The laboratory was brightly lit.
Uchiha Sasuke lay on the operating table, eyeing Orochimaru and Kabuto warily, one on each side.
Seeing this, Izayoi couldn't help but laugh. "Don't be so tense—I'll be watching the entire time. If you don't trust them, you can at least trust me, right?"
"Hmph, I'm just worried you might sell me out," Sasuke said with a cold snort, curling his lip.
"Heh heh… Izayoi-kun and Sasuke-kun must have quite a bond," Orochimaru said with a chuckle. "From what I know, the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara once fought side by side as close friends. Now here you two stand, heirs to the Senju and Uchiha legacies. It seems your predecessors' friendship is alive in you."
Hearing that, Sasuke shot Izayoi a glance. He was reminded of how this person had always treated him with open-handed kindness these past years, and he felt a small warmth inside.
But Izayoi had a stern expression as he corrected Orochimaru: "It's not friendship; it's a father-son relationship. I'm Sasuke's foster father—that's what he called me himself."
Orochimaru and Kabuto both looked taken aback.
"You bastard, I'll kill you!" Sasuke bellowed, trying to get up and fight Izayoi right there and then.
But in the next instant, wooden vines sprouted from the floor, binding Sasuke to the operating table.
"Now isn't the time for tough talk," Izayoi teased. "Wait until your surgery is done and you're stronger—then show me what you can do." He turned to Orochimaru and Kabuto. "Hurry and get started; Hinata's waiting for me to come home."
"…All right." Orochimaru nodded awkwardly, feeling that maybe he really was getting old, unable to keep pace with these young folk.
Kabuto gave Sasuke an anesthetic shot, putting him to sleep. Then he lined up the Hashirama cells, disinfected the instruments, and looked at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru didn't let him start right away but instead turned to Izayoi. "Izayoi-kun, where do you plan to have these Hashirama cells transplanted on Sasuke-kun's body?"
Izayoi responded with a question: "Lord Orochimaru, where do you think is best?"
"The five internal organs are the core of the human body and its greatest treasure," Orochimaru said without holding back, having promised to be thorough. "Among those organs, the heart is the most crucial pump. In the Eight Gates, the heart is also the location of the Death Gate. Both blood and chakra are circulated throughout the body by the heart.
"If you want the Hashirama cells to have their maximum effect, I'd recommend placing them in the left side of his chest."
"Then we'll go with the left side of his chest," Izayoi agreed. At the same time, he realized that was why Madara had chosen to implant Hashirama's cells into his left chest—it made perfect sense.
Seeing Izayoi's agreement, Orochimaru wasted no more words and signaled Kabuto: "Let's begin, Kabuto."
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto said with a nod. Then, as if recalling something, he asked, "How big a dose should we give?"
Once again, Orochimaru looked at Izayoi.
"Inject until he can't handle anymore," Izayoi said after a moment's thought. "If anything goes wrong, my Wood Release can absorb the cells' energy. He won't die."
Izayoi didn't voice one more thought.
If Sasuke actually died that way, he'd almost certainly meet the Sage of Six Paths and then come back powered up.
But according to how Yin and Yang might merge (the "two extremes as one"), Sasuke simply wouldn't die from this. No matter how much Hashirama's cells you infused, Indra's chakra within him would balance and absorb it. All it would do is further awaken his Red Sage Eyes.
Of course, Orochimaru and Kabuto had no clue what Izayoi was thinking. They simply felt his logic made sense—especially Kabuto, who personally knew how quickly Wood Release could drain someone's chakra. Even Kidōmaru's chakra absorption was nothing compared to Wood Release.
Kabuto started working. First he snipped Sasuke's shirt open, then used a Chakra Scalpel to slice a small incision in his left chest and stop any bleeding. Next he injected the Hashirama cells into the tissue.
Orochimaru watched this in absolute silence, barely breathing. Once he saw an entire vial of pure Hashirama cells pushed in without triggering violent rejection—unlike experimental subjects who would twitch and spasm—his eyes burned with greed and excitement.
It was perfect!
What a remarkable talent—even greater than Sasuke's older brother's had been.
Yes, the Sharingan and Hashirama cells do balance each other's power. But having worked on both, Orochimaru understood that this balance was only temporary.
Once eye power weakens or Yin Release chakra wanes, the scales tip. The Yang Release chakra within the Hashirama cells can become aggressive. Suppressing it requires either some potent external force or Mangekyō-level ocular power.
Clearly, Sasuke's body and eyes right now shouldn't be able to handle such pure Hashirama cells. Under normal circumstances, just one vial would have caused the afflicted area to bleach over.
Yet Sasuke's body showed almost no reaction. That meant one vial was nowhere near enough.
Kabuto picked up on this too, glancing at Orochimaru in surprise. When Orochimaru nodded, Kabuto injected Sasuke with another vial of Hashirama cells in the same spot.
Three vials later, Sasuke finally began reacting.
His left chest started pounding violently, the heartbeat thundering like a drum. In such a violent response, the wound ought to have been bleeding profusely.
Strangely, not a single drop of blood leaked. The incision itself was turning white at a visible rate.
"Keep going!" Orochimaru shouted, face alive with excitement.
Izayoi's lips curved into a faint grin.
Even without using his Tenseigan, Izayoi's Mind's Eye of the Kagura let him sense that Sasuke's chakra inside his heart had leapt from a small candle flame to a raging bonfire.
The Yang Release chakra coursed through him in ever-growing cycles, pulling more Yin Release chakra from Sasuke's brain. The result was enormous physical and spiritual energy blending into chakra on its own.
In other words—Sasuke was basically cheating at leveling up!
Kabuto, stunned, continued injecting. Each additional vial caused a bit more bleaching to spread from Sasuke's left chest, yet there was no intense rejection. Instead, Sasuke's chakra just grew and grew.
On the tenth vial, something truly bizarre happened.
Sasuke's heartbeat suddenly calmed, and across his now completely white left chest appeared a human face.
Seeing that face, Orochimaru and Kabuto both jumped in fright. "The First Hokage's face!"
Indeed, just like Uchiha Madara in the original timeline, Sasuke now had Hashirama's visage on his chest.
Izayoi took out a camera, snapped a photo, then watched Sasuke closely.
A few text bubbles only Izayoi could perceive formed around Sasuke. Among them, the most striking was still "Sage's Eyes (Red)."
But before today, Sasuke hadn't had any golden text bubbles. Now, one had upgraded from purple to gold:
[Super-Kage Potential (Gold)]
Moreover, a brand-new bubble had appeared: [Kekkei Genkai: Wood Release (Blue)]
Seeing the change in Sasuke's "shinobi potential" as well as the new label, Izayoi's lips curved upward.
Clearly, Sasuke had successfully changed his destiny.
A mere blue-tier Wood Release obviously wouldn't be enough to "break fate." After all, even Yamato's "Wood Release" was considered purple-tier.
Sasuke's breakthrough was possible because, as Izayoi suspected, the Yang Release chakra in the Hashirama cells—or that raw Yang energy—had activated the Indra chakra within him. His chakra capacity soared, and so did its upper limit.
Unlike Obito or Yamato, whose Wood Release would never "level up," Sasuke's [Kekkei Genkai: Wood Release (Blue)] was just the beginning. As he grew stronger and his chakra deepened, his Wood Release might reach Madara's level.
After awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, he'd have near-unlimited ocular power—meaning he wouldn't even need Itachi's eyes to achieve the Perfect Susanoo.
And if the Hashirama cells retained any Asura chakra, Sasuke might already be heading toward merging Yin and Yang on his own. Even if the Sage of Six Paths never powered him up, he could potentially awaken a third Rinnegan in a few decades.
From now on, a low chakra reserve would no longer be Sasuke's Achilles' heel. The minute he awakened Mangekyō, he'd join the absolute top ranks in the ninja world.
At that point, his "drop rate" for Izayoi's "gacha" system would also rise, making it entirely possible for Izayoi to earn another red-tier "Sage's Eyes" bubble before Shippūden even began.
"Incredible…"
Orochimaru's voice trembled as he stared at Sasuke, who had perfectly fused with Hashirama's cells. He could sense the boy's powerful chakra and life energy—his Yang Release chakra—and realized he might have stumbled onto a huge secret. Possibly one tied to the origins of the Senju and Uchiha.
Right then, Orochimaru wanted nothing more than to find that Shinigami Mask, retrieve the souls of his arms, and start experimenting to test out his theory.
At the same time, Orochimaru quietly gave Kabuto a certain look.
Kabuto immediately grasped the meaning and prepared to move.
"Hey… don't pretend I'm not here."
Izayoi's calm voice rang out, freezing Kabuto in mid-motion.
Wooden tendrils sprouted from the ground like tentacles, wrenching the syringe away from Kabuto. The vines binding Sasuke also glowed faintly with blue chakra, quickly healing his incision before uncoiling of their own accord.
"Mmm…"
Sasuke let out a soft nasal sound and slowly opened his eyes, still groggy. He saw three figures, their outlines fuzzy. Then a familiar voice reached his ears:
"You're awake… The surgery was a huge success. Congratulations—you're a lovely girl now."
"What?!"
The "congratulatory" tone snapped Sasuke fully awake. He instinctively checked "down there" with his hand. Feeling nothing amiss, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Click—
All of a sudden, the sound of a camera shutter rang out.
Seeing Izayoi holding a camera, Sasuke went pale and panicked like never before. "You bastard, what are you doing?!"
He lunged at Izayoi, desperate to seize the film.
"Calm down," Izayoi said. "Focus on how your body feels now."
"Give me the film first!" Sasuke shouted. For once, raw strength wasn't his primary concern.
The two blurred into motion, one chasing and the other fleeing around the lab.
Naturally, Izayoi had no intention of letting such a "mega blackmail photo" go. He swiftly stored the camera away inside a wrist-mounted seal and shrugged at Sasuke.
"Damn it…"
Seeing he couldn't get it back, Sasuke gritted his teeth, threatening, "If you dare leak that photo to anyone, I'll kill you for real!"
"Relax. Do I look like the kind of person who'd do that?"
"Yes, you do!" Sasuke snapped, face flushing red.
Orochimaru and Kabuto were drenched in cold sweat, deciding they absolutely should never cross Izayoi. He wasn't just shrewd—he was also cruel in personality.
It was Orochimaru's first time seeing an aloof Uchiha tortured like this. As he imagined Izayoi plastering that photo all over town, Orochimaru glanced at Sasuke with pity.
Truly strong people don't fear defeat or even death. What they fear is…losing face!
At this rate, Sasuke was destined to be "kept in line" by Izayoi.
"Anyway, never mind that for now," Izayoi said, shifting the subject. "Check what's changed in your body."
Sasuke tried to calm himself. He looked down to notice the face of Senju Hashirama on his chest and jumped in fright. "What the hell is this?!"
"It's normal," Izayoi said reassuringly. "It's just a side effect of having Hashirama cells implanted. Gaining great power always has a price. At least it's not on your face. Just…don't go shirtless."
Sasuke shot Izayoi a furious glare. "You'd better pray I never become stronger than you or I'll make you regret it."
"If that day comes, I'd be thrilled," Izayoi said earnestly.
"Hmph."
Sasuke snorted, then began to really feel his changed body. Before long, his expression turned to shock: "This chakra is incredible—and…"
As if making a new discovery, Sasuke lifted his hand, and a small branch sprouted from his palm with a few green leaves.
"Congrats," Izayoi said with a smile. "You're officially a Wood-Release user now."
Orochimaru and Kabuto weren't the least surprised. After all, if someone successfully merged Hashirama's cells, they could awaken Wood Release.
But it wouldn't be the "true" version—neither hyper-resilient nor capable of supreme chakra absorption. Essentially, it was a decent Kekkei Genkai but hardly unstoppable.
Sasuke noticed this as well and pursed his lips in disappointment. "Tch… It's nothing like your Wood Release."
"Obviously not. You've seen how huge my chakra reserves are, right?" Izayoi rolled his eyes. "Just being able to use Wood Release at all is already impressive. Plus, the main point of giving you Hashirama's cells was boosting your chakra and ocular powers. You now have both the Yang element plus Water and Earth attributes. Once you master Wind Release, you'll be an all-nature user like me."
Hearing that, Sasuke's eyes glowed with excitement. "So…that means I can learn all of your ultimate techniques now?"
"Sure can. Feeling happy?" Izayoi teased.
"Hmph… Fine, I guess I won't kill you just yet."
Sasuke folded his arms over his chest, pouting in that typical tsundere Uchiha way.
~~~
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