Inside the room, Asahi injected a small bottle of cytotoxin into his body with a syringe.
This was Asahi's third injection of cytotoxin. Compared to the previous two, this injection was slightly smaller in dosage. After nearly two years of fusion, the Hashirama cells in Asahi's body had achieved a certain degree of compatibility with his own cells.
The Hashirama cells possessed immense vitality, and this vitality would gradually alter Asahi's physique. Human cells have strong adaptability, capable of adapting to both viruses and medicines. This cellular adaptability was key to fusing the Hashirama cells.
Rather than fusion, it's more about letting the Hashirama cells modify his own cells until his own cells no longer reject them, at which point the fusion would be essentially complete.
Through self-examination, Asahi estimated that it might take another four to five years to fully integrate the Hashirama cells. This was a long process, and Asahi could only wait.
However, compared to the benefits brought by fusing the Hashirama cells, this wait was entirely worth it.
After sealing the three bottles of cytotoxin into his ninja pouch, Asahi rested briefly before heading towards Konoha's main gate.
The border conflict with Kumogakure had been going on for over three months. In January of Konoha Year 49, Kumogakure seemed to have probed Konoha's true strength. According to intelligence intercepted by Konoha's higher-ups, it wouldn't be long before Kumogakure made its move against Konoha.
Therefore, Asahi also had to depart. Joining him were three Hyuga clan jōnin, including Hyuga Hizashi. The four-man reconnaissance team would conduct twenty-four-hour uninterrupted surveillance of Kumogakure's frontline army.
Kumogakure had deployed three thousand Kumo ninja on the border of the Land of Fire. While not a large number, this was merely their vanguard. Once Kumogakure decided to engage in full-scale war with Konoha, the remaining ninjas would arrive at the front lines in a short amount of time.
In these past few months, Konoha had also reduced the number of missions and assembled a ninja force of nearly ten thousand within the village. Aside from a portion left to guard the village, approximately seven thousand ninjas were ready to support the front lines at any time.
By the time Asahi arrived at Konoha's main gate, Hizashi and the three other Hyuga clan jōnin had already been waiting for some time.
These three were all from the Hyuga clan's Branch House. The Main House, unless absolutely necessary, would not participate in war missions. During the war against Kirigakure, a member of the Hyuga Main House had one of their eyes stolen. This incident was sealed by the Hyuga clan, and not many people knew about it.
But this also made the Main House members even more cautious. All dangerous missions were carried out by members of the Branch House, while the Main House, as the controllers of the clan, enjoyed the fruits brought by the Branch House.
The Branch House and Main House system of the Hyuga clan, while effectively protecting their kekkei genkai and allowing the clan to participate in Konoha's external wars to gain prestige, was indeed somewhat cruel to the members of the Branch House.
"Hizashi-senpai, Tetsugumo-senpai, Tokuma-senpai, sorry to keep you waiting!" Asahi said.
"We just arrived too!" Hizashi replied.
"Let's go!" Asahi said.
Everyone already knew the mission's content. Although Asahi was the captain, the mission was actually quite easy for him. Twenty-four hours a day, each person was responsible for six hours of surveillance. Perhaps six hours of mission load was a heavy burden for the Byakugan, but for Asahi, it was very easy.
Asahi didn't even need to use the Sage Mode chakra stored in the Yin Seal. He could just sit on the ground and train in Sage Mode, sealing the senjutsu chakra into the Yin Seal.
This would allow him to covertly monitor the movements of the Kumo ninja.
At the jōnin meeting, the reason for proposing to carry out the mission with the Hyuga clan was also due to the newly agreed cooperative relationship between them.
This was undoubtedly an excellent opportunity to earn military merits, and since it was just a surveillance mission, there wasn't much risk involved.
"Asahi, how confident are you about this war?" Hizashi asked.
"Konoha will probably win." Asahi said nonchalantly.
"Probably?" Hizashi frowned.
Although Konoha's clans vied for power among themselves, they always managed to unite when facing external threats. Compared to other ninja villages in the ninja world, Konoha's environment and system were relatively comfortable. Living in Konoha for a long time would naturally foster a sense of attachment to the village.
Their power struggles were merely to gain more influence within this large family.
"Hmm..." Asahi thought for a moment and said, "Based on the intelligence we have, if the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki might appear together, in that case, I might not be able to defeat both of them. But if only one appears, I can still handle it."
At this point, Asahi pointed to his forehead: "As for ordinary ninja, no matter how many there are, I don't take them seriously."
"That's good." Hizashi nodded.
"Don't worry, if I wasn't absolutely confident, why would I have proposed a strategy at the jōnin meeting?" Asahi chuckled, "Actually, I have another idea, I wonder what would happen if I put it into action?"
"Oh? What idea?" Hizashi asked.
"Kumogakure only has three thousand shinobi on the front line. When they make their move, I will defeat them all by myself!" Asahi said coldly.
"You... you alone?" Hizashi was surprised to hear this, but he wasn't overly shocked, as this could only be a joke. If it were true, it would be too terrifying.
"Yes." Asahi said softly, and then both sides focused on their journey, without another word.
As of today, Asahi desperately needed a major battle to showcase his strength to the entire ninja world. Powerful strength could not only deter other ninja villages but also those in Konoha who wanted to move against him.
Once Asahi single-handedly repelled three thousand Kumo ninja, not only would Kumogakure need to reconsider its future relationship with Konoha, but even the Third Hokage, Shimura Danzo, and others would have to consider what attitude to adopt when facing Asahi in the future.
When a person is strong enough to disregard numbers, then that person can achieve a status equal to that of major powers.
If it were just normal Sage Mode, Asahi couldn't achieve this. However, the Yin Seal stored a huge amount of senjutsu chakra, which was enough to sustain Asahi for extended combat.
However, the pros and cons of displaying such immense power still needed to be carefully considered.
*****
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✓ Killed For 100 Years in Hueco Mundo, Aizen Invited Me To Soul Society!
✓ Naruto: Senmei Asahi
✓ Naruto: Uchiha's Intelligence Dealer
✓ Naruto: The Fifth Hokage Is Naruto's Uncle
✓ Naruto: Who Made Him a Ninja?
✓ To Love-Ru: Spoiler Route [R-18]
✓ Naruto: The Accidental Incubus [R-18]