After placing the Blue Spider Lily on the laboratory bench, Shinji activated "Izanami no Mikoto" once more, embarking on a new round of experiments.
Neither the original recipe nor Ryūhei Ubuyashiki's notes had mentioned the Blue Spider Lily, which was why Shinji had initially overlooked it.
Now that he had realized its importance, he quickly made progress while peering into the branches of fate.
"Success!"
Moments later, Shinji, panting heavily, broke into a delighted grin.
The Blue Spider Lily was the primary ingredient in the antidote that could revert demons to humans, meaning its medicinal properties could reshape and stabilize the human form.
This was exactly what Shinji needed!
After activating "Izanami no Mikoto" this time, he sifted through just a few thousand branches of fate before finding a successful one.
After a brief rest, Shinji immediately began preparing the potion according to the successful branch he had glimpsed.
Several hours later, a vial of potion emitting a faint blue fluorescence was born.
With Shinji's current expertise in pharmacology, a simple look and sniff, combined with some equipment, was enough to confirm whether the potion was successfully crafted.
Gazing at the shimmering blue vial, the corners of his mouth curved upward. "I'll call you 'Blue Spider Lily No. 1'!"
Next came the live testing phase.
Naturally, Shinji wouldn't resort to using human subjects right away like Orochimaru might. His test subjects were divided into two tiers: first, mice; second, monkeys.
Only after passing the mouse trials would he move on to monkeys.
And only then would human trials be considered.
Since his secret laboratory was already stocked with mice and monkeys, Shinji devised a simple live testing plan and promptly began the experiments.
After injecting "Blue Spider Lily No. 1" into ten mice, Shinji began observing and recording their changes.
His laboratory was equipped with state-of-the-art instruments, and with "Susanoo Tomoshibi" granting him control over a pair of Koryugan capable of manipulating blood, no change in the mice escaped his notice.
He soon observed that after being injected with "Blue Spider Lily No. 1," the mice exhibited significantly enhanced heart rates, metabolism, and, most noticeably, speed and strength.
Most importantly, the mice showed no signs of physical deformation or bloodthirsty tendencies.
"Internal organ function is normal, with no morphological changes," Shinji confirmed.
To further test, he used a Nichirin Blade to sever the mice's tails.
He found that the severed tails didn't turn to ash. While the wounds healed quickly, they didn't regenerate new tails as a demon's would.
"Compared to demons, the regenerative ability is weaker, and limb regrowth is impossible. But this has its advantages—severed limbs don't turn to ash under a Nichirin Blade, meaning those injected with 'Blue Spider Lily No. 1' aren't vulnerable to sunlight!"
This was the outcome Shinji had hoped for, so the first-tier mouse trials passed smoothly.
Next, Shinji immediately began the second-tier monkey trials.
As before, he injected "Blue Spider Lily No. 1" into three monkeys and closely observed their changes.
The monkeys' transformations were far more pronounced than the mice's. One particularly aggressive monkey even bent the steel cage it was in, vividly demonstrating the enhancement in its strength.
After repeating the same tests on the monkeys as he had on the mice, Shinji's face lit up with joy.
In all thirteen live tests, there were no fatalities. The potion's effects varied slightly depending on the subject's constitution, but they generally met Shinji's initial expectations.
Finally, Shinji extracted cell samples from the ten mice and three monkeys, analyzing their telomeres under the equipment.
While enhanced recovery could be directly observed, lifespan was harder to gauge. To determine changes in the test subjects' lifespans after receiving "Blue Spider Lily No. 1," Shinji relied on telomere analysis to estimate their approximate lifespan range.
After meticulous analysis, Shinji concluded that none of the test subjects gained demon-like immortality. Instead, they experienced a minor lifespan reduction of three to five percent.
In human terms, this equated to roughly a five-year loss of lifespan.
"As expected," Shinji thought, unfazed.
Demons' long lifespans were sustained by continuously plundering the blood and flesh of other beings. The test subjects injected with "Blue Spider Lily No. 1" lacked bloodthirsty urges, having only gained the ability to harness cellular-level power. Thus, their lifespans couldn't match a demon's.
As for the lifespan reduction, extracting cellular power inherently consumed vitality.
This was akin to Might Guy opening the "Gate of Death" or swordsmen activating the "Mark"—both traded vitality for power.
Relatively speaking, a mere five-year lifespan loss was a minimal side effect for such a significant boost.
In the shinobi world, few shinobi lived to old age. Many never reached an "elderly" stage, and even the Kage of the great villages rarely died of natural causes. A technique that could harness cellular-level power at the cost of just five years would likely have every shinobi clamoring for it!
"The properties of 'Blue Spider Lily No. 1' are even milder than I expected. Is it because of the Blue Spider Lily?" Shinji mused.
His analysis was correct—the Blue Spider Lily was the critical factor!
The potion's mild nature ensured that none of the test subjects died, and their temperaments remained unchanged, prompting Shinji to consider human trials.
"But who should I test it on?"
Outside the Hidden Leaf Village, in a forest:
While Shinji pondered his choice of test subject, Ryuzetsu from the Hidden Grass Village was giving Karin her routine report on the village's status and intelligence gathered on the other major shinobi villages.
After finishing her report, Ryuzetsu hesitated, as if wanting to say more.
Noticing this, Karin asked, "What's on your mind?"
Ryuzetsu mustered her courage and said, "My lady, the village has uncovered Muku's whereabouts. My brother says we need your permission before sending anyone to investigate, so I'd like to request—"
Before Ryuzetsu could finish, Karin waved her hand. "He and the 'Box of Paradise' are dangerous—too much for you to handle! I don't have time to deal with this right now. Let's wait a bit longer."