The brief farce soon ended, and Orochimaru and Tsunade turned their attention back to the final culture dish, No. 47.
This dish contained some cells from Katsuyu, the cells Tsunade had placed the greatest hopes in.
Every slug in Shikkotsu Forest was a clone of the Katsuyu Sage, a part of her. Her age could no longer be determined, but by Tsunade's estimate, the Katsuyu Sage was as old as the history of shinobi!
Lobsters were only theoretically "ageless," while the Katsuyu Sage was truly "ageless." Katsuyu's cells undoubtedly held the greatest research value.
As Wood Release chakra poured in without pause, the previously motionless Katsuyu cells became active, slowly dividing and wriggling. Shizune took out a notebook and began recording Tsunade's dictation.
"Sample No. 47 is showing signs of division and proliferation, and is extremely adaptable to Wood Release chakra. There are no obvious signs of woody encroachment..."
As the experiment progressed, Tsunade and Orochimaru grew increasingly excited. The cells' ability to divide extensively in a short time while withstanding the encroachment of Wood Release chakra was enough to prove their exceptional potential.
However, Katsuyu's cells were not Hashirama cells, after all, and could not perfectly absorb Wood Release chakra. The rapidly proliferating cells still showed irreversible signs of lignification. Fortunately, with the help of Wood Release chakra, Tsunade had already collected enough data.
"This data is enough to prove that the cells of some organisms have no division limit, while still maintaining basic biological stability."
Tsunade glanced over the completed notes and nodded in satisfaction.
"In that case, I'll go prepare the compatibility experiments."
Orochimaru turned to leave, barely able to wait. The "immortality" he had always pursued was within reach. How could he not be excited?
Compatibility experiments?
Holy shit, Orochimaru, are you really this wild? You're already experimenting on living subjects? No wonder Naruto has so many eye-gouging experts. If even Orochimaru, the biggest believer in science, is this crude and direct, the others are hardly surprising.
"Wait."
Orochimaru stopped and looked at Naoki Senju in puzzlement, teasing him:
"Naoki-kun, are you planning to save those test subjects?"
Tsunade gave Naoki Senju a complicated look. Emotionally, she naturally did not want Orochimaru experimenting on living subjects either, but rationally, his approach was the most practical.
Although Naoki Senju had entertained that thought, his main concern was that Orochimaru would start messing around again, transplanting lobster cells and Katsuyu cells the same way he transplanted Hashirama cells. That approach could only end in failure.
Even transplanting Hashirama cells had only produced an incomplete success, Tenzo (Yamato). His Wood Release was only good for landscaping and real estate, a far cry from true Wood Release.
If the "immortality cells" also turned out to be an incomplete product with poor results, or made someone develop lobster or slug traits while alive, there really would be nowhere to cry.
"Ahem, this has nothing to do with those... test subjects. But Cold-Blooded, have you considered exactly how Katsuyu's and lobsters' cells differ from ours? Why can they achieve the 'immortality' we can't? Wouldn't figuring that out be much more useful than crude, direct human experimentation?"
Tsunade and Shizune stared at Naoki in some shock, seemingly never having expected him to say such a thing. They were professional medical-nin with considerable knowledge of cells, but their first instinct had also been to observe the human body's rejection response and see whether it could directly acquire Katsuyu's abilities, rather than study the cells themselves.
Orochimaru's gaze toward Naoki Senju grew ever more "affectionate." The longer they spent together, the more surprises Naoki Senju brought him.
"You make an excellent point, Naoki-kun, but time is of the essence. Let's conduct the human experiments and cell research simultaneously. Naoki-kun, would you be interested in joining in?"
Orochimaru's invitation came out of nowhere, but after a moment's thought, Naoki Senju nodded in agreement.
"Sure, but I want someone."
"Who?"
"The white-haired guy with glasses who came to invite me that night."
White hair, glasses.
Orochimaru quickly identified the person Naoki Senju wanted-Kabuto Yakushi.
"Since it's your request, Naoki-kun, it would naturally be his honor. But he is still a capable assistant of mine, so I hope you'll spare his life."
*??*
Am I that vicious? (Naoki Senju's confusion)
As it turned out, after that night, Kabuto Yakushi had reported Naoki Senju's nasty attitude to Orochimaru, leading Orochimaru to mistakenly believe that Naoki Senju disliked Kabuto Yakushi and was now deliberately seeking revenge.
But Naoki Senju's actual thinking was that researching cells was exhausting. With that time, he would be better off training his Wood Release, training Guren, and completing the glorious mission of reviving the Senju Clan as soon as possible.
When the time came, he would only need to offer a few pointers and leave the rest of the tedious research to Kabuto Yakushi. How could he not thoroughly squeeze a talent like Kabuto Yakushi dry? (A capitalist's maniacal laughter)
Seeing Naoki Senju's reaction, Orochimaru realized he had misunderstood something and immediately relaxed. Although Kabuto Yakushi was not particularly strong, his thoughts ran too deep, making him awkward to use. Keeping him tied down with tedious research was clearly a good choice.
"In that case, I can rest easy. Wait a moment, Naoki-kun. The person you want will be here shortly."
After Orochimaru turned and left, Guren visibly sighed in relief. Although she deeply respected Lord Orochimaru, his intimidating presence was clearly more than she could bear. Every time she was around him, she felt tremendous pressure, as though walking on thin ice.
But after Orochimaru left, Guren's continued presence became especially conspicuous to Tsunade.
Tsunade swept a look at Naoki Senju.
What's going on with her!
Naoki Senju immediately understood and replied with his eyes:
I felt sorry for her, so I brought her up on the way.
Seeing that Tsunade still wanted to say something, Naoki Senju reacted quickly and changed the subject.
"Sister Tsunade, you were out all night. Thanks for all your hard work. There's already hot water ready at home. Why don't we go home so you can take a bath and get some sleep?"
Naoki Senju also tried hard to signal Shizune with his eyes. Unfortunately, his rapport with Shizune was nowhere near what he had with Tsunade. Only after he repeated it three times did Shizune understand, hurriedly taking Tsunade's arm from the other side.
"Lady Tsunade, Naoki has a point. We didn't sleep all night, and I'm dead tired. Let's go home first."
Home...
After wandering the Shinobi World for over a decade, who knew how long it had been since she had heard the word "home"? A mist covered Tsunade's eyes, disappearing after she blinked rapidly, but her voice had already grown a little choked.
"All right. Let's go home together."
Watching the three of them act so close, Guren showed a trace of barely perceptible envy in her eyes. She had never known the warmth of family. Ever since she could remember, she had drifted through war, until she met Lord Orochimaru...
And that trace of envy gradually turned into loneliness.
Sensing something, Naoki Senju glanced back at Guren, who was still standing where she was, and shot her a mildly reproachful glare.
"Why aren't you keeping up?"
Yet that rather fierce look made Guren's heart tremble. Her heart, as deathly still as a deep pool, rippled once more, and her feet involuntarily followed Naoki's steps.