I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 239 There are times when you inexplicably want to be kind to others.

Tatsuma felt that Orochimaru was probably lonely.

The green-skinned monster disciple, who used to be a nuisance, was now seen as a beloved student by him.

This is a very common phenomenon, especially for researchers or those whose work cycle is based on projects.

When a major project is completed and a lot of free time is available, one will unconsciously feel empty inside. Unless there are a series of projects, this feeling will fall on the people around them.

For example, he might suddenly express his love for his wife, suddenly show extra care for his parents and children, or even pet his cat more often.

Minato wanted to give Kushina a gift, which was also driven by this mindset. However, their mission only lasted a week, so he didn't act like Orochimaru.

Orochimaru, having no wife, parents, children, or even cats and dogs at home, had his only disciple, Nawaki, become the object of his focus and emotional compensation.

But at this very moment, Jiraiya also came to "compete" for Nawaki, which made Orochimaru, who was already at odds with Jiraiya, even more dissatisfied with Jiraiya's attitude.

Tatsuma himself doesn't have this problem; perhaps he's naturally indifferent to it, but that doesn't mean he's unaware of it.

Seeing Orochimaru's expression—as if he had left his previous marriage and was now visiting his child—but not daring to get too close, only looking at his child with eyes full of love, concern, and a hint of guilt, Tatsuma still felt a little sorry for him.

He pulled out a scroll and casually handed it to Orochimaru, saying, "Lord Orochimaru, I have a personal project here. Would you be interested?"

"Oh?"

Orochimaru withdrew his gaze, which had been that of a resentful woman confined to her chambers, and looked at the scroll. He took the scroll with both hands, opened it, and saw the sealing technique on it. Without hesitation, he chose to dispel it.

"Bang!"

As the seal was broken, several items fell into his hands. With Orochimaru's knowledge, he instantly recognized what these things were. He raised an eyebrow, his attention returning completely, and looked at Tatsuma, saying:

"Why are you suddenly interested in the Corpse Bone Pulse?"

"I have no interest in the Corpse Bone Pulse."

Tatsuma's answer was heartfelt; he was genuinely uninterested in the Corpse Bone Pulse. Even if he were to decipher its secrets in the future, he had no intention of using it, given its numerous drawbacks.

Unless he has the ability to upgrade the Corpse Bone Vein to the Bloodline Net of Killing Ash Bones, but such an ability is simply impossible.

Upon hearing Tatsuma say he wasn't interested in the Shikotsumyaku (Corpse Bone Pulse), Orochimaru quickly pondered, then his gaze fell on the half-headband Tatsuma had recently chosen to wear, and he said:

"Researching genetic information is very difficult. It took us so long to knock out other interfering terms from the genes of the first generation, but we still have no way to decipher the remaining ones."

Not to mention, you only have one special chakra left.

Even using Hashirama Senju's cells, they couldn't get any results, and Tatsuma, with only Mito Uzumaki's chakra, wanted to decipher the power of the Uzumaki clan, which was almost wishful thinking.

Regarding the handling of the chakra left to Tatsuma by Mito Uzumaki, Orochimaru unusually agreed with Tsunade: to first learn the Yin Seal and how to utilize this chakra.

Of course, Orochimaru's subsequent ideas differed from Tsunade's.

Tsunade's idea was to let Tatsuma use the power left behind by Mito Uzumaki without feeling guilty, treating it as the same as his own chakra, so that it wouldn't matter if it was completely used up.

Orochimaru's idea, however, was to use this chakra to drive the Adamantine Sealing Technique, which only the Uzumaki clan could possibly activate, treating chakra as an important resource that could be consumed.

Mito Uzumaki had dissected the Adamantine Sealing Chains in great detail. Although Orochimaru hadn't seen it, he believed that Tatsuma's understanding of sealing techniques was sufficient to use Mito Uzumaki's chakra to perform a technique like the Adamantine Sealing Chains.

Even if he ultimately cannot break the power of the Uzumaki clan, Tatsuma can still use the methods left behind by Mito Uzumaki to control or even kill the Nine-Tails when it goes berserk.

Tsunade, out of personal considerations, didn't want Tatsuma to have too much of a burden, while Orochimaru, out of practicality, recommended an effective solution that didn't require too much effort.

However, Tatsuma was not satisfied with either approach, and he decided to take on this "burden".

There was no particular reason; it was simply because he had made a promise.

Even if it requires a lot of time and energy, even if there is no possibility of success or a clear direction, and everything has to be explored by himself, Chenma is willing to do it.

He looked at Orochimaru, shook his head slightly, and said, "I still want to try. I want to understand what is the reason that the chakra of each clan and each person has its own characteristics."

Having anticipated this answer, Orochimaru simply nodded and didn't try to persuade him further. He only said, "I will study it carefully, but without access to the base's equipment, I can't guarantee the time or the outcome."

"I understand, thank you, Lord Orochimaru."

Tatsuma nodded, not wanting Orochimaru to make a promise, as that would be unreasonable.

Although they can still enter and leave the base, most of the energy sources within the base have been shut down, and a large amount of equipment and materials have been discontinued, leaving only a small amount of energy to continue cultivating Kato Dan's kidney.

But Tatsuma knew that Orochimaru had his own research lab, which, although small, was still much better than Tatsuma's situation, who didn't even have a research lab.

If even Orochimaru couldn't research anything with his resources, then Tatsuma himself shouldn't even dream of it.

"By the way, the severed kidney is almost ready for transplantation. What are your thoughts?"

Orochimaru thought of the base and remembered the kidney he often wanted to add something to. Hearing this, Tatsuma pursed his lips and said, "I want to test it in vitro to see if there will be a rejection reaction from the receptor's immune system."

At the same time, we need to observe whether the kidney can meet the metabolic requirements of the receptor. After all, cultivating a kidney takes too long, so it's better to be cautious.

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru nodded and said, "We can first test whether the renal working circuit is normal, and then perform the in vitro transplant. If there are no problems, we can then proceed with the replacement surgery."

"I'll discuss it with my teacher and senior colleague. This is the first time we've done this kind of experiment on human bodies. This technology is truly amazing. I really want to study it in more depth."

"The cost is too high."

Orochimaru shook his head. If this technology could be applied on a large scale, the number of people dying from internal organ injuries would be greatly reduced. However, cultivating one internal organ in a person would require so much money, time, and manpower.

It would be almost impossible to promote this unless they could find ways to reduce costs, such as new breeding methods, shorter breeding times, or fully automate the process.

But regardless of which one, both require a large amount of initial investment. Without the support of funding from the daimyo, where would they find money and people to conduct research?

"Let's finish this one first. Maybe the research environment in Konoha and even the ninja world will improve in the future, and the higher-ups will be willing to invest more money to support it. After all, even the higher-ups are afraid of dying."

Tatsuma didn't delve into it further. If a problem can't be solved and isn't urgent, the best approach is to put it aside for the time being.

Just like taking a test, teachers will also teach similar test-taking techniques: complete the questions you know first, and if you encounter a question you are unsure about or cannot solve, put it aside for now. After you have finished answering the other questions, come back to it, and you may be able to solve it naturally.

Orochimaru glanced one last time at Nawaki, who seemed to be getting along quite well with Jiraiya, and said to Tatsuma, "I'll go back and make some arrangements first, then I'll go to the base. You can also confirm the follow-up arrangements with Dan."

"no problem."

After Orochimaru left, Tatsuma visited Tsunade, who was unsurprisingly still in bed. After telling her what he and Orochimaru were thinking, he went home to sleep as well.

Two days later, Tsunade took two class periods to have Nono and Jabami take over the classes, while she took Kato Dan for another physical examination, focusing on the condition of the renal artery, deep vein, and ureter.

After confirming that the body met the requirements for surgery, Orochimaru's team conducted some experiments on the newly cultivated kidney. Once they were sure there were no problems, Tatsuma performed the surgery.

In terms of medical ninjutsu and medical skills, Tatsuma has not yet reached the level of surpassing Tsunade, but the cultivation of kidneys, in vitro testing, and subsequent transplantation all fall under the category of "new medical techniques".

In this regard, Tatsuma, as the "founder," was more confident than Tsunade. Therefore, Tsunade took the initiative to ask Tatsuma to act as the chief surgeon, while she would act as the assistant, always ready to deal with unexpected situations.

But Tatsuma prevented any accidents from happening. The first in vitro kidney transplant in the ninja world was successfully completed. Three tubes made of special materials were connected to the renal artery, renal vein, and left ureter, and then connected to the kidney in the petri dish.

At the same time, a temporary flow-limiting valve was added to the right ureter to test whether the new kidney could filter urine and regulate fluid balance normally.

After the surgery, Kato Dan had to stay in bed for a while, and he had to be extra careful every time he turned over so as not to compress or pull the tubes.

This might be a very difficult process for an ordinary person, but for a ninja, maintaining composure is a basic requirement. Therefore, after the surgery, Tatsuma did not pay any more attention to Kato Dan's condition.

Tsunade took care of Kato Dan, while Orochimaru handled the data observation. Tatsuma himself seized the few remaining days of vacation to begin training.

Holidays always pass quickly, especially when there's no time off. Tatsuma was torn between ending his holiday to take on a mission or observing for a couple more days to confirm that Kato Dan was alright before proceeding with the transplant surgery. Just then, a mission directly assigned by the Hokage was given to him.

(End of this chapter)