"Hokage-sama! I just spotted a strange white creature!"
The Third Hokage had been gazing at the stormy sky, lost in thought, when an ANBU appeared before him. This ANBU was none other than Yamato—the very man Shigure had been looking for.
Yamato held up a sealed glass bottle. Inside was a tiny white fish-like creature drifting in the water.
Before Hiruzen could get a closer look, the white creature dissolved into a puff of smoke and vanished.
The Hokage's expression immediately hardened.
This rain… it's not just a storm.
"Search the entire village!" Hiruzen ordered sharply. "See if there are more of those white things."
Yamato frowned slightly, not understanding the urgency. To him, it was just some strange new animal—easily crushed in the palm of one's hand.
"This isn't an animal," Hiruzen said gravely. "It's ninjutsu. If I'm right, it's being used for reconnaissance."
He narrowed his eyes. "They're small and give off no chakra signature, so the detection range is probably short. That means there must be more of them. Find them all—quickly."
The order had barely left his lips when, elsewhere, Shigure emerged from a drainage channel and reformed his body in the shadows of an alley.
Swish!
An ANBU dropped into the alley without warning.
The masked ninja scanned the area, puzzled. "Strange… I could've sworn I saw someone here."
After a moment's hesitation, he left.
In truth, Shigure had been standing right in front of him, concealed by his Transparent Release technique. He exhaled slowly.
That was close… Even with this jutsu, ANBU are no joke.
He released the ninjutsu and let the cloud fish swim free once more.
Elsewhere, ANBU operatives discovered a small school of these creatures in a pond and moved to capture them. But in the blink of an eye, the fish vanished—gone without a trace.
The sightings were immediately reported back to Hiruzen, who was monitoring Konoha through his crystal ball.
He saw nothing unusual.
Could I have been mistaken?
But then came another report: a sighting, followed by sudden disappearance.
That confirmed it—someone was probing the village. But who? A spy from another shinobi village?
Meanwhile, Shigure returned home. Dispelling the Transparent Release and removing his Cloud Mask, he let his shadow clone vanish before collapsing onto his bed, breathing heavily.
On his way back, the number of ANBU patrols had tripled. Even with his stealth skills, slipping past them had been difficult.
Still… tonight's risk had paid off.
Hashirama's cells.
A Sharingan.
Two priceless gains in one night.
"Great Sage, begin the analysis!" Shigure ordered.
"Analyze Hashirama's cells!"
At his command, the Great Sage activated. Chakra threads extended from Shigure's body into the glass vial, beginning a detailed examination of the legendary First Hokage's tissue.
[Great Sage: Analyzing target—Hashirama's cells]
[Analysis progress: 1%]
The percentage rose slowly, but on another panel, his Wood Release development bar jumped by five percent.
The sight made Shigure's pulse race.
At the same time, deep within the Root base…
Danzo stood before a shelf, eyes narrowed at the empty spaces where two treasured items had once been.
Hashirama's cells. A Sharingan.
Someone had stolen them.
Root's security was absolute—no one from outside could possibly infiltrate the heavily guarded base. And if an enemy ninja had managed to enter Konoha at all, the ANBU would have known.
That left only one explanation: betrayal from within.
Yet even that seemed impossible. Every Root operative was bound by Danzo's will, loyal beyond question.
Still, the facts were undeniable.
Danzo's mind churned. Who could have done this?
The heavy rain outside had finally eased.
As dawn broke, the Root operatives and ANBU—both of whom had been mobilized through the night—returned empty-handed.
Hiruzen and Danzō were equally troubled.
Who on earth was responsible for last night?
Meanwhile, far from their thoughts, Shigure was already making his way out of Konoha with barely contained excitement.
After a night of uninterrupted analysis and calculations, the results were astonishing—
Hashirama's cell analysis: 80% complete.
Wood Release development progress: 80% complete.
Once both had passed the halfway mark, their progress had begun to synchronize perfectly.
At this rate… I'll finish analyzing Hashirama's cells before lunch—and complete Wood Release at the same time.
To avoid causing any disturbance in the village, Shigure had slipped beyond the walls early that morning, finding a quiet, hidden spot where he could wait for the process to finish.
[Great Sage: Analysis and calculation of target—Hashirama's cells, completed.]
[Wood Release calculation, completed.]
[Congratulations—new Kekkei Genkai acquired: Wood Release]
A surge of vitality coursed through him. Shigure opened his eyes, feeling an extraordinary change—every cell in his body seemed to breathe, brimming with new life.
The natural energy he'd already been absorbing into his cells now resonated with the power of Wood Release, further reinforcing them.
And at last, Shigure understood the mystery behind Hashirama's cells.
So that's it… This is what sets them apart.
The natural energy he'd absorbed from Jūgo should have been a death sentence. Yet, in truth, it was a semi-finished immortal body.
The true uniqueness of Hashirama's cells lay in their ability to freely absorb natural energy.
The difference between Hashirama and Jūgo was clear—while both could take in nature energy, Hashirama could fully control the cells' response, whereas Jūgo could not.
Now, with Wood Release and a complete understanding of Hashirama's cells, Shigure had refined that ability to its peak.
It was as if he'd mastered how to control his cells while absorbing natural energy.
[Congratulations—Immortal Body acquired!]
The body of a sage—capable of absorbing natural energy without limit.
And Shigure's was even more formidable than Hashirama's.
This was because of Jūgo's unique physiology—while flawed, it allowed for an absorption speed far beyond anything the First Hokage could achieve. The only reason Jūgo had seemed weaker was that he lacked training in senjutsu, unable to fully harness that vast energy.
"I've not only gained the Immortal Body without its dangers…" Shigure smiled faintly. "I've also completed Wood Release."
...
TN:
🔟 Pa-treon-com/LordMerlin