"Deidara, you're here," Orochimaru greeted as Deidara and Kisame entered the laboratory. His tongue flicked out to lick his lips, and his eyes gleamed with interest.
"Hey! Orochimaru, what's with that look?!" Deidara shivered, a chill running down his spine. Could Orochimaru have set his sights on his body?
Being targeted by a "soft" man was bad enough! And if he ever became a "soft" woman, that'd be even worse!
But today, it seemed Deidara had misunderstood. Orochimaru pointed excitedly at some experimental subjects in the room. "Come and see my latest research results. The two hypotheses you proposed last time have both been realized."
Orochimaru first directed their attention to one of the experimental subjects.
"I transplanted both a Sharingan and the First Hokage's cells into this subject. As expected, there's an unimaginable connection between the two."
"The First Hokage's cells promote the growth of the Sharingan, while the Sharingan can suppress the invasive nature of the First Hokage's cells."
"Look!"
Orochimaru pressed a button on the control panel. The experimental subject, contained within a large glass tank, slowly awakened. When he opened his eyes, they revealed a pair of Three Tomoe Sharingan. On his chest, a face resembling Hashirama Senju had formed, but there were no signs of the Wood Release completely overtaking him.
"This subject originally had just a Two Tomoe Sharingan. After the First Hokage's cells were transplanted, it quickly evolved into a Three Tomoe Sharingan."
"Additionally, he can now use some basic Wood Release techniques, and his vitality has been significantly enhanced."
"He's a relatively successful experimental subject," Orochimaru explained eagerly, his excitement evident. The visible progress in his experiments had clearly delighted him.
"And the second hypothesis?" Deidara asked.
Compared to the first, he was more concerned about the second hypothesis, as it was crucial to whether Nagato could escape his skeletal state.
"Bring Uzumaki Yusuke here," Orochimaru instructed Kimimaro.
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama!"
Soon, a red-haired boy was brought in. He looked about seven or eight years old, slightly younger than Naruto and Sasuke.
"Orochimaru-sama!" Uzumaki Yusuke appeared shy and nervous, but his eyes lit up when he saw Orochimaru. Deidara recognized that look—it was the same look Kimimaro often had.
Orochimaru really had a talent for recruiting kids.
"Yusuke, show them," Orochimaru said with a sly smile.
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama!" Yusuke clapped his hands together, crouching slightly in a horse stance with a determined expression.
"Wood Release: Thorn Killing Technique!"
Several thorny vines sprouted from the ground, twisting together into a dense cluster.
But the performance wasn't over yet. Yusuke activated another technique.
"Wood Release: Wood Clone!"
Wooden branches extended from his right side, slowly forming an identical clone of himself.
Deidara tossed a small clay insect at the thorny vines to test their durability. After observing the results, he nodded. "Not bad!"
"Ordinary explosive tags can't penetrate it. Considering his young age, if he continues to grow, he has the potential to become Kage-level in the future."
Orochimaru licked his lips, smiling. "The Uzumaki Clan truly lives up to its reputation as distant relatives of the Senju Clan. Their cellular compatibility is far superior."
"This child will surpass Konoha's Yamato in every way!"
"Does this mean your research on Hashirama's cells can now be directly applied to others?" Deidara asked.
"Not yet," Orochimaru replied, a hint of regret on his face. "Although these two subjects successfully integrated the First Hokage's cells, it required an enormous amount of resources."
"Even so, I wouldn't dare increase the proportion of Hashirama cells in their bodies."
Deidara nodded. As long as progress was being made, that was enough. After all, there were still several years to work on this.
"What's your next step?"
"I plan to transplant a pair of Sharingan into Yusuke," Orochimaru answered.
A member of the Uzumaki Clan with Sharingan—essentially a low-budget version of Nagato! This was promising. If Yusuke's condition stabilized and the transplant succeeded, it would pave the way for seamlessly applying the process to Nagato.
"By the way, I'd like you to help me study this clay and figure out how to produce it more easily."
Deidara handed over a sample of Advanced Clay, which he had unlocked after leveling up thanks to the massive Shock Value he earned from his last explosion. The Shock Value came from Rasa, Shukaku, Itachi, Kisame, Obito, Zetsu, and even some distant Sand ninja like Chiyo, Ebizō, and Baki.
The system had provided him with a small sample of Advanced Clay. Whether they could develop a simpler production method would depend on their research.
Orochimaru examined the clay with mild interest. While it intrigued him, his true passion remained focused on achieving immortality.
"No problem. But what will you offer me in return this time?" Orochimaru asked.
Deidara scratched his head. "I don't really have anything valuable on me right now. Name your price."
"Kimimaro has a rare bloodline disease that I haven't been able to cure. I hope you can find Tsunade and persuade her to treat him," Orochimaru said.
Hearing this, Kimimaro's face filled with shame. "Orochimaru-sama! You don't need to do this for me!"
"It's my fault! I'm unworthy of becoming your vessel!"
"Enough, Kimimaro," Orochimaru said, waving him off. "If you're truly ashamed, then accept the treatment. If you recover, you'll still have the potential to become my vessel."
Of course, Orochimaru's words were somewhat insincere. While Kimimaro had once greatly appealed to him, meeting Itachi had made him lose interest in Kaguya's bloodline.
Now, with progress in the Hashirama cell research and the emergence of Yusuke, Kimimaro seemed even less appealing.
Deidara nodded. What a coincidence. Sometimes, it felt like he and Orochimaru were on the same wavelength.
After all, Itachi likely had a similar bloodline disease. If Kimimaro could be cured, then Itachi's condition could probably be treated as well. Even without Orochimaru's request, Deidara would've sought out Tsunade.
Making deals with Orochimaru never felt like a loss!
The Konoha Crush Plan had been like that. The upcoming Sharingan and Hashirama cell transplants for Yusuke would be the same. And now, finding Tsunade was no different.
"By the way, where's Sasori?" Deidara asked. "We've been teammates for so long. Isn't he going to show up to say hi?"
"Sasori?" Orochimaru chuckled. "He's currently trying to transplant Hashirama's cells into human puppets. After all, dead bodies are far more tolerant than living ones."
"Apparently, he's already made some progress."
"You probably won't see him. He's at a critical stage right now."
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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