Ascension Island, underground laboratory.
Dim blue light illuminated the spacious experimental area. Several large culture tanks stood along the walls, with various tissue samples submerged inside.
Lin Ze stood before the central experiment table, with Kabuto on his left, carefully operating a microscope and a series of precision instruments.
Tagitsuhime pressed against Lin Ze's right side as well, almost burying her face in the crook of his arm as she sniffed hard like a kitten.
"Master, Master, let me have one more sniff before the experiment starts-" Tagitsuhime gazed pleadingly at Lin Ze. "The scent of a True Dragon is the most refreshing!"
Lin Ze helplessly reached out, held her head, and pushed her a little to the side.
"Aw..."
Tagitsuhime reluctantly stepped back half a pace, but her eyes remained fixed on Lin Ze.
Kabuto adjusted his glasses, a faint smile appearing on his face, but he soon grew serious again. He adjusted the microscope, then placed two cell samples side by side on the observation stage.
"Lin Ze, look here."
Lin Ze leaned closer.
Through the microscope, two clusters of cells were slowly writhing in a specially prepared culture medium.
On the left was a sample of Hashirama Senju's cells, while on the right were Lin Ze's own cells.
"Your cellular activity... is very unusual." Kabuto pointed at the sample on the right. "Although they lack the ferocious life force of Hashirama cells, they're extremely resilient, and-"
He switched the staining mode.
Extremely fine azure patterns appeared on the surfaces of Lin Ze's cells. Though so faint they were almost invisible, they could still be detected under the special stain.
This is the influence of the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon.
Lin Ze understood.
Although he had yet to awaken it, he had spent over a decade continuously