Immortality changed perspective.
Time was no longer something to chase or fear. Decades passed like quiet seasons, and I spent them refining my power, expanding my knowledge, and shaping the world in subtle ways from the shadows of my mountain laboratory.
My newest project focused on biology.
Not my own—at least not exclusively.
My summons had always been loyal, powerful creatures, but loyalty and instinct were not enough anymore. If I intended to eventually challenge gods themselves, then every tool at my disposal needed to evolve alongside me.
Naturally, I began with the snakes.
The white serpent that usually rested around my neck was the first subject. It had been with me longer than most living beings in the world, and its intelligence made it the perfect candidate.
I carefully altered its biology.
Cell by cell.
Using a combination of chakra manipulation, advanced genetic engineering, and sealing techniques, I modified its structure until the creature became something entirely new.
The result was remarkable.
The snake could now turn completely invisible at will, its body bending light around itself through microscopic chakra channels I embedded beneath its scales. Its muscles were vastly strengthened, allowing it to strike with explosive speed. Its venom glands had been redesigned to produce a toxin far deadlier than anything nature had ever created—one that attacked both the nervous system and the victim's chakra flow simultaneously.
Even demigods would struggle to survive it.
Its durability had also increased dramatically. Scales reinforced with chakra-dense cells allowed the creature to survive impacts and attacks that would normally kill a summon instantly.
It curled around my shoulders now, silent and unseen whenever it wished.
Perfect.
My other summons received different modifications depending on their roles.
Some were designed for reconnaissance, gaining enhanced sensory organs capable of detecting chakra, divine energy, and even disturbances in the Mist.
Others became combat specialists.
Massive serpents with reinforced bodies, corrosive venom, and the ability to burrow through stone like water.
Some gained minor elemental abilities through experimental chakra pathways.
Others gained intelligence boosts that allowed them to relay complex information.
My snakes were no longer just summons.
They were agents.
Weapons.
Extensions of my will.
While my creations evolved, so did I.
My own body was still being refined. My White Zetsu foundation was incredibly adaptable, which allowed me to integrate additional kekkei genkai without the rejection problems normal bodies would face.
I carefully added new genetic traits over time.
Not recklessly.
Perfection required patience.
Every new ability had to stabilize with the others—Wood Release, Uchiha blood, Sage energy, divine demigod heritage. Adding too many powers too quickly could destabilize even my perfected vessel.
So I expanded slowly, testing each change on clones before integrating it into myself.
Meanwhile, my influence in the outside world continued to grow.
My companies multiplied quietly across America—technology firms, chemical laboratories, shipping networks, private security contractors. All perfectly legitimate on paper, all secretly feeding resources and information back to my hidden laboratory.
Money flowed endlessly.
Information flowed faster.
My spy network expanded across the country, using a mixture of humans, trained operatives, and my serpents. Snakes slipped through sewers, forests, military bases, government buildings—anywhere unnoticed creatures could travel.
What they found was fascinating.
The supernatural world was far larger than most mortals realized.
One discovery in particular caught my attention.
Camp Jupiter.
A Roman counterpart to Camp Half-Blood.
Demigods trained there under the influence of the Roman aspects of the gods. Organized. Militaristic. Structured like a legion.
Very different from the Greek camp.
Very useful information.
Then there was the prophecy.
The Great Prophecy.
My spies uncovered fragments of conversations among demigods and minor divine entities. After assembling the pieces, the message became clear.
The children of the Big Three—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades—were destined to play a critical role in a future conflict that could determine the fate of Olympus itself.
Because of that prophecy, the three gods had made an agreement.
They had forbidden themselves from having any more children.
A pact between gods.
A desperate attempt to control fate.
I sat in my laboratory, one finger resting against my lips as I considered the implications.
Gods feared prophecy.
Interesting.
Fear meant weakness.
Weakness meant opportunity.
If their children could influence the fate of Olympus… then perhaps the prophecy itself could be manipulated.
Or rewritten.
The white snake around my neck flicked its tongue, invisible in the dim light.
I smiled slightly.
The gods believed they were controlling destiny.
But destiny was simply another system.
And systems could always be studied.
Understood.
And eventually—
Controlled.