Seeing the excitement on Orochimaru’s face, his pale complexion, and the way his tongue kept darting out to lick his lips every so often…
More importantly, the guy was getting closer and closer to him.
A chill ran down Seigen’s spine.
There was no helping it.
Orochimaru’s interest in Seigen had skyrocketed exponentially.
That powerful body was an irresistible temptation in his eyes.
Only thirteen years old.
Possessing enormous chakra reserves.
And those flawless Sharingan.
He truly was a one-of-a-kind vessel.
This was exactly the youthful, vibrant body Orochimaru had dreamed about day and night.
Unfortunately, Seigen was simply too powerful at the moment.
Orochimaru wasn’t confident he could subdue him.
Watching Orochimaru move in as if he were about to start feeling him up, Seigen suppressed the disgust rising in his stomach.
“First, let me make one thing clear.
Just because I’m willing to cooperate with you doesn’t mean I’m getting on your operating table.”
Orochimaru stretched his neck forward until his face was right in front of Seigen.
“Ah…
what a pity…”
He then slowly circled around before saying, “Seigen-kun, our cooperation could go even further.
For example, we could work together against Konoha.
As long as you—”
“Stop right there!
I don’t intend to repeat myself.”
Seigen’s face turned cold as he warned him.
Although Orochimaru’s scientific talent ranked among the very best in the ninja world, the way he constantly looked at Seigen as though he wanted to place him on an operating table was infuriating.
“We’re both missing-nin from Konoha.”
“Heh…
Don’t think I don’t know.
Deep down, you’re still thinking about Konoha, aren’t you?”
“Hahaha, of course not!
I’ve already decided to take revenge on Konoha.
It’s just…
the time isn’t right yet.”
Oh?
Don’t think I don’t know about your so-called “Konoha Crush Plan.” After all that fuss, you barely managed to kill anyone important.
Aside from the Third Hokage.
Looking back, you practically helped Konoha instead.
You got rid of the Fourth Kazekage, gave the Rookie Nine a chance to grow stronger, and in the end, Sunagakure even had to pay Konoha a huge sum in compensation.
Even the Third Hokage’s death merely gave him a dignified ending.
The whole thing was nothing more than a childish student trying to prove himself in front of his teacher.
And in the end, you overplayed your hand and had both your arms sealed away by the Third Hokage with the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
Seriously…
what kind of ridiculous outcome was that?
Naturally, Seigen kept those thoughts to himself.
There was no way he’d say them to Orochimaru’s face.
After all, they were still partners for now, and his village needed many of Orochimaru’s abilities.
Besides, Seigen believed he could eventually make Orochimaru work for him willingly.
“Prepare to move your laboratory equipment to our village.”
Orochimaru nodded and casually delegated the task to Kabuto Yakushi.
Suddenly remembering something, Seigen asked another question.
“How far has your research on Hashirama’s cells progressed?
Are they ready for direct transplantation?”
Seigen had his own reasons for asking.
The Sharingan consumed an enormous amount of chakra, and after awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, every use came with severe side effects.
He himself didn’t particularly care, but if the Uchiha in his village wanted to overcome that weakness, they would have to transplant Hashirama’s cells.
If they could awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan while simultaneously receiving perfected Hashirama cell transplants…
Once that technology matured…
Seigen was convinced that no force in the entire ninja world would be able to stand against the Hidden Flame Village.
Just imagine it.
Mass-produced Hashirama cells combined with Mangekyō Sharingan.
When the war began, a battlefield full of Susanoo giants would appear.
At that point, the enemy might as well surrender without fighting.
“Hmm…” Orochimaru replied thoughtfully.
“The survival rate for Hashirama cell transplantation is still under thirty percent.
Even if the transplant succeeds, the side effects are severe.
The powerful cells gradually consume every part of the body until…” He let out a sinister chuckle before making an exploding gesture with his hand.
“…they lose control…
boom.”
“I still need more test subjects…”
Then, remembering the terms of his agreement with Seigen, Orochimaru immediately corrected himself.
“Hmm…
it seems I’ll have to cultivate a large number of clones first.”
“How long would that take?”
Seigen asked again.
“At the fastest, about six months.
Only then will the clones’ minds and bodies meet the requirements for experimentation.”
“Can you erase a clone’s self-awareness and conduct the experiments using only its body?”
Seigen felt uncomfortable with clones that possessed independent consciousness.
Wouldn’t that make them no different from the human experiments Orochimaru had conducted before?
There was also the ethical issue.
If they eventually used clones of himself or members of the Uchiha Clan…
And those clones awakened self-awareness…
Just thinking about it felt incredibly disturbing.
“Isn’t there another possibility?” Seigen continued.
“There’s no need to raise the clones into complete human beings.
Most of our experiments only involve the eyes.
You only need to cultivate organs without self-awareness.”
His suggestion caused Orochimaru’s eyes to light up.
“Hmm…
that’s an excellent idea.
It would allow us to produce large numbers of test subjects in a very short time.
Seigen-kun, you really do keep surprising me.”
As expected of a true researcher, Orochimaru instantly understood what Seigen meant, and the idea was highly feasible.
With this approach, clones that originally required six months to mature could now be ready in just one month—or perhaps even less—and could be produced on a massive scale.
Orochimaru could hardly wait to begin the experiments.
“Seigen-kun, let’s not waste any time.”