Within the Land of Fire, in a vast forest where no one has set foot for dozens of kilometers.
"Wood Release, it really is strong!"
Yamanaka Kei sighed deeply after experimenting with Wood Release for a good few hours.
Wood Release is indeed very strong.
Especially when Hashirama Senju himself possesses a Sage Body, has mastered Sage Mode, and also has Asura's Chakra.
The strength of Wood Release completely exceeds the limits of a Bloodline Limit.
But the strength that Yamanaka Kei is referring to is not the kind of strength displayed due to the user's own power.
Rather, it is Hashirama Senju's near-flawless, ultimate development of Wood Release!
Whether facing an army of ninja, giant Summoning Beasts, Tailed Beast Jinchuriki, or a Complete Body Susanoo.
With enough Chakra, Wood Release has the means to deal with them all.
Unparalleled destructive power combined with flawless comprehensiveness.
Even if the user is not Hashirama Senju.
Wood Release still possesses power surpassing the vast majority of Bloodline Limits!
Hmm...
Except for Yamato.
"How could I forget about Yamato!"
Yamanaka Kei slapped his forehead.
More than two months ago, he had Nara Shikaku quietly investigate the Hashirama Cells transplantation experiment files sealed in the Hokage Building.
But because of Danzo and Sarutobi Hiruzen's sudden, bizarre actions.
He went to Cloud Village for more than a month.
After returning, Kushina handed him the files transcribed by Nara Shikaku.
However, a series of events such as joining Root, controlling Danzo, and taking control of Root, forced him to temporarily suppress the matter in his heart.
This delay has lasted until now.
"I should go there first, lest I delay it further and end up losing the Greening Captain."
Yamanaka Kei muttered to himself.
Recalling the name of the research base on the file transcribed by Nara Shikaku.
And comparing it with the specific location of the abandoned research base in Danzo's memory.
He continued to use the Flying Thunder God Technique to arrive in a dense forest less than a hundred kilometers from Konoha.
After identifying the direction, he summoned the Hawk Falcon Pidgeot.
After circling over the dense forest more than ten kilometers west, Yamanaka Kei finally located the entrance to the abandoned research base, hidden beneath a rocky mound.
Using a special unsealing technique from Root, he moved the boulder that concealed the research institute's gate.
Pushing open the somewhat rusty gate, a foul, decaying odor mixed with a cloud of dust assaulted him.
Wind Release: Air Current Wild Dance.
Yamanaka Kei formed hand seals, and the strong wind generated by the basic Wind Release ninjutsu poured into the passage behind the institute's gate.
Whoosh... Whoosh... Whoosh...
The research base's ventilation outlets, hidden in various locations, suddenly spewed out a large amount of foul-smelling gas.
Birds took flight in alarm, and wild animals fled.
"The quality is not bad; it hasn't been completely blocked after so long."
Yamanaka Kei glanced at the direction of several ventilation outlets.
Standing at the entrance, he used Wind Release several times in succession before stepping into the dark passage.
Tap... Tap... Tap...
Inside the silent passage.
The sound of ninja shoes hitting the ground could be heard clearly.
Yamanaka Kei released his sensory abilities, found the light switch, and pressed it.
After a period of strenuous struggle from the old starter, faint lights finally illuminated the dark research institute.
...
The research lab at the deepest part of the research base.
Sixty glass culture pods, each over two meters tall, were neatly arranged.
Five years had passed.
Of the original sixty culture pods in operation, only two in the center were still functioning normally.
The small figures of a boy and a girl rested quietly in the culture pods with their eyes closed.
A green culture fluid enveloped their entire bodies, and black tubes descending from the culture pods wrapped around their bodies, continuously providing them with the energy needed for survival.
Suddenly, the sound of approaching footsteps reached the boy's ears.
Submerged in the culture fluid, he abruptly turned his head towards the door of the research lab.
The sound was coming from there!
Across from him, the little girl, looking weak and clearly in worse condition than him, also woke from her slumber.
She propped her hands on the glass shield, gazing at him with a bewildered expression.
As if asking, what was that sound, was he calling her?
Faced with the girl's blank stare.
The boy, who had personally witnessed the shattering of one cultivation pod after another, and the deaths of children just like him, was suddenly overcome by an instinctive urge to weep.
He knew that the 'light' that had accompanied him until the very end was about to disappear.
The lights that had faded before had all shown this kind of weak and helpless expression before quickly dimming.
He didn't want that!
No!
No!
Thump~ thump~ thump! Thump! Thump...
The boy desperately hammered at the glass shield of the cultivation pod in front of him.
He didn't know why he was doing this, nor what he was hoping for or expecting.
His body's instincts simply told him that only by doing this would the 'light' not disappear.
Whoosh~ screech!
After a sudden, sharp sound of air being torn apart.
The research lab door, covered with sealing barriers, was yanked open by Yamanaka Kei.
The white light that suddenly illuminated the darkness stunned the boy in place. Half-crouched in the cultivation pod, he gave the girl, whose face was full of surprise and confusion, a brilliant smile.
He didn't know why he had such an expression.
But instinct told him, perhaps, perhaps...
The light wouldn't disappear!
Swish~!
"Two?!"
Yamanaka Kei appeared between the two cultivation pods standing opposite each other using the Body Flicker Technique.
...
Name: None
Occupation: None
Tags: Wood Release Test Subject (Purple), Compatibility (Blue), Survival Instinct (Green), Watching (Green), Ignorance (White)
...
Name: None
Occupation: None
Tags: Wood Release Test Subject (Purple), Vigorous (Blue), Ignorance (White), Weakness (Gray)
...
Wood Release Test Subject (Purple): A test subject who has been transplanted and fused with Hashirama Senju's Cells, survived the cellular erosion, rejection, and Assimilation, and possesses the aptitude for the Wood Release Bloodline Limit; can learn and cast Wood Release ninjutsu; the release speed, power, and effect of Wood Release, Water Release, and Earth Release are greatly increased; Water Release and Earth Release affinity are increased; physique is slightly improved.
"A degraded [Wood Release Inheritor]?"
Yamanaka Kei scanned the two's stat interfaces, understanding dawning in his heart.
Although they both possessed Wood Release and had both become purple entries, the Wood Release obtained through cell transplantation still required them to constantly learn and improve on their own.
Not only was there no increase in the refined study, improvement, and creation of Wood, Earth, and Water Release techniques, but the 'improvement' of their physique had become a 'slight improvement'.
They had also lost the increase in affinity for life force and natural energy.
The difference between the two.
Probably...
Like a father looking at his son?
Well, maybe it's more like a grandfather looking at his grandson.
Among these two children, the little boy was undoubtedly Yamato, but the little girl...
Yamanaka Kei recalled the plot of the original story.
This little girl seemed to have died because her nutrient tank broke before Danzo arrived.
She didn't even leave a name behind.
He glanced again at Yamato's blue entry [Compatibility] and the little girl's blue entry [Vigorous].
He roughly understood the reason for the little girl's premature death.
Yamato's [Compatibility] allowed him to absorb and fuse with Hashirama Cells relatively smoothly, while the little girl relied entirely on the life force provided by [Vigorous] to endure.
After passing through the initial fusion.
As the body continued to grow.
The energy required for the little girl to maintain her life on a daily basis was undoubtedly much higher than Yamato's. The energy provided by the culture pod was simply not enough to support her consumption, so there would be an additional negative entry of [Weakness].
And when the energy required for cultivation exceeded the threshold set by the culture pod.
The default program would determine that the little girl had been devoured by the Wood Release Cells, and her fate was self-evident.
"Fortunately, there's still hope..."
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