153 Merging into One

In the blink of an eye, two days passed.

After a deliberate period of recuperation, the fatigue accumulated from keeping vigil in the laboratory was completely swept away, and Yakushi Kabuto adjusted himself to his optimal state.

Because Orochimaru's slumber had not lasted as long as planned, a significant amount of the extra nutrient solution Kabuto had prepared was left over, which now happened to be put to use for himself.

Having set up the circulation device of the nutrient tank, Kabuto stripped off his clothes and immersed his entire body in the pale green solution.

Beside the nutrient tank, Orochimaru wore a solemn expression, a faint gleam flashing within his golden serpent-like eyes, yet his own aura was concealed without the slightest leakage.

Having skillfully mastered the Sage Chakra within his body, he was now able to completely hide his presence, much like the three snake princesses of the Ryuchi Cave, ensuring that no one could catch the cold, bloody scent off him at a single encounter.

Frowning slightly, Orochimaru said, "Before the formal experiment, I will conduct a test. If you feel any discomfort, speak up immediately. Do not push yourself."

Inside the nutrient tank, Kabuto, wearing a respiratory device, nodded slightly, sending ripples through the pale green solution.

"Sage Art: Shape-Shifting and Body-Molding!"

Seeing this, Orochimaru said no more. He directly formed hand seals with both hands, the flesh of his chest and abdomen swelling slightly as it morphed into writhing, twisting tentacles.

Through the glass lenses and the solution, Kabuto watched this scene, his brow twitching uncontrollably.

Although he knew that Lord Orochimaru's penchant for the bizarre was not a matter of a day or two—what with techniques like the "Great Snake-Style Substitution Technique," "Soft Body Modification," and the "Snake Summoning Technique"—his worldview was still refreshed every single time.

Tentacles? What new technique had Lord Orochimaru developed this time?

Seeing the peculiar look on Kabuto's face, Orochimaru licked his lips. Without offering any explanation, he smiled indifferently.

A white tentacle reached into the solution, plunging directly into Kabuto's chest, right at the heart where the chakra meridian network was most densely concentrated.

The two of them were linked together by this tentacle, and acting as a conduit through it, Sage Chakra slowly poured into Kabuto's body.

A cry of pain rang out almost simultaneously. Kabuto's face contorted as if he were bearing an unimaginable weight that ordinary people could scarcely fathom.

He instinctively gasped for breath heavily; the oxygen inside the ventilator was being consumed at several times the normal rate, and the detection instruments showed that his cellular activity was continuously rising.

Orochimaru nodded slightly. Although he did not know the basis of the Genie's assertions, his own judgment was clearly not wrong: Kabuto truly possessed the aptitude for Senjutsu—at the very least, he was exceptionally compatible with the Sage Art of Ryuchi Cave.

Being invaded by chakra far exceeding his own physical strength, experiencing a heavy sense of burden was an extremely normal phenomenon. Much like Jinchuriki, out of the vast ninja world, only a handful of individuals could endure it.

However, after accumulating natural energy within his body, Kabuto did not show any signs of petrification, nor did he lose his sanity or descend into madness. His affinity for Senjutsu even exceeded Orochimaru's expectations, and he had already begun to assimilate the natural energy.

Naturally, this was influenced by his painstaking control, but to a greater extent, it was due to Kabuto's own innate aptitude.

"Perhaps this transplantation experiment has a very high chance of success."

Orochimaru licked his lips, steadily increasing the volume of Sage Chakra without haste, probing the upper limit of what Kabuto's body could withstand while attempting to manipulate his cells and chakra.

Kabuto instantly felt as though his heart no longer belonged to him, beating at an erratic frequency, sometimes fast and sometimes slow.

Influenced by these fluctuations in heart rate, his other visceral organs also underwent certain mutations, making it feel as though a massive boulder were pressing down upon his chest.

The sensation was so agonizing and agonizingly awkward that Kabuto could not help but vocalize his distress: "Lord O-Orochimaru... It's so unbearable..."

His voice was strange and hoarse, sounding as though it were being squeezed out through the crack of a door.

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, halting his "experimentation" with Kabuto's body and instead focusing on continuing to test his control over the chakra.

No matter how thoroughly one understood the anatomy of the human body, compared to the body's self-regulation, his external control was ultimately somewhat inferior.

Kabuto instantly breathed a sigh of relief. Although his body was still under Orochimaru's control, it felt infinitely more manageable than before.

Thus, he continuously spoke out, feeding back his physical sensations, and Orochimaru's manipulation shifted accordingly.

This process lasted for a full quarter of an hour. In Kabuto, he managed to figure out the acceptable range for the quantity of Sage Chakra and the precise degree to which he could control Kabuto's body.

The tentacle slowly withdrew, and Orochimaru crossed his legs, beginning to recover his consumed Sage Chakra through meditation.

Inside the nutrient tank, Kabuto also closed his eyes, beginning to adjust away the lingering discomfort within his body.

Moments later, Orochimaru stood up from the ground. Once again, tentacles extended from his body, plunging straight into Kabuto's chest, carving out a region of concentrated chakra within him.

Kabuto's expression tightened slightly. Knowing that the main event was about to begin, and having witnessed the Uchiha clan's transplantation experiments multiple times, he was well aware of the dangers involved and dared not lower his guard, raising his alertness to the absolute maximum.

Sure enough, very soon, the fusion fluid containing First Generation cells was injected via a syringe.

The sting of the injection was not worth mentioning, but Kabuto rolled his eyes back, fluids streaming from his eyes and nose, his entire body convulsing like a patient suffering from an epileptic seizure, splashing a significant amount of solution out of the nutrient tank.

"As overbearing as ever."

Orochimaru wore a grave expression. He had already used Sage Chakra to demarcate the sphere of influence for the First Generation's cells, but that bizarre erosion easily broke through his defenses, directly affecting Kabuto's spiritual body.

Clearly, it was merely cellular tissue cultivated in a laboratory, completely devoid of conscious control, yet its chakra intensity actually surpassed his own by a margin.

How could human cells possibly achieve such a feat?

At this thought, Orochimaru's expression paused as he suddenly recalled the creature captured that night at the instigation of the Genie.

"Surely not? The First Hokage ought to have been a human being, possessing every organ a human has... Tsunade is even his granddaughter..."

Yet this still failed to explain why, once the First Generation's cells went out of control, they would homogenize experimental subjects into individual trees.

It simply could not be explained by Wood Release alone, just as a Magnet Release ninja would not turn into iron sand upon death.

Previously, Orochimaru had shelved this doubt, explaining it away through the sheer specificity of Senju Hashirama himself, but now it seemed he was even more extraordinary than he had imagined.

Recounting his suspicions to the Genie, the latter rubbed his chin, furrowing his brow as he said,

"It is not entirely impossible. Senju Hashirama was special; he carried Asura's chakra, yet he was stronger than any of the past hosts. Perhaps precisely because of his atavism..."

"No, that's not quite right. Rather than calling it atavism, it would be more accurate to say it was a perfect harmonization between the bloodline of the Otsutsuki clan and the bloodline of the ninja world... Tsk tsk, time truly is a wondrous thing. Clearly a human being, yet possessing the traits of a tree..."

"Indeed."

A wave of emotion stirred within Orochimaru's heart as well. How he would love to lay eyes on the living Senju Hashirama and invite him to lie down upon this experimental table.

Yet time could not be reversed, and wanting another First Generation to appear in the future would require goodness knows how much time and effort.

"Stop getting lost in sentimentality; that fellow Yakushi Kabuto is about to be killed."

The Genie reminded him, "Quickly focus on the transplantation experiment."