I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 278 The person or thing you stop pursuing will become more fascinating than ever before.

Upon hearing Orochimaru's conclusion, for some reason, Tatsuma felt as if it were expected.

Orochimaru breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw that Tatsuma seemed to accept the result easily. If Tatsuma had made a big fuss or even cried out in grievance, that would have been a big problem for him.

He's not good at comforting others. When Nawaki was a child, Tsunade always dealt with his crying and tantrums with her fists. He, as the teacher, has always been an observer.

Fortunately, Tatsuma is a strong and good boy, which saved him a lot of trouble. Orochimaru said to Tatsuma, "We will definitely find a way."

"Um, Lord Orochimaru, may I take a look?"

Tatsuma took the report and immediately flipped to the gene locus information that Orochimaru had selected. This was unlike the movie where two double helix structures overlapped and the differences were found.

Instead, it was a series of gibberish-like codes, so complex that even the parser couldn't decipher them. However, this detection system and expression were developed by Tatsuma and Orochimaru together, so Tatsuma could naturally understand it.

The parts Orochimaru selected were also the locations where mutations had occurred. By comparing the labeled gene locations on the chromosomes and the gene sequence information with the gene sequence information of Hashirama's cells in his memory, many noteworthy points could be discovered.

Indeed, as Orochimaru said, the expression of much of his genetic information is becoming increasingly similar to certain segments in Hashirama's cells, and that is, the remaining part after excluding those with universality.

In other words, beyond the similarities between people, the two are also increasingly sharing a lot of unique and individual genetic information. Chenma finished reading and said with a smile:

"If I get injured a few more times, will I end up with long, straight black hair like the first generation?"

Seeing that Tatsuma could still make fun of him, Orochimaru was convinced that Tatsuma was truly unaffected by this change, and he replied with a smile, "Instead of looking forward to a change in hair, let's look forward to Wood Release."

"Wood Release."

Tatsuma glanced at Orochimaru. Ever since the Wood Release experiments were shut down—or rather, ever since the two of them were kicked out of the Wood Release experiments—Orochimaru's desire for the revival of Wood Release seemed to have grown stronger.

While the two were conducting their research, Orochimaru didn't have much desire for the reproduction of Wood Release, because he believed that his research direction was correct.

As long as they follow the steps he and Tatsuma have laid out, and given enough time and money, the two of them will eventually be able to decipher the Wood Release method and find a harmless way to transplant it.

The successive successes of the early experiments boosted Orochimaru's confidence, so by the middle of the experiment, he almost stopped thinking about Wood Release, because he believed that success would come naturally.

However, Orochimaru found it hard to accept that the two were kicked out, because he had seen the path to success, but found that he had no right to do so.

The path to success was suddenly blocked for him, and then he had to watch helplessly as others defiled his Wood Release experiments.

For Orochimaru, Wood Release was like "I could have endured the darkness if I had never seen the light." Therefore, after ending his Wood Release experiments, Orochimaru became even more eager for Wood Release to be recreated under his control.

Tatsuma's extraordinary encounters were important "materials" for him. Orochimaru had expressed similar sentiments more than once, and Tatsuma began to notice his unusual behavior.

Tatsuma pondered for a moment and said, "Lord Orochimaru, perhaps we are mistaken."

"Um?"

Orochimaru made a questioning nasal sound, and Tatsuma said, "Perhaps Wood Release is not a kekkei genkai of the ninjutsu type, or rather, it is not just a kekkei genkai of the ninjutsu type."

I have a hypothesis, of course, it's just a hypothesis. That is, perhaps in the beginning, Lord Hashirama's body cells were no different from those of an ordinary person, just like mine before.

The reason why Hashirama's cells became Hashirama cells might be the same as mine, because a certain type of cell appeared in his body, and this cell devoured all the other cells.

During this process, Lord Hashirama awakened to the concept of Wood Release. After all, even Bloodline Limits can be mastered by different people, let alone Bloodline Genkai, but Wood Release is the only example of its kind in the ninja world.

"But according to the notes left by the First Hokage, Wood Release was indeed a jutsu he created by combining Earth Release and Water Release chakra. Given his intelligence, he wouldn't leave behind such pointless deceptive information, would he?"

Orochimaru frowned, and Tatsuma nodded, adding, "But the Second Hokage also left behind another research conclusion, which is that a special chakra is generated in the brains of the Uchiha clan, stimulating the evolution of the Sharingan."

As for Wood Release, perhaps Earth and Water chakra are merely catalysts? Or perhaps there exists another special chakra that acts as a catalyst, but even Hashirama-sama didn't discover it?

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru also showed a solemn expression. He pulled over a stool and sat down to think. After a while, he said, "You mean that, in addition to the characteristics of a kekkei genkai that is expressed as a ninjutsu, Wood Release also has the same prerequisites as a physical kekkei genkai?"

The Hashirama cells are a prerequisite for this, so what we are looking for is not the information about Wood Release contained in the genetic information of the Hashirama cells, in order to decipher Wood Release.

Instead, shouldn't we allow this information, or rather, these cells, to multiply within the recipient's body to meet the prerequisite for using Wood Release?

Even kekkei genkai of the escaping technique type will be expressed in the genetic information, since there are quite a few ninjas with kekkei genkai of the escaping technique type who appear in a family-based manner.

This genetic information allows ninjas with bloodline limit abilities to inherit an instinctive chakra distribution from their ancestors, making it easier for them to master escapist bloodline limits than others.

Orochimaru and Tatsuma were looking for this kind of information, but Tatsuma was now suggesting that Wood Release belong to the category of physical bloodline limits, while Wood Release was merely a manifestation of it.

This is a completely different research direction from the bloodline limit of escape techniques. Bloodline limits of physical constitution should focus more on the purity of bloodline.

For example, the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan is different from that of the Hyuga clan. The Uchiha clan does not actually have strict restrictions on intermarriage with other clans. Many clan members who have not awakened their Sharingan will marry people from other clans.

According to Tobirama Senju's statistics, the chances of their children with other races awakening the Sharingan are far lower than the chances of two Uchiha clans getting together.

However, Wood Release, or rather, the extremely special Hashirama cells, cannot be found in the descendants of Hashirama Senju. In other words, this "prerequisite" cannot be inherited.

Thinking of this, Orochimaru's eyes lit up, and he said, "When we conducted our experiment before, the mice that were injected with an excessive amount of Hashirama cells died in a short time and turned into a small tree."

We previously thought it was an experimental mishap, but there is another possibility: turning into a tree is actually an expression of this bloodline limit, that is, the mouse turning into a tree is Wood Release.

However, the information carried by Hashirama's cells differed greatly from the information carried by the mouse's own cells, which led to the uncontrollability of Wood Release!

"And if the special cells in my body have the same properties as Hashirama's cells, that is, they can express the information of Wood Release, then if a mouse is injected with an excessive amount of the special cells in my body, it will also turn into a tree."

Tatsuma picked up where Orochimaru left off, and Orochimaru nodded vigorously. He had completely forgotten his elegance from that morning; now he was consumed by fanaticism.

Orochimaru licked his lips, got up, found the blood-drawing equipment, stared intently at Tatsuma, and said, "Tatsuma, you don't mind having your blood drawn, do you?"

Tatsuma extended his arm, and Orochimaru skillfully collected several vials of blood, which were then combined with anticoagulant and nutrient solution and placed into a petri dish.

The culture dish was then placed into a special instrument. When the instrument was turned on, invisible short-wavelength blue light shone on the blood in the culture dish, while another device nearby monitored the changes in the cells.

"Tatsuma, keep an eye on things while I go prepare for the mouse experiment."

After Orochimaru finished speaking, he left in a hurry. Tatsuma, on the other hand, watched the cells rapidly weaken under the special light, while another type of special cell continuously devoured these weakened cells.

Orochimaru was very fast. When he returned after preparing for the mouse experiment, the special cells had not yet finished engulfing the other cells. At this time, Orochimaru had calmed down a bit.

It wasn't that his enthusiasm had waned, but rather that he needed to remain calm and composed to maintain the stability of the experiment later on.

Looking at the monitor screen, Tatsuma seemed to have an idea and said, "Orochimaru-sama, if our hypothesis is correct, then could the Wood Release experiment be made controllable through the transplantation of hematopoietic cells from Hashirama's cells?"

Orochimaru pondered for a moment upon hearing this, then nodded and said, "In your previous experiments, transplanting bone marrow cells from mice caused changes in the DNA in the recipient mice's blood."

If interstitial cells are induced to transform into bone marrow cells and transplanted into a recipient, the DNA in the recipient's blood may also change, and the blood produced by its hematopoietic cells will become interstitial cells.

Moreover, blood produced by hematopoietic cells may have a higher compatibility with the recipient, avoiding uncontrollable reactions caused by rejection. Due to the characteristics of interstitial cells, the new blood cells will engulf and replace other cells.

But we can't do these experiments now. The intercolumnar cells have been sealed, and we have nothing but data.

Unless those special cells in your body can actually express Wood Release.

"Lord Orochimaru, I've got an idea for naming the cells."

"What's your name? You're not here to ask Minato for advice, are you?"

"Of course not, I plan to name it the Divine Tree Cell, if it can express Wood Release."

Looking at the monitor screen, Chenma said, "It's almost done."

Orochimaru also turned his gaze over, and his heart, which had finally calmed down, began to pound violently again. He took out the blood from the petri dish, and the two of them went to the innocent little mouse.

Inside a glass enclosure, a mouse was cautiously moving along the edge when, in the next second, a large hand grabbed the back of its neck, sealing its fate. Then, an empty syringe needle was inserted into its vein to draw blood.

Afterwards, Tatsuma handed Orochimaru a syringe containing his own blood. Since they weren't in the Wood Release research lab and didn't have the same level of facilities, the experiment was crude and violated many rules, but the two of them still had high hopes for it.

The needle was inserted into the mouse's leg vein, and Chenma's blood was gradually pushed into the mouse's body.

"Squeak squeak squeak~"

The mouse, which had become weak due to blood draw and stress, became incredibly active after being injected with Chenma's blood. It even scratched white marks on the thick, hard glass dome.

Inside the mouse's body, there seemed to be some living thing surging and moving under its skin, becoming increasingly violent.

"Bang!"

Glass shattered.

(End of this chapter)