Light flickered in the gloomy room, casting blurry shadows against the walls.
Danzo sat silently beneath the lamp. His right hand looked like a corpse freshly fished out of formalin, haphazardly stitched onto his body by some clumsy undertaker.
Eleven Sharingan eyes, nourished by Hashirama's cells, were full of vitality. Their crimson pupils stared out in every direction, each eye seemingly having a mind of its own.
Danzo had long since grown accustomed to this sanity-eroding sight. After carefully checking his arm according to Orochimaru's instructions, he pulled a handful of pills from a drawer and swallowed them with a gulp of cold water.
The skills associated with this arm were still unstable, occasionally leading to instances of berserk outbursts or outright rebellion.
Like right now...
Not long after the bandages were unwound, as if reveling in the rare sensation of fresh air, the Hashirama cells in his right hand began to stir. Thinking that spring had arrived and it was time to sprout, several small saplings burst from Danzo's shoulder, growing rapidly as their lush green leaves swayed in the air.
Stimulated by the Hashirama cells, the cluster of Sharingan eyes sensed a familiar aura and became restless as well, reacting like dry tinder meeting a blazing fire.
Danzo remained expressionless. The daily interaction between the Hashirama cells and the Sharingan was exactly what allowed him to seize the powers of both the Senju and the Uchiha, as the two forces merged and intertwined.
"It is a pity, but the time has not yet come."
Danzo reached into his trousers, fumbled for a moment, and pulled out a sealing scroll. Unsealing it, he produced three pairs of heavy, massive brass ninja tools.
These were sealing apparatuses custom-made for him by the research expert Orochimaru, designed to suppress the vitality of the Hashirama cells and the drain of the Sharingan.
One by one, he fitted the sealing tools onto his arm. As the sealing power spread through his body, the branches growing from him began to wither.
Danzo reached out and tore away the dead branches. Expressionlessly, he wrapped the bandages around his arm layer by layer, cautiously hiding his greatest trump card.
Aside from raw power like ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, the intelligence advantage was of paramount importance in a ninja's battle. Having been the leader of Root for so many years, Danzo believed in this theory implicitly.
Even an elite jonin or a Kage-level powerhouse could suffer a major setback due to some strange or obscure secret technique.
Izanagi—the ultimate ocular jutsu capable of negating reality and rejecting any unfavorable conditions—had once driven Danzo's murderous intent toward the Uchiha to its peak. Later, he discovered that the Uchiha clan seemed entirely unaware of this technique, or perhaps only a handful of people knew of it.
Therefore, Danzo felt perfectly justified in using this technique as his own hidden ace. If it weren't for the fact that his right arm still needed adjustment, he would have considered personally assassinating Makiya.
Danzo was more than familiar with the intelligence on Makiya. What use was powerful Fire Style? With Izanagi, Danzo was confident he could kill Makiya the moment the boy let his guard down, uprooting the threat forever.
"...Forget it, I'll let Orochimaru handle this." After a moment of thought, Danzo pulled out a scroll and began writing a secret letter. The content focused mainly on bribery, supplemented by coercion, asking him to handle a 'trivial' matter.
The name of the Sannin echoed throughout the ninja world. In Danzo's view, with Orochimaru's years of accumulated foundation and the vast array of forbidden techniques he had acquired from Root, dealing with Makiya would be a walk in the park.
After finishing the letter, Danzo left Root alone and walked to a nearby dense forest. A small white snake was coiled on a tree trunk, its tongue flickering incessantly toward him.
Danzo tossed the scroll. The white snake skillfully darted its head out, caught the scroll, swallowed it whole, and then turned to disappear into the woods.
At Tsunade's home.
Makiya and Tsunade were in the middle of a negotiation.
"Didn't we agree that you'd make it worth my while? Why are you being so hesitant now?" Makiya said indignantly.
"That... that really won't work," Tsunade said, her face full of conflict.
"Why won't it?" Makiya pressed forward, attempting to break through her mental defenses. "Don't worry, I'll just have a look. I won't do anything else."
Although Tsunade lacked practical experience in certain areas, she had traveled far and wide over the years and had long since seen through the lies men told. They'd start by saying 'just a little taste' and end up taking everything. She let out a cold laugh. "Hilarious. You think I'd believe that?"
Makiya snapped, "You promised me a satisfactory reward! Is the great Lady Tsunade, one of the Sannin, really planning to go back on her word?"
He suddenly yanked the door open and hauled in Shizune, who had been eavesdropping outside. "Come here, you be the judge. Tell me if Tsunade is being unreasonable!"
"Uhm... well..." Shizune's face turned beet red, and she stammered for a long time without finding any words.
"It's not that I'm unwilling," Tsunade explained gently. "Katsuyu is very picky. Even if I gave you the summoning contract, you wouldn't be able to summon her without her approval."
"So it's not that you're stingy, but that you're worried I won't meet the requirements?" Makiya raised an eyebrow.
Ever since sharing the memories of Liao Zhai Makiya, he had immediately tested the effects of cultivation techniques, but the results weren't ideal.
The spells worked, but the core cultivation methods didn't. The natural energy in the Ninja World was quite peculiar. When he followed the cultivation paths to draw natural energy into his body, Makiya immediately felt something was wrong.
The natural energy was extremely corrosive. It felt as though he had injected a syringe of nuclear wastewater into his veins; wherever it passed, his cells turned a sickly green as if they were about to mutate.
One must understand the basics before mastering the advanced. Makiya planned to first collect the methods for Sage Mode from the Three Great Sage Regions to study what was actually going on.
Sage Transformation held a very high status in the Ninja World. Once Madara Uchiha mastered Yin-Yang Release, ordinary ninjutsu became useless against him, but Senjutsu could rival Yin-Yang Release, as both existed on the same energy level.
The Three Great Sage Regions were hidden in obscure corners of the Ninja World, protected by naturally formed barriers. They were impossible to find through normal means; a summoning scroll was the only shortcut to reaching them.
And so, this scene unfolded.
Tsunade's summon was named Katsuyu, a colossal blue-and-white striped slug who had existed for countless years and lived in the Shikkotsu Forest.
As long as one signed their name on the summoning contract passed down through the Senju clan and performed the Summoning Jutsu, they could be reverse-summoned to the Shikkotsu Forest.
Tsunade continued her gentle persuasion: "Katsuyu's requirements are very high. She requires the contractor to possess incredibly profound medical abilities. You should pick a different condition."
'Give me a break,' Makiya grumbled internally. 'I didn't see Hashirama possessing any profound Medical Ninjutsu. He just had that insanely overpowered passive regeneration, which barely counts as medical skill.'
Of course, it was also possible that the blue-and-white slug simply played favorites. The longer one lived, the more they feared death; Katsuyu probably worried that if she refused, Hashirama would come stomping over with a Wood Golem the next second to 'reason' with her.
"Actually, Lady Tsunade, there's something you don't know." Makiya assumed a serious expression. "My Medical Ninjutsu is also quite formidable."
"Yours?" Tsunade looked completely skeptical, narrowing her eyes as she sized Makiya up. "Boasting isn't a good trait. I've never heard a word about you knowing Medical Ninjutsu."
Tsunade had read plenty of intelligence reports on Makiya. They were all filled with records of his unique golden Fire Style and his massive chakra reserves; there wasn't a single word about him knowing Medical Ninjutsu.
"That's not a problem. I can prove it right now." Makiya extended his arm and reached for a kunai to slash it. After a thought, he wondered why he should make himself suffer, so he looked toward Tsunade and Shizune.
He ruled out Tsunade immediately; the older woman was a total she-devil. Shizune, on the other hand, had a mysterious blush on her face and kept her head down like a timid little wife. Makiya didn't have the heart to bully her.
Just as Makiya was hesitating, a pink object rounded the corner, moving slowly and emitting rhythmic grunting sounds.
It was Tonton, Tsunade's pet pig.
The man and the pig locked eyes. Tonton sensed Makiya's ill intent and realized something was wrong, instinctively taking a step back to flee.
The next second, the world spun. Tonton found herself held in the arms of the villain.
"Oink oink—squeal!!!"
A wound appeared on Tonton's belly. Makiya's palm began to glow with green light. The Mystical Palm Technique stimulated rapid cell division, and the wound healed at high speed, leaving behind only a few drops of blood.
The sight of the bright red blood made Tsunade tremble. The faint scent of blood was magnified by her senses, causing her whole body to shake.
Her hemophobia had flared up. Tsunade lost all strength, her body shivering, but she feigned composure. Even as her legs shook, she forced herself to stand tall to avoid showing any weakness in front of Makiya, desperately trying to hide her condition.
"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune rushed to Tsunade's side, grabbing her arm to support her while glaring at Makiya. "Let go of Tonton!"
"She's already healed." Makiya showed them Tonton's belly. There was only a trace of blood, with no visible wound remaining.
He handed the little pig to Shizune, who quickly pulled Tonton into a hug.
"Impressive Mystical Palm Technique." Tsunade glanced at Tonton, confirming the wound was indeed healed. She marveled at how Makiya was such a monster—where did he find the time to study Medical Ninjutsu alongside his regular training?
Even if it was just a shallow scratch, being able to precisely stimulate high-speed cell regeneration in such a short time was impossible without a certain level of mastery.
Makiya's Medical Ninjutsu was indeed good, but it wasn't enough.
Tsunade shook her head. "Katsuyu looks at comprehensive ability. Besides healing jutsus, she evaluates emergency hemostasis, burn treatment, knowledge of toxicology and pharmacology, and much more. It's very complex."
Fine then. It seemed Katsuyu, the Slug Sage and one of the Three Great Sages, was indeed very picky. But unfortunately for her, Makiya knew everything Tsunade just mentioned. Although much of it hadn't been practiced, thanks to Hacker Makiya, his theoretical knowledge was currently immense.
The human physiology in the Ninja World was slightly different from other worlds, but the basic principles remained the same.
"Excuse me." Makiya flashed a toothy grin. "Everything you just said... I happen to know it all. Test me however you like."
Tsunade nodded. "If you truly are qualified, I won't be stingy with the summoning scroll. Katsuyu herself hopes to find another excellent contractor. Since you're confident, I'll draw up an assessment plan."
"I'm definitely confident. Stop talking and let's get on with the test."
"Wait here. I'm going to pack my things."
Makiya was stunned. "???"
One day later, Land of Hot Water, Konoha's frontline base camp.
Makiya returned to his large tent. After dispelling his Shadow Clone, the memories of the past two days flooded into his mind.
Nothing much had happened at the camp, though the Great Elder had called him for another chat, mentioning that Minato had won a battle on the front lines.
The Great Elder's tone had been quite disdainful, seemingly implying that Minato hadn't actually won, but rather that a bunch of ninjas looking to curry favor were exaggerating the victory.
After digesting the memories, Makiya turned to look behind him. A ninja clad in a wide cloak and wearing a mask followed him into the tent.
"Not bad. Your place is quite spacious."
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