"You're right…"
"With Hokage-sama's talent, he'll definitely be able to synthesize all sorts of Kekkei Genkai… So what I should focus on first is perfecting single and dual bloodline transplants. After that, I'll pursue my perfect technique!"
Excitement gleamed in Hiruko's eyes.
"To be honest, I don't have much confidence in transplanting five Kekkei Genkai. Multiple rejection reactions are simply uncontrollable. Even if someone barely succeeded by then, they'd probably no longer even resemble a human being—just something barely holding itself together without collapsing!"
Hiruko's line of thinking gradually became clearer.
In order to strengthen Konoha's overall combat power, what he needed to develop right now was a version of the Chimera Technique capable of relatively easily transplanting one or two Kekkei Genkai…
After that, he would create an ultimate Chimera Technique impossible for anyone else to achieve—something only Hokage-sama would ever have a chance to use!
"This is the guidance of the Sage of Six Paths…"
"Hokage-sama discovered me when I was nothing, and the culmination of my life's work was destined from the very beginning to be tailor-made for Hokage-sama…" Hiruko said with deep emotion.
Tsunade rolled her eyes at him.
No wonder Orochimaru constantly called him a charlatan…
The man invented a jutsu and started rambling about "Heaven, Earth, and Humanity," and now he was even dragging the Sage of Six Paths into it!
Sensei's Will of Fire had practically brainwashed him at this point!
"You can save your grand vision for later…" Tsunade patted Hiruko on the shoulder.
"How's teaching Asuma been going?"
At the mention of that, Hiruko sighed.
"My actual combat experience is lacking, so there honestly isn't much I can directly teach Asuma. As his sensei, all I can really do is help improve his aptitude and guide him toward the path best suited for him…"
"Asuma inherited part of Hokage-sama's physique. His strength, speed, and close-combat instincts are all exceptional. Ironically, the Fire Release techniques the Sarutobi Clan specializes in are only average in his hands."
"He should become a close-range combat specialist, though not the same type as Sakumo or Minato. Instead, he should rely on overwhelming strength and defense, more like the Third Raikage's fighting style…"
Kushina asked curiously: "Then Committee Member Hiruko, are you going to help Asuma learn the Lightning Release Chakra Mode?"
"That technique depends far too heavily on talent. Only Hokage-sama could switch over halfway through his life and still successfully master it…" Hiruko slowly replied.
"I'll do everything possible to ensure Asuma successfully receives Swift Release and Steel Release transplants!"
"Those are the most suitable bloodlines within the Second Hokage's material archives for him. With those two techniques, Asuma's self-preservation abilities will be secure, and they'll also maximize his close-combat talent…"
In Hiruko's vision of the future…
Asuma's fighting style would probably involve activating Steel Release and Swift Release, then charging through enemy ranks like a gale while wielding chakra-enhanced ninja weapons!
Orochimaru nodded slightly.
That actually sounded fairly good…
Just hearing about it made him feel like Asuma would definitely accomplish many things for Konoha and the Land of Fire, fully worthy of being called the Hokage's son!
"Kakuzu-san, would you be interested in teaching Asuma alongside me?"
Hiruko coughed lightly and spoke seriously.
"Asuma needs your wealth of experience to guide him!"
Kakuzu was startled at first, then immediately nodded repeatedly in delight.
"Of course!"
Konoha truly was his promised land!
Ever since arriving in the village, he had first enjoyed an incredibly pleasant conversation with Hiruzen.
Then he met Namikaze Minato, collaborated with Hiruko on the Earth Grudge Fear project, and now he was even being invited to help teach the Hokage's son—a role that was basically pure prestige!
Everything was going too smoothly!
Kakuzu felt like his life had suddenly become absurdly fortunate!
Hiruko smiled and nodded, finally feeling a weight lifted from his heart.
He was deeply afraid of disappointing Hiruzen. If Asuma failed to receive the best educational resources possible, and his future strength proved insufficient, then Hokage-sama's reputation would suffer because of it…
That was why proactively sharing the honor of teaching the Hokage's son with others was unquestionably a good thing.
Not only did it demonstrate broad-mindedness, it also allowed him to build ties with Kakuzu, one of Hokage-sama's trusted confidants…
"Oh right, have you all heard about Uchiha Seisui lately?"
Orochimaru spoke in an eerie tone: "That genius from the Uchiha Clan—the new disciple Danzō recently accepted—has been constantly coming and going through the Research Department lately using assistant authorization orders, borrowing all kinds of instruments and materials…"
"He acts like he's some kind of scientific research expert!"
Hiruko chuckled.
"Oh, I know about that. In order to take Seisui as his disciple, Danzō even went drinking inside the Uchiha Clan compound. He was throwing his arms around Uchiha Isshin and Uchiha Fugaku like old brothers…"
"One of the jōnin under my division told me he thought he'd fallen under a genjutsu when he saw it that day!"
Kakuzu nodded deeply in agreement.
That day, both he and Yashiro had also thought they were trapped in a genjutsu…
"The Uchiha Clan doing scientific research? Don't make me laugh…" Hiruko waved his hand dismissively.
"They're good at fighting, sure, but they don't have the brains for this sort of thing!"
Orochimaru nodded in agreement.
"That's what I think too…"
As for this matter, Orochimaru actually had a secret thought of his own.
If that Uchiha called Seisui truly enjoyed scientific research, then he was probably just the type who was terrible at it but loved playing around with it anyway.
And once Seisui witnessed Orochimaru's level of scientific expertise, he would definitely be utterly astonished!
So with just a little guidance, Danzō's disciple would inevitably be conquered by his genuine talent and knowledge!
The moment Orochimaru imagined that scene, he smiled faintly…
'Danzō actually wants to plant people inside the Research Department? Compared to me, your methods are still far too clumsy!'
'In Konoha, nobody understands scientific research better than I do!'
What Orochimaru did not know, however, was that although "Seisui" was an Uchiha…
He had once gone by another name:
Senju Tobirama.
The very person Orochimaru respected most within the field of scientific research…
Tsunade shook her head.
"You two really need to stop being so exclusionary… Having an Uchiha helping out isn't a bad thing. Didn't you say Grandfather's cells could be suppressed by the power of the Uchiha Clan?"
"Let that kid Seisui help out. Even if he doesn't understand scientific research or Grandfather's cells, those Sharingan of his should still prove useful somehow…"
"Sensei once said that he hoped one day every Konoha shinobi would receive the enhancements brought by Grandfather's cells…"
"Not demanding that everyone inherit Wood Release or excessive vitality already reduces the burden on us considerably, but we still haven't truly made progress on that project."
Hiruko and Orochimaru exchanged glances, both acknowledging Tsunade's reasoning.
And both of them read the exact same thought in each other's eyes.
They were going to work together to lure Seisui over, overwhelm him with their world-shaking scientific genius, and make the Uchiha help with researching Hashirama's cells!
And while they were at it, they could also thoroughly disgust Shimura Danzō—after all, that old bastard was constantly causing trouble for the Research Department anyway.
"Seems like I ought to take on a disciple too…" Kakuzu and Hiruko's conversation also reminded Orochimaru of something.
"Maybe one day I should visit the Konoha Orphanage. I heard there are several children there with exceptional talent for medical ninjutsu. Nonō has apparently raised quite a few promising seedlings…"
The breakthrough in Sage Region Pill production was partly due to a long-awaited technological breakthrough after years of investment, but it was also thanks to Yakushi Nonō actively teaching the industrial shinobi.
Her level of medical ninjutsu was not especially high, but she excelled at guiding others from beginner level to proficiency.
It could only be said that none of Konoha's committee members or reserve candidates were ordinary people.
...
Several hours later, although Hizashi was still unconscious, his physical condition had completely stabilized.
"You all can leave. I'll stay here with him until he wakes up…"
Hiruko waved everyone away. After the others left, he stared at Hizashi's face and smiled.
"You bastard really are lucky…"
"If you can master the power of the cursed seal, then with the cursed-seal-transformed body structure Hokage-sama and I designed specifically for you, your combat capabilities are going to become absolutely monstrous!"
Hiruko dragged over a stool, sat beside Hizashi, and continued muttering to himself.
Storm Release was a technique system combining Lightning Release and Water Release, possessing both high-speed and tracking characteristics.
And Hizashi—who possessed the Hyūga Clan's unique physique and exceptional chakra emission control—combined with the specially adjusted cursed seal body structure designed by Hiruko and Orochimaru, would be able to compress Storm Release chakra to its absolute limit…
This had been the concept they envisioned before performing Hizashi's surgery.
After all, the Hyūga Clan's combat style traditionally specialized in close-range combat.
But the Hyūga Clan's Byakugan, with its ability to see through everything, was actually even better suited for long-range attacks.
Once full-field vision was activated, so long as the user possessed sufficiently powerful and precise ninjutsu, enemies would effectively have nowhere to hide. The moment Hizashi discovered them, they would be subjected to relentless bombardment!
Storm Release…
Especially Storm Release compressed to the absolute limit through the Hyūga Clan's precise chakra control after activating the cursed seal…
It would become like an unstoppable lightning arrow, mercilessly piercing through enemies hiding anywhere!
A scene even appeared in Hiruko's mind.
Suppose someone in the village began spreading slanderous rumors about Hokage-sama…
With the Byakugan allowing him to read lip movements, Hizashi would no longer need to crouch atop roof beams snickering beforehand. He could simply fire a Storm Release strike directly in front of that person from an enormous distance away…
Hizashi slept deeply.
Hiruko yawned. The prolonged surgery had also drained a tremendous amount of his stamina. Leaning back in the chair, he gradually drifted off to sleep as well.
After all, if anything unexpected happened, the medical instruments' alarms would wake him up.
Who knew how much time passed.
Hizashi slowly opened his eyes and saw Hiruko sprawled backward in the chair, sleeping soundly.
Feeling the power surging within his body…
Hizashi stared at Hiruko and quietly muttered while shaking his head: "You idiot…"
...
Several days later.
The Kirigakure exchange students bid farewell to the close friends they had made at the Ninja Academy.
Happy times were always short-lived…
As they prepared to part ways, they shared one final meal in Konoha, brought along a few souvenirs, and then embarked upon the journey home with complicated emotions.
'I need to report Konoha's intelligence truthfully to Mizukage-sama…' Kisame thought to himself.
Terumī Mei was likely thinking something similar.
They were not fools. They knew that Genji had long coveted Konoha, and the cooperation agreement with Kirigakure possessed basically no credibility at all—it was little more than scrap paper that could be torn up at any moment.
"We can't allow Mizukage-sama to misjudge Konoha's strength…"
Mei sighed.
"Just thinking about the possibility of one day fighting shinobi like Konoha's on the battlefield puts a huge amount of pressure on me…"
Kisame silently nodded.
But what Nakamaro and Snow hoped for instead was for the Third Mizukage to continue spiraling further into madness, so their clansmen would finally realize that Kirigakure was a village completely unfit to live in.
When they arrived at the border of the Land of Fire—
The four Kirigakure shinobi, each carrying their own thoughts, were considering how to report things to the Mizukage and Genji…
And at that moment—
A shinobi wearing the uniform of Kirigakure's Anbu silently appeared before them.
"Under Mizukage-sama's orders, all of you are to maintain a unified narrative. After returning to the village, you are to emphasize Konoha's weakness and vulnerability, while heavily stressing their neglect of a shinobi's proper duties…"
Naturally, this was not a real Kirigakure shinobi at all, but rather a White Zetsu personally controlled by Uchiha Madara.
"Anything detrimental to the Bloody Mist Village, anything detrimental to Kirigakure's future—do not speak of it!"
"The village is currently undergoing the painful transition necessary to achieve greatness. You must remain aligned with Mizukage-sama's direction. Do not allow Konoha's corrupt atmosphere to spread into Kirigakure."
Madara's tone was ice-cold.
He could not allow Konoha's false prosperity to frighten Kirigakure…
Otherwise, how could he prove that the chains of hatred were impossible to sever?
The flames needed to be fanned even further!