156-160

Chapter 156: Danzo’s Arm

Orochimaru arrived at a clearing where several Root ninjas were already waiting. Standing among them was one of the elders of Konohagakure, known as the "Darkness of the Shinobi," Shimura Danzo.

“I didn’t expect you to come here in person this time,” Orochimaru said with a hint of mockery as he looked at the surrounded old man.

Indeed, if others discovered that a Konoha elder was secretly meeting with an S-ranked rogue ninja, even Danzo would face tremendous public pressure.

However, Danzo remained unfazed. The entire Root was under his control. As the leader of Root, it was not unusual for him to occasionally undertake classified missions himself.

Besides, Root had a strong degree of independence within Konoha. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn’t question his whereabouts, and no one would discover what he did outside the village.

“Let’s skip the pleasantries,” Danzo said gruffly. “What concerns me more than small talk is whether you’ve completed the task I assigned you.”

Orochimaru’s golden eyes lingered on Danzo.

Indeed, this high-ranking Konoha official had long shared a web of interests with him, an S-ranked rogue ninja. Otherwise, Orochimaru wouldn’t have the funds for his experiments.

Hearing Danzo’s inquiry, Orochimaru smirked. “Of course I’ve completed your request. Where’s what I asked for?”

Danzo scrutinized Orochimaru for a moment and replied in his gravelly voice, “The one hundred test subjects I promised you have been prepared. This time, the quality is very high. I hope you can make some progress. Otherwise, it will be difficult for me to provide you with this many subjects again.”

“You know, Hiruzen has been keeping a close eye on Root lately.”

At the mention of that familiar name, Orochimaru let out a derisive laugh. “As expected, my dear teacher is still as rotten as ever.”

If it weren’t for the irreconcilable differences between Sarutobi Hiruzen’s ideals and his own, Orochimaru, once one of the Legendary Sannin, might not have left Konoha so soon.

“Orochimaru, Hiruzen is still the Hokage of our village. Watch your words,” Danzo suddenly said, tapping his cane to emphasize his point.

Although he somewhat agreed with Orochimaru’s sentiment, Hiruzen was still the Hokage of Konoha. A rogue ninja like Orochimaru had no right to judge him.

“Heh,” Orochimaru sneered, licking his lips mockingly. “You’re all so hypocritical.”

Raising his hand, a long snake suddenly slithered out of the dark shadows of a nearby passage. It approached Danzo and opened its mouth wide in front of him.

Root ninjas on either side of Danzo immediately stepped forward, ready to block any potential attack.

But Orochimaru made no hostile moves. After all, attacking Danzo now wouldn’t benefit him in any way and would only provoke Konoha’s retaliation.

The brown python slowly opened its mouth, viscous saliva stretching into thin threads between its fangs. With a wriggling motion, it regurgitated an arm wrapped tightly in bandages.

Danzo’s aged face betrayed a fleeting trace of excitement. He quickly signaled to Aburame Ryo, who stepped forward to receive the arm.

After a thorough examination, Aburame Ryo confirmed its safety and handed the arm to Danzo.

Seeing Danzo’s expression, Orochimaru knew the man was quite satisfied with this result.

“As you requested, I used Wood Release cells to create an arm. I implanted ten Sharingan into it and used the power of the Uchiha to suppress the growth of the Wood Release cells, achieving a delicate balance,” Orochimaru explained.

Feeling the Wood Release chakra emanating from the arm, Danzo’s face revealed an expression of satisfaction.

With these Sharingan, he could finally perform that forbidden Uchiha technique.

However, Danzo was a cunning old fox. The excitement on his face lasted only a second before disappearing, replaced by his usual deep and unfathomable coldness.

“Well done,” Danzo said in his hoarse voice. “I’ll increase the funding allocated to you through Root. As for the Wood Release experiments, you need to speed up the progress.”

Hearing about the increased funding, Orochimaru’s lips curled into a smile. “The difficulty of creating a Wood Release ninja is not small. I can only promise to do my best.”

Danzo nodded. “We’ve invested enough resources into Wood Release. It’s time we see some results.”

With that, Danzo and his Root ninjas swiftly disappeared from the clearing.

Orochimaru watched them leave, his golden eyes narrowing as if lost in thought.

Moments later, one of his subordinates approached and reported, “Orochimaru-sama, the one hundred test subjects provided by Danzo are ready.”

“Good,” Orochimaru replied, turning to head back into his base.

“In that case, let’s resume the Wood Release experiments.”

“Yes, sir.”

Over the next period, Orochimaru immersed himself in Wood Release experiments. As expected, the results were nothing but failure after failure.

The cells of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, were simply too dominant. Once they entered another person’s body, they would begin to grow uncontrollably, rapidly consuming the host.

Orochimaru tried countless methods to suppress the growth of Hashirama’s cells, but the results were minimal. Almost every test subject ultimately died, drained dry by the cells.

Under such circumstances, keeping the host alive was already a luxury, let alone having them master Wood Release.

Still, Orochimaru’s research wasn’t entirely fruitless.

The arm he created for Danzo was a significant achievement and the only method he had found to somewhat suppress the Hashirama cells.

That method was the Sharingan.

When Sharingan were present, the growth of Hashirama cells could be somewhat suppressed.

Although it wasn’t yet possible to fully control the cells, combining the Sharingan with medication prevented the cells from growing into massive trees.

For this reason, Orochimaru repeatedly requested that Danzo obtain Uchiha clan members for him as test subjects—preferably those with the three-tomoe Sharingan.

Unsurprisingly, Danzo refused every time.

After all, Danzo’s primary goal in creating Wood Release users was to counterbalance the Uchiha clan. Allowing Orochimaru to equip the Uchiha with Wood Release? What if a test subject broke free from conditioning and turned against them?

Danzo would have to be insane to agree.

Raising Uchiha children from a young age was also out of the question. It would take too long, and there was no guarantee that the children would awaken the Sharingan—let alone that the Sharingan would be strong enough to suppress Hashirama’s cells.

Additionally, there was the risk of the Uchiha clan discovering the experiments and triggering a civil war within Konoha. In short, the idea was rejected as too costly and risky.

But Orochimaru had no such reservations. After all, what he needed was simply a strong enough body. It didn’t matter which clan it came from.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 157: The Evolving Scorpion

"Damn it, still no good?"

Orochimaru's cold gaze lingered on the experimental subject before him.

A patch of grayish-white skin spread wildly from the subject's chest. No matter how Orochimaru intervened, he couldn't stop the rampant expansion of Hashirama's cells.

In the end, the Hashirama cells completely consumed the body, absorbing it as nutrients.

From the subject's chest sprouted a tender shoot, which, in the blink of an eye, transformed into a towering tree!

Orochimaru, anticipating this, swiftly drew the Kusanagi Sword and severed the branches reaching for him.

Then, he produced a scroll and sealed the experiment into it using sealing techniques.

He had repeated this process countless times.

"How many experimental subjects from Danzo remain?" Orochimaru asked, turning to his subordinate.

"Thirty-six, Orochimaru-sama," the subordinate promptly replied.

"Hmm."

Orochimaru's eyes darkened as he pondered.

Danzo had provided 100 high-quality experimental subjects. On this point, Danzo hadn’t lied; he desired the emergence of a new Wood Release user even more than Orochimaru did.

These superior test subjects had indeed made a difference in Orochimaru's experiments.

At the very least, they could withstand the erosion of Hashirama's cells three to four times longer than ordinary subjects.

Yet, Orochimaru found it frustrating that none of them showed any signs of fusing with the cells. They merely resisted longer before succumbing.

"Besides the Sharingan, is there truly no other way to counter Wood Release?"

"What gives the Sharingan the ability to counter Wood Release? Could it really be some inevitable fate between the Uchiha and Senju clans?"

Orochimaru pondered endlessly, but with the current limitations of scientific research, he had no effective solutions.

After losing another 20 test subjects, he was finally forced to suspend the experiment temporarily.

For some reason, a particular figure appeared in his mind.

"Could it be that I really have to collaborate with that person?"

Orochimaru squinted slightly, recalling the almost identical body Kaneki had created. Eventually, he made up his mind.

---

Meanwhile, Kaneki was observing Gaara. Having recently modified the boy, he had activated the magnet release gene within him.

Through his research on magnet release, Kaneki had gained insight into the origins of kekkei genkai.

In essence, kekkei genkai were a form of genetic mutation.

Ninjas possessing kekkei genkai had unique genetic sequences. Once activated and successfully expressed, these sequences caused the cells to produce special substances that allowed the fusion of two different chakra natures, resulting in a new type of chakra.

This phenomenon explained the elemental kekkei genkai. As for the ocular and body-based kekkei genkai like the Sharingan or Byakugan, Kaneki had yet to delve into them.

"Kaneki-senpai, is that all?"

Standing beside him, Sasori stared at the red-haired boy in disbelief. Under Kaneki's guidance, this child, who shared his fiery hair, had seemingly inherited the power of the Third Kazekage.

"More or less. Once Gaara wakes up, he should be able to combine earth and lightning chakra to form magnet release chakra, allowing him to perform magnet release techniques."

Kaneki adjusted his glasses, as if this were a trivial matter.

"Of course, he'll need to learn magnet release techniques on his own."

Kaneki’s calm demeanor only deepened Sasori’s admiration.

For Kaneki-senpai, this kind of advanced technique seemed almost effortless.

Suddenly, as if recalling something, Kaneki turned to Sasori. "By the way, Sasori, the core you mentioned last time—I've made it. Come take a look."

Sasori's face filled with confusion. "Kaneki-senpai, you’ve been focused on Gaara and the magnet release gene lately. How did you find the time to make my core?"

Sasori had been with Kaneki constantly over the past few days, making it hard to imagine when Kaneki could have worked on anything else.

Kaneki simply replied, "A mere magnet release isn't enough to require my full attention."

Hearing this, Sasori’s eyes lit up. "As expected of Kaneki-senpai."

Kaneki smiled faintly at Sasori’s admiration.

He wasn’t deliberately showing off; creating a magnet release truly didn’t demand his complete focus. Most of his intellectual "processing power" was devoted to more critical projects.

---

Kaneki led Sasori to the blood pool, where a spherical mass of flesh slowly floated up before landing in Kaneki’s hand.

"This is the core I designed based on your idea."

Injecting chakra into the 'core,' Kaneki demonstrated as countless chakra threads shot out from tiny pores on its surface.

"I modified the small tendrils for better convenience. You can now install it anywhere in your body."

Without hesitation, Sasori used a kunai to carve an opening in his chest and inserted the core.

The core quickly integrated with his body without any rejection, forming a seamless connection.

Sasori then summoned a puppet from a scroll and began manipulating it with chakra threads emitted from the core.

One puppet, two puppets, three...

The number of puppets steadily increased until it stopped at 46.

"If I keep going, the precision will drop significantly."

Sasori assessed his current limit.

Of course, this was only temporary.

Given his mastery of delicate body modifications, Sasori had adapted to the core remarkably quickly. An average puppet master might struggle to control even a single puppet at first.

Kaneki grew curious about how many puppets Sasori would eventually be able to control once he fully adapted to the core and honed his skills.

How far would Sasori's limit extend?

---

"It’s clear—the human body has limits. Only by modifying it can we transcend those limits and grow stronger."

Recognizing the potential of the core, Sasori became a firm believer in Kaneki's theory.

If possible, he wanted to further enhance his body, transforming himself as he did with his puppets.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 158: Orochimaru's Invitation

Kaneki hadn't expected Sasori to be this extreme. He had merely provided him with a convenient method to manipulate puppets using a flesh core, yet this guy was already considering modifying his own body.

Of course, even if he had known, he wouldn't have thought much of it. After all, he wasn't exactly human anymore, and Sasori's transformation was merely body modification by comparison.

Regardless, under Kaneki's influence and the guidance of the Evil God, the genius Sasori had finally opened his mind to new possibilities and was no longer limited by the constraints of the human body.

After finishing matters with Sasori, three figures entered the base: Uzumaki Rii, Kana, and Jugo.

Due to advancements in technology, Kaneki had specifically called this trio back from their mission in the Land of Wind to update them.

Overall, their mission had gone quite well. Over the past six months, the Evil God cult had successfully infiltrated the lower layers of society in the Land of Wind.

Although Rasa had begun taking measures to prevent the spread of the cult throughout the country, the natural barrier between ninjas and the impoverished ensured that the cult remained difficult to eliminate at the lower levels.

After all, the poor people in those areas had no money to issue missions to the Hidden Sand Village. Without a mission, the ninjas had no reason to interact with the impoverished populace.

Thus, a natural barrier existed between them.

Compared to the lofty ninjas, the Evil God, who could protect these people from the ravages of the Wind Scorpions, seemed far more trustworthy.

Back at the base—

The moment Uzumaki Rii saw Kaneki, her gaze turned hazy. She knelt at Kaneki's feet, her voice reverent:

"Greetings, Master."

In contrast, Kana, though equally eager to gain Kaneki's favor, remained composed and knelt on one knee.

"Lord Kamizuki."

Jugo was the most normal of the three. Bowing respectfully, he greeted Kaneki:

"Minister."

Three people, three titles.

Kaneki didn't mind such trivial matters, but the heat emanating from Rii's breath was a bit much.

Resolving to deal with it sooner or later, he used his tentacles to pick her up and toss her directly into the blood pool.

A sound emerged that even made Kaneki feel a little flushed.

Hearing this, Kana scowled and cursed, "Shameless woman!"

Still, Kaneki caught a flash of... jealousy in her eyes.

He sighed internally.

"Kana, you should go in as well."

Kana blinked in surprise. "Huh?" she muttered, but quickly composed herself.

"Yes, Lord Kamizuki!"

With that, she ran toward the blood pool—no, sprinted, even. She had no intention of losing to that other woman when it came to competing for Lord Kamizuki's favor!

That left only Jugo standing before Kaneki.

Jugo looked awkward for a moment, but then, as if relieved, he reached into his cloak and pulled out a small snake.

"Minister, I found this earlier when I arrived. It seems to be a messenger from Orochimaru."

The small snake hissed the moment it saw Kaneki.

"Does Orochimaru have something to say to me?"

With Kaneki's permission, the snake opened its mouth and spit out a scroll.

Kaneki ignited his chakra, which burned like flames, and touched the scroll. At the moment of contact, the intense heat evaporated the mucus covering the scroll into a puff of smoke.

Once the scroll was clean, Kaneki opened it.

The moment he did, a surge of chakra transmitted a message directly into his mind.

Kaneki's expression turned to one of surprise.

While he had anticipated that Orochimaru might propose a collaboration, he hadn't expected Orochimaru to drop such a heavy bombshell right away.

*Hashirama Cells!*

That's right—the scroll's contents were an invitation for Kaneki to join Orochimaru's research on Hashirama Cells.

This was the legendary God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, who had established a new order in the ninja world, ending the endless chaos of the Warring States Era. He was undoubtedly the greatest shinobi of all time.

The current "one nation, one village" system was his creation.

Of course, in Kaneki's eyes, this system was riddled with flaws and hardly advanced.

Still, compared to the Warring States Era, "one nation, one village" had spared countless ordinary people from the horrors of war—at least for those living in the cities.

No matter how you looked at it, this was an opportunity that piqued Kaneki's interest.

Whether it was the power of the God of Shinobi or his bloodline's unique abilities, it was something Kaneki eagerly anticipated.

With a flick of his wrist, Kaneki's chakra flames consumed the scroll. He then instructed Jugo:

"The base is yours to look after. When you have time, help guide Gaara with his training."

"Gaara?"

Jugo looked confused.

Kaneki pointed toward the distant figure of Gaara, still asleep.

"Over there."

"Understood."

Jugo didn't ask further. It was enough to carry out Kaneki's orders.

With that, Kaneki vanished from sight.

Outside the base, he spread his wings and flew straight toward the location Orochimaru had provided.

It had to be said—Orochimaru had an impressive number of hideouts, almost as many as Kaneki himself.

It took Kaneki half a day to reach a forest at the edge of the Land of Fire.

Two hidden ninja appeared in front of him as if expecting him.

"Lord Kaneki, Lord Orochimaru has been expecting you. Please follow us."

Kaneki nodded slightly and followed them to the hidden entrance in the forest.

Inside the passageway, oil lamps hung from the walls, which were engraved with twisted patterns.

Orochimaru's bases all seemed to have the same style. The two bases Kaneki had previously destroyed were quite similar.

With that thought, Kaneki was soon led to Orochimaru.

At the moment, Orochimaru was not wearing the Akatsuki cloak but a casual outfit. Around his waist was still that oversized purple sash.

Seeing Kaneki arrive, Orochimaru smiled.

Yet no matter how friendly Orochimaru's smile might appear, his expression always carried an unsettling chill.

Unlike Kaneki, whose face looked warm and approachable.

"Welcome, Kaneki," Orochimaru greeted, extending his hand.

"I’m pleased to see you as well."

Kaneki extended his hand and shook Orochimaru's.

Orochimaru's hand was... cold.

(End of Chapter)

*Chapter 159: The Deal with Orochimaru*

Neither Kaneki nor Orochimaru were the type to indulge in excessive pleasantries. Both were well aware of the purpose of their meeting. After a brief exchange of greetings, Orochimaru got straight to the point.

“I invited you here, Kaneki-kun, because I’ve hit a bottleneck while researching Hashirama’s cells.”

“My goal is to create a ninja capable of bearing the power of Hashirama’s cells, but every experimental subject implanted with these cells gets eroded in a short time, ultimately resulting in death.”

“I know that you have profound expertise in human research, and I’m hoping you can assist me.”

Orochimaru summarized his problem and requirements succinctly.

For people like them, time was everything. There was no need to waste it on unnecessary chatter.

Kaneki gently adjusted his glasses and replied, “I can certainly give this a try.”

When it came to challenges involving the human body or genetics, Kaneki was in his element. He could analyze the Ninja God’s genes using the Blood Pool, identify the genetic segments related to Kekkei Genkai, and then replicate them.

“Of course, whether or not it succeeds will depend on the research and data,” he added.

Though Kaneki had already replicated Magnet Release and grasped the basic theory of Kekkei Genkai, the Wood Release of the Ninja God might be different. He couldn’t guarantee absolute success.

“That’s understandable,” Orochimaru replied.

Narrowing his snake-like eyes, Orochimaru—himself a ‘scientist’—knew all too well that no experiment could guarantee a 100% success rate, especially something of this magnitude. The fact that Kaneki even expressed confidence surprised him.

With the cooperation discussed, it was time to negotiate terms.

“So, Kaneki-kun, what compensation would you like from me?” Orochimaru asked directly.

In his view, only mutual benefit could sustain long-term collaboration. Rather than waiting for disagreements to cause a fallout later, it was better to settle terms upfront.

Hearing this, Kaneki smiled. He appreciated Orochimaru’s straightforward approach.

“I want you, Orochimaru-san, to use your connections to get me into Konoha.”

This statement immediately put Orochimaru on alert. He narrowed his eyes as he sized up the man before him.

If this guy entered Konoha, it could very well turn into a bloodbath.

Others might not understand Kaneki’s capabilities, but Orochimaru did. After all, this was the man who had personally brought back the One-Tail Shukaku from Sunagakure, causing devastating and irreparable damage to the village and humiliating them on the international stage.

What was more remarkable was that Sunagakure still had no idea the mastermind was this seemingly harmless man with glasses.

“As your partner, I must warn you: the Cult of Jashin is currently hunted down on sight in Konoha. If you’re discovered…”

Though Orochimaru offered this ‘warning,’ his tone was far from serious—if anything, it held a trace of anticipation.

He was curious. What kind of change would Kaneki bring to the old, stagnant windmill that was Konoha?

Would he simply blow through it like a gentle breeze, nudging it to turn?

Or would he become a raging storm, uprooting the entire windmill from its foundations?

Given what had happened in Sunagakure, Orochimaru leaned toward the latter.

In response to Orochimaru’s well-intentioned ‘warning,’ Kaneki calmly adjusted his glasses and said with a neutral expression, “There’s no need for you to worry, Orochimaru-san. As long as I don’t want to be discovered, Konoha won’t detect me easily.”

“It seems you have great confidence in your ability to disguise yourself,” Orochimaru said, his tone turning serious. “If that’s the case, I agree to your request. However, you must help me create a Wood Release ninja from the test subjects and produce a clone capable of using Wood Release that can host my soul—just like that red-haired brat Gaara.”

This was Orochimaru’s true goal.

Creating a Wood Release ninja among the test subjects was to fulfill the task given to him by Danzo. As for creating a Wood Release clone of himself, that was for his own benefit.

After all, years of experimentation had left Orochimaru’s current body in a deteriorating state.

This was why he developed the Living Corpse Reincarnation Technique—to delay his own death.

In recent years, Orochimaru had been perfecting this technique while searching for a body that would match his soul. Only a perfectly compatible body would allow him to retain his full strength after reincarnation and extend the body’s lifespan.

However, seeing how Kaneki had used Gaara’s genes to create a perfect clone that could host a soul changed Orochimaru’s perspective.

If Kaneki succeeded with the Hashirama cell project and mastered the technique to produce Wood Release ninjas, wouldn’t it be better to have Kaneki create a Wood Release body for him?

Not only would it perfectly suit his soul, but it would also grant him access to the Wood Release power that only the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, had wielded.

Kaneki did not reject Orochimaru’s request.

For him, successfully analyzing Hashirama’s cells would make creating one or two Wood Release ninjas a matter of energy expenditure.

Creating two Wood Release ninjas in exchange for Hashirama’s cells and entry into Konoha was a reasonable deal.

“No problem. However, I’ll need more Hashirama cells for analysis—preferably from the original body.”

Based on Orochimaru’s description, Kaneki deduced that Hashirama’s cells possessed extremely strong regenerative and splitting abilities.

Therefore, he preferred to work with tissue from Hashirama’s actual body rather than the replicated cells.

After all, no one could predict whether the cells had undergone genetic mutations after countless divisions. To explore the power of the First Hokage—the Ninja God—he had to start with the original cells.

“I understand. However, obtaining cells from the original body is difficult. I’ll do my best to negotiate with Danzo,” Orochimaru said, reluctantly agreeing for the sake of his future Wood Release body.

Kaneki nodded, though he mentally noted the name Orochimaru had just mentioned:

Shimura Danzo—the Konoha elder known as The Darkness of the Shinobi.

(End of Chapter)  

Chapter 160: The Hokage Position Is Within Reach

After finalizing the details of their collaboration, Kaneki used the excuse of Orochimaru's insufficient lab equipment to take both the Hashirama Cells and all the remaining experimental subjects provided by Danzo back to his own base.

Originally, Orochimaru wanted to observe Kaneki's research process, but Kaneki firmly refused.

For Kaneki, sharing research results was fine, but revealing the process was out of the question.

As soon as he returned to his laboratory, he immediately threw the *Hashirama Cells* he acquired from Orochimaru into a pool of blood and began analyzing their genetic structure.

Even if Orochimaru were standing beside him, he wouldn’t have understood much from mere observation.

Unlike other experiments, the *Hashirama Cells* exploded with immense vitality upon entering the blood pool, ravenously absorbing nutrients and accelerating their division.

In less than half an hour, the originally fist-sized mass grew to the size of a basketball.

"An incredibly terrifying growth rate," remarked Kaneki, meticulously observing and recording every change in the *Hashirama Cells* during the experiment.

Thanks to his ever-growing mental prowess, Kaneki's mind now functioned like a supercomputer, far superior to any system in Orochimaru's lab. He could effortlessly retain any data he saw, permanently storing it in his memory.

As the *Hashirama Cells* continued to grow uncontrollably, Kaneki had no choice but to cut off the blood pool’s nutrient supply.

Otherwise, the cells could easily engulf the entire base within a few days with the nutrients available.

This alarming rate of cell division and aggressive proliferation reminded Kaneki of cancer cells from his past life.

However, cancer cells paled in comparison to *Hashirama Cells*.

Even in open air, the *Hashirama Cells* maintained their vitality, exhibiting an even more aggressive invasive capacity against the human body.

"If they can absorb nutrients, how about chakra?"

Extending a finger, Kaneki released a faint blue stream of chakra from his fingertip, which landed on the fleshy mass formed by the *Hashirama Cells*.

In an instant, the chakra he released was completely devoured by the cells.

"So, they can absorb chakra as well as nutrients," Kaneki mused.

Curious, he retrieved a scroll, unsealed it, and released a violent surge of red chakra that instantly filled the lab with an oppressive aura.

This was a portion of chakra he had extracted from Shukaku before it was sealed. Kaneki wanted to test how the *Hashirama Cells* would react to the rampant chakra of a Tailed Beast.

The results surprised him.

As soon as the *Hashirama Cells* came into contact with the Tailed Beast chakra, its previously chaotic nature vanished entirely.

The violent energy seemed deflated, like a balloon losing air, and was effortlessly absorbed by the cells. The *Hashirama Cells* grew even larger as a result.

"They exhibit a strong suppressive effect on Tailed Beast chakra," Kaneki noted mentally.

It was no wonder these cells belonged to the God of Shinobi. Even after countless divisions, they still retained such terrifying power.

"Next step," Kaneki muttered, raising his hand as a flash of lightning shot from his fingertip, slicing off a section of the flesh mass formed by the *Hashirama Cells*.

This time, the cutting process was smooth, with no signs of his jutsu being absorbed.

"This confirms it," Kaneki deduced. "The *Hashirama Cells* can only absorb nutrients and chakra but cannot assimilate physical matter created by chakra transformations."

To verify, Kaneki tried other jutsu—an earthen spear from Earth Release, a water blade from Water Release, and an air blade from Wind Release—all of which inflicted damage on the *Hashirama Cells*.

Though the cells’ wounds healed swiftly due to their extraordinary vitality, this further solidified Kaneki’s hypothesis: *Hashirama Cells* absorb chakra but are ineffective against ninjutsu-based material transformations.

Fascinated by these cells and the immense power they represented, Kaneki temporarily halted all other projects, focusing entirely on decoding the mysteries of the *Hashirama Cells*.

While Kaneki immersed himself in research day and night, thousands of miles away, Danzo received Orochimaru’s message.

"Orochimaru wants the original Hashirama Cells?" Danzo frowned slightly.

Due to their powerful regenerative capabilities, *Hashirama Cells* could be produced in abundance as long as sufficient nutrients were supplied.

However, the original cells were much rarer. After all, they couldn’t exactly dissect Hashirama’s entire body for experiments—it would be indecent for the First Hokage of Konoha.

This made the original *Hashirama Cells* extremely valuable.

Standing beside Danzo, Aburame Ryoma lowered his head and said, "Yes, Danzo-sama. Orochimaru claims only the original cells contain the true power of Wood Release, which is essential for creating authentic Wood Release techniques."

After a moment of hesitation, Danzo waved his hand. "Fine. Send Orochimaru a batch of the original cells, but make it clear—if he fails again, I will reconsider our partnership."

"Understood, Danzo-sama."

Aburame Ryoma disappeared instantly, carrying out the order.

Danzo gently touched his bandaged arm and eye. A sharp glint flashed in his remaining eye.

If Orochimaru hadn’t successfully crafted his new arm, he wouldn’t have been so generous with the original cells.

Having just started learning Wood Release himself, Danzo fully understood the immense power behind this Kekkei Genkai.

If Orochimaru succeeded in his research and created a squad of Wood Release ninjas, the Hokage position would be his for the taking.

With this fiery ambition burning in his chest, Danzo leaned on his cane and walked toward the Hokage Tower.

Today was Konoha’s monthly council meeting.

As expected, Danzo barely stepped into the office when an old "friend" expressed their concern.

"Danzo, what happened to you?"

Koharu Utatane looked at Danzo’s heavily bandaged arm and eye, her voice filled with curiosity.

Danzo remained composed.

"Just a minor skirmish," he replied calmly.

He had no intention of telling them he had gained the powers of both the Sharingan and Wood Release.

Sarutobi Hiruzen gave him a long, contemplative look. "Are you all right?"

Danzo nodded. "It was just a group of foolish individuals trying to assassinate me and destabilize Konoha’s foundation."

With a single sentence, he downplayed his ordeal and simultaneously highlighted his unwavering loyalty to Konoha and his indispensable role within the village—a masterclass in the art of conversation.

(End of Chapter)