No calendars exist in the mountains, and time passes without knowledge of the years.
Deep within his laboratory, hidden away from this world, Takuno's footsteps in his pursuit of power had never faltered.
The journey to assimilate Hashirama cells was his day-in, day-out training.
In this long and arduous tug-of-war, he had already achieved a stunning breakthrough.
Starting from the ordinary cell regions on the periphery, like conquering one fortified fortress after another, he consolidated his gains at every step.
The resilient organ cells failed to stop him, and the rigid bone cells finally bowed their heads in submission under his will and skill.
However, just when the dawn of victory seemed within arm's reach, Takuno had no choice but to temporarily halt his near-frantic pace.
It was not out of cowardice, nor was it giving up.
Looming across his path were the final and most lethal chasm-like obstacles: the heart and the brain.
The fragility and critical nature of these two regions went without saying; they were the most core engine and hub of life.
Takuno knew full well that, even with his current strength far exceeding that of ordinary people, if the slightest mishap occurred during the assimilation process in these two places, the only outcome would be the complete destruction of both his body and soul.
As strong as Juubidara, who once stood at the very pinnacle of the ninja world was—was he not completely stripped of his power and vitality by Black Zetsu's insidious "Divine Stab" just when he was closest to success?
That bloody cautionary tale constantly warned him of the weight of the risk.
Moreover, only by stepping into that legendary realm of the "Six Paths" would there be a faint precedent for returning from the Pure Land.
Just like the deceased Obito, who returned from the Pure Land to briefly lend his power to Kakashi, assisting him in unleashing the Perfect Susanoo.
But that was, after all, merely a fleeting firework; the sovereignty of that power did not belong to Kakashi, and it dispersed as soon as it was used up.
Therefore, even though Kakashi had used the Perfect Susanoo, it was still impossible for him to use Susanoo without the Sharingan like Madara could.
Takuno had a clear understanding of his own strength; he was still a considerable distance away from the domain of the Six Paths.
Death, to him, meant the true end.
Granted, it was not as if he had no backup path at all.
The various bizarre secret resurrection arts of Orochimaru were not beyond his capacity to master.
However, the price required for those methods was too high. Not only was the process treacherous and unpredictable, but it was also highly likely to cause a massive decline in power or even damage his foundation, leaving behind eternal flaws.
To Takuno, who viewed power as an existence transcending life itself, this was something even harder to accept than death.
Risk... was ultimately just risk.
Standing before the ultimate threshold of power, the beating of the heart and the thinking of the brain admittedly sustained life.
But in Takuno's eyes, they were furthermore the final two puzzle pieces on the path to ultimate power—the peaks that had to be conquered.
"Rather than hesitating and stalling in anxiety, allowing my power to stagnate, it would be much more satisfying to... just end myself right here!"
This cold thought echoed in his heart, carrying not a single ripple of emotion.
To him, the value of life had long since been completely replaced during his fanatical pursuit of power.
Power is life, and power is superior to life!
Thus, in that laboratory isolated from the mortal world, Takuno made unprecedentedly meticulous preparations.
He adjusted his mind and body to the most perfect state, repeatedly scrutinizing every single detail, with a degree of caution that far exceeded the sum of all his previous preparations.
Thereafter, Takuno sat cross-legged once again, sinking his entire mind into the deepest forbidden zone within his body.
This time, his objective pointed directly at the core of life—that beating heart and intricate brain.
Time, once more, flowed away like running water.
...
Konoha, the Office of the Anbu Captain.
Takuno's Wood Clone sat behind the large office desk, looking at a confidential scroll that had just been delivered.
Very quickly, a clear trace of surprise quietly surfaced on his face.
Since the turmoil that swept through the Uchiha had quieted down, the Five Great Shinobi Villages had indeed all ushered in a rare breathing spell, immersing themselves in a relatively stable period of development.
By tacit agreement, all the major ninja villages had retracted their fangs, silently licking the wounds left by the war, accumulating strength, and repairing their internal rifts.
However, this hard-won "peace" only covered the Five Great Nations and their limited surrounding regions.
Looking across the entire ninja world, the undercurrents were still surging, and greed and ambition had never truly gone to sleep.
Takuno's fingertip unconsciously tapped the scroll once.
Tracing back to the source, the root of this continuous turmoil...
In a certain sense, it was indeed his "credit."
Back then in Iwagakure, his earth-shattering "performance" and the fanatical wave regarding the power of the Tailed Beasts it set off were still echoing and surging through various parts of the ninja world to this day.
This blind craving for power drove gazes in the darkness to cast themselves time and again toward those massive aggregates of chakra.
Because of this, the protection of each ninja village over their own Tailed Beasts had approached a state of near-paranoid vigilance.
The Jinchuriki were heavily protected, and the Tailed Beasts themselves had nearly vanished from sight, shrinking back into the most core secure areas of the ninja villages, not daring to show their faces easily.
Within the villages, they could at least maintain a superficial semblance of safety.
But an accident, in the end, still pierced through this fragile tranquility.
The intelligence on the scroll clearly showed that a portion of the massive body of Sunagakure's One-Tail Shukaku had been forcefully severed and taken away!
And the instigator who executed this audacious act was none other than that familiar name—Orochimaru!
"Orochimaru..." Takuno murmured this name in a low voice, and that trace of surprise became even stronger, even taking on a hint of playfulness.
This had indeed caught him by surprise.
In his understanding, a slippery venomous snake like Orochimaru spent his lifelong pursuits revolving around those eternally unextinguishable "Mangekyo Sharingan."
The ocular power rooted within the bloodline represented by those eyes, which could be completely mastered and evolved by oneself, was the true treasure in the eyes of a mad scientist like Orochimaru.
Tailed Beasts? That kind of violent, hard-to-control energy that was ultimately an external object—based on his understanding of Orochimaru, the man shouldn't care all that much about it.
In this, perhaps there was also a wariness toward that mysterious organization, "Akatsuki," since collecting the Tailed Beasts was their core objective.
But no matter what, in the "script" known to Takuno, Orochimaru's interest in the Tailed Beasts had always been just dipping his toes in the water; he had never regarded them as a core objective.
He was more obsessed with the modification and evolution of his own bloodline.
Yet now... this snake had actually proactively sunk its venomous fangs into a Tailed Beast?
Takuno gave a soft "tsk," leaning his body back into the wide back of the chair, his eyes as deep as an abyss.
The movements of this snake had indeed hooked his brief curiosity.
But this curiosity was by no means derived from the slightest worry or wariness.
Even if Orochimaru could truly steal and tame a portion of the Tailed Beast power, in the eyes of the current him, it was nothing more than kicking up a few pointless extra ripples in the shallows.
Crushing this snake to death had long since been as easy as turning his palm for him.
What he cared about was this "accident" that had suddenly deviated from the predetermined trajectory.
This deviation from the original work itself, more so than the power Orochimaru might obtain, was able to pique his near-dormant interest.
Takuno let out a yawn, thinking no further about it. He would just wait and see the subsequent intelligence; if the other party really had their sights set on the Tailed Beasts, then he wouldn't just vanish from sight, and would bound to make moves against other ninja villages in the follow-up.
In comparison to that, the main body, which had been completely immersed in training, should be close to succeeding.
Thinking this way, a trace of burning heat also revealed itself in Takuno's eyes.
When he completely assimilated the Hashirama cells, to what extent would his strength reach?
If he was given sufficient time, and his own strength reached the level of Hashirama, would this scenario then happen?
Look quick! Hashirama is charging over with his Mangekyo Sharingan active and driving a Perfect Susanoo!
Thinking about it like that, it really felt quite interesting!
Under the dim yellow light, Orochimaru's narrow, golden snake pupils stared straight ahead.
That was no ordinary sand; it was the special sand that made up the body of the One-Tail Shukaku.
An unnoticeable trace of confusion flitted across the depths of his eyes.
It was not the first time he had witnessed the power of a Tailed Beast, but at this moment, it set off unprecedented waves in his heart.
How exactly could one truly harness this energy belonging to an incarnation of calamity?
Once upon a time, he wasn't interested in these sealed monsters, believing them to be nothing more than massive and difficult-to-control aggregates of chakra.
However, the man known as the "Collector" had single-handedly invaded Iwagakure, not only retreating completely unscathed but even forcefully seizing a Tailed Beast.
This subversive, magnificent feat instantly illuminated a domain that Orochimaru had previously failed to value.
Tailed Beast chakra—its value was far from being as simple as he had imagined in the past.
Not only that, the dangerous organization he had briefly taken shelter in, "Akatsuki"—its supreme objective actually pointed directly at the Tailed Beasts as well!
This dual pointing was absolutely no coincidence.
A clear realization formed in his cold heart: behind the power of the Tailed Beasts, there bound to be a massive secret hidden that was sufficient to touch the source of power.
This secret might exactly be the root of how the "Collector" could compare to gods and demons with a mortal body!
If he, Orochimaru, could decipher the truth of this secret, did it mean that he could also step onto that shortcut leading to supreme power?
The Sharingan... the power of that Kekkei Genkai indeed fascinated him; the potential for genjutsu, insight, and even manipulating space contained within it was once a treasure that caused him to toss and turn at night.
However, compared to the earth-shattering battle achievements of the "Collector"—that mighty force that nearly rewrote the rules of the ninja world—the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan seemed to suddenly lose quite a bit of its luster.
When an open path that was more likely to lead to the pinnacle of power clearly existed right in front of him, would it not be foolish to the extreme to still obsessively chase after the Sharingan?
Of course, this did not mean giving up.
The power of the Sharingan was still alluring and unique, while the secret of the Tailed Beasts pointed to another entirely new dimension.
In his current understanding, these two were not incompatible; greedy thoughts swirled in his brain.
As his thoughts shifted, the Akatsuki leader's pair of indifferent purple eyes, which seemed able to see through all illusions, vividly surfaced in front of him.
The legendary Rinnegan, the symbol of the Sage of Six Paths' power.
That was the ocular technique that truly stood at the pinnacle of the ninja world!
An uncontrollable, burning desire instantly surged up, but following closely behind it was a dread that seeped into his very bones.
He remembered when he joined "Akatsuki," the absolute power displayed by that leader, like a deity looking down on ants.
Merely recalling that pressure caused Orochimaru's golden pupils to instinctively contract.
Greed was greed, but seizing the Rinnegan from that unfathomable leader?
This was no different from an idiot's daydream.
Orochimaru let out a sigh. This time, making a move in private to touch the power of Shukaku was already an open violation of the organization's iron rule.
The Akatsuki's massive "Tailed Beast Capture Plan" had not yet kicked off; his actions were no different from betrayal.
Returning to the Akatsuki? Absolutely impossible now.
However... this also happened to be within his calculations.
Thinking of the leader's growing dissatisfaction with his unbridled utilization of the organization's massive sea of resources to conduct forbidden experiments, and thinking of the constraints and limitations that followed, a cold arc instead curled up at the corner of Orochimaru's mouth.
Breaking away was originally a part of the plan.
Though the resources of that massive organization were good, they were ultimately shackles.
Now was exactly the time to break free from the constraints and explore a broader world on his own.
"Sharingan... Tailed Beasts..."
He repeated these words in a low tone, and immediately after, two even more sinister chuckles echoed eerily within the silent laboratory.
...
In the laboratory, only the low humming of the instruments proved that time was still flowing.
Takuno sat cross-legged, his entire mind long since sunk into that path of assimilation within his body.
After an unknown amount of time, his tightly shut eyelids vibrated slightly.
Finally, those eyes that had been closed for a long time slowly opened.
Deep within his pupils, a fatigue so thick it could not be dissolved was interwoven with a wild joy that was nearly bursting forth.
That fatigue was the residual ash after intense mental concentration;
While that wild joy was the pure excitement of finally conquering the last precipice and standing at the peak where no one else stood.
"Heh..." A raspy laugh escaped his throat, as if it had been suppressed for too long and finally found a crevice to vent.
This laughter rapidly expanded, ultimately turning into a hearty burst of loud laughter.
"Hehe... Hahahahaha!"
Before the laughter could fade, an indescribable, majestic power suddenly erupted from within his body!
Visible to the naked eye, a torrent of chakra condensed to the absolute limit violently swept outward.
The air inside the laboratory instantly became viscous and heavy, and the invisible pressure made even the walls seem to groan.
The bottles and jars on the lab table shook violently, emitting fine, sorrowful cries.
This was exactly the qualitative change after completing the perfect assimilation of Hashirama's cells—an ocean of chakra was rushing and roaring inside his body!
Takuno clearly felt this unprecedented torrent of power.
Although there was still a distance from the chakra of that legendary "God of Shinobi," Hashirama, at this moment, the total amount of chakra inside his body had already undergone an earth-shattering transformation.
Its vastness was already reigning superior over the vast majority of Tailed Beasts in the world!
Perhaps only the Nine-Tails Demon Fox, which symbolized infinite chakra, could firmly press down a head over him.
Even the powerful Eight-Tails Gyuki—its chakra amount compared to his was probably just neck and neck, making the outcome hard to call.
What made the heart race even more was that Takuno knew full well that this was far from the end.
When this body of his, which had fused the strongest bloodlines, fully matured, his upper limit of chakra would bound to infinitely approach that legendary First Hokage!
To go a step further, one would then only have to touch that realm of the "Six Paths."
How could such a stunning transformation and near-infinite possibilities not make his heart race and fill him with wild joy?
The wild laughter finally faded gradually, and the chakra also slowly gathered back.
The laboratory restored its tranquility once again, but the residual, heart-stopping sense of oppression in the air manifested that everything that had just happened was absolutely no illusion.