Chapter 66
"Sorry but I'm not interested in taking an apprentice at this time." I nodded having expected a refusal.
At least Tsunade was polite, I had expected a much harsher refusal.
"That's fine, I'll continue teaching her." I had wanted her to learn from a medical specialist.
Although I could make it work, I wasn't good at Medical Ninjutsu in the same way Tsunade was good.
Reading notes and having someone verbally teach you were different.
"Are you interested in undergoing a De-ageing procedure?" Tsunade scowled.
I realized I might have made a mistake.
"Are you calling me old, brat?" Tsunade smiled at me, but the smile wasn't friendly in the slightest.
I shook my head quickly.
"No, I've developed a De-ageing procedure and your chakra reserves would make the whole thing relatively easy." I was taking a slight gamble.
I wanted her DNA but I had no way of easily getting it. An 'Anti-ageing Overwrite' was what I came up with.
"It's only viable for those with large reserves, a Yang Affinity, and under a certain age." Tsunade looked slightly interested but I could tell she was on the verge of refusal.
I wracked my brain for a solution but couldn't find one, my brain was failing me...
"I'd essentially be able to De-age your body, but only once, and after the age of forty it becomes increasingly harder to do." Tsunade raised an eyebrow which I considered a success.
Making stuff up was hard.
Tsunade was around forty and I was trying to sell this as her last chance to have a younger body.
"Your lifespan would still be the same you'd just have a physically younger body." That wasn't true at all, I was just worried Tsunade wouldn't want to live for longer than necessary.
I saw Tsunade still didn't look interested and shrugged, as I'd already done what I could to convince her.
"Don't talk about the De-ageing procedure, it's extremely hard to do and I'm not able to do it for most people." I blew a breath out of my nose. "I only offered because you meet the requirements and I owe you."
Tsunade nodded but didn't speak.
"Sigh..." No Senju DNA for me it seems...
I already had Kushina's DNA so it wasn't too big of a deal, there would be other opportunities to get Senju DNA...
"I can tell your not interested, but take a bit to think about it." I sent her a little wave and started on my way out of her office.
I had planned on getting into Kushina's DNA and had put it off for too long.
...
Suna wasn't too likely to attack after having lost their Jinchūriki so I had a good bit of free time before I got sent back to the 'front'.
As I had the Jinchūriki's body and a Tail from a Tailed-Beast I was excited to see what I could figure out.
My clones and I had sealed the chakra extracted from the tail away and were now digging through the Jinchūriki's body and DNA.
There wasn't much, some mutated genes, nothing unusual for someone with strong chakra running through their body.
However, something was going on with his genes for affinities, he had Wind and Earth but they were both unusual.
I'd almost chalk it up to a bloodline but he hadn't used it in our fight...
His weird affinity genes and his genes for chakra density were the only other things of note.
"Sigh..." I'd call this a bust as there wasn't anything to be gained from the body.
I'd preserve everything I could and then I'd go through it at a later time.
Maybe I could find something I missed?
I mulled over the idea for a moment before coming up with a better plan.
I'd take a peek at the Bingo books and see if the Jinchūriki was known for any bloodline usage.
Maybe those affinity genes would be something special?
Or maybe the host gained the affinities of the tailed beast and that's why they were so unusual?
...
Suna's Jinchūriki had a bloodline...
Magnet Release...
It was good news.
It made the body more valuable...
But it made me wonder why he hadn't used his bloodline...
Maybe because the One-Tails took over so quickly?
Maybe...?
"See if we can get our hands on some prisoners." Aomi nodded and set off to do her task.
I turned my eyes towards the clones who were working on Kushina's DNA.
They had been doing a fine job but hadn't found anything too useful.
Kushina's DNA was wildly different and not at all something a normal human should have and was taking a long time to pick through.
Whether that was because of the Nine-Tails chakra or because of her bloodline was unknown.
Her unusual DNA seemingly didn't give her any amazing abilities but it did put her above a normal human in terms of chakra and bodily strength.
Nothing she had was worth using an Overwrite on myself, but perhaps it would be useful in the future...
I turned my focus away from the clones and onto my notebook where I had sketched out a few vague plans.
First, I could stick with my bloodlines body and chakra, and slowly mutate them until they reached an insane level.
Second, I could start trying to add additional bloodlines to myself and make myself like canon Orochimaru who was trying to make the optimal body.
Third, I could keep collecting better traits and add them to myself.
Forth, a combination of all three.
All of them sounded good in my head, but the First was the easiest to do.
Mutation currently seemed to be the way to go...
Though I'd have to do a little of the Second and Third to get the Tenseigan if I got to the moon.
'When I got to the moon...' I nodded to myself.
Sadly, the power of positive thought wouldn't get me to the moon...
I rolled my eyes and dragged them back to the notebook.
I'd need living Hyuga test subjects to get anywhere with mutating my bloodline...
Chakra density was easy to mutate as it was easy to observe...
Other traits wouldn't be as easy to do...
So maybe mutation wouldn't be as easy as I thought...?
Unless I made flesh and blood clones...
Which sounded too expensive to do at the moment...
"Sigh..."
I didn't need more bloodlines...
Nor did I need to collect better traits...
What I had now was good...
As my reserves grew and my chakra got denser my body would continue to get stronger...
It wasn't likely I would find any better traits anyway...
The Raikage's were near the top in terms of strength...
Also, bloodlines that had a lot to do with the body were hard to transplant after a certain age according to Orochimaru.
He said that bloodlines that had a lot to do with chakra were the easiest to acquire, though usually at the cost of DNA degradation and abilities that were weaker than the original bloodline holder...
Knowing that bloodlines were probably out...
I let myself slump and held back a sigh.
I probably wouldn't see a vast improvement in the future...
At least not until I aged or could get to the moon...
Am I obsessed with the Tenseigan?
Probably.
I crossed my arms and settled in for a thought-filled wait.
I needed those prisoners to make any progress on Kushina's DNA...
So, all I could do was stew in thought until I got them...
...
A few prisoners I had acquired were given some chakra from the One-Tails and had shown some interesting results.
Aside from the normal mutations and the expected but barley notable increase in strength, the prisoners also experienced an easily noticeable change in spiritual energy.
Their spiritual energy now had a tinge of 'Tailed-Beast' to it.
It was interesting.
And I called it spiritual pollution as that was the first thing to come to mind.
Their spiritual energy had changed and the change seemed premiant.
But more study was needed...
...
Spiritual pollution could happen with the acquisition of any chakra, and the change was so slight that it was barely notable.
Upon gaining my chakra prisoners would gain an ever so slight tinge of Shiro-ness to them according to mom.
The same was mirrored when they acquired her chakra, though they were notably more Hyuga-like in terms of spiritual energy with the combination of both my chakra as well as moms.
It wasn't as notable as the change from the Tailed-Beast chakra but it was still notable.
It was something to look into in any case...
Foreign spiritual energy could 'pollute' your own...
Neat.
...
I was once again stationed at the 'front'...
In the time I was away, the buildings had been dug up and reconstructed.
The occasional abnormally large mound of sand was the only thing left behind from the battle.
It was almost like it hadn't happened at all...
"How's the training going?" Isami had no interest in 'Medical stuff' but had a surprising talent in Ninjutsu.
If she had bigger reserves, she would have a bright future in front of her.
"It's been alright, water is hard but I'm getting close to learning some Jutsu's." I nodded.
The academy wasn't made to teach Ninjutsu, that was the job of the Jonin-Sensei, which Isami hadn't had.
"Finish Water Nature transformation and jump to fire immediately after, Jutsu's can be learned later and Aomi won't always be available like she is now." Learn what you could, while you could.
It was probably time to up her reserves...
"Exhaust your chakra and swing by tomorrow." She met my eyes and nodded. "I'll need a bit of your blood first." She nodded and started walking away leaving me puzzled.
She tapped Aomi on the shoulder and started speaking while gesturing to her arm...
Ah...
I could've drawn her blood...
But I guess it's good for my minion to have stuff to do...
Now, how big should those reserves be...?
Kage-level or Tailed-Beast Level?
Kage for now...
I probably shouldn't be creating Tailless-Tailed-Beasts.
...
Kushina's DNA governing chakra was doing an excellent job of killing everyone who got it.
It was a bit odd.
It was almost like her DNA was poisonous to any who received it.
There was one semi-successful test where one of the prisoners received her gene for Chakra Density but even then, his chakra coils were 'eaten' by the chakra in a matter of hours.
Was it perhaps because she was exposed to Tailed-Beast chakra for so long?
Possibly, but I thought that was unlikely.
Her blood had no negative effects...
I'd have to test out the One-Tails Jinchūriki's DNA as well...
Clap*
"Alright!" I clapped. "Sorry for spacing out."
Isami nodded not looking too bothered.
"So..." I went to clap again but stopped myself. "Your chakra and natural bodily limits will be expanded..." I trailed off and pointed to the Overwrite Seal that took up most of the floor.
"You just need to lay in the ominous circle and you will no longer be limited by pesky genetics!" I smiled but could tell it wasn't a good smile. "Your future will be determined by your own hard work and talent!" My smile disappeared as fast as it came and I strutted towards the Seal.
Clap*
"Almost forgot!" I clapped again as I couldn't contain my glee. "I've included Poison and Disease Resistance!"
It was a little too much to do at one time, but the changes to her DNA wouldn't immediately affect her body.
And she'd already had dense chakra in her body, so an abrupt increase in density shouldn't be too much of a shock to her body...
So, disastrous results were unlikely.
"Did you make the seal ominous on purpose?" Isami put her hands on her hips and stared at me.
I smirked. "Of course, I did!" The purple glow completed the whole look.
It just wasn't as ominous without a glow of some kind.
"Now remove your pouch and step into the ominous circle!" Isami scowled at me but I ignored her and shooed her into the circle.
"Sigh..." Isami sighed and tossed her kunai pouch against the wall before stepping into the circle.
Hopefully, I could get through some Overwrites without using all the chakra in my Seal...
"Alrighty..." It wasn't likely as I had been using it a lot...
But a boy could dream...
Isami laid down as instructed and closed her eyes with a grimace.
I took my place at the edge of the circle and started filling it with my chakra.
Maybe I could do two Overwrites today?
I ignored the pull on my reserves with an ease born of the repeated use of the Overwrite Seal.
...
Duy's refusal of Poison and Disease Resistance was unexpected.
I figured after his poison scare, he'd be open to the idea.
But apparently not...
I pulled myself from my thoughts and turned to the usually silent Aomi.
"Alright, you won't receive the same benefits that Isami will even though the DNA your getting is pretty much the same." I wasn't sure how to say it nicely. "Your body is less malleable because of your age."
Being blunt was probably not the best way to go about it, Aomi looked quite sad...
"Don't look so put out, you'll still gain some benefits just not the same amount as Isami is going to." I didn't want my minion to think I favored Isami over her. So, I had to be clear about the whole age thing.
I didn't want resentment to build in my favorite minion.
"It will also take a little longer for these changes to take effect, lots of training will speed up the process though." The change in Chakra Density was the only immediate improvement she'd see.
Everything else would take time, and training in the case of Chakra Reserves.
"I'm increasing your potential, but you won't see rapid growth as you are not in puberty." I summed it up as best I could and moved towards the Seal.
She was moping, and I didn't want my favorite minion to feel sad.
"Poison and Disease Resistance will take effect as soon as you step out of the circle, so you have that to look forward to." I stood at the edge of the circle as a thought hit me.
If Kushina's DNA was annoying to work with would Naruto's be the same?
Perhaps...
"Alright step into the circle, this won't take long." I wanted the gene for Naruto's reserves...
What I had was pretty good so it didn't matter if that wasn't possible...
...
Mom was the final person on my list of people to Overwrite.
She was also resistant to changes of any kind being done to her body.
Which was a shame...
"Is there a reason your so against an Overwrite?" I ran a hand through my hair and leaned deeper into my seat.
Mom shook her head and continued sharpening her kunai without bothering to look at me.
"I'm just not interested." His tone was light but I could see from her tenseness that I shouldn't continue hounding her.
I couldn't fathom why she didn't want to undergo some scienceing, there was minimal risk and nearly no negatives.
Unless one was using animal DNA...
I let the idea of animal-human hybrids roll around in my mind for a moment.
Could cat-eared maids become a real thing...?
I scowled at the thought and pushed it into the deepest darkest corner of my mind.
Thoughts like those shouldn't see the light of day.
I should be focusing on mom...
But perhaps later...
She was still tense and would probably be more receptive to the power of Science when she was in a better mood.
...
Due to a lack of human test subjects, I restarted my efforts to mutate the Hyuga Chakra Density Gene.
What I had achieved with it was great, but there was room for continued improvement.
Chakra Density was the easiest to observe especially when clones could carry the blood and observe its effects.
I'd also need to start collecting Sensor DNA...
It'd save me some work when I eventually decided to get back to it...
...
Aomi stood beside me as we overlooked the fleeing Suna-nin that we had just encountered.
"Suna doesn't seem too interested in fighting me, do they?" Their expressions of terror as they fled made it obvious.
"No, they do not." Aomi's voice rang out.
I raised an eyebrow as I hadn't expected a response.
"Do you think I have a Flee On Sight Order?" I raised my hand and pegged the slowest ninja with a Bone Spear.
So, I could say that I didn't just let them flee.
"Maybe..." Aomi nodded with a bored expression on her face...
I was hoping she'd pull out a bingo book...
That could've been a cool moment...
"All of these seem to be Genin-level, I think they were doing a survival exercise of some kind." Though they should have done it away from the borders...
It was odd that they were so close to us...
"Let's go, their running straight to Suna and I'd rather not get surrounded by whatever S-Ranks are protecting their village." Their current Kage used Iron Sand in the same way the Jinchūriki used normal sand.
I wasn't confident in my ability to pierce his defenses as sand was already a challenge...
Iron sand wouldn't be any easier...
"I think I'll get started on another nature transformation soon..." I eyed Aomi who raised an eyebrow. "I probably won't need you around for a while once I start it, so you'll have lots of free time to pursue your own interests." Aomi nodded and looked rather unbothered.
I turned my eyes away and focused them forward.
I'd need to get the affinity Genes for whatever nature transformation I wanted...
"Sigh..." I waved Aomi off when she looked at me.
I had just said not long ago that I wasn't going to do another Overwrite on myself...
But if I was going to do one, I might as well give myself all the normal affinities...
There was almost no point in not doing it...
Even with them, I'd still take forever to learn anything...
Unless I made another Tumor Baby...
I smiled at the thought of another Tumor-Chan.
Tumor-Chan and I had such fun together...
"Hahaha..." I chuckled...
I'd make Tumor-Chan and the clones could continue with Kushina's DNA...
...
...
...
Interlude.
Shiro's steps were silent and agile. He was a very light sleeper and could go days with little sleep. Shiro's eyes were always looking, different from my own that remained unaware of my surroundings.
I started copying Shiro's behavior, the confident but lazy way he holds himself. The way he walks into a room, which demands attention. And his silent and agile steps.
What I tried not to copy was his blunt mannerisms and unsociability, though as much as I tried some slipped through. Closeness to Shiro had blunted my speech.
I spent a lot of time observing him, trying to adapt his movements as my own. Though try as I might my steps were never as agile, nor was I confident as he seemed.
"He's late." Aomi spoke, pulling me from my thoughts. "He's never late."
I nodded but remained silent, not really sure what to say.
Shiro worked quickly and efficiently, sometimes starting things hours before to avoid being late. His punctuality was well known, as was his distaste for those who weren't early or on time.
It was unusual for Shiro not to be early, let alone late. It meant that something pressing happened, something that required his attention.
Shiro arrived soundlessly and tapped Aomi on the shoulder causing her to jump.
"Yo!" Shiro waved cheerily as his eyes studied our forms, perhaps making sure we were ready.
"Ah, there's been an outbreak of sexually transmitted diseases." Shiro smiled, not looking bothered by the subject. "So, if you or someone you know has been having mysterious rashes or blisters on their lady bits, make sure to head to the field hospital."
Shiro eyed Aomi for a moment and turned his eyes to me before quickly shifting them towards the sky.
My face reddened and I stared at the ground. I wasn't mentally ready for the subject.
"Now, I might have to give this mission to someone else." Shiro tapped his chin. "I'm supposed to visit the brothel where this started and treat anyone who works there or frequents the brothel..."
Shiro continued not at all phased by my or Aomi's apparent discomfort.
"I'll probably have to go through the whole town, every man and their wife probably have something..." Shiro rubbed eyes. "I wish we could just open a brothel in the camp, it would be a lot less work."
"Sigh..." Shiro sighed and started back towards the camp. "Let's go, we need to make someone else do our mission." Shiro turned and smiled at the two of us.
Aomi and I met eyes. I didn't want to spend the next few days looking at people's gentiles, and I doubted Aomi did either.
"Alright, we've got a Shiro, Aomi, and Isami adventure ahead of us." Shiro's smile widened. "There's lots of fun to be had."
I shook my head and increased my speed to catch up with him.
This wasn't a mission I wanted. But when you were a Chunin, you had very little choice in what you did.
...