Inside Uchiha Shinji's apartment.
"Hmph!"
With a cold expression, Uchiha Shinji let out a light grunt, activating 'Wazunagi.' With the overwhelming dojutsu power of his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, he simultaneously suppressed the Koryugan and the First Hokage's cells within Yakumo's body. Then, before either could react, he forcibly drew all of their chakra toward himself in one swift motion.
Ever since Yakumo's surgery began, he had been remotely monitoring its progress through the link of 'Jikibi' and the sensing of 'Wazunagi.'
Tsunade's surgical plan was nearly flawless—even if he were in charge, he couldn't have done it any better. So, he had resolved that if he didn't have to intervene, it would be best not to.
However, the wild ferocity of the First Hokage's cells far exceeded his expectations.
He had originally thought that while the First Hokage's cells were more domineering than White Zetsu's cells, the gap between them shouldn't be that vast. But after experiencing this, he realized the sheer terror of the First Hokage's cells—they were a full tier above White Zetsu's cells.
This also made him begin to understand why Uchiha Madara, back in the day, went to such lengths to use the power of the Divine Tree to dilute the First Hokage's cells and create White Zetsu's cells.
What shocked him even more was that, under the dual effects of Tsunade's suppressants and fusion agents, combined with the Koryugan's exertion, Yakumo had actually managed to endure the chakra invasion phase smoothly.
At that point, he, along with Tsunade and Shizune in the operating room, all thought the surgery had succeeded.
But unexpectedly, the Koryugan broke free from Yakumo's control at the critical moment, becoming just as much of a threat as the First Hokage's cells.
Seeing that the Koryugan and the First Hokage's cells were about to drag Yakumo's body down together, he had no choice but to act!
In the blink of an eye.
A massive amount of the ultimate Yang Release chakra contained within the First Hokage's cells, along with the enhanced dojutsu power of the Koryugan, was pulled through the void by 'Wazunagi.'
For the current Uchiha Shinji, this chakra wasn't particularly useful.
So, with a flicker of thought, he stuffed both types of chakra into Karin's body all at once.
These two chakras were far too extreme. Among all the targets currently linked to his 'Jikibi,' aside from himself, only Karin—who possessed the Uzumaki clan's Sage Body and had been transplanted with White Zetsu's cells—could withstand both of these chakras at once.
At the shinobi academy.
To prevent the fully deteriorated Mangekyo Sharingan in her eye sockets from being exposed, Karin had always kept a low profile. At that moment, she was taking a taijutsu class, standing alone in a corner, listening to the teacher explain taijutsu techniques.
Suddenly, she stumbled.
By her side, a quick-handed Hyuga with the Byakugan steadied her and asked softly, "What's wrong?"
"I'm fine."
Karin shook her head.
Noticing the slight abnormality in Karin's expression, the Hyuga didn't press further. Instead, he stepped forward to shield Karin, covering for her.
Karin, understanding his intent, shrank behind him slightly, then focused on receiving the refined Yang Release chakra and Yin Release chakra transmitted by 'Wazunagi.'
As a massive influx of these high-quality chakras surged into her, she felt the fully deteriorated Mangekyo Sharingan in her eye sockets stir, as if provoked, faintly showing signs of restlessness.
"What kind of chakra is this?"
Karin couldn't help but feel secretly astonished.
She knew her own Yang Release chakra was already impressive, but she hadn't expected the Yang Release chakra transmitted by her leader to be even stronger—strong enough to instantly provoke a reaction from her fully deteriorated Mangekyo Sharingan.
She looked up at the sky. In her previously pitch-black vision, patches of light—some large, some small—gradually began to appear.
Thump, thump.
Immediately after, she felt a sensation in her eye sockets, a stirring akin to a heartbeat, as if a new life were being nurtured within them.
In the operating room.
Beep, beep, beep.
The shrill alarm from the equipment still echoed through the operating room.
However, neither Tsunade nor Shizune showed the panic that matched the piercing alerts. On the contrary, relaxed smiles spread across their faces.
The fusion process had been stalled earlier because Yakumo herself was too frail—she could neither suppress the Koryugan nor the First Hokage's cells.
But as both the Koryugan and the First Hokage's cells weakened simultaneously, the originally fragile Yakumo gradually regained the dominant position, and the stalled fusion process resumed.
Puzzled, Shizune asked, "Lady Tsunade, why is this happening?"
Tsunade shook her head.
Even now, she couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation. It was as if a third-party force had intervened at the critical moment, suppressing both the Koryugan and the First Hokage's cells at once, bringing them down to Yakumo's level and allowing her to push the fusion forward again.
Not to mention how this third-party force might exist.
Simply suppressing both the Koryugan and the First Hokage's cells simultaneously wasn't something just anyone could do—even if both had been weakened after clashing during the chakra invasion phase.
But now clearly wasn't the time to dwell on this, so Tsunade quickly pushed her thoughts aside, focusing entirely on Yakumo on the operating table.
"The rejection reaction is subsiding."
"Cell activity is starting to drop to normal levels."
"The 'Wood Release transformation' in the transplant area is fading."
Shizune reported one piece of good news after another.
Tsunade perked up.
Though Yakumo now appeared incredibly weak, with both the Koryugan and the First Hokage's cells in her body deflated like punctured balloons, utterly listless—
As long as the final fusion was completed, Yakumo's condition would only improve with time!
Moreover, unlike Orochimaru's human experiments back in the day, the suppressants Tsunade had prepared this time were meticulously balanced, and the dosage was scientifically precise. So as long as Yakumo could endure the fusion phase, her absorption of the First Hokage's cells would undoubtedly surpass Yamato's by a significant margin.
In the Hokage's office.
Kurama Murakumo fidgeted restlessly, while Kurama Rei prayed ceaselessly with her eyes closed.
The Third Hokage puffed on his pipe, his expression calm.
To say he wasn't nervous would be a lie, but he had seen too much in his long life. Even if he had attachments, they wouldn't easily show on his face.
More importantly, he had already instructed Tsunade that if things truly became hopeless, preserving the Koryugan should be the top priority.
Bam!
At that moment, the office door swung open, and Jiraiya strode in confidently.
The three people in the room all turned to look at him, their eyes filled with questioning gazes.
Jiraiya nodded firmly. "The hospital just sent word—the surgery was a success!"
"Thank heavens!"
Kurama Rei collapsed to the ground, her eyes brimming with tears of joy.
Kurama Murakumo rushed to Jiraiya's side. "Really? The surgery really succeeded?"
Jiraiya grinned. "Yakumo pulled it off!"
"Our Kurama clan is finally revived!"
Kurama Murakumo also wept with overwhelming joy!
The Third Hokage removed the pipe from his mouth and asked, "Was the surgery smooth? Can it be replicated for others?"