vstars Chapter 151 The Peaceful Ninja World: The Current Situation of the Three Ninjas
Chapter 151 The Peaceful Ninja World: The Current Situation of the Three Ninjas
40 years, the root base.
The once orderly passageway is now permeated with an atmosphere of decay.
Half of the torches on the walls went out, and a suppressed growl came from the depths of the corridor.
Two masked Root members hurried past, one of them pausing slightly to listen intently.
"Another experimental subject?"
"Never mind. Lord Orochimaru has ordered that no one is allowed to approach Area B7 without being summoned."
The Root ninja spoke calmly, but a hint of unease flashed in his eyes beneath the mask.
He was a newcomer, selected through a rigorous process in accordance with the orders of the Shimura family.
Their mission was to help Elder Danzo stabilize Root and prevent Orochimaru from seizing power.
However, in the past few months, Orochimaru has never interfered in the internal affairs of Root, except for demanding resources from them.
They were quite surprised, and the elders of the Shimura family were even more astonished, unable to fathom what Orochimaru was up to.
Besides, the original Root ninjas were almost fearless; these outsiders always felt out of place and only felt oppressed.
"If I could, I really wouldn't want to do this kind of surveillance mission," the young ninja thought to himself, his body trembling slightly.
The two left quickly, their footsteps echoing in the empty corridor.
In the deepest part of the laboratory in Zone B7, Orochimaru stood in front of a culture tank, his golden snake eyes gazing at the baby floating inside.
The child was about three or four months old, with pale skin and faint wood-like patterns that could be seen spreading along the blood vessels on his chest.
In the culture medium, several slender saplings are slowly growing from the baby's fingertips, then slowly withering and regenerating under the nutrient solution.
"His vitality is still waning," Orochimaru muttered to himself, his voice hoarse. "The rejection reaction from Hashirama's cells is stronger than expected."
On the lab table behind him, dozens of experimental records were scattered.
Since the beginning of this year, Orochimaru has been conducting experiments on Wood Release cells. Over the course of a year, more than 70% of the resources of the Root were allocated there by Orochimaru under the pretext of urgent research.
Cell samples from the First Hokage, Sharingan eyes from Uchiha clan members recovered from the battlefield, and corpses of bloodline limit users collected from various countries—all of these were thrown into this bottomless pit.
The Wood Release experiment was just a facade; the real core was something else entirely.
A Root ninja walked in and said, "Lord Orochimaru. This is the third financial report for this month, along with a petition from some Root executives. Lord Orochimaru..."
"Just leave it there." Orochimaru said without turning his head, making no mention of Danzo.
The researcher placed a scroll on the shelf by the door. The shelf was already piled up to half a person's height with scrolls, all of which were questions, orders, and ultimatums sent by Shimura Danzo from his house arrest.
Orochimaru did not reply to a single letter.
Root was still nominally Danzo's power, but Orochimaru, under the guise of taking over, transformed Root into a purely research institution.
Intelligence networks are paralyzed, assassination missions are piling up, and external communications are almost completely severed. The Root of Konoha, which once struck fear into the hearts of the ninja world, is now nothing but an empty shell.
The Root ninja hesitated for a moment: "Also, the Hokage sent someone to inquire about the progress report on the Wood Release experiments..."
"Tell him everything went smoothly." Orochimaru finally turned around, a cold smile curving his lips. "The fusion rate between the First Hokage's cells and the experimental subject is extremely high. We expect to be able to conduct practical tests next year."
"Yes." The researcher bowed and left.
After the door closed, Orochimaru walked to the wall on the other side of the laboratory and formed hand seals to break the triple seal.
The walls slid open to the sides, revealing a hidden secret room.
There were no experimental equipment in the sealed room, only a stone platform.
A pale body lay on the stone platform. Orochimaru had exhausted all known methods in the ninja world, repeatedly performing blood transfusions and cell replacements, but he still couldn't bring this body's lifespan to the standard he desired.
"The limits of cells..." Orochimaru stroked the body's cheek, his pupils filled with disappointment. "The body will eventually age and decay. The life force provided by Hashirama's cells can only delay this process."
Indeed, Orochimaru never valued the practicality of Wood Release; rather, he valued its immense and tenacious life force. He believed that extracting this life force would prolong his lifespan, but as it turned out, this was not the case.
There is no essential connection between vitality and lifespan.
He sighed and started the refining furnace to destroy the experimental subject.
He then walked to another bookshelf, where an ancient bamboo scroll was placed—the Ryuchi Cave Heritage: The Eight-Headed Serpent Technique.
Three months ago, he knelt before the altar at the deepest part of Ryuchi Cave for seven days and seven nights, finally obtaining this forbidden technique from the White Snake Immortal.
This is not the complete version; the White Snake Immortal has omitted some details, but the core principles are sufficient.
"Abandoning the human form and shaping the soul into the Yamata no Orochi to continue... No, this technique itself may be incomplete. However, the soul is a field I have never ventured into before... It seems I will need a lot of materials again; ordinary materials are simply not enough."
Orochimaru's pupils flickered, and just then, the cry of a baby suddenly came from outside the door.
Orochimaru frowned and returned to the main laboratory.
In the incubation tank, the infant codenamed A is struggling violently, and the wood grain on its chest is spreading rapidly, almost covering half of its body.
The culture medium began to boil, and fine roots grew wildly from the baby's body, instantly filling the entire culture tank.
"It's out of control, isn't it?" Orochimaru said expressionlessly, forming hand seals and pressing a button on the control panel.
Below the culture tank, dozens of tubes simultaneously sprayed out a pale green liquid—an inhibitor prepared with intercolumn cell diluent.
The growth of the roots slowed down, the baby's struggles gradually weakened, and finally it sank to the bottom of the trough, with only its chest rising and falling slightly.
He had assumed it was just another mutilated body covered in roots, but to his surprise, Wood Release Experiment Subject No. A survived.
The Wood Release experiment was a success.
But Orochimaru no longer cared. Wood Release was merely a means, not an end.
What he needs is not the power to recreate the first generation, but an understanding of the essence of life.
The baby was still crying, which was bothering him.
But when he walked up to the baby, the crying suddenly stopped, and the child even smiled at him.
Orochimaru stiffened, his face still cold, but his eyes softened considerably: "Child, life..."
He carefully reached out to touch it, then picked the baby up from the incubator.
He smiled and said, "Since you like me so much, from now on you will be my disciple."
"Speaking of which, after the elders' selection process was completed, the old man also asked me to choose a disciple. She's supposedly the granddaughter of one of the elders, only six years old, and quite talented. Since you need someone to take care of you, I'll accept her as your disciple."
Orochimaru put the child down and slowly walked out of the laboratory. He concealed his aura and put on a different face.
Since you're going to take on apprentices, they should at least fit the lineage of the Hokage's successor.