Pushing open the iron gate of the Root base, the smell of preservative surged like a physical entity.
Itachi's nose wrinkled slightly, and tears immediately welled up in his eyes.
At this moment, Fugaku's mind was entirely on Hashirama cells. Moreover, with his personality, he wouldn't even think of comforting a 5-year-old Itachi.
"Stay close to me." His voice was a little cold.
Itachi nodded obediently. His small hand unconsciously clutched the hem of his father's clothes.
Under the dim light, hundreds of cylindrical cultivation tanks were neatly arranged. In each tank, the bodies of children floated, looking to be about the same age as him, only 5-6 years old. Their eyes were tightly closed, as if they were sleeping, and the tubes connecting to their bodies from behind were like a grotesque spiderweb.
Seeing such a scene, Itachi's breathing slowed a little.
In the third tank of the seventh row, a bald girl floated.
The tank's label read: Subject D-12, 5 years old, Sharingan transplant rejection observation group.
Itachi's heart was filled with sadness.
'She is the same age as me but she's already a corpse.'
The specimen room on the fourth underground floor was even more suffocating. Various organs floated in formalin liquid, and each glass jar had a name label attached.
Brain... Byakugan... Sharingan... Heart... Spleen... Liver... Kidney...
Tank Label: Hyuga Haneda, Male, 7 years old, Byakugan
Tank Label: Nara Sana, Female, 6 years old, Brain
Tank Label: Yamanaka Yuu, Female, 6 years old, Heart
...
Itachi's throat tightened, and a sour feeling churned in his stomach.
Sensing Itachi's change, Fugaku said coldly, "Hold it in, don't vomit, and don't close your eyes. Stay close to me."
Just like that, Fugaku led Itachi by the hand into the deepest part of the Root base.
Tsushimi was the supervisor here, and he bowed respectfully. "Clan head-sama."
Fugaku's voice was calm and cold. "In the past three months, has anyone collected items related to Hashirama cells?"
Tsushimi opened the record book, his fingertip stopping on one page. "January 8th, 19:25, Chief Shun collected 5 tubes of Hashirama cells culture solution and a small amount of Hashirama's blood."
Fugaku's lips twitched slightly.
And you said you hadn't used Hashirama cells, you really lied to me.
"Get me 5 tubes of Hashirama cells culture solution."
Tsushimi hesitated for a moment. "Clan head-sama, the danger of Hashirama cells..."
"Go get them."
Fugaku's tone indicated that he was not to be questioned.
...
Five tubes of pale green fluorescent liquid were placed on a metal tray, glowing eerily in the dim light.
Fugaku picked up one tube and observed it for a while, the needle glinting coldly in the light.
"What should I pay attention to when injecting Hashirama cells culture solution?"
Tsushimi whispered, "Injecting into the limbs is the safest, but the effect is slower, and there's time to rescue if something goes wrong. Injecting into the heart has the fastest reaction, but the death rate is the highest."
Hearing this, Danzo's right arm, covered in wood, flashed through Fugaku's mind, and he also remembered Shun's unfathomable Chakra reserves.
He suddenly rolled up the sleeve of his right arm, the needle pierced his skin, and the pale green fluorescent liquid slowly pushed into his blood vessels.
The Sharingan was originally a pair with the Sage Body.
When Fugaku used his Mangekyo Sharingan, his body was like parched land, desperately squeezing out and using its only moisture, which is why the Mangekyo Sharingan became blinder with more use.
Now, after injecting the Hashirama cells culture solution, it was like parched land receiving the nourishment of water, making him incredibly excited.
Fugaku shouted excitedly, "Hahaha... This feeling is amazing. I feel like I've been reborn."
He felt his Chakra surging.
1.5 times... 2 times...
The vision in both his eyes began to recover little by little, but the speed was a bit slow.
Fugaku's laughter echoed in the laboratory. He unhesitatingly picked up the second tube and injected it directly into his heart.
Seeing Fugaku's impulsiveness, the nearby personnel shouted in alarm, "Fourth Hokage-sama... You..."
"Pfft!"
The needle pierced, the liquid injected.
40 seconds later.
Fugaku's eyes snapped open, the Mangekyo pattern in his pupils spinning wildly.
"Itachi! I can see! Now my Chakra has quadrupled! Hahahaha!"
Itachi forced a smile and said, "Father, that's great. Should we go home and tell mother?"
Fugaku did not answer, but instead directly picked up the third tube.
Tsushimi quickly tried to stop him. "Clan head-sama! You can't inject any more! Hashirama cells' ability to devour and assimilate is terrifying, it can easily turn a person into a tree!"
"Quiet, I know what I'm doing!"
Fugaku's Mangekyo glared fiercely at Tsushimi, the terrifying ocular power making the latter stumble backward.
As the third bottle of Hashirama cells culture solution was injected into his body, Fugaku's Chakra reserves increased sixfold, and his vision became clearer than ever before.
If his previous body was like a deflated balloon, his current body was like an inflated soccer ball, making Fugaku feel very full and powerful.
Fugaku grabbed the fourth tube...
Tsushimi's face was pale as he said, "Clan head-sama, you've already injected 3 tubes, you really can't inject any more, it will go out of control."
Remembering Shun's Chakra reserves, which were ten times his own, a flicker of anger rose in Fugaku's heart.
"Shut up, I know what I'm doing. Don't forget, I am the Hokage!"
The fourth bottle of Hashirama cells culture solution was injected into his heart. When Fugaku's Chakra reserves increased to over 7 times, it began to go out of control.
Intense pain swept through his entire body, his skin began to turn to wood, his finger joints twisted and deformed, and what flowed in his blood vessels was no longer blood, but viscous tree sap.
"No... Why... Shun could but I can't? Mangekyo Sharingan, suppress it!!!"
Itachi watched his father's body gradually being covered by tree bark.
He cried out in horror, "Father!"
Fugaku shouted in panic, "No... Why is this happening?!"
Feeling himself slowly turning into a tree, Fugaku took one last look at his son, Itachi.
In his final moments, he dug out his Mangekyo Sharingan and said, "Tsushimi, preserve my Mangekyo in a nutrient jar. Itachi, this is father's last gift to you, you must use it well, don't be like father. When you have the Mangekyo... remember... the ancestral stone tablet... look at it."
His voice gradually faded and Fugaku turned into a tree.