In his secret laboratory, Uchiha Shinji gazed at the array of various poisons and toxins laid out on the experimental table, his heart filled with unease.
Some of these poisons and toxins were quite common, while others were exceptionally rare.
To gather these substances, Shinji had gone to great lengths, not only mobilizing the full resources of the Hidden Grass Village but also leveraging Koharu Utatane's authority to tap into a portion of the village's reserves.
After meticulously categorizing all the poisons and toxins by their properties and arranging them according to their attributes and potency, Shinji opened his notebook.
Following the failure of the last live experiment, the pharmaceutical team—or rather, the entire research group—had thrown themselves back into intense scientific work.
Soon, various optimization proposals emerged.
During a meeting presided over by Tsunade, flawed proposals were systematically eliminated, leaving only one: an optimization plan proposed by Tsunade herself, dubbed the "Neural Hybrid Toxin."
This plan required the third-generation aging agent to retain its ability to stimulate rapid cell division while incorporating a neurotoxin to paralyze the target's body.
Stimulating cell division naturally accelerates the target's metabolism, temporarily enhancing their physical attributes. Thus, stimulating and suppressing simultaneously was an extremely challenging and inefficient approach.
Tsunade's reasoning was straightforward: since it was difficult to suppress cellular activity while stimulating cell division, the goal was to prevent the target from benefiting from the enhanced strength brought by cellular activity. Hence, the "Neural Hybrid Toxin" optimization plan was born.
However, finalizing the optimization plan did not reduce the research group's workload.
The primary issue lay in the precise blending ratios of the various toxins, particularly the neurotoxin, which was far less stable than other toxins. Even a slight deviation in the hybrid toxin's proportions could render the neurotoxin's effects in the agent completely null.
As a result, the research group was mired in endless formulation experiments. The workload was immense, and failed formulations consumed vast quantities of precious toxins, creating a stifling atmosphere within the team.
Naturally, Shinji couldn't just sit idly by waiting for the research group to produce results, which led to his current endeavor.
"Phew."
Exhaling deeply, Shinji cleared his cluttered thoughts and focused entirely.
Using the Susanoo Tomoshibi to wield Uchiha Fugaku's Mangekyo Sharingan dojutsu, "Izanami no Mikoto," he could peer into the forks of fate, identifying the most advantageous possibilities among countless diverging paths. However, the "future" he could observe was fleeting.
Even at the cost of immense dojutsu power, five minutes was roughly his limit.
Observing the "future" for five minutes was more than sufficient in combat against enemies, as shinobi battles often hinged on a single moment. Even in a prolonged stalemate, five minutes was enough for the user to discern the battle's outcome.
But when applied to pharmaceutical formulation, those five minutes felt woefully inadequate.
At the very least, it wasn't enough time for Shinji to conduct a single live drug experiment. Thus, before attempting to use "Izanami no Mikoto" to aid in drug formulation, he had crammed extensively on pharmacology, enabling him to quickly assess a drug's success through its scent, color, and the aid of relevant instruments.
After mentally reviewing the drug formulation process once more, Shinji wasted no time and swiftly activated his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
As he deftly began the formulation, his dojutsu "Izanami no Mikoto" activated in tandem.
In an instant, his vision filled with countless overlapping scenes of himself formulating the drug.
Undoubtedly.
These layered images in his Sharingan were snapshots of him formulating the drug across countless forks of fate!
Without dojutsu power at his current level, an ordinary Mangekyo Uchiha would be unable to pinpoint the most advantageous path among these myriad forks before their dojutsu power was exhausted. Even Uchiha Fugaku, the original master of "Izanami no Mikoto," likely couldn't manage it.
But Shinji didn't waste time marveling at the wonders of fate. Instead, he focused intently on searching for the fork of fate most favorable to him.
"Formulation Plan No. 41 seems to have succeeded."
"No. 179 also appears to have succeeded."
"Huh, that's the fork of fate for Plan No. 622, which I chose. The drug actually activated—unbelievable."
Drug activation indicated a potent chemical reaction, an outcome with extremely low probability. Even with identical ingredients, ratios, and formulators, replicating it was uncertain. Shinji merely noted it briefly before shifting his attention to other forks of fate.
"No. 1231."
"No. 1390."
"No. 1683."
Just as Shinji prepared to probe further into the forks of fate, a long-forgotten stabbing pain surged through his Sharingan.
"Tch!"
After a soft curse, Shinji halted "Izanami no Mikoto" and clutched his eyes, taking a moment to recover.
This pain was not unfamiliar, though since fusing his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, he rarely depleted his dojutsu power to such an extent.
Deactivating his Sharingan, Shinji redirected his focus to the drug formulation.
"41, 179, 622, 1231, 1390, 1683. Out of nearly two thousand formulation attempts, only these six plans showed some success rate."
Recalling his findings, he jotted down the formulation ratios for these six plans.
Even with "Izanami no Mikoto" peering into the "future," the limited duration meant that these six plans weren't guaranteed to be entirely correct. They still required further testing with instruments and, ultimately, live experiments for validation.
Even so, this saved an incalculable amount of effort.
Two thousand drug formulations, ignoring the time and energy costs, would consume an astronomical amount of raw poisons and toxins alone.
For Shinji to narrow down six highly feasible plans from two thousand experiments in mere minutes was a monumental breakthrough.
Next, Shinji began recreating these six plans.
With meticulous precision, he completed all six formulations. As expected, the activated No. 622 plan failed to exhibit activation upon replication.
He then conducted a more thorough examination of the six resulting vials.
With the aid of various instruments, the drug from Plan No. 41 was the first to be eliminated. Subsequently, Nos. 179, 622, 1231, and 1683 were also discarded due to excessive potency loss.
His gaze finally settled on the drug formulated from Plan No. 1390.