It was possible to directly salvage species that had undergone severe mutation. By administering a specific dosage of the Life Serum, most distorted creatures could regain and maintain a complete, stable form. Of course, the sight of extra limbs and redundant organs was still a rare and unsettling occurrence, even in a world as strange as the Shinobi World.
To Hiruko, however, this was a minor technicality. As long as he manipulated the dosage with surgical precision, he could prevent his subjects from spontaneously sprouting nightmarish appendages at inopportune moments.
By now, the laboratory—under Hiruko's ironclad guard—had become a forbidden "Devil's Den." No outsider dared to set foot inside. The horrors contained within were far beyond what an average person could mentally process.
Hiruko's mastery over botany had reached a pinnacle. He had succeeded in creating a "perfect" organism: a specialized vine meticulously engineered to enhance the ocular power of the Uchiha clan. Plants, by nature, lacked a fixed skeletal structure; thus, a few strange twists or extra leaves were dismissed as common biological variation.
In contrast, animal mutations were a mixed bag. Insects were inherently grotesque; even when they grew extra segments or compound eyes, it remained within the realm of the tolerable. Smaller creatures like sparrows and mice showed mediocre results, tending toward useless deformities. As for larger mammals, once subjected to multiple forced variables, mutation was not a possibility—it was an inevitability.
Parallel to this sci-fi house of horrors was Hiruko's other project: the search for immortality, reverse-aging, and lossless genetic splitting. While he had made significant headway in lossless cellular division, the specific genetic "keys" for eternal life and age reversal remained elusive.
The "Division Serum" Hiruko developed showed miraculous efficacy in simpler organisms. When injected into insects, they mutated en masse, creating multi-headed, multi-limbed crawlers that were visually revolting. However, higher life forms like birds and mammals rarely survived a single day after injection. Their mutated bodies grew too rapidly and grew too massive, failing to adapt to the basic physics of the world.
Hiruko eventually tried pairing the Division Serum with the Life Serum. Survival rates ticked upward, but the mutation rate remained stubbornly high.
While Hiruko was drowning in research, he took a moment to conduct a follow-up exam for Uchiha Tekka. After a comprehensive check-up, Hiruko offered a calm smile. "Your physical condition is generally excellent. The fluctuations in your ocular power are perfectly normal."
Uchiha Fugaku, who had accompanied Tekka out of sheer anxiety, immediately interjected. "Based on this exam, will his ocular power return?"
Exactly seven days after the initial experiment, Tekka had informed Fugaku that his newfound strength was beginning to recede. Fearing a permanent collapse or backfire, Fugaku had rushed him back to the lab.
Tekka, lying on the examination bed, looked at Hiruko with desperate eyes. Before experiencing the intoxicating high of boosted power, he might have been content. But after tasting that level of strength, even a minor decline felt like a slow, agonizing torture. Once humans gain something extraordinary, the prospect of losing it is unbearable.
Hiruko nodded. "It will. That sudden surge was merely the 'residual wake' from waking up from the illusory world. Ocular power typically spikes during extreme emotional states. To stabilize it permanently, you need to temper your body and eyes to handle the load. Give it time, and your power will return to its peak."
Both Fugaku and Tekka let out long, audible sighs of relief.
"If you're in a hurry, I can prescribe a topical serum," Hiruko added, looking between the two. "Applying it to the eyes during rest will alleviate the pressure on your nervous system and help your eyes adapt to your body's state more quickly."
"We'll take it!" Fugaku said instantly, his voice urgent.
"That will be twenty million ryo."
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office, Danzō and the two elders sat with grim faces, watching the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was lost in a cloud of pipe smoke.
Danzō slammed his cane against the floor. "Hiruzen, you must rein in that boy, Hiruko. This research between him and Orochimaru to strengthen the Uchiha must stop immediately. All distributed pills and 'flowers' must be recalled. Any Uchiha who has used them must be placed under strict surveillance and reprimanded."
Hiruzen rubbed his temples, a bitter expression on his face. He immediately rejected the proposal. "That is impossible."
"Hiruzen! Do not forget the teachings of our master, the Second Hokage, regarding the Uchiha!" Danzō argued righteously. "The Uchiha are a volatile clan. Once they possess excessive power, they develop 'unfortunate' ambitions. Suppressing them was the strategy established by Tobirama-sama!"
"The Uchiha should not be empowered," Koharu Utatane chimed in, invoking their late mentor. "Orochimaru has acted poorly in this, and Hiruko is young—he simply doesn't know enough of our history." She threw in a small defense for Hiruko, largely because his resources had been filling her own clan's coffers to the brim lately.
"Hiruzen, we aren't trying to force you," Koharu continued in a softer, persuasive tone. "But the Uchiha are untrustworthy. The risk is too high. If they lose control, the loss to the village would be catastrophic."
"The Uchiha provided more than half of the initial funding for the Research Division," Hiruzen said, his voice muffled by the smoke, his eyes unreadable.
"It's for the sake of the village. I'm sure Hiruko and Orochimaru would understand if we intervened," Danzō said seriously.
"Perhaps we could have Danzō or others 'oversee' the experimental matters," Koharu suggested. "Which other clan can provide as much funding as the Uchiha? Can the Hyuga? What are their plans?"
Mitokado Homura added, "We absolutely cannot let this technology remain solely in Uchiha hands. If we are to deal with them in the future, we cannot afford to be the weaker side!"
A glint of sharp insight flashed in Hiruzen's eyes as he spoke with feigned hesitation. "But..."
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