"See? You're getting worked up again."
Haru looked at the furious Tobirama and pressed one hand to his forehead in helplessness.
Tobirama, when are you ever going to grow up a little?
Anyone who saw that the First Hokage's body had not decayed after death, and that his cells still carried signs of life, would get curious. Of course they would want to study it properly.
It was only because Haru himself did not understand scientific research. If someone like Orochimaru from the future got his hands on it, he would probably get so excited he lost his mind.
Haru could not help imagining the scene. Orochimaru, looking half male and half female, with flushed cheeks and obsessive eyes fixed on the First Hokage's body. If the mood got intense enough, he might even run that forked tongue over the First Hokage's face just to taste it.
No, that wasn't tasting him.
That was savoring the aura of life!
Ugh.
Haru shuddered and immediately cut off his own train of thought.
"Bastard!"
"You've not only desecrated my soul, you've desecrated my elder brother's corpse too!"
"One day, retribution will come for you!"
Tobirama cursed furiously. Digging up his own grave had apparently not been enough. Haru had even dug up his elder brother's grave too.
This really was beyond what anyone could tolerate.
Hm?
Haru's eyes widened.
Tobirama, you actually have the nerve to say something like that?
Reanimation Jutsu was invented by you, and after Hashirama died, the very first person to experiment on his body was also you.
If anyone deserves retribution, it should hit you first.
"Tobirama Senju, don't act like I don't know your character. You already used the First Hokage's cells for experiments long ago. The First Hokage's body is an undiscovered treasure trove. I don't believe you weren't itching to study it."
"And now you're trying to turn it around on me?"
"..."
Haru's rebuttal instantly left Tobirama speechless. It hit straight where it hurt.
Back then, after Hashirama's death, the very first person to notice the abnormalities in Hashirama's body had been Tobirama.
The man was dead, but his cells were still alive?
That made no scientific sense at all.
Deep down, Tobirama had always had one question.
The two of them were born of the same parents. When they were children, Hashirama had not shown talent or strength that surpassed Tobirama by too much.
But after meeting that bastard Madara Uchiha, Hashirama's strength started surging like he had been injected with something. Later he even awakened Wood Release, and his power skyrocketed to a point Tobirama could only look up to.
When Tobirama saw the unnatural state of his elder brother's corpse, it felt as though he were staring at the greatest treasure in the world. He had almost wanted to cut Hashirama open and study him piece by piece, just to uncover the secret behind his strength.
But Tobirama still had some reason left. If he really had sliced up his elder brother's corpse for research, Mito would probably have sliced him up in return. So in the end, he had only taken a tiny bit of blood and a tiny bit of tissue.
And if that wasn't enough, he could always culture more from the cells.
"I advise you not to set your sights on my brother's body. The secrets involved here are complicated. You can't handle them."
Tobirama's expression turned serious as he warned Haru.
Back then, the Hashirama Cell experiments had consumed an enormous amount of money, but the results had been terrifying.
Regret showed on Tobirama's face. When he discovered that Hashirama's cells could grant other people the power of Wood Release, he had been ecstatic.
If he could replicate his elder brother's Wood Release, even if it only recreated forty or fifty percent of that power, Konoha's strength would increase explosively.
But he had been too hasty. He had not realized just how terrifying the invasive nature of Hashirama's cells was. Based on his experience, Tobirama had concluded that people from the same clan ought to be more compatible with Hashirama's cells, so he secretly gathered members of the Senju clan and tried to recruit a batch of volunteers.
Hashirama's Wood Release had dominated the ninja world. Within the Senju clan, not a single member did not long for that power. The moment Tobirama issued the call, their eyes turned red and they signed up without a second thought.
The outcome spoke for itself.
Every one of them died.
They died horribly. Their bodies twisted and mutated as their human cells transformed into tree cells, until all of them turned into grotesque, misshapen trees.
That drove Tobirama into a rage. So many clansmen had died, and not a single useful result had come from it. But the experiment was simply too dangerous, so in the end he had no choice but to shut it down.
"...Back then, the Senju clan lost quite a few people to it."
"Haru, you should give up. Even the Senju clan, who share the same bloodline as my elder brother, had such poor compatibility with Hashirama's cells, let alone other ninja."
Tobirama told Haru about the past experiments, trying to use his own painful lesson to kill Haru's interest. Hashirama's cells were just too dangerous. This experiment would kill a lot of people.
"I know that. But Tobirama, I think your line of thinking is a little off. Since Hashirama's cells have such strong invasiveness, why not find some kind of medium that can neutralize that invasion?"
Haru nodded. He knew the danger of Hashirama's cells, but still offered his own idea.
"Hmph. You think I wouldn't have considered that?"
"I tried that line of thought a long time ago. I simply never found a way to suppress Hashirama's cells."
Tobirama looked thoroughly smug.
You, an Uchiha who only knows how to cut people down, dare show off in front of a research master like me?
"No. I do know."
Haru smiled with satisfaction.
He knew the story. The only thing capable of suppressing Hashirama's cells was the Uchiha. As for whether it was Uchiha cells, the Sharingan itself, or the ocular power of the Sharingan that did the suppression, Haru did not know.
But now he had a direction.
The rest could be left to Tobirama.
"Naturally, the answer is the Uchiha."
"Don't you think the Uchiha and the Senju mutually restrain and complement each other? Our two clans have been entangled in a twisted bond for a thousand years."
"If you want to deal with Hashirama's cells, then who else could do it besides the Uchiha?"
"As for whether it is Uchiha cells, the Uchiha's Sharingan, or the ocular power of the Sharingan that suppresses the invasive nature of Hashirama's cells, that's what you should be researching."
"I can prepare all of those things for you. The clan still has plenty of spare Sharingan in storage. I can supply them all."
"I don't care what it costs. I only want the power of Hashirama's cells."
Tobirama's eyes lit up after hearing Haru's answer.
It was an idea he had never considered before. It sounded a little bizarre, but it was still worth trying.
After all, the money and the research materials belonged to Haru. Since Haru was the one paying, Tobirama had no reason to feel bad. He could go wild with it.
"Tobirama, if this works, then it really would prove that the Uchiha and the Senju are fated to each other."
"Maybe a thousand years ago we were one family. The Uchiha were the older brother, the Senju were the younger brother, and maybe we got stuck with an unfair father who split the inheritance unevenly, causing the two brothers to fall out."
Haru had just said a bit of blunt truth. The reality really was that absurd.
But in Tobirama's ears, the words were unbearable.
The Uchiha and the Senju were one family?
And the Uchiha were the older brother?
You must be out of your damned mind.
"That's complete bullshit!"
Tobirama's face darkened, and he badly wanted to punch Haru. This bastard really did find every possible way to take advantage of him.
(End of Chapter)
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