When he heard Uchiha Feiyu's request, Orochimaru's expression shifted slightly, his voice dropping into a low, hoarse register:
"How do you even know about that sort of thing? …Was it Danzō who told you?"
Research into Hashirama's cells and Wood Release was a taboo topic in Konoha. Outside of a handful of top brass, almost no one knew anything about it.
After all, so-called Hashirama cells came from the remains of the First Hokage himself, one of Konoha's founders. Experimenting on the corpse of an ancestor was not exactly something you could brag about in public.
On top of that, the early Wood Release experiments had cost the lives of well over a hundred ninja and test subjects. The uproar it caused back then had been enormous, and in the end, anything related to Hashirama cell research was sealed as top-secret.
By now, Orochimaru was certain: besides the experimental subjects and researchers actually involved, only Danzō and the Third Hokage still knew the project had never truly stopped.
And knowing his teacher Sarutobi Hiruzen, even if the old man knew every detail, he would pretend ignorance and never say a word. Which meant the only one likely to have leaked it… was Danzō.
Feiyu, however, didn't intend to explain where he'd learned about any of this:
"How I know isn't important. What matters is—
sensei should still have some Hashirama cells on hand, right?
As long as you give me a sample, I'm willing to take this mission."
When Feiyu finished speaking, Orochimaru's expression flickered, then he actually smiled and nodded.
"Fine. As long as you're willing to carry out this operation, I'll provide you with Hashirama cells."
Feiyu froze for a moment.
The phrase "ask for the sky, land on the ground" existed for a reason—he'd gone in with the mindset of wildly overbidding. He hadn't actually expected to get Hashirama cells this easily.
His mind moved quickly.
Right now, aside from the Golden Flash, the only people who could realistically compete with Orochimaru for the Hokage's seat were Tsunade and Jiraiya—but those two wanted nothing to do with the position, practically running from it.
And no matter whose fault it really was, the previous annihilation on the Cloud front had been under Namikaze Minato's command. That kind of defeat naturally dealt a heavy blow to the Golden Flash's prestige.
In that light, Orochimaru's chances of rising to the top had improved significantly.
To him, the main reason to keep Hashirama cells under tight lock and key was secrecy, not rarity. Once he became Hokage, the corpse of the First and the stock of cells would, in a sense, be "his" anyway. Cutting off a small sample now wasn't much of a loss.
And if he could win this war outright, the Hokage hat would practically fall into his hands. No wonder he was willing to "bleed" a little.
Feiyu thought it through:
So my cheap teacher really cares about this mission… Makes sense. At this point, his only real rival for the hat is Minato.
Strictly speaking, Minato's failure was mainly because Cloud had thrown an absurd amount of force onto the battlefield. Swap in any other Konoha Kage-level commander, and they likely wouldn't have fared much better.
…but failure was still failure. The hit to Minato's reputation was real.
And then Feiyu caught another angle:
Wait, I'm treating Hashirama cells like a huge sacrifice—but in reality they can be cultured. For Orochimaru, this stuff is a giant secret more than a finite treasure. Giving me a vial doesn't really cost him anything.
Between political Gain and low marginal cost, it made sense that Orochimaru had agreed so readily.
In truth, after reforging Kusanagi into the Break-Evil Blade, Feiyu had already stopped resisting the idea of this mission.
Now, with two core techniquesandHashirama cells on the table, there was no reason to refuse.
Orochimaru was just as decisive in action as he was in word. He didn't even wait for Feiyu to head out before delivering the promised rewards in advance:
Scrolls detailing Soft Physique Modification and Cellular Activation,
And a small sealed vial containing a sample of Hashirama's cells.
But as he handed that vial over, Orochimaru fixed Feiyu with a long, intent look and spoke in a quiet tone:
"I've been researching Hashirama's cells for quite some time now. Up to this point, I still haven't found a way to integrate them into a human body without side effects."
"I haven't even produced a single stable Wood Release subject."
"During that research, I discovered something else—
Hashirama cells embody an extreme Yang-Release chakra. If there were an equally extreme Yin-Release chakra to balance them, it might be possible to neutralize the terrifying backlash."
At that, he trailed off, falling silent, only watching Feiyu with a curious, almost expectant gaze.
Feiyu picked up the vial of Hashirama cells and chuckled.
"At the Naka River Shrine, where the Uchiha hold their clan meetings, there's a hidden underground chamber. Inside, there's a stone tablet carved with some secrets about the Sharingan…"
"One of the lines reads:
'Two opposing powers; if joined as one, may grasp the totality of all things.'"
Orochimaru's eyes lit up. He repeated the phrase under his breath a few times, then a look of sudden understanding spread across his face.
"'Two opposing powers; if joined as one, may grasp the totality of all things…'"
"So my guess really was correct. To control the power of Hashirama's cells, what's needed isn't even stronger Yang chakra, but an extreme Yin chakra."
"No wonder that when Senju clan members underwent Hashirama cell implantation, most of them had the cells run wild and turned into literal trees. The Senju excel at Yang Release, but are poor at Yin Release."
"In that case, the ideal experimental subjects for Wood Release… should actually be the Uchiha."
He paused there, then shook his head.
The Uchiha clan's power was anything but weak, and in Konoha they'd long since formed a semi-independent faction. Even if he became Hokage, it would be very difficult to get his hands on Uchiha "test material" without causing a storm.
Konoha hadn't yet gone through the Nine-Tails incident, and the village's attitude toward the Uchiha was merely cool—not yet suspicious or openly hostile. In this climate, Orochimaru wasn't eager to provoke that nest of hornets.
As he thought this, his gaze subconsciously drifted back to Uchiha Feiyu.
Feiyu, however, had already seen straight through his cheap teacher's thought process. The moment their eyes met, he shook his head resolutely.
"Don't look at me. I've got my own way to digest Hashirama's cells."
"I'm not volunteering to be one of your lab specimens, sensei."
"That really is a pity…" Orochimaru said, his face showing visible regret.
Feiyu could only feel a vein throb in his forehead.
His teacher's research ability was beyond question—but his moral standards were perfectly inverted, falling as far as his research rose.
If Feiyu actually let Orochimaru "handle" his Hashirama cell integration, who knew what kind of nightmare procedures that mad scientist would try on him?
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