ceremony is only a formality. We can hold it once the village's departments are properly organized."

Danzo frowned at his casual response, then suppressed his feelings. "The ceremony can wait. Have you chosen the members of your Shadow Guard?"

Kagami turned his head slightly, his gaze passing over Danzo's shoulder as though he had seen straight through the concern behind the question.

A faint smile touched his lips. "Danzo, the succession ceremony will announce my appointment to the whole village, even the entire Shinobi World. I know you're worried about me. I have it in hand.

"And I've already decided whom I want in the Shadow Guard."

The tension left Danzo's face, and the doubt in his eyes faded.

Of course. Kagami has never been an ordinary man.

He was steady, thorough, and possessed resolve and shrewdness far beyond his years. He was worthy of bearing the Hokage's responsibilities.

Kagami swept his gaze over the researchers absorbed in their work. He gave Hiruko, who still looked at him with reverence, and the thoughtful, silent Orochimaru one last glance, then turned away.

The two men left the laboratory, one behind the other, and walked down the corridor. The door closed silently behind them, shutting out the hum of instruments and the lingering scent of medicine.