Inside the dim underground experimental base...
The crazed Orochimaru circled the operating table, frantically performing "procedures" on Shimoku's original body.
Meanwhile, Shimoku, having separated his soul using the Spirit Transformation Technique, had been closely watching from beside his unconscious physical form.
Detached from his body, his sense of time had dulled significantly.
He couldn't accurately estimate how much time had passed.
Judging by the situation, it was probably already daylight outside.
Time continued to tick forward, second by second.
The organ transplantation was still ongoing.
Finally, after who-knows-how-long,
Orochimaru, standing over the operating table, suddenly burst into manic laughter:
"Hahaha! I was right! Exactly like this! Just like this!"
"So that's it!"
"Hashirama's cells can ease the backlash of the Sharingan, and in turn, the Sharingan can suppress the invasive activity of Hashirama's cells!"
"It turns out these two powers really do complement each other!"
"No wonder most of my earlier experiments transplanting Hashirama's cells ended in failure!"
"All along, what I lacked was the power of the Sharingan!"
Orochimaru exclaimed joyfully, his voice brimming with excitement.
He looked utterly manic — like someone lost in madness.
How to suppress the aggressive hyperactivity of Hashirama's cells had always been an almost unsolvable problem.
At one point, he believed that young children—with their strong vitality and adaptability—might effectively resist cellular invasion.
But he failed.
Out of dozens of test subjects, only Yamato survived by sheer luck.
Later, he conducted many more experiments.
Eventually, he resorted to 'Motoi,' whose unique constitution neutralized most of the cells' active intensity.
That alone enabled a barely successful transplant of Hashirama's cells, creating a single right arm for Danzo.
Still, it remained just a half-baked prototype.
Although it possessed considerable ability, it paled in comparison to the full strength of properly activated Hashirama cells.
At the time, Orochimaru had assumed it was just a fluke success.
But now, it's clear that combining Hashirama's cells with the Sharingan creates true perfection!
Even ordinary Sharingan eyes fall short in comparison.
Only the exceedingly rare and powerful Mangekyō Sharingan can genuinely resist cellular erosion from Hashirama's cells, achieving perfect balance with its force!
...
Several minutes later, the transplantation officially concluded.
Shimoku released the Spirit Transformation Technique, allowing his soul to safely return to his physical body.
As soon as his consciousness returned, he shot upright.
Shoving Orochimaru aside, he rushed to the mirror by the lab to check himself.
Quickly verifying whether his appearance had undergone any strange changes.
Good. No paleness in skin tone.
No horns popping out of his head.
And no random faces showing up on his chest either.
Everything seemed normal!
"Phew—"
Shimoku exhaled in relief.
Then, he slowly began inspecting the internal changes within his own body.
The first thing he noticed? His whole body had hardened.
Of course, not *that* kind of hard, though.
With the powerful active enhancement of Hashirama's cells, his bones, meridians, muscles, strength, speed, and so on—all received a significant boost.
A conservative estimate would be at least two to three times stronger!
Don't underestimate those two or three times. Although Shimoku's physical prowess didn't quite match specialized taijutsu experts like Might Guy,
It was certainly no less than that of an ordinary elite jonin.
For ordinary ninja, improving their physical strength by such a margin without years of training was simply unthinkable.
But with these powerful Hashirama cells?
In just a moment, one could surpass what others achieved through years of hard work.
Furthermore, this was only the ability gained from transplanted cells.
Judging solely from this point, one could already glimpse
How incredibly powerful [Ninja God] Hashirama Senju—who possessed an almost perfect Sage Body—must have been.
No wonder even just his cells became the go-to Swiss Army knife for future generations.
Besides enhancing his physical abilities,
Shimoku also discovered that under the sufficient enhancement of cellular activity, his total chakra had skyrocketed dramatically.
Doubling completely!
From 35 cards, it increased to 70 cards!
Well, that actually made sense now.
After all, chakra essentially resulted from combining physical energy extracted from every cell in the body with spiritual power.
If his cellular activity improved, his total chakra naturally increased.
What truly excited Shimoku, though, was
That he immediately spent another 100 coins within the System to exchange for one Chakra Card.
But the result surprised him—
His total chakra actually increased by two cards!
Reaching seventy-two cards!
In other words, from now on, whenever he exchanged for chakra, the amount would double?
Whoa… so the Hashirama cells gave him a permanent chakra-doubling boost? That's insane!
Only a small number of Hashirama cells had brought such incredible results.
Once he'd saved up enough coins in the future to exchange for a complete Sage Form,
Wouldn't that become absolutely insane?
At this moment, Shimoku finally understood
Why the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, after activating [Thousand Hands Manipulation Force: Thrust], could casually grab Nine-Tails—an existence as mighty as it was—with one slap, like handling a little chick.
Compared to that guy's ocean-like chakra reserves, the Nine-Tails' chakra was probably no more than a pond?
...
Of course, improvements in physique and chakra were merely incidental.
What mattered most to Shimoku was how the Hashirama cells enhanced his 'Mangekyo Sharingan'.
This was the top priority!
The next moment,
He activated the Mangekyo Sharingan, crimson light flashing instantly.
The [Mangekyo Sharingan], filled with infinite phenomena, appeared immediately.
Startled, Orochimaru quickly averted his gaze beside him, not daring to make direct eye contact with Shimoku's Sharingan.
Yet this time, when Shimoku activated his 'Mangekyo Sharingan',
He clearly felt much easier and freer than before.
There was no longer that previous pain resistance effort required against the side effects of the Sharingan.
It felt as if maintaining the Mangekyō Sharingan indefinitely came with zero strain whatsoever!
The Hashirama cells transplanted into his body had indeed perfectly suppressed the side effects of the Sharingan!
This feeling... amazing!
From now on and for a long time to come, he wouldn't have to worry about going blind every time he pushed his Sharingan too hard!
Activating his infinite Mangekyō, Shimoku looked at his own hands and instinctively clenched his fists.
This surging sensation of power, and the overwhelming flow of ocular energy, almost made him want to unleash a [Susanoo] just for fun.
But glancing around at Lady Serpent's cramped laboratory, he realized activating one here would probably reduce the entire place to rubble.
So, he decided to put that urge on hold—for now.
...
"Lord Shimoku? Are you satisfied?"
Orochimaru clasped his hands together, flashing a sly, eager smile as he asked.
At that moment, no one understood better than him just how powerful the boy before him truly was.
Countless advanced Ninjutsu techniques, immense physical strength, peerless divine weapons, and these infinite [Mangekyō Sharingan] eyes...
And perhaps what was truly terrifying of all—his age!
He's only ten years old!
And already this terrifying.
Just imagine when he grows up to twenty, thirty... how powerful will he become?
By then, even the entire [Konoha] combined wouldn't stand a chance against him alone.
What a shame though...
Such a perfect body, yet I cannot take it as my own. What a terrible pity...
Orochimaru mused, both awed and regretful.
"Excellent! Feels really good!"
"Good thing you didn't try anything funny."
Shimoku said candidly.
Indeed, Orochimaru's advanced transplantation technique deserved praise.
Of course, if he himself hadn't been cautious, whether Orochimaru would've stayed obedient was another question entirely.
"Lord Shimoku, do you feel any side effects?"
"If there are, please let me know."
"It'll help me gather valuable data for future experiments."
Orochimaru asked earnestly.
Setting aside his sinister motives, Orochimaru remained wholly committed to his scientific pursuits.
"Hmm… There actually is one minor side effect."
"These transplanted Hashirama cells have merged with my body, but their active infiltration remains quite strong."
"Under normal circumstances, there won't be any issues."
"However, if I were to exhaust all my chakra, I might struggle to control these cells."
"At that point, they'd probably start aggressively consuming my body!"
Shimoku hesitated briefly before voicing his observations.
After all, obtaining power through transplantation naturally came with some side effects—it was only normal.
However,
for others, this might pose considerable trouble.
A major battle leaves chakra drained—and few can replenish it quickly.
But for Shimoku?
With a plentiful supply of [Pills] to restore his chakra, he had nothing to fear.
Even if his chakra ran dry, downing two [Pills] would get him back on his feet in no time.
He had absolutely nothing to fear from suppressing those Hashirama cells—they'd never get the chance to turn on him...
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