Orochimaru looked at Ryoho Kyohiko.
"That's right, that's what I was thinking too."
The one who had just spoken was Ryoho Kyohiko—to have Danzo take the blame for the matter of White Zetsu, that would truly make Danzo the "Scapegoat Kage." The man was already cold; there was no need to make things so ugly.
Ryoho Kyohiko nodded lightly, then moved closer.
"Uchiha Madara had a very good relationship with the Shodaime-sama back then. It wouldn't have been difficult to obtain his flesh and blood. Or perhaps he didn't die in the final battle at all and obtained the Shodaime-sama's cells."
Orochimaru licked his lips, unable to contain his excitement.
"Resurrection from the dead…"
In his eyes, this was a miracle! The fact that Uchiha Madara could do it meant that the boundary between life and death in the shinobi world was not so difficult to cross. Even—the current Madara might really be the real Madara!
Tsunade had obviously thought of this as well. Her face was grim as she looked at the large amber stone, speechless for a long time. After a good while, Tsunade finally spoke.
"If that's really the case, then the guy behind all this is the real Madara?"
Ryoho Kyohiko looked at Orochimaru and Tsunade.
"It's hard to say. Let's study this thing first. Does it need to be moved immediately?"
In terms of cell preservation, they were the experts. His own level was still far behind.
Orochimaru's eyes were fervent.
"Let's move it first. This thing might be very valuable!"
Tsunade nodded lightly.
"The research value is very high. Other aspects remain to be seen."
Ryoho Kyohiko mentioned.
"It might also have therapeutic value."
Orochimaru was thoughtful, then nodded lightly.
"Indeed. What you brought back is a complete half-body. It has bones and flesh inside. If we can make the bones regenerate, it would certainly have some use in treatment."
Tsunade was skeptical.
"The Kaguya clan? Can these cells work?"
Orochimaru nodded.
"We have to test its corrosiveness."
Tsunade recalled for a moment.
"The Kaguya clan's bloodline disease, according to our current research, is mainly due to the Shikotsumyaku being too powerful. If these cells are from my grandfather, and if the corrosive nature can be weakened…"
Ryoho Kyohiko reminded them.
"For the Kaguya clan, we need to experiment cautiously and observe carefully. Unless it's a case of the bloodline disease, I don't recommend using it rashly. Otherwise, what if it triggers the bloodline disease in their bodies after use?"
Although the Kaguya clan and the Senju clan were not from the same lineage ancestrally, tracing back further, they were still of the same origin. Theoretically, it should be applicable. However, the enhancement of cells might also bring about an "evolution" of the Kekkei Genkai, and the direction of evolution might not necessarily be good. It could also harm the body like the Shikotsumyaku.
Orochimaru sighed with regret. He really wanted to see the combination of the Shikotsumyaku and Hashirama's cells, but what Kyohiko said was also reasonable. He definitely couldn't research it. Fortunately—there was a ready-made patient with the bloodline disease in the village.
Tsunade thought of this and couldn't help but feel a headache.
"If it's really feasible, then we'll have to do a lot of research in this area in the future."
The Konoha Hospital now had too many research projects! Many were ideas from Kyohiko, which were then given to her. She didn't have the time, so she could only let the medical ninjas at the hospital research them. But the problem was… where were the people? Where could she find so many people? Even though the current Konoha Hospital had many more vacant medical ninja positions than before due to the arrival of peace, there was still a large shortage. In this kind of fine, high-end industry, you could never have too much talent.
At this moment, Ryoho Kyohiko also received a prompt.
[You have brought a large number of professional puppets and special flesh and blood cells to the village, which will have a great impact on future medical care and technology. The village's medical standards will be improved as a result!]
[Reward: Strength of a Hundred Healings Technique (Grandmaster)]
Grandmaster-level Strength of a Hundred Healings…
Ryoho Kyohiko glanced at it, a little surprised. "Strength of a Hundred Healings Technique." A technique based on the Yin Seal and Superhuman Strength. Its effect was somewhat similar to a special chakra mode, allowing the whole body to easily release powerful strength and chakra. Based on this ninjutsu, combined with "Creation Rebirth," was Tsunade's later seal-less healing. However, the current Kyohiko didn't know Creation Rebirth yet…
Ryoho Kyohiko looked up at Tsunade. I wonder if Tsunade has researched the Strength of a Hundred Healings Technique yet. Hmm, I can discuss it with her later.
"Well, I'll put the others away first, including Sasori's remodeled body… We can study these later to see how he turned people into puppets while still retaining a part of their ninjutsu and Kekkei Genkai."
"Mm, for now, this flesh and blood is the priority."
Orochimaru couldn't hide his excitement. "Kyohiko-kun, every time you go out, you always bring me back a huge surprise!"
*
Outside the laboratory of the Konoha Hospital, a group of medical ninjas crowded around.
"What's the situation?"
"I don't know! The three masters are all here. It must be some important research!"
"Then…"
Everyone was discussing, all very curious. After a moment.
"Move aside, move aside! What are you crowding for? Is your research done? Is the report written? Has the ninjutsu been researched successfully?"
Hebiame came all the way, and upon reaching the door, she delivered a fatal triple-question combo.
The group of doctors outside immediately lowered their heads, each one smiling sheepishly as they returned to their own research labs. How could research yield results so quickly? But for Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Kyohiko to be in the research lab together, they might not see it a second time in their lifetime. How could they not come over to watch the excitement? But with Hebiame's three-part questioning, they had no choice but to go back, feeling indignant in their hearts—Who knows, Hebiame might even squeeze in herself!
Hebiame wanted to, but she knew very well that for these three to come together, it must be very important research, possibly rising to a very high level of secrecy. No matter how curious, she couldn't just peek. And Hatake Kakashi was still guarding the door! She nodded lightly at Kakashi, then left and returned to her own room.
Inside, Orochimaru chuckled lightly.
"Hebiame is doing a good job. She seems to be my master's wife's disciple?"
Tsunade said with annoyance.
"Yes, she's been well-trained. Among the new generation, she's one of the more capable ones. I intend to cultivate her, but there's still not enough talent. I wish I could start cultivating them from when they were babies!"
Medical ninjas required long-term study, practice, and practical experience. It was not an industry that could be mastered in a year or so. Including Yuhi Kurenai, several years had passed since she started learning medical ninjutsu… she was still an assistant and couldn't be the main surgeon. Of course, Kurenai's talent in chakra control was very high. In another year or two, she should have sufficient ability.
"Take it slow."
"It's much better now than before. If it were the system from my teacher's time… hehehe."
Orochimaru chuckled lightly and, together with Tsunade, prepared the nutrient solution and the life-sustaining medicinal liquid. Ryoho Kyohiko assisted on the side—he was not professional enough in the medical field and could only do menial tasks.
After a moment, Ryoho Kyohiko took out the amber stone and unsealed it. The resin recovered and dissolved. Then, the half-body of White Zetsu emerged from inside and landed on the table. Orochimaru and Tsunade together placed it in a culture container, and Tsunade used ninjutsu to stimulate and maintain its activity.
After a moment, Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's done! The cells were in a brief dormant state after being sealed for a period of time, but after being stimulated with chakra, they quickly showed strong cell activity."
Orochimaru said.
"It's not as sensitive to chakra as the First Hokage's cells."
If it were Hashirama's cells, with Tsunade's chakra infused, these flesh and blood cells would have already started to rapidly divide and multiply.
"Let's try it first."
He thought for a moment, extended his hand, and a snake drilled out from his sleeve. Orochimaru pinched it. After a moment, a little bit of flesh and blood cells were integrated into the snake's body.
Soon, the snake began to twist in pain, its forked tongue flicking rapidly, showing a rather frenzied emotional state. A few seconds later, a seedling grew from its body, and finally, it was directly absorbed and digested, turning into a small tree.
Orochimaru was silent for a moment.
"It seems there's no difference from the First Hokage's cells."
Tsunade said thoughtfully.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.
"No, there is a slight difference. If we directly used Shodaime-sama's cells, it wouldn't have lasted this long."
No one knew Hashirama's cells better than him!
Tsunade said quickly.
"Let's extract the DNA sequence and see."
They seemed to have forgotten about Ryoho Kyohiko, completely immersed in their research. This biological entity was too amazing! If they could research something from it, perhaps they could unlock the secrets of Uchiha Madara's life and death and Senju Hashirama's constitution. Besides… as Kyohiko had said, its medical applications also had a huge market.
Ryoho Kyohiko gave a dry laugh—it seemed he wasn't of much use here! Forget it. Since that's the case, I'll sit on the side and integrate and comprehend my new ability. Ryoho Kyohiko thought to himself. Strength of a Hundred Healings Technique…
Soon, a large amount of memory flooded into his mind, about the Yin Seal, about Superhuman Strength, about chakra modes. The fusion and comprehension of various memories made his head ache a little. This was a sign of overusing his brain. Ryoho Kyohiko rubbed his temples, gathered his spirit, and worked hard to digest the memories.
He didn't know how long had passed. He only knew that he had slowly mastered this ability, understood its difference from the Yin Seal and Superhuman Strength, and only then did the absorption and fusion of memories stop.
"Strength of a Hundred Healings Technique…"
"It is indeed a special chakra mode, more delicate and precise than the Lightning Release Armor. The two are completely different directions and fields."
Ryoho Kyohiko compared it to the Lightning Release Armor. His Lightning Release Chakra Mode was now at the "Expert" level. Although not as powerful as the Third Raikage or A, he was quite familiar with it and could probably guess its subsequent development and direction. Lightning Release chakra was relatively violent and difficult to control. It was impossible to manipulate it as finely as ordinary chakra, so it was destined not to be like the "Strength of a Hundred Healings Technique." The two had their own pros and cons.
Besides… [Yin Seal (Grandmaster)]. Benefiting from the direct enhancement of the Strength of a Hundred Healings Technique, his Yin Seal also instantly reached the Grandmaster level. Among the many memories were methods for opening more small chakra sealing pools. Even with the same Strength of a Hundred Healings Technique, Kyohiko and Tsunade were still heading in different directions—the new sealing pools were built in places where the chakra meridians were highly concentrated, such as the chest and abdomen. Similarly, these places were also where some of the Eight Gates were located. Ryoho Kyohiko didn't train in the Eight Gates, so his need for these was not very high. Building chakra pools could instead make use of them.
"But."
"After activating the Strength of a Hundred Healings Technique, my whole body releases chakra at the same time, which is actually faster to activate than Tsunade's version!"
"This is the advantage of having multiple pools."
Ryoho Kyohiko thought to himself. He pondered it over and over… he didn't know how long had passed, but he felt he had pretty much mastered it! At least—the theoretical foundation was definitely ingrained in his heart, completely absorbed and digested.
Ryoho Kyohiko looked ahead. Tsunade had already finished slicing and extracting, and was waiting for the instrument to produce data. Orochimaru was fiddling with the snake that had turned into a plant.
Tsunade suddenly shouted.
"Orochimaru, Kyohiko!"
Ryoho Kyohiko immediately sat up and leaned over.
"What's the situation?"
Tsunade pointed at the equipment screen, her face a mixture of surprise and joy.
"You two, look!"
Orochimaru walked over. Then, he chuckled lightly.
"As expected, very similar, but not exactly the same. The reason is that they are a type of cloned plant body. This creature is very special!"
Ryoho Kyohiko followed up.
"No wonder they can lurk underground, their presence is hard for us to detect…"
"So, the one who took Obito away before was also him!"
Tsunade nodded.
"It should be."
As a cloned plant body, they were between animal and plant, and could easily merge with the earth, making it difficult to detect their traces. And…
Tsunade looked at Ryoho Kyohiko.
"You mentioned before that it was half black and half white?"
Ryoho Kyohiko nodded lightly.
"Yes. For now, the white part is this special cloned plant body. Then what is the black substance? Or rather, what kind of mutation is it?"
"Black…"
Tsunade looked at Orochimaru. Although Orochimaru's past research was not very good, at least in the area of Hashirama's cells, the other party was definitely an expert.
Orochimaru shook his head.
"I've never encountered it."
Tsunade's fist hammered the table.
"Alright, then let's assume it's a completely unknown existence. It definitely has special abilities, not just a different color. So the person who took Obito away is very likely him!"
Although Obito wasn't a top-tier genius, for Konoha, such a kind Uchiha clansman was rare. He could have been developed as a new generation "Uchiha Kagami." A pity!
Ryoho Kyohiko thought for a moment and looked at Orochimaru.
"Senpai, have you made any progress in your research on chakra life recently?"
Orochimaru shook his head.
"No substantial progress for now."
Then, he looked at Kyohiko.
"You mean, Madara turned himself into a state similar to a Tailed Beast? A chakra life form?"
Ryoho Kyohiko said.
"Who knows. The Tailed Beasts have lived from ancient times until now and have never died, right?"
Tsunade and Orochimaru both fell into deep thought. If that kind of creature was formed from special chakra, then what kind of realm had Madara reached before his death? Incredible! The two looked at each other, their hearts filled with pressure.
"If that's the case, then it's not so bad. After all, it's just a chakra life form. Although powerful, it's not as strong as the peak Uchiha Madara with a body. I still have the confidence to seal him."
"What I'm afraid of is that they still have the ability to resurrect!"
Ryoho Kyohiko continued to voice his concerns. And so, the pressure on Orochimaru and Tsunade grew even greater!