113-115

Chapter 113: Senju 

Ring ring ring! 

The urgent school bell echoed through the ninja academy, and the "little radishes" scattered around the classroom reluctantly returned to their seats. 

Naruto, head lowered, quickly stuffed a whole box of strawberry heart-shaped cookies into his mouth. With practiced ease, he picked out a love letter covered in food crumbs and tossed it into the plastic bag inside his desk. 

These were the clever tricks of Hikari’s admirers. 

Realizing she only accepted food offerings and not love letters, they started sneaking notes into boxes of snacks. 

This made things tough for Naruto, who loved chomping down on food. 

Every time he helped Hikari clean up her snacks, he had to be extra careful. Not only did they hide love letters in the treats, but they also slipped in little gifts or toys. 

Pop! 

Naruto puffed out his cheeks and spat out a tiny kunai. 

The kunai, no bigger than his pinky, clattered onto the desk with a metallic clink. Who in the world thought this was a good idea? 

Even if Hikari was a training fanatic, who sends a weapon as a gift? 

He glanced over at Hikari beside him. 

She was engrossed in a thick book, occasionally scribbling incomprehensible symbols on a piece of scrap paper. 

Lately, she’d been like this, supposedly studying something about curse seals. 

Wasn’t she supposed to be blind and unable to read, so I’d have to take notes for her? 

Ugh, I got played! 

Turning his frustration into appetite, Naruto quietly opened another box of snacks under the desk. 

Rustle— 

At the ninja academy, Hikari flipped through a book on curse seals and sealing techniques borrowed from Hiruzen Sarutobi. 

To ease the strain from her ash bones, her Yang Release clone was working within the Root organization to acquire Hashirama’s cells. Meanwhile, she was searching for new leads. 

If she could carve a powerful sealing technique onto her ash bones in the form of a curse seal, could it temporarily suppress the bones’ devouring power, buying more time for her Yang Release clone? 

Her fingers tapped the pages as Hikari carefully scanned each word for a breakthrough. 

Ring ring— 

The bell gradually faded. 

The kids quickly settled into their seats. Iruka walked in with a textbook, tapping the chalkboard with his pointer to hush the lingering chatter. 

“This class is on ninja history. Turn your history books to page 43. We’ll cover the start of the First Great Ninja War.” 

Tap tap! 

Chalk scratched across the board, outlining the dull history. 

“Two years after the Battle of the Valley of the End, the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, passed away. In March of that year, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, took over. The Cloud and the Leaf…” 

Iruka’s droning voice filled the classroom as usual. Hikari, head down, continued studying curse seals, tuning him out. 

Meanwhile, at Experimental Division Base No. 3… 

Even the Sage Body can develop a bloodline disease? 

Hikari’s brow quirked at Chihaya To’s words. 

The bloodline disease from her evolved Bone Pulse was already driving her up the wall, forcing her to infiltrate Root to find Hashirama’s cells as a cure. 

But now, from what Chihaya To was saying, Hashirama’s cells seemed to have their own issues. “A bloodline disease, as the name suggests, is a condition caused by mutations in a ninja’s bloodline limit,” she explained. 

Thinking Hikari didn’t understand, Chihaya To elaborated, “It’s a terminal illness that only affects ninjas with awakened bloodline limits—and not just any ninjas, but the most exceptional, with powerful bloodlines. Only those geniuses qualify for this ‘elite’ disease.” 

“Oh, by the way, someone like you is the perfect candidate for this genius disease.” 

To make her point clear, Chihaya To used Hikari as a humorous example. 

Hikari stared at her blankly, not saying a word. 

“Haha—” The awkward silence made Chihaya To laugh nervously. “Don’t worry, you’re not that likely to get a bloodline disease—” 

“Tell me about Hashirama’s cells,” Hikari cut in, her voice icy, echoing in the underground lab. 

Suddenly, she understood why Ryoma Aburame always seemed so grim. 

“Sorry,” Chihaya To apologized quickly, then continued, “I told you when I was teaching you medical ninjutsu: life force is the most invasive and dangerous power in the world. 

“Too much life force can cause terrifying mutations in a patient’s wounds, even altering their genes, dooming their descendants to suffering. 

“Hashirama’s cells have a life force so potent it’s beyond ‘excessive.’ 

“These super cells, born from uncontrollable vitality, devour energy indiscriminately—friend or foe. They destroy everything around them, endlessly expanding, dividing, and converting chakra until even they can’t handle the power. The only way to release it is through Wood Release, turning the user into a giant tree. 

“Cell lignification. That infinite regenerative ability vanishes, and Hashirama’s body dies. 

“That’s the truth behind the First Hokage’s death.” 

The underground lab fell eerily silent. 

Hikari stared at the giant tree. To be killed by an uncontrollable force—such a lavish way to die. 

She’d consumed the chakra of the Three-Tails and Nine-Tails, yet still felt her own chakra was lacking. She couldn’t imagine what it felt like to be overwhelmed by one’s own chakra. 

Still, it was probably better than being drained dry by her ash bones. 

The Sharingan, Bone Pulse, and Sage Body—all evolved to a certain point, they develop bloodline diseases. By comparison, the Byakugan, considered the weakest, had no reported cases of such diseases. 

As the saying goes: fortune and misfortune are intertwined. 

The Byakugan is hard to master, with a high ceiling and a low floor, but its stability—no weird diseases—made it a top-tier bloodline limit. 

Hikari quietly grew fonder of her Byakugan. 

“A power even Hashirama Senju couldn’t control is even harder for others to handle,” Chihaya To continued. 

“And that’s the reality. 

“We transplanted Hashirama’s cells into many people. Aside from one lucky kid, no one could withstand their erosive power.” 

“There’s a successful case, then?” Hikari asked, recalling the original storyline. 

The “lucky kid” Chihaya To mentioned was likely Yamato, the sole survivor of Orochimaru’s experiments. Code-named Kinoe in Root, he was defeated by Kakashi during an assassination attempt on Hiruzen Sarutobi and later joined the Anbu. The Leaf’s only Wood Release inheritor. 

“That kid somehow merged his cells with Hashirama’s. The new cells lacked that terrifying vitality and couldn’t break human limits. He only gained the Wood Release bloodline limit—far from a true success. 

“One of my highly talented partners gave up on Hashirama cell experiments after that failure and parted ways with me.” 

Chihaya To’s expression carried regret as she mentioned her former partner. 

“You mean Orochimaru,” Hikari guessed. 

“Yeah, you probably haven’t heard of him. He’s sort of your… senior, I guess.” 

“Why did you two split?” 

“Differing ideals. Let’s… not talk about him.” 

Not wanting Hikari to learn too much about Orochimaru and risk messing up Danzo’s plans, Chihaya To steered the conversation back. 

“The Hashirama cell experiments spanned decades. 

“Subjects ranged from elderly ninjas to newborns, from talentless grunts to elite Jonin with bloodline limits—even clansmen related to Hashirama himself. None could handle that bizarre power.” 

Chihaya To’s hand rested on the glass. 

Beneath her palm, a writhing mass of flesh and struggling limbs told the story of the experiments’ grim outcomes. 

“You even used the Senju clan for experiments?” Hikari was shocked. Chihaya To’s madness exceeded her imagination. 

“Not me,” Chihaya To corrected, shaking her head. 

“The Hashirama cell experiments have a decades-long history. When I was just a kid in medical ninja training, like you, Danzo, the Third Hokage, and even the Senju clan themselves were already secretly conducting cell transplant experiments. 

“We just inherited their data and results.” 

Hikari let out a heavy sigh. 

The power of the “God of Ninjas” was undeniably tempting. It’s why she joined Root, why Orochimaru turned against his mentor and cut ties with lifelong friends. It made sense that the Senju clan, having witnessed Hashirama’s power firsthand, would be more obsessed with it than anyone. 

Looking at the massive base of pale flesh, a horrifying thought struck Hikari: 

“What were the results of the Senju clan’s experiments?” 

“I told you, they all failed,” Chihaya To replied. 

Her malnourished face pressed close to the glass pillar. Under the harsh fluorescent light, her reflection merged with the struggling faces in the fleshy base. 

“I mean the Senju—” 

“They’re all here.” 

“What?” Hikari’s eyelashes trembled. 

“The Senju, who dominated the Warring States era, allied with the Uchiha to end the chaos and found the Leaf Village, then mysteriously vanished… 

“They’re pretty much all here.” 

Through the smudged glass, Chihaya To stared at the massive fleshy base beneath the giant tree. Her dark eyes were like twin voids, eerily calm. 

Gurgle, gurgle! 

The flesh writhed in the nutrient fluid, emitting grotesque sounds, like a beast chewing its prey. 

Hikari slowly raised her head. 

Her Byakugan gazed at the giant tree in the glass. Faces with varied expressions sprouted from the trunk. The lush tree swayed gently, its green glimmers surging like an ocean tide of vitality. 

This… this is too much! 

Dark clouds gathered in the sky, whipped by fierce winds. Occasional flashes of light pierced through. 

Crackle! 

Thunder roared. 

Hikari’s main body, practicing Lightning Release chakra mode at home, paused her training. Standing in the center of the training ground, she closed her eyes, pressing a hand to her heart. 

In the void, a double-helix chain linked her heart to an unseen distance. 

Two streams of chakra spiraled within, exchanging memories, knowledge, and images between her main body and her clone. 

Hashirama’s cells, bloodline diseases, the Senju, the giant tree—images flooded her mind. By the time the transfer was complete, she felt a faint exhaustion. 

The information was overwhelming. 

Hashirama died from a bloodline disease tied to his Sage Body. 

The Senju clan didn’t fade into the Leaf Village as per Hashirama’s will. Instead, brutal human experiments killed eighty percent of their ninjas, leaving the remnants to bury their clan’s glory. 

According to Chihaya To, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo, and the Senju leaders were all involved. 

During a critical period when the Leaf was under attack by other ninja villages, the three parties, desperate to recreate Hashirama’s divine power, launched a massive human experiment campaign. 

Back then, medical ninja training wasn’t as advanced, and practitioners were scarce. 

As a child, Chihaya To’s medical ninjutsu teacher was one of the many researchers involved, so she knew plenty of insider details. 

At first, the Senju were restrained, using only elderly subjects. Then it escalated to adults, teenagers, and, in their desperation, even infants. 

That decision severed the Senju clan’s roots. 

The only result was a near-infinite vitality tree, with no other gains. The famed Senju clan destroyed itself. 

What a tragedy. 

Thinking of the fleshy base made of countless people, Hikari’s emotions were hard to describe. 

She felt sorrow for the Senju’s reckless demise, yet her own desire to transplant Hashirama’s cells wasn’t so different. 

The path of transplanting Hashirama’s cells seemed like a dead end. 

Chihaya To later provided Hikari with medical ninjutsu data, experiment reports, research directions on Hashirama’s cells, and issues encountered during transplants. 

The more Hikari read, the more her resolve to pursue the transplant wavered. 

It was grim. 

Truly horrific. 

The thick experiment reports were filled with death lists. Even the rare survivors became half-human, half-tree monsters, useless for research and tossed beneath the giant tree as nutrients for new cell growth. 

With such a high mortality rate, Hikari didn’t want to bet on that one-in-a-thousand chance. 

“Gamblers never end well” wasn’t just a saying—the Senju’s fate proved it. 

Most critically, even if she won the gamble, she likely wouldn’t gain a Sage Body’s vitality. 

Yamato only gained Wood Release, not a Sage Body. Others in the original story who received Hashirama’s cells didn’t achieve his level of vitality either. 

Danzo and Obito used the cells as a battery for their Sharingan and a launcher for Wood Release. Madara used Hashirama’s chakra to awaken the Rinnegan. The White Zetsu were weak plant-like clones. 

Not a single person truly inherited Hashirama’s godlike vitality! 

Chapter 114: Training (Part 1) 

The dark clouds in the sky grew heavier, pressing down on Hikari until she felt like she could barely breathe. 

Gurgle! 

Gurgle! 

The muscles clinging to her bones twitched with fear. 

Her grayish-white bones absorbed faint strands of purple chakra, while visible green specks of light vanished within it. The ominous, death-like patterns spread mercilessly across her bones. Unbeknownst to her, nearly a tenth of them had already been tainted by the gray hue. 

The heavy countdown to death weighed constantly on her heart. 

Even the exhaustion of training at eight times her normal intensity couldn’t make her forget that pressure. 

She had thought joining Root would let her use Hashirama cells to extend her lifespan, but now she realized the situation was nothing like she’d imagined. 

Madara Uchiha had a transplant in his chest, Obito had half his body, and Danzo had one arm. But what about her? 

Her gray bones were spread throughout her entire body. To survive, she’d need to transplant Hashirama cells everywhere. 

Never mind the sky-high mortality rate from rejection. 

Even if she miraculously succeeded, she’d just end up like Yamato—or, at best, like Danzo, using the Sharingan to suppress the Hashirama cells, turning them into a battery to sustain her gray bones. 

Without fundamentally changing her body’s constitution, her gray bones would keep evolving toward Corpse Bone Pulse, and her body wouldn’t be able to handle the power that symbolized death and finality. 

Transplanting Hashirama cells wouldn’t solve the root problem—it might even accelerate her death, leaving her to die from some unknown kekkei genkai disease, just like Hashirama Senju. 

Sigh. 

Hikari let out a deep sigh. 

After weighing the pros and cons of Hashirama cells, she had to abandon the risky transplant plan. The cells could be studied as a reference, but they weren’t a shortcut to solving her problem. 

If Hashirama cells and her gray bones were perfectly compatible, curing both conditions would be a dream come true. 

But her worst fear was the second scenario: the cells and her bones stimulating each other, rapidly evolving until both uncontrollable kekkei genkai diseases erupted simultaneously. That would truly be a death sentence. 

And deep down, she had a sinking feeling that the second scenario was far more likely. 

This path was a dead end. The key to solving her problem still lay in the Reverse Eight Gates, which she hadn’t yet developed. 

After all that, she was back to square one. 

But joining Root hadn’t been a total loss. 

She now had access to experimental data, facilities, equipment, medical ninjutsu, Hashirama cells, and even a legitimate way to obtain a Sharingan. The threat of Root and Danzo was temporarily neutralized. Even if Danzo turned against her, her Yang Release clone in Root acted as a human surveillance camera, giving her plenty of time to react. Neither an ambush nor the Otherworldly God technique could easily affect her real body. 

As the disciple of both Konoha’s light and shadow—Danzo and Sarutobi Hiruzen—she was untouchable as long as neither of them made a move against her. 

As for the future trouble of being caught between Danzo and Sarutobi? That was a problem for later. First, she had to cure her kekkei genkai disease to live long enough for those troubles to even matter. 

At the rate her condition was progressing, her initial estimate of three years was too optimistic. 

Maybe a year. Maybe six months. 

Her gray bones would fully form in her body, and when that happened, her body’s reaction wouldn’t be as gentle as it was now. 

She had to speed up the Reverse Eight Gates! 

One month later. 

Wednesday evening. 

The sky was painted with crimson clouds, like a blazing fairy fire. 

A wrinkled old hand left afterimages in the air as Sarutobi Hiruzen faced the girl wrapped in crackling lightning, puffing out his chest. 

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique! 

Boom! 

A fireball larger than the Hatake clan’s house erupted from his mouth. 

And that wasn’t all. 

On the other side, his shadow clone finished forming hand signs, releasing a Wind Release chakra just as powerful as the fireball. 

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough! 

The fierce wind collided with the fireball midair, causing the already massive fireball to swell even further. 

A tidal wave of flames surged toward Hikari, engulfing half the training field. The roaring firelight even outshone the evening glow for a moment. 

Her ashen pupils reflected the flames. 

Drawing on her inherited Three-Tails ability, moisture in the air rapidly gathered around her, forming a spherical water barrier akin to the Water Prison Technique. 

Whoosh! 

The water wasn’t static—it flowed dynamically, forming eerie vortexes on its surface. 

Whirl! 

The water’s flow grew stronger, spinning faster and faster. A whirlwind formed at the center of the vortex, with Hikari standing in the eye of the storm. 

Sun-Chasing Flow: Wind-Water Return! 

Buzz buzz buzz buzz! 

The frenzied Wind Release churned the water sphere, making it seem even more volatile than the flames. 

Boom! 

The raging water tornado clashed with the fire wave, sending scalding steam spiraling into the sky under the wind’s force. 

The overwhelming Fire Release had its heat completely absorbed by the Water Release. Unable to sustain its ignition point, the steam rapidly cooled under the Wind Release, condensing back into clear water. 

In moments, Sarutobi’s combined Wind and Fire ninjutsu was entirely neutralized by Hikari’s Wind-Water Return. 

“Wind counters wind, water counters fire. Beautiful attribute suppression and a brilliantly executed combined ninjutsu. You’re absolutely made for mastering elemental techniques,” Sarutobi said, unable to stop praising the small figure in the water tornado. The more time he spent with Hikari, the more he could feel her inhuman talent. 

Every meeting showed visible progress. Every spar brought surprises. Her elemental techniques were growing more refined, especially her Wind and Water Releases, which had reached a high level of nature transformation. 

For an average ninja using Water Release, only about 60% of their chakra could be converted into water flow, with the rest wasted uncontrollably. The power of a ninjutsu, the degree of nature transformation, and the chakra output per unit of time were strongly correlated. 

During their first spar, Sarutobi had noticed that Hikari’s nature transformations weren’t refined enough, and her power didn’t match her chakra quality. Now, after just a month of training, her transformations had reached a professional level, and her unique no-hand-sign ninjutsu was finally showing its potential. 

No-hand-sign ninjutsu wasn’t just about speed. 

To become a technique-focused Jonin, one had to master at least one nature transformation and several form transformations. At that point, casting ninjutsu with just a few hand signs was nearly as fast as no-hand-sign casting. 

The real strength of no-hand-sign ninjutsu lay in the casting itself. 

For Sarutobi to perform a combined Wind and Fire ninjutsu, he’d need to use Shadow Clone Technique first. No matter how fast he formed signs, he only had two hands and couldn’t cast two techniques simultaneously. 

But Hikari could. 

In theory, as long as she could multitask and had enough chakra, she could unleash countless ninjutsu at once, creating a carpet-bombing effect. 

The Fourth Hokage’s strength came from combining no-hand-sign Flying Thunder God and Rasengan with lightning-fast reflexes. Anyone slightly slower was doomed. 

Whoosh! 

The training field was engulfed in thick mist, obscuring Sarutobi’s vision. The small figure at the center of the water tornado was impossible to track. 

“Oh, you’ve finally developed Water Release’s battlefield control abilities?” Sarutobi’s eyes lit up. 

During last week’s spar, he’d suggested a direction for her Water Release, and now she’d put it into practice. This vision-blocking mist, similar to the Hidden Mist Technique, was a new skill she hadn’t used before. 

Few ninjutsu in the ninja world enhanced sensory abilities. This vision-obscuring mist couldn’t directly harm enemies but maximized Hikari’s non-visual perception. If she’d had this against Yagura, she could’ve stalled him with the mist, keeping control whether she chose to fight or flee. 

“Water Release excels at control and support. I used to focus on high-power techniques, which was a mistake. I ignored its greatest strength. Thanks for the guidance, Sensei,” Hikari’s voice carried through the breeze, coming from all directions—sometimes loud, sometimes soft, impossible to pinpoint. 

The rolling mist churned, with some areas darkening due to high moisture content. 

Vision and hearing were completely suppressed. 

Facing Hikari, who had mastered Lightning Release chakra mode to compensate for her weaknesses, even Sarutobi found it tricky. 

“Back-to-back,” he said, quickly devising a solution. His clone moved to stand back-to-back with his real body, guarding against her attacks. 

Buzz! Buzz! 

Two vacuum blades sliced through the mist, targeting both the real Sarutobi and his clone. 

Earth Release: Hardening Technique! ×2 

Both cast Hardening simultaneously, their robust Earth Release chakra forming a spatial structure over their bodies. 

Clang! Clang! 

The Wind Release couldn’t pierce the defensively superior Earth Release, only chipping away at the surface before dissipating. 

“Wind Release is intangible and powerful, but too much moisture in the air exposes its stealth. Your Water Release control and Wind Release combo needs work,” both Sarutobis critiqued, giving her no chance to distinguish the real from the clone. 

“What chakra nature works best in this misty battlefield?” Hikari’s voice remained elusive, seeking advice. 

This was a training spar meant for Sarutobi to help her identify weaknesses, so he didn’t use Wind Release to dispel her mist. 

“Lightning and Fire chakra get dispersed by the moisture. Stealthy Wind exposes your position, and strong Wind might blow the mist away. In this situation, Water, Earth, and taijutsu are your best options. Water Release in a misty environment boosts power and conserves chakra, letting you outlast enemies. Earth Release is heavy and pairs with mist for dual control, making it hard for enemies to move. Oh, and sealing techniques—those are tough to land and have strict conditions, but a water-earth dual control field can boost their hit rate, letting you finish with a seal.” 

True to his title as the Professor of Ninjutsu, Sarutobi effortlessly devised a combat system based on the mist. 

The thick fog rapidly cleared, and the blood-red evening light pierced through, casting Sarutobi and Hikari’s shadows on the damp training field. 

“Water Release can’t break Hardening Technique, and I’m not proficient with Earth Release yet. The Five Elements Seal you taught me last time is barely usable and not ready for combat. I guess this spar ends here,” Hikari said, waving her hand to disperse the mist. 

She’d used up a tenth of her chakra. Large-scale Water Release was costly, but it wasn’t a one-and-done deal. She could still manipulate the dispersed water in the environment. The initial wave consumed the most chakra, but subsequent uses required less. 

Sometimes, a Water Release ninja with less chakra than their opponent could outlast them, keeping steady reserves while the enemy ran dry—a deceptive advantage. 

Control, support, overwhelming numbers, and endurance: that was the ultimate essence of Water Release. 

As the mist cleared, Sarutobi looked at the sky, dispelled his clone, picked up his Hokage hat, dusted it off, and placed it on his head. The brim cast an arc-shaped shadow over his wrinkled, age-spotted face. 

“Your Wind Release has improved rapidly,” he noted. 

Hikari paused, then smiled. “I’ve been training Wind Release with shadow clones lately, putting in extra effort. But that’s left my Earth Release lagging.” 

Her focus had been on medical ninjutsu and developing the Reverse Eight Gates, sidelining her five-element transformations. Her sudden Wind Release progress? That was thanks to her other “budget” teacher. 

Whether it was to entice her with benefits or just competitive pride, Danzo, after learning Sarutobi’s teaching methods, had started setting aside two hours a week to guide her Wind Release training. 

The guy was a Kage-level Wind Release master, and this wasn’t the Shippuden era eight years later—he wasn’t the frail old man from the original story. In two spars with him, her fledgling Lightning Release chakra mode had been shredded like paper under his terrifying Wind Release. If not for her Earth Release as a fallback, her shadow clone would’ve been obliterated. 

“Hm,” Sarutobi nodded. “Earth Release is crucial. Lightning Release chakra mode is strong, but it’s countered by Wind Release. If you face a Wind Release expert and rely too much on Lightning, you’ll be in trouble. Earth Release for physical defense can neutralize that weakness. The more versatile your combat style, the better your odds.” 

“Got it, Sensei Sarutobi,” Hikari replied. 

Sometimes, she couldn’t help but admire Sarutobi’s keen insight. Every problem she faced, he had solid advice for. He even anticipated issues she hadn’t encountered yet and prepared strategies for them. 

No wonder he’d trained three Kage-level ninjas. The guy was the real deal. 

Sarutobi watched her calmly, as if seeing a familiar stranger. “I hear you’re interested in Yin and Yang Release techniques?” 

Facing his probing, Hikari kept her expression neutral. “Yeah, I want to surpass you and become an all-round ninja mastering all seven chakra natures. That’s my dream.” 

Sarutobi licked his lips, a faint sense of déjà vu stirring as images of Orochimaru and the Second Hokage overlapped with Hikari. “Yin and Yang transformations are too dangerous. One mistake can cause catastrophic damage to your foundation. I don’t recommend dabbling in them recklessly.” 

Hikari’s expression dimmed briefly, but after a moment’s thought, she looked up. “I really want to push forward, but since you say so, there must be a reason. I won’t touch Yin or Yang Release until I’m ready.” 

Whether her promise was genuine or not, Sarutobi smiled with relief. None of his disciples had ever been obedient, but Hikari’s attitude was already better than most. 

“What issues are you having with the Five Elements Seal?” he asked. 

“I can handle three chakra natures at once, but the other two are always unstable—” 

“Classic multitasking problem. Two solutions: one, grind it out over time until each nature transformation becomes muscle memory, so you don’t even need to think about it. Two, shift your focus rapidly between transformations. If you’re fast enough, it’ll feel simultaneous.” 

Chapter 115: Training (Part 2) 

Time flies. 

The Five Elements Seal was indeed tough to master. Even with Hiruzen Sarutobi’s guidance, Hikari could barely pull it off, and she was still far from using it in the heat of fast-paced combat. 

As the short lesson wrapped up, she watched his hunched figure quickly disappear. With a quick scan of the surroundings using her Byakugan, Hikari turned and headed back to her bedroom. 

The room was cramped. 

A desk, a chair, a bed, and a floor littered with… Hikari. 

Several shadow clones, identical in appearance and clothing, sat cross-legged in a circle, each engrossed in a different hefty book. 

Yin, Yang, sealing techniques, barriers, curse seals, medical ninjutsu—all dense, complex tomes. Each one was as thick as Hikari’s palm. Even with her clones working together, it would take a while to get through them. 

These books on seals and curse seals were borrowed from Hiruzen Sarutobi. 

There’s no such thing as a free lunch. 

Even as his disciple, precious knowledge like ninjutsu wasn’t handed out for free. It had to be accounted for. 

Ninjutsu knowledge was a valuable resource of the Leaf Village, not Hiruzen’s personal property. Any new techniques developed using this knowledge were expected to be submitted to the Leaf’s ninjutsu archives. 

The word “expected” was key—ninjas were sensitive about this, so the village didn’t enforce it strictly. 

You could choose not to submit, but that was a one-time deal. The knowledge stayed in your head, and the village wouldn’t take it back, but getting access to more knowledge or techniques afterward would be a steep climb. If you submitted a new technique, you’d be rewarded with a secret technique of similar rank. 

Plus, you could keep borrowing knowledge books. It was like the village investing in talented ninjas, then reinvesting based on their results. 

Developing new techniques to trade for secret ones, buying them from ninja tool shops at a high price, or studying under a mentor—these were the three paths for civilian ninjas to advance beyond the academy. 

Those who could develop techniques took the first path, the wealthy took the second, and those with connections or exceptional talent took the third. The Leaf’s endless stream of civilian prodigies and quirky secret techniques was the result of these rules working together. 

Rumor had it these rules were set by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, who contributed his clan’s ninjutsu and knowledge to fill the Leaf’s archives. 

Hikari marveled at Tobirama’s foresight while happily agreeing to the terms. 

Submitting a technique developed using borrowed knowledge? No problem. It was a gentleman’s agreement, not mandatory—practically a freebie. 

Compared to Hiruzen, Danzo was even more “generous.” 

No strings attached. Hikari only needed to cite “experimental needs” to get Danzo’s approval, then she could freely access and read from Root’s secret archives. 

When she got there, she was stunned: Root’s collection was larger, more comprehensive, and newer than the Leaf’s. Most were likely hand-copied from the Leaf’s archives. 

She found plenty of rare materials, like: 

“On the Principles of Medical Ninjutsu” by Tsunade, “Studies on Yin and Yang Forces” by Orochimaru, and “Basic Methods of Ninjutsu Development” by Tobirama Senju. 

She even stumbled across books credited to the Uchiha clan—old, yellowed pages with creases, clearly spoils seized after their extermination. 

Since it was free, Hikari, eager to develop new techniques, took as many of these precious resources as she could. 

But free things often come with the highest cost. 

She knew exactly what Danzo was up to. 

He thought he could control her with the threat of brainwashing via Other Gods and her involvement in human experiments. Little did he know, Hikari didn’t care about that. 

Her only concern was her own survival. 

Everything else took a backseat. 

Creak! 

Hikari grabbed the bed’s frame, dragging it to the other side of the room, revealing the flat ground beneath. 

Byakugan! 

Activate! 

Her pupil power surged. 

A faint red sealing barrier appeared on the floor. Hikari swiftly formed hand signs, her palms glowing with a purple aura. A strange, incomplete semicircle pattern emerged on the barrier’s surface. 

This was one of her recent achievements. 

A sealing barrier that concealed, blocked prying eyes, and repelled enemies—all in one. 

It worked like a charm. 

Someday, she’d use the principles of this barrier to make anti-vision clothing, specifically to counter the Byakugan. From the Hyuga clan’s main branch to the Otsutsuki clan, it could neutralize them to some degree. 

Especially the Hyuga’s Gentle Fist, which targeted chakra points—it would be useless against something that blocked their vision. 

Buzz! 

Once the pattern fully formed and matched the expected chakra blueprint, the barrier’s color faded, revealing a square underground cavity. 

Inside was a roughly nine-square-meter basement. The walls, reinforced with Earth Release chakra, were etched with dense curse inscriptions. Other than a stone table, a glass rod, and a few bottles and jars, there was nothing else—not even a candle. 

Hikari had dug this basement herself with Earth Release to store things that couldn’t see the light of day. 

As a pragmatist, her Byakugan’s powerful vision didn’t need light, so she hadn’t bothered with illumination. 

With a hand gesture, one of the shadow clones reading a book set it down, activated her Byakugan, and scanned the entire space. 

Confirming no issues, Hikari jumped into the cavity. 

Boom! 

Boom, boom~ 

Her landing echoed heavily in the empty room. Though there was no light source, faint beams streamed through the unsealed opening above, illuminating swirling dust particles in the air. 

Waving away the dust, Hikari picked up a large glass bottle from the table. 

Inside, two pieces of flesh floated in milky nutrient fluid. 

The blood-red piece was losing vitality, reduced to the size of a fingernail, faintly glowing purple. 

The pale white piece extended roots into the red flesh, steadily siphoning its purple energy. The white flesh grew visibly, its green chakra glow overpowering the purple. 

The red flesh was cut from her own arm; the white was Hashirama’s cells, taken from the experimental division. 

Stealing cells was almost too easy. 

She’d scraped a bit off a test subject’s transplanted flesh with her fingernail, sealing it in a coin before the cells could devour the energy. Hashirama’s cells were resilient and easy to cultivate. With some minced meat, they’d grow from barely visible to a large chunk in days. 

If allowed to gather enough energy, the cells would form a chakra core, absorbing energy to produce chakra. If no energy was available, they’d burn their own vitality to force the conversion, eventually spiraling out of control into a vibrant sapling, rendering the cells unusable. 

The hardest part of cultivating Hashirama’s cells was keeping them from getting too active. 

Decades of transplant experiments had solved this, thanks to some genius’s idea: 

Mix a specially formulated acidic poison into the nutrient fluid. 

The cells absorbed nutrients but were constantly killed by the poison. The fluid’s energy allowed rapid division, and new cells consumed the dead ones, creating a delicate balance. 

Some cells even developed antibodies against the poison, so researchers created different poison variants, switching them every three days to prevent targeted mutations. 

Holding the bottle up, Hikari’s eye veins bulged, spiderwebbing across half her face. 

Her pupil power surged with costly purple chakra, magnifying the bottle’s contents infinitely in her vision. 

Boom! 

A microscopic world unfolded in her mind. 

Unlike the calm macro view, the micro world was a brutal battlefield, far worse than any war. 

It wasn’t even a fight—more like a massacre. 

The hyperactive, almost crazed white cells hunted down Hikari’s purple-glowing cells. 

Soon, the frenzied Hashirama cells surrounded her more numerous cells. 

Their outer membranes—or cell walls—sprouted countless tendrils, piercing Hikari’s cells and sucking out their energy. 

The purple chakra, once infused with tailed beast power and brimming with malice, was now as helpless as a mouse before a cat. After a token resistance, it was slurped up like a drink. Hikari’s cells, which relied on that chakra to grow, lost all resistance and were ruthlessly broken down. 

As expected, it didn’t work. 

Hikari’s brows furrowed. 

Eighty percent of her Bone Pulse’s power was in her bones. Her flesh, while unique, stood no chance against the fully matured Sage Body cells of Hashirama. 

Worse, her tailed beast-infused chakra was completely overpowered. A light pull from the tendrils, and it melted away—easier than eating a cupcake. 

It didn’t stop there. 

As Hikari observed, the Hashirama cells, having consumed the last of her flesh’s chakra, acted like they’d taken a mega-dose of vitality. They split and expanded wildly. 

The tiny flesh formed a minuscule chakra core, smaller than a needle’s tip—a green speck in her vision. 

The green speck churned out chakra, accelerating the flesh’s division to a freakish pace. 

Even the bottle’s nutrient-poison mix couldn’t suppress the cells’ growth anymore. The fluid was rapidly consumed until it was gone. The crazed cells turned on themselves, annihilating each other to fuel the chakra core. 

Mass cell death followed, unable to withstand the chakra’s spread. 

Crack! 

A tender sprout broke through the pale flesh. 

Oh no! 

The glass bottle screeched as the struggling sapling scratched it. Black roots enveloped the Hashirama cells completely. 

In moments, both Hashirama’s and Hikari’s cells were gone. The large bottle now held a tiny sapling, its green leaves filling the space. 

The green glow faded. 

Hashirama and Hikari’s cells were dead! 

Shaking her head, Hikari set the plant-filled bottle on the table and picked up another. 

This time, the pale flesh was larger, already containing a fluorescent green chakra core. The surrounding toxic nutrient fluid was highly concentrated, a brownish-yellow like cooking wine. 

No purple-charged Hikari cells were inside. 

Closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths, Hikari unsealed the bottle and dipped her index finger inside. 

Below her knuckle, the Hashirama cells, feeding on the nutrient fluid, wriggled rapidly. 

Chakra gathered at her fingertip. 

Her smooth fingerpad slowly split, revealing a blood-red gash. A grayish-white finger bone grew slowly from the flesh. 

Crunch! 

Crunch! 

The familiar yet eerie sound of grinding bones echoed in the air. 

Her Bone Pulse mutation devoured massive amounts of chakra, the gray patterns on the bone growing wilder. 

Suppressing the draining weakness, Hikari used her Byakugan to control the Bone Pulse’s consumption, successfully extruding a finger bone. 

Snap! 

The strange bone, marked with ashen spots, dropped onto the Hashirama cells below. 

Sealing the gash on her finger, Hikari didn’t dare blink, staring intently at the bottle where life and death—bone and flesh—met. 

Lightning crackled across her body. 

Her right foot stepped forward, her grip on the bottle tightening. 

If anything went wrong, she could bolt from the cramped basement to the Hatake clan grounds in under three seconds. 

Crack! 

Gray patterns spread rapidly from the bone’s contact point with the cells, like vines climbing a wall. The pale flesh was instantly covered in strange markings. 

Holding her breath, Hikari’s muscles tensed. 

Her right leg visibly swelled, muscles coiling like a spring. 

Gurgle! 

The flesh where the patterns spread seemed to melt, becoming brittle. The gray-spotted finger bone sank into the flesh, bit by bit, until it was fully submerged and still. 

Huh? 

Seeing the half-evolved ash bone embedded in the flesh, both seemingly at peace, Hikari’s racing heart finally settled, replaced by deep confusion. 

She’d imagined many scenarios before the experiment. 

The ash bone and Hashirama cells fighting to the death, or the half-finished ash bone devouring the cells’ energy to evolve, or the cells consuming her bone cells and mutating unpredictably. 

She’d considered every possibility—except this. No reaction at all. 

Not enemies, not merging, just… two strangers, distinctly separate. 

Byakugan activated. 

Her vision shifted to a 360-degree transparent state. The calm, gray-patterned flesh split into three layers in her eyes.