Chapter 466: Anti-Aging Surgery
A person faces many choices throughout their life. Some are monumental life decisions, while others are trivial and petty.
Even going to sleep every day requires a choice: do you close your left eye first, or your right eye first?
Of course, Masahiko didn't usually hesitate; he chose to close both eyes at the same time.
But the choice he faced now truly put him in a bind. Maxing out the Genetic Modification and Splicing skill to Level 8 had bestowed upon him a pile of black-technology methods, even enabling him to perform anti-aging surgeries to extend a person's lifespan by 60%.
Then what about Level 10?
Masahiko was incredibly expectant in his heart, but raising it to Level 10 required a whopping 900 Witness Points, which was no small amount. Furthermore, Masahiko was only 1,500 Witness Points away from completing his "maxed-out account" achievement, which would fully unlock all eight pocket spaces...
"I'll still have to see how many Witness Points I can harvest in the days to come, as well as the concrete, practical effects of this anti-aging surgery."
As the night grew deeper, Masahiko utilized his Level 8 genetic knowledge to perform another highly detailed check on Isaribi. Leaving her with a firm promise that she could be cured, he sent her home to rest and have a good dream.
Masahiko then constructed a small wooden shack right next to her house, preparing to rest here for the night. That night, he closed both of his eyes simultaneously.
The next day.
Masahiko brought Isaribi back toward Konoha.
The young girl had no lingering attachments in the Land of Sea, leaving the moment he asked. As for Masahiko, aside from not forcing the issue by pressuring the Daimyo of the Land of Sea to rename Strange Island to Saburo Island, his other objectives had basically been achieved. There was nothing left to look back on.
It was a pity that Orochimaru's kids weren't easy to abduct. Masahiko actually thought quite highly of Guren; with a bit of cultivation, her future prospects would be excellent. As for Tayuya—a girl who clearly coveted the Great Ancestor's youthful good looks—he might as well forget about her!
Orochimaru has already 'spirited himself away'. If those two can't wait him out after a year or two, are they really going to wait a lifetime? Discarded children will sooner or later come into the Great Ancestor's embrace... ahem, bowl!
Riding on the flying carpet the entire way, Isaribi surprisingly didn't manifest a shred of acrophobia. Gazing at the scenery from high in the sky, her face was completely plastered with smiles. Only now did she truly believe that this 'little brother' was a legendary, formidable ninja...
Upon arriving in Konoha, Masahiko brought Isaribi straight to the Uchiha clan compound. A flawless method to eradicate the marine genetic traits from her body had already been synthesized by Masahiko, but when it came to the actual, hands-on treatment, it was still better to leave it to Rin...
He had originally set out looking for Rin, but he didn't expect to run into a much more suitable candidate at her house.
"Tsunade, when on earth did you get back?"
Tsunade was currently cradling little Akira in her arms. Catching sight of Masahiko, she froze for a second. Upon receiving a nod of confirmation from Rin, her face instantly erupted into a radiant smile: "Haha! Great-granduncle, you truly turned small! You're so adorable!"
Handing little Akira back to Rin, she stepped forward, intending to pull Masahiko into a massive hug, but Masahiko hurriedly pushed her away.
"Stop messing around! Our heights aren't compatible!"
"Oh my, look who's getting shy!"
Masahiko: "..."
After a bout of playful banter, Tsunade slowly began to narrate the reasons behind her return to Konoha.
There were many factors. Orochimaru launching an assault on Konoha with his active status remaining completely unknown between life and death was one. Hiruzen getting older by the day and not having many years left to live was another. Rin getting pregnant and giving birth, and even Masahiko rejuvenating... of course, the primary catalyst was still Jiraiya tracking her down and revealing all of this to her.
Differing from the original story timeline, Tsunade currently held a substantial number of active attachments inside Konoha Village. Living lightheartedly and gambling on the outside for two years was one thing, but continuing to gamble endlessly indefinitely would be far too unseemly. Consequentially, she had returned to Konoha alongside Jiraiya yesterday afternoon.
"There is an even more critical reason—both you and Jiraiya are getting up there in age, aren't you?"
Tsunade paused, the corners of her lips curling up: "Haha, Great-granduncle, come here and let me hug you!"
Masahiko: "..."
Another round of playful banter ensued until Tsunade finally inquired about Isaribi, which finally reminded Masahiko of his official business.
"She is a pitiful young girl who suffered from Orochimaru's toxic experimentation. Encountering her this time, I brought her back with me. I originally intended to have Rin handle her treatment, but since you're back..."
"Orochimaru's toxic experimentation? Treatment?" Tsunade knit her brows slightly, pacing over toward the slightly constrained Isaribi.
Masahiko offered comforting words: "Don't be afraid. This is Tsunade, who belongs to Konoha's Legendary Sannin alongside Orochimaru. Her medical skills are matchless, and she will smoothly cure you."
Isaribi froze, nearly turning around to bolt on the spot...
Masahiko burst into laughter: "The Legendary Sannin aren't all villainous pricks... well, actually, it's close, but the one standing right in front of you is the sole good person."
Isaribi didn't even possess the capability to run before her wrist was cleanly clamped down by Tsunade. With a tiny surge of stimulating chakra, she steadily manifested her merman form.
Standing to one side while cradling little Akira, Rin's mouth instantly stretched wide with absolute shock.
"A beast-human experiment?" Tsunade raised her hand to feel the fish fin protruding from the top of Isaribi's head. "That bastard Orochimaru... I can certainly cure it, but..."
"Exactly how to treat it, I will teach you in a bit. It won't leave any side effects."
Tsunade given a subtle pause: "Since when did you acquire such a profound understanding regarding genetics?"
"Heh, your Great-granduncle is omnipotent."
"Then why don't you personally administer the treatment yourself?"
Masahiko scratched his head: "Certain regions where her marine genetic traits have fused wouldn't be particularly convenient for me to treat."
Tsunade's lips curled into a smirk: "Does this young girl even look twenty years old? She hasn't even reached a fraction of your age baseline, yet since when did you become this pure-hearted? Is it because your physical body shrunk? Truly adorable, come let me hug you!"
Masahiko's face turned completely black: "You brat!"
Right there inside Rin's home, Masahiko guided Tsunade through executing the very first treatment phase for Isaribi.
Unable to bear the sight of the young girl breaking into tears of profound gratitude as her physical body steadily improved, Masahiko pulled Tsunade off to one side, revealing the logistics of the anti-aging surgery to her.
"Is that real or fake?!" Tsunade whispered in a low cry. "Extending natural lifespan by 60%, how on earth is that biologically possible? Wouldn't that mean literally everyone could live past a hundred..."
"Not necessarily, it scales based on exactly what age they are currently sitting at. For instance, take Jiraiya. He is fifty years old this year—my goodness, to think he's already fifty!"
"Great-granduncle, drop the act!"
Masahiko let out a chuckle: "For instance, assuming his natural baseline allows him to live until eighty, he would still possess thirty years of remaining lifespan. Extending that by 60% would net him an additional eighteen years—living a full eighteen years longer!"
Tsunade fell into deep thought for several moments: "Consequentially, the earlier a person undergoes this surgery, the better?"
"Not necessarily." Masahiko shook his head. "Whether it induces delayed physical development is something that cannot be verified for the time being."
"Then why on earth are you telling me this...?"
"To teach it to you, of course. The aging genes are thoroughly distributed across the entire body, so executing the surgery on Kushina and the other girls wouldn't be convenient for me."
Tsunade nodded, refraining from 'teasing' Masahiko this time, clearly parsing out the gravity of the situation.
"Then are you going to write down the necessary knowledge for me to master, or teach me directly?"
Masahiko waved his hand: "You can shadow me while I perform a live surgery. As for the patient specimen, let's use Jiraiya!"
Tsunade: "..."
The routine runs incredibly deep.
"Don't rush just yet. This surgery will have to wait until after the New Year anyway; I still need to run a few personal verifications."
Tsunade indicated that she wasn't rushed in the slightest.
It was currently mid-December of Konoha Year 60. Over the subsequent half-month, Masahiko experimented with performing this anti-aging surgery.
Failing to recruit a test subject, he decisively experimented right on his own body. By the close of Konoha Year 60, he had finally, painstakingly eradicated every single one of the 268 aging-inducing genes within his own vessel!
"This wave, even without the system's baseline attributes, the Great Ancestor can smoothly live for another 128 years!"
"Though heaven knows if there are any hidden side effects. Consider this the Great Ancestor sacrificing his own flesh for the advancement of science..."
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