And what about the rest of the Senju—why don't they possess Mokuton either? Or is it not a feature of their enhanced genome at all? My blonde friend's clan is known for vitality, massive chakra reserves, and versatility—they're simply good at everything, which is where the "clan of a thousand skills" name comes from.
Maybe Wood Release is actually a genetic mutation unique to the First, one that wasn't passed down to his descendants? Shame he didn't think to produce more offspring with different women—the sample size is way too small for proper analysis…
"Orochimaru-sama?"
"Nami-chan?" I responded, somewhat annoyed at being pulled from my thoughts.
"You're scaring me."
"Hm? What happened?"
"Nawaki ran away," the Hyuga informed me. "The way you were looking at him…"
"Like what?"
"Like tamagoyaki."
…Mmm, omelet. Why would you remind me of that, Nami-chan?! I've only had a single rice ball since morning!
"I've got to go, Nami-chan! Bye!" without wasting a second, I vanished in a shunshin.
Work was coming up soon, and I hadn't eaten! I'd start drooling over test subjects again—and I don't eat rats, I'm not that much of a snake!
Still… I wonder what would happen if Hashirama's DNA were implanted into his own grandchildren? Hm? Among the living, they're his closest relatives—there shouldn't be such a severe rejection response.
Why weren't the First's genes implanted into them in canon? Well, Nawaki is understandable. In the original story, Orochi simply didn't get around to experimenting before the kid blew himself up on a mine. But what about Tsunade? What was stopping them from experimenting on her?
Damn, it would've been perfect if, in the manga, Danzo had thought to capture the Senju princess and cross her with her grandfather! I wouldn't be struggling with this now—I'd already know the outcome of that experiment!
As it stands, I'll have to do it myself. Waste time on it. Or maybe I should leverage Root's resources after all… Hm. Something to think about. But first—food.
Naturally, I ended up late for work. Not that it mattered—Danzo was out on a mission, so I could skip a couple of days entirely. Who was going to say anything to me? I'm a young prodigy here, after all. I've built quite a reputation… a proper Orochimaru, in short.
Thankfully, those darker details about me haven't surfaced yet, and not many people know about them. Just my department and Danzo.
Speaking of which—I do have a department! It's staffed with all sorts of scum who completely lack any sense of restraint. But they're smart. That much you can't take away from them.
"Orochimaru-dono," a dark figure in a white robe called out to me without wasting time on greetings as soon as I appeared in the underground laboratory, "the analyzer arrived last night. We've installed it in the fourth division."
Sometimes it's good to live at your workplace! It's just unfortunate that the people here are forced to live this way because they're missing-nin. On the surface, Konoha's shinobi would kill them on sight.
"Already?" I frowned. "They promised it would take a month."
"They say they managed to acquire the materials faster than expected."
"Tested it?"
"Of course," the individual known here only as Ichi snorted. "It works."
"Heh-heh, congratulations. Now you'll always have work. You need to analyze as much DNA as possible and start building a database."
"We've already begun," the unremarkable-looking man nodded. "Our arrangement with the hospital still stands?"
"I'll tell them to start supplying genetic material for analysis."
Today was a strange day. Despite a few annoyances—like Nawaki showing up at dawn—it brought me far more lucky breaks than I'd expected. The arrival of a fully functional genetic analyzer is a gift from fate in itself! I spent nearly an hour playing with it and confirmed that it worked properly. Thanks to my memory, I was able to recognize familiar sequences and markers in the data it produced.
Being reincarnated really is amazing! It's basically a cheat. Not on the level of something like the Sharingan, but still pretty good.
All in all, everything would have been perfect if not for the idiotic way it displayed information. I have no idea who wrote the code for this analyzer, but it interprets data using such convoluted schemas that it makes your head spin.
I ended up spending the rest of my shift activating agents at the local hospital. I had planned to quietly begin collecting genomic data on Konoha's population—from newborns to veterans. With a bit of luck, we might find someone among the clanless with valuable genes—someone worth taking in and training.
After all, shinobi don't exactly live saintly lives, and they don't always think about the consequences.
It could have turned out to be a great day, but… Didn't I say too many good things happened today?
Well, Danzo ruined everything.
He came back.
"Danzo-sama," I bowed respectfully. I may be a genius, but I'm still a young—and he's the boss.
"Enter, Orochimaru," Shimura's cold voice was already chilling enough. I didn't even want to imagine what it would sound like in twenty years.
My boss still looked fairly human, by the way—he hadn't yet started stuffing himself with Sharingan and Hashirama's cells. At a glance, he could even pass for a normal person. Though on closer inspection, it was immediately clear that humanity and Danzo were not particularly compatible concepts.
Casting a quick glance around Shimura's office, I decided to step closer to the head of Root—he didn't seem inclined to kill or detain me just yet. At the very least, I hadn't spotted any new fuinjutsu or traps. The usual setup was still in place: suppressing and chakra-draining seals under the carpet, a barrier seal on the ceiling, needle launchers hidden between books on the shelves, smoke bombs near the doors, and other minor hazards—nothing especially dangerous.
"You summoned me," I stated, stepping closer to the man seated behind a worn old desk, partially hidden by stacks of reports and paperwork accumulated during his absence.
After giving me a cold, half-lidded glance, Danzo seemed to realize that I hadn't yet learned to read his thoughts at a glance, and so deigned to explain:
"The Hokage will send you on a mission," he said shortly. "Your task is to bring me an Uzumaki who has been kidnapped by shinobi from Suna, before ANBU from Uzushio find him. And make sure everyone believes he's dead. Understood?"
"Yes, Danzo-sama."
"Then go."
Well, that was that.
Carefully leaving the office and sealing all emotions deep within myself, I hurried home. I needed to deal with Mito's DNA as soon as possible.
I had a feeling I wouldn't have time for experiments much longer.