Chapter 36
Credit to 006Sam for bouncing ideas with me, most of the stuff about DNA is coming from ideas he inspired.
We talked about DNA, Cells, and bloodlines and he straightened some stuff out and made my ideas more solid or 'logical'.
I had a vague direction but it was looking subpar, Sam's Ideas straightened out the story a good bit.
So, much love to him.
If anyone wants to chat about the story feel free to PM me, I enjoy the back and forth.
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It was time to leave and I was excited to return to Konoha.
I wanted to see if the village had anything on DNA and I was bored with this patrol mission.
Hopefully, the village had texts or books on DNA and maybe even a way to manipulate it.
I wouldn't get my hopes up but there was always a chance, the Naruto-verse was weird, they lacked blenders but had microscopes, lacked toasters but had heart monitors.
I could go on all day...
The point was, the Research and Development might have had some way to manipulate DNA.
It wasn't too much of a reach to think that the village was experimenting with DNA.
Or at least Orochimaru was.
So now I needed to figure out what was up, if they had texts about DNA that would be great, if they had ways to manipulate DNA even better.
If they had jutsu to manipulate DNA that was amazing.
The shenanigans I could get up to...
I couldn't wait.
There were a lot of possibilities open to me.
Even immortality.
I already had a few ideas but if I could manipulate DNA I could at least slow or stop my aging and give myself more time to discover something better.
I didn't need to replace my cells if I could stop my DNA from degrading...
Telomeres are responsible for protecting the DNA if I remember correctly.
Now I've got a new direction to explore and soon the war will kick-off.
It's going to get hectic these next few years...
...
The trip back was slow, mom wanted to find someone to set Duy on and was taking her time looking for infiltrators and Missing-nin.
Sadly, she had no luck, the southern part of Fire Country was peaceful there were no nearby ninja villages nor was there a lot of bandit activity.
We only really had to worry about Kiri coming from the south-east and they didn't seem all that interested in us at the moment.
So, it was one long trip back to Konoha...
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After getting back home and glancing at the calendar I realized Gai was graduating in a month and a half.
Which meant the war was almost here.
I had the chance to snag a Genin from the graduating classes and snap them up before anyone else.
Hmm...
Lot's of choice...
I also had to see Mikoto soon...
I hadn't seen baby Itachi yet...
I also needed to look into DNA.
What to do... what to do...
I'll have a shower and sent some clones out and then I'll take it from there.
...
Clones were sent out, the rabbits were fed and now I had some time to myself.
Though I had no idea what I would with my time, Gai and Duy needed some time to themselves and Kushina was still out on a mission...
I think I'll locate the Research and Development building so I can plan a heist if need be.
If I couldn't buy equipment, I'll just steal it, whether that be from Konoha or another village.
I guess it'll depend on how I'm treated when I try to buy anything I need.
The more annoying the ordeal the more willing I would be to steal.
Though hopefully, it wouldn't be too hard to get my hands on, Orochimaru had quite a few hidden labs.
If the stuff was hard to get, he probably wouldn't have had so many labs.
I guess I'll see.
...
It only took a moment for me to decide that looting the Research and Development building wasn't going to happen.
It was extremely well defended...
So, no easy loot for me...
I guess I'll just wait on it a little, I was jumping the gun anyways.
Perhaps some training?
...
I wanted to figure out more uses for my Lightning Constructs, though they were extremely costly they were just too potentially useful to ignore.
After I had thought about it for a while, I realized that there were plenty of uses for my Lightning Constructs and that cost wasn't as much an issue as I thought it would be if I used my seal.
After pondering for a while I remembered the Susanoo.
What was special about the Susanoo?
The Susanoo was a chakra construct and it made me think of other constructs.
Uzumaki chains were constructs, Naruto's weird chakra hands were constructs, Tailed Beasts were also constructs.
Any one of those I could potentially copy.
Though obviously on a smaller scale...
I wouldn't be making a Susanoo or Tailed Beast anytime soon.
Or possibly ever...
But I've gotten basic constructs down and it would only take a little work for me to make some lightning chains...
So, I guess that's where I'll start...
Chains first, lightning arms second, and Susanoo never.
I couldn't imagine the chakra cost of a Susanoo.
Sigh...
...
My clones dispersed bringing both good and bad news.
Mikoto and Itachi were doing well and apricated the visit.
Itachi was too young to do anything other then babble and Mikoto looked exhausted so the clone left and dispersed soon after not wanting to impose.
The other clone had requested a visit to the archives as there was nothing on DNA in either the Hyuga or village library.
The archive was huge so I had high hopes I'd find something, even if it was not immediately relevant.
If I had no luck, I might have to join team Orochimaru or rob Orochimaru.
Neither of those was likely to end well.
Which was why I hoping the archives provided some answers or direction.
Although I hoped to luck out in the archives, I didn't have high hopes.
There was a good chance that all the good stuff was in Research and Development.
Hopefully, that wasn't the case...
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"How about I expand your chakra network just a little?"
I held my fingers milometers apart and mom just stared at me with an impassive face.
"..."
I stood still in my position maintaining eye-contact and still trying to demonstrate how little I'd expand her reserves with my fingers.
"When chakra reserves grow greatly, your control over your chakra degrades."
Fair point.
"That won't happen if you expand your reserves in tiny increments over a few months."
It still might happen but at least you didn't just lose all of your hard-earned control in a day.
"I'm not interested."
That's what I expected.
"Alright."
I'll just bother her later.
...
My trip to the archives was approved and after a trip deep into the Hokage monument, I was once again welcome to the sight of towering shelves packed with books and scrolls.
I took a moment to enjoy the smell of paper and poorly circulated air.
"Can I use my Byakugan to look for what I need?"
I stood looking at the ceiling for some sign of my hidden observers' approval or disapproval.
I caught movement to my left and saw a hand phase through a ceiling tile and make the hand signs for 'negative, disapproval' at me.
The hand quickly retreated into the ceiling after a moment.
I admired the Genjutsu and nodded in the hand's direction.
"Alright, thanks."
The hand popped back out and gave me a thumbs-up before retreating.
I snorted feeling quite amused.
But my amusement faded when I realized that I'd have to look for what I wanted the hard way.
I'd start in the medical section, I guess...
...
After two days of searching, I finally found gold.
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Genetic Mimicry
The user can temporarily mimic or obtain properties of a creature's physiology through vigorous study. Alternatively, the user's genetic structure can alter itself to become identical to a biological creature upon contact, though doing so has a high chance of death or injury as changes are random when used by someone unskilled.
Unlike Shapeshifting, the user does not necessarily take on the appearance of the target but rather select parts of their physiological makeup. With this technique, one could touch an eagle and see far, a fish and breathe underwater, or a dog and gain an amazing sense of smell, but only if the user is experienced with the technique.
Alternately an unskilled user can touch a tiger and become a tiger-human hybrid losing his sanity in the process.
Prolonged use can result in permanent changes.
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Good stuff!
I took a moment to ponder about this being part of the Inuzuka's origins, though I doubted it.
Who would mimic a dog when there were better animals...?
Or maybe the one who mimicked a dog got the best results?
I'd likely never know as such stuff was usually clan secrets.
Hmm...
This might be a path to stealing Kekkei Genkai or becoming a full Ōtsutsuki...
Though I'd have to catch an Ōtsutsuki first which was easier said than done.
I moved on after some thought.
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Mutation Inducement
The user is able to induce mutations, changes in the sequence of an organism's genetic material, in their selves or other living beings. The changes can range from minor genetic changes to severe physical mutation, the user could even be able to activate recessive abilities in allies or suppress abilities in foes. Note that the user may force instant change or stretch it over longer periods or even several separate sessions.
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The technique had a lot to do with manipulating someone's chakra.
It confirms my theory that chakra can cause physical changes.
Not useful at the moment but it was still interesting and potentially useful in the future.
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Gender Transformation
The user can alter ones and/or other's gender either permanently or temporarily, they may be able to combine genders for hermaphrodite or remove both for neutri. The change is complete to the cellular level.
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Not something I wanted or needed?
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DNA Indexing.
The user is able to take the DNA of any species or any individual being and record it either for replication, a re-creation of the species, or genetically enhanced beings.
The user may be able to encode their DNA into Seals/weaponry, ensuring that such devices and weaponry will only work for them.
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Something extremely useful, now I didn't have to worry about needing computers for information storage.
It had a lot to do with seals, but even when I could see the DNA I wouldn't know what it did without a lot of experimentation.
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Cell Manipulation.
The user can shape and manipulate the cells of any sort of organism, including the functions of the cells in the organism. They can help to circulate oxygen in the body, make cells heal any sort of wounds, or fight off disease.
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I had already roughly did this myself but this was an improvement to my existing technique, it was just a more advanced version of something I already use.
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DNA Overwrite.
The user can completely or partially overwrite the DNA of themselves or others. This can be either permanent or temporary.
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This could possibly be what Orochimaru used when he jumped bodies, though if that was the case, I didn't understand why the bodies rejected him.
This could also solve some problems with Biological Absorption, the main issue was taking in foreign DNA, the body didn't like foreign DNA and rejected it.
With this, I can overcome that hurdle.
But looking at the seal work was upsetting, it required you to edit 200 different cells have the Seal copy your work, and then apply the work to other cells throughout the body.
A lot of setup was required for this to work, but once it was done I could use the seal whenever I wanted.
Neat.
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DNA Link.
The user possesses a link to somebody/something through fresh DNA and chakra, which allows them to know the location of their target within a kilometer radius.
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It seemed useless so I didn't bother with further reading.
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DNA Isolation.
The user can isolate DNA, performing such acts as suppressing certain Genetic Traits and making others dominate.
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Now that was gold and exactly what I needed I was already half Kaguya so there was little Gene manipulation needed.
Sadly it was made to suppress the non-desired traits during a fetus's development, so it needed to be changed a bit...
Never the less I continued sifting through the shelves, there was so much more to explore.
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Gene-Splicing.
The user is able to take the DNA of any species or any individual being and is able to modify it and insert it into the DNA of any other species to strengthen or modify the host's body.
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There was a warning written in near flowing script on the bottom of the scroll.
'Any modifications made to oneself may cause infertility, any traits gained from outside your species may cause unexpected mutations.'
Interesting but not something I was interested in at the moment, though it could see future use.
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Amalgamation.
The user can merge two or more separate objects into one, regardless of whether the objects are organic, inorganic, living, dead, technological, etc. They can decide which parts of the objects are dominant in the union, what is erased, and what is merged.
The denser the material's fused, the higher the chakra cost.
This wasn't useful for anything outside of crafting.
Unless I wanted to do some messy experiments...
I moved on.
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DNA Disintegration.
Users can disintegrate/destroy the DNA of any organism, causing varying levels of damage from necrosis.
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Not useful in combat as it required the target to be completely restrained...
So not useful at all...
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DNA Analysis.
The user can analyze DNA through various means. They can identify such things as the DNA owner's identity, or such things as mutations and genetic damage.
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It went on to list other sub techniques and additional ways to analyze DNA.
Another gem.
Though it required a lot of seal work.
...
There were thirty-three different techniques involving the manipulation of DNA.
Though one, in particular, caught my interest.
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Primal Form.
The user reverts into their primal form, becoming an evolutionary throwback with traits that have disappeared generations before.
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I stared dully at the scroll, this was way too good to be true.
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Warning
Users may have a limited intellect.
Users may not have control of their primitive instinct and urges.
Users' physiology may be unstable.
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I thought so...
I was almost certain this was an Inuzuka technique, in fact, a few of them could be attributed to the Inuzuka.
Though if that was the case why were the Inuzuka such a shit clan?
Wolves in sheep's clothing?
Or did 'mimicking' dogs make them stupid?
And why would the Inuzuka ever give up any of these techniques?
"Sigh..."
If I just up and used the jutsu I probably would just turn into an ape, I probably had very little Ōtsutsuki in me.
Or at least not enough to risk my sanity for.
...
I looked at the section of shelves that I mentally dubbed the Orochimaru shelves and pondered.
Even if I was able to mess with my DNA what good would that do me?
From what I read I was only 'isolating' DNA few cells at a time.
The body had around thirty-trillion cells and 200 different types of cells.
It was a hilariously pointless endeavor.
Without using DNA Overwrite's seals, the only way around doing every cell a few at a time was to make the cells divide a few billion times...
And I doubt the cells would be young after that...
I rolled my eyes at the thought, of course, they wouldn't be young...
So, I needed to make the cells immortal or change DNA Overwrite's seals?
That's the only way I could think of getting around aging myself...
Since I was already manipulating DNA could I manipulate or regenerate telomeres?
Telomeres are just repetitive strings of DNA found at the ends of chromosome pairs within cells.
Telomeres protect chromosomes stopping them from deteriorating or fusing, but the telomere on the end of each chromosome pair is shortened with each cellular division.
Eventually, the telomere is depleted, and apoptosis or cell death begins.
That was aging in a nutshell.
So, I regenerate the telomere and I'm theoretically biologically immortal.
As long as I could regenerate the telomeres on the DNA I might be able to divide cells indefinitely.
Meaning I can change the DNA of one cell, dived it, and replace other non changed cells.
Potential Immortality and the potential easy awakening of my other bloodline.
I took a deep breath and sighed.
I had a rough plan and now I needed to work towards that plan.
Cell Manipulation, DNA Analysis, DNA Indexing, and DNA Isolation was what I needed to focus on.
Cancer cells were immortal, so that's where I'd likely find out about telomere regeneration.
I started placing the books I borrowed back onto their shelves, I was preparing to make my exit, I could come back another time.
I was already researching cancer, I had thought about turning my whole body cancerous to become immortal.
Ideally, I just had to make a seal that kept everything where it was supposed to be and I could become living cancer.
Or so I thought...
But my new plan was better.
I finished filing the books away and gave a friendly wave at the ceiling.
My mood was much better, DNA had opened a whole new avenue.
I might not need to do any cell transplants if I could mess with DNA.
I guess I'll see.
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