This ninja in Naruto is unscientific

Chapter 212 Interstitial Cells

With the exchange of the last batch of Cloud Village prisoners of war completed at the border of the Land of Fields, Orochimaru's troops finally embarked on their journey home.

Unlike the somber atmosphere when they set out, the returning troops, though exhausted, moved with a light step.

The Hokage Building, office.

"Teacher, I'm back."

Orochimaru stood in front of his desk. Although he had just traveled a long way, his pale face did not show much fatigue. Only his golden vertical pupils still shone with rationality.

"Thank you for your hard work, Orochimaru."

Hiruzen Sarutobi put down the documents in his hand, looked at his most outstanding disciple, and his eyes were full of satisfaction.

"It was thanks to your presence in the Land of Fields that Kumogakure dared not act rashly. Even though the Raikage was released, they have become much more obedient."

"They're being honest because they're busy with the transfer of power."

Orochimaru dropped a bombshell.

"The day before the prisoner exchange, news came from Kumogakure that the Third Raikage... had abdicated."

"What?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused for a moment, almost dropping his pipe.

"That stubborn old man? He's retired?"

"Yes."

Orochimaru said calmly, "It is said that because of the defeat in this war, he not only failed to gain any benefits but also lost a lot of things, which made him feel deeply guilty and believe that he could no longer lead Kumogakure to glory."

"Therefore, he took full responsibility and passed the position of Raikage to his son, A.

"Now, that reckless kid is already the Fourth Raikage."

The Third Hokage remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a long sigh, his expression complex.

"That Raikage... he really has guts."

"Even if he abdicated, was it to pave the way for the younger generation and quell the discontent within the village regarding the defeat?"

Hiruzen glanced out the window, a sense of melancholy creeping into his heart.

As top fighters of their time, Onoki is still holding on, Hanzo has already semi-retired, and now even the toughest Raikage has stepped down.

"The leaves of the old era are falling; shouldn't I make way for the young people...?"

……

After reporting his work, Orochimaru left the Hokage Building directly.

Instead of going home, he inexplicably headed towards the white building on the edge of the village—the Konoha Science Research Institute.

"Beep—Identity confirmed, Dean Orochimaru, welcome back."

As the cold, mechanical voice of the electronic access control rang out, the heavy glass door slid open automatically.

A breath of air at a comfortable temperature wafted over, mixed with a faint smell of chemical reagents.

For the average person, the smell might be a bit pungent.

But to Orochimaru, it was the most comforting and familiar scent in the world.

The corridor was brightly lit, just like daytime. Researchers in white lab coats hurried by, and when they saw him, they would respectfully stop and greet him, "Dean, welcome back."

At that moment, Leng Jun, one of the three legendary ninjas, felt a strange sense of security, as if he were going home.

"Heh... Looks like I've become weak too."

Orochimaru chuckled self-deprecatingly and pushed open the door to his private laboratory.

"Welcome back, Dean."

Nishikawa Tetsu was sitting on the sofa inside, holding a freshly completed data report in his hand, with two steaming cups of tea in front of him. He had obviously timed his arrival perfectly.

"I knew you would come here first."

"Che-jun, your nose is even more sensitive than a dog's."

Orochimaru took off his dusty coat and put on a clean white lab coat, instantly relaxing.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and contentedly squinted his eyes.

"The environment here is more conducive to thinking; it's always hard to calm down in the tents at the front."

"Since you like this place so much, shouldn't we move on to some more in-depth topics?"

Nishikawa Tetsu put down the report, a familiar smile appearing on his face.

"For example?" Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.

Nishikawa Tetsu leaned forward, lowered his voice, and earnestly suggested:

"Dean, since you've just returned with such great merit, why don't you suggest this to the Third Generation Lord?"

"What suggestions do you have?"

"Could you... provide us with some of the First Hokage's cells so we can study them?"

Orochimaru almost choked on the tea he had just drunk.

He put down his cup, his golden vertical pupils fixed on Nishikawa Tetsuya, and finally, in a fit of rage, he laughed, letting out a hoarse laugh.

"Hehehe... Che-kun, you really haven't changed at all."

Orochimaru pointed at Nishikawa Tetsu's nose and shook his head helplessly.

"I knew you were up to no good. You want me to go ask the teacher for the First Hokage's cells? Do you want me to be arrested as a traitorous ninja who desecrated the First Hokage?"

"You want me to take the blame for this?"

"How can you call it taking the blame?" Nishikawa Tetsu looked innocent. "It's called sacrificing oneself for science. Besides, you're his beloved student. Even if your leg is broken, it's only a matter of two months of recovery. If I were to bring it up, I'd probably be locked up in the police department."

"No way, besides, going to the police department is like going home."

Orochimaru resolutely refused. Although he had long coveted the First Hokage's cells, he wasn't crazy enough to directly confront the Third Hokage.

"but……"

Nishikawa Tetsu seemed to have anticipated the rejection; he dropped his joking expression and became very serious.

He pulled a sealed glass jar from his pocket.

Inside the jar, there was a small piece of white meat that looked like a plant root.

This was given to him by Minato after he returned to the village. At that time, Minato was in a hurry to rescue Team 7, so he only had time to collect this little bit of White Zetsu remains.

"If we don't go through official channels, perhaps we can start here."

Nishikawa Tetsu pushed the jar in front of Orochimaru.

"What is this?" Orochimaru's eyes sharpened instantly as he sensed the astonishing life force contained within the piece of flesh.

"I call it White Zetsu."

Nishikawa Tetsuya said in a deep voice:

"Minato and I both encountered these things on the battlefield in the Land of Grass. They can move freely underground, have extremely low chakra reflexes, and..."

Nishikawa Tetsu pointed to the jar.

"I compared the First Hokage's previous medical reports, and his cell structure has an astonishing similarity to the First Hokage's cells."

"What did you say?!"

Orochimaru suddenly stood up, grabbed the jar, and brought it close to his eyes for a closer look.

"Plant characteristics...powerful Yang Release chakra...this vitality..."

Orochimaru's breathing became rapid; he hadn't been this excited in a long time.

"Where did this thing come from?"

"Underground."

Nishikawa Tetsu pointed to the ground and then uttered a name that was enough to shake the entire ninja world.

"Lord Orochimaru, do you believe... that Madara Uchiha is still alive?"

"Uchiha Madara?"

Orochimaru was stunned, then frowned: "Wasn't he killed by the First Hokage at the Valley of the End?"

"What if he hadn't died?"

Nishikawa Tetsu's eyes were deep and unfathomable.

"These creatures, known as White Zetsu, are numerous and possess the characteristics of the First Hokage's cells. And in the ninja world, the only person who has access to the First Hokage's cells and the ability to cultivate them..."

"Besides the First Hokage and the Second Hokage, there was only Madara Uchiha, who fought him to the very end."

Nishikawa Tetsu thought of the night Obito awakened his Sharingan.

"On the night Minato's team was attacked, we sensed that someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes. That chilling chakra and the master behind this white creature were intricately connected."

"I tracked down the mastermind in the Land of Grass. Although I didn't find his lair, I'm certain that he's hiding in some dark corner of this world, clinging to life by some kind of power."

As Orochimaru listened to Nishikawa Tetsu's analysis, the surprise in his eyes gradually turned into deep thought, and finally into extreme excitement.

He stuck out his long tongue, licked his lips, and a chilling smile appeared on his face.

"Uchiha Madara... is he still alive?"

"There are mass-produced, first-generation cellular organisms like this?"

Orochimaru gripped the glass jar tightly, as if he held the key to the gate of immortality.

"Che-jun, you've really brought me a wonderful gift."

"Since we can't get the first-generation cells from the teacher, let's get them ourselves!"

"If only we could capture a live White Zetsu, or find Madara's lair..."

Orochimaru's eyes burned with ambition.

"Then we can unlock the greatest secret of the ninja world, and even... transcend the boundaries of life and death."

Nishikawa Tetsu looked at the excited Orochimaru and smiled slightly.

"Then, Dean."

"Regarding the capture plan for White Zetsu—oh wait, I mean the cellular research on White Zetsu—could we approve the project?"

"Approved! Project initiated immediately!"

Orochimaru waved his hand.

After finishing their business, Nishikawa Tetsu didn't rush to leave. Instead, he stood up and gestured for Orochimaru to leave.

"Besides this, I also brought back a new colleague."

"Oh?" Orochimaru was somewhat surprised. It wasn't easy for someone to be noticed by Nishikawa Tetsu. He asked curiously, "Who is it?"

"Come with me to Building B, and you'll see."

……

In a laboratory in Building B.

Orochimaru followed Nishikawa Tetsu into the laboratory and immediately spotted the red-haired boy sitting at the workbench.

At this time, Sasori had changed into a researcher's uniform. Due to his shocking achievement of killing the Third Kazekage, the higher-ups allowed him to join the research institute, but did not agree to remove all the seals on Sasori's body.

Furthermore, whenever he leaves the research institute, he is followed by a special secret service unit. Although his activities are not restricted, he is not very free either.

According to the Third Hokage, Sasori would be tested periodically, and if he behaved himself and did not do anything to harm the village, the seal would be gradually broken.

But at this moment, Scorpion did not show any signs of dejection as a prisoner.

He was intently operating a precision machine tool, polishing a complex joint part.

Beside him were two well-preserved puppets—"Father" and "Mother".

In the corner, there was a pile of scattered parts.

These two puppets were all he had left. The Third Kazekage's puppet had been taken back by Sunagakure; they couldn't possibly let the body of their village's Kazekage remain unburied.

"scorpion."

Nishikawa Tetsu shouted.

Sasori stopped what he was doing and slowly turned around. His handsome but cold face was expressionless as his gaze swept over Nishikawa Tetsu and finally settled on Orochimaru.

"Is this the genius who turned the Third Kazekage into a puppet?"

Orochimaru looked at Sasori with great interest; he always valued talent.

"Turning living people into eternal puppets... this pursuit of eternal art is somewhat similar to my own."

"This is Dean Orochimaru," Nishikawa Tetsu introduced.

"One of the Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru."

Scorpion's voice was flat, devoid of any reverence.

"I heard you're researching human modification? What's the point of researching those easily decaying bodies? The art of eternity lies in puppets that feel no pain."

"They each have their own merits." Orochimaru smiled, not wanting to argue with anyone; they were just researching in different directions.

"However, I heard that your Third Kazekage puppet... was retrieved?"

Only when this was mentioned did a hint of anger appear on Scorpion's face.

"Those old fogies from Sunagakure... paid a considerable price to take it back."

Nishikawa Tetsu explained from the side, "Sunagakure paid a heavy price to get back the Third Kazekage's puppet. So, Sasori's strongest trump card is gone now."

"but……"

Nishikawa Tetsu pointed to the parts that Scorpion was polishing.

"As a condition of joining the research institute, I promise to provide him with the best materials and equipment so that he can repair and enhance his puppets, and allow him to develop new puppet technologies."

"Furthermore, Senior White Fang has agreed to accept his challenge once a month, so as long as he doesn't die, he can keep challenging him."

"An interesting deal." Orochimaru nodded. He wasn't worried about White Fang; after all, that was Konoha's White Fang.

He walked to the workbench, picked up a mechanical prosthetic joint that Scorpion had just finished making, and examined it carefully.

"The precision is very high, and the structural design is ingenious. Che-jun, what do you want him to be responsible for?"

"He put me in charge of developing chakra prosthetics, saying it was to allow ninjas who were disabled on the battlefield to return to their posts. What a hypocritical excuse."

Scorpion gave Nishikawa Tetsu a cold look.

"This can help many people, and it doesn't mean your talent has been wasted. You have to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time."

Nishikawa Tetsu picked up the conversation.

"Scorpion is an expert in this field. I don't need him to study human cells; I just need him to perfect the mechanical structure."

As for things like interstitial cells...

Nishikawa Che glanced at Scorpion and thought to himself, "This thing is too dangerous. I'd better not let this dangerous element touch it, lest he create a Wood Release puppet for me."

"It's best if you personally oversee those kinds of biological matters."

Orochimaru understood perfectly, but didn't point it out.

He looked at the scorpion and stretched out his pale hand.

"Welcome to the team, Scorpion. Although our ideologies differ, that doesn't prevent us from... utilizing each other on the path to truth."

Sasori looked at Orochimaru's hand, remained silent for a moment, then reached out and shook it.

"What does it matter if I'm used, as long as it allows me to take revenge and create a more perfect puppet?"