Orochimaru said, "Uchiha Shin was once my test subject. He has a special constitution that allows him to accept the transplantation of any organ without rejection."
"Precisely because of that constitution, he's the most suitable subject for cloning experiments."
Sasuke frowned. "Cloning?"
Orochimaru replied, "It refers to a form of asexual reproduction where an organism—"
Sasuke interrupted, "Say it simply. (||๐_๐)"
Orochimaru said, "It means creating another person with the exact same genes as the original… similar to a Shadow Clone, except the clones are all living, breathing people."
Off to the side, Shinju: (꒪⌓꒪)
Sasuke might not understand the concept, but Shinju knew it all too well. In his previous life, he'd encountered the idea while reading elementary-level books.
In the world he once lived in, human cloning was forbidden.
And Orochimaru actually mastered this kind of technology?
As expected of the man who single-handedly carried half of the ninja world's technological progress!
Across from them, Orochimaru continued, "Danzo's right arm came from him."
Sasuke asked in confusion, "Then is he really a member of the Uchiha clan?"
Orochimaru shook his head.
"No. He simply worships the Uchiha—worships Uchiha Itachi and Akatsuki—so he gave himself the Uchiha name."
"And his Sharingan are also replicas. Still, they possess considerable ocular power."
As he spoke, Orochimaru led Shinju and Sasuke into the laboratory's archive room and pulled out an experimental photograph. "This is Uchiha Shin."
Shinju took the photo and immediately frowned deeply!
The image seemed to capture a moment during an experiment. Uchiha Shin lay completely naked on an operating table…
What made Shinju frown was Shin's appearance. He was bald, and to keep his right eye open, the eyelid had been flipped outward and stitched in place—it looked horrifying!
What was more, Sharingan had been implanted in his chest, arms, and even his head. It was indescribably disgusting and grotesque!
After looking at the photo, Shinju raised his eyes to Orochimaru and suddenly found him extremely unpleasant to look at.
Orochimaru, feeling wronged, said, "Why are you looking at me like that? He consented when I conducted the experiments. ╭(°A°`)╮"
Shinju knew there was no point arguing with Orochimaru and couldn't be bothered to say more.
Nearby, Sasuke's expression changed slightly after seeing the person in the photo.
"That's not right. The Uchiha Shin I saw wasn't this person! (꒪⌓꒪)"
Orochimaru said, "That's normal. What you saw was likely one of his clones. The clones retain his original appearance, while the Shin in this photo underwent many experiments, so the difference is quite large."
Shinju said, "I see. Then do you know where he is now?"
Orochimaru spread his hands and shook his head. "He's been gone for many years. Where would I find him?"
Shinju silently pulled out a hammer and aimed it at a nearby piece of experimental equipment…
Orochimaru said, "I'm just saying—"
A few minutes later, Shinju and Sasuke walked out of Orochimaru's experimental base.
Outside the door, Yamato, who was on guard, asked curiously,
"Sixth-sama, are you here because Orochimaru committed some new crime again?"
Shinju said, "Yamato-sensei, just call me by my name…"
"It's something he did in the past…"
"Oh right, Yamato-sensei, inform all the ninja guarding Orochimaru: if there's any abnormality in his experiments, report it to the village immediately."
After saying that, Shinju lightly patted Yamato-sensei on the shoulder and transferred a bit of his chakra into him.
Orochimaru was a former S-rank wanted criminal and one of the Sannin, extremely powerful. Shinju was worried that these few ninja might not be able to keep him in check, so he strengthened Yamato's Wood Release a little…
After being patted by Shinju, Yamato's expression became excited. "Got it! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧"
...
Night.
The Land of Earth.
Shinju and Sasuke used Susanoo to fly high in the sky, searching for Uchiha Shin's base.
Sasuke said, "I heard this whole area was blown up by you. How big was that explosion?! (´°Δ°`)"
Shinju covered his face. "Don't bring it up. Because of that incident, I had to compensate Iwagakure with a crystal mountain. No idea if they've finished mining it yet…"
As he spoke, Shinju's expression changed, his gaze locking onto a spot on the ground.
"There's a chakra fluctuation there. Let's go down and take a look!"
With that, Shinju controlled the massive warrior of Susanoo to descend…
"Boom!"
The gigantic Susanoo warrior landed in front of what looked like a base.
Since he wasn't sure whether Uchiha Shin was inside, Shinju didn't immediately use force and instead politely called out,
"Anyone there? If not, I'm breaking the door!!"
Not long after Shinju spoke, a slightly childish voice came from inside the base.
"Do you even have manners?!"
Beside him, after hearing that line, Sasuke nodded at Shinju.
"That's the voice. The owner of that voice stopped me before. (′д｀σ)σ"
"Then this must be Uchiha Shin's base!"
As he spoke, Shinju manipulated the massive Susanoo warrior to swing its spiraling sword!
"Slash!"
"Bang!!"
Earth and stone flew everywhere as a hole was blasted straight through the base's high wall!
Soon, that same voice rang out again from inside. "Wasn't there a door?! You picking a fight or what?! (ꐦ°᷄д°᷅)"
Shinju immediately announced his identity. "I am Uchiha Sasuke. Tell Uchiha Shin to come out and see me! ╰_╯"
Sasuke beside him: (꒪⌓꒪)
Shinju was really smooth when using his name, huh?
Wait!
Sasuke's expression turned strange. Looking at Shinju's serious face, he asked,
"Some time ago there were rumors saying I defected to the Land of Silence, and others saying I went to fight in an arena. Shinju, do you know anything about that? ∑(°Д°)"
Shinju answered guiltily, "I don't know. (≖╻≖;)"
Sasuke: (一︿一)
"Suspicious."
Just as Sasuke was wondering whether the person using his name to do bad things was Shinju or not, a group of white-haired children suddenly burst out of Uchiha Shin's base!
When Shinju saw these children, his expression froze in shock. (ŐдŐ๑)
There were dozens of them. Though they varied in height, build, and weight, all of them had white hair, a pair of Sharingan, and nearly identical faces!
"These are all Uchiha Shin's clones!" Sasuke's voice turned cold.
Shinju said, "He cloned this many… with absolutely no reverence for life at all!"
"They're just clones. Their lives don't count as lives," another voice sounded from within the base, seemingly responding to Shinju's words.
"They're merely tools I created. When they're useless, I just throw them away."
As the voice fell, a figure clad in a black robe charged out from the base!
Shinju focused his eyes and realized that this person looked exactly like the one in the photograph—and what he was wearing was the Akatsuki's black robe with red clouds!
Shinju pointed at him and said, "An Akatsuki brain-dead fanboy, plus that face—you're the original Uchiha Shin!"
At this moment, Uchiha Shin wore an arrogant expression.
"Say whatever you want. Either way, I'll make Akatsuki be reborn in this world!! (｡ì _ í｡)"
"Peace only makes people fall into depravity!"