Chapter 34: Experimental Progress

Triple chapter drop today!!!

The conflict between Konoha and the Cloud Village did not escalate.

Aoba wasn't sure how it had ended historically, but this time, the fact that he had severed a finger from the Raikage was definitely a significant factor.

The Raikage needed time to adjust to fighting with three fingers. Although Konoha was weakened, it was still a formidable force, not something the Cloud Village could easily handle.

A month later, the Cloud Village officially withdrew their troops from the border, and Konoha experienced the "peace" they desired.

Of course, the most relieved were the people of the Land of Water. They were caught between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning. The Cloud Village's troops stationed at their borders were essentially on their land. Additionally, the Land of Water had to supply provisions for the troops, which was an unbearable burden, worse than the situation in present-day South Korea.

However, the conflict did spark a huge debate. One notable outcome was that Aoba Kamikawa's reputation as the "The Wind Chasing Sword of Konoha" began to spread throughout the village.

Aoi had not only held his own against the Raikage but had also severed his finger, gaining an advantage. Suddenly, Aoba had become a pillar of the new generation of ninjas in Konoha.

He was even being compared to the Second Hokage, much like how the Konoha White Fang was revered.

Originally, Aoba's fame had been overshadowed by Jiraiya and Danzo. However, Jiraiya's decision to let the Raikage go brought him back into the spotlight, forcefully increasing his visibility.

His reputation spread inevitably.

The difference between Aoba's actions and the controversial legacy of the White Fang was clear. Aoba directly confronted the Raikage, and from both a public and political perspective, his actions were flawless.

Even Danzo couldn't find fault with him.

The key point was that after the battle, Danzo developed an "appreciation" for Aoba. He attempted to recruit him into ROOT several times, but each time, Aoba declined.

Perhaps it was Aoba's high combat abilities or his clear-headedness that made Danzo cautious. This time, Danzo acted carefully, avoiding any direct actions against Aoba.

During this period, the most uncomfortable was the Third Hokage. Despite his explanations for letting the Raikage go—saying it was due to the village's difficult situation and a desire to avoid the sacrifice of its ninjas—the explanation fell short compared to the immediate shock of the event.

Had it not been for his years in office and significant reputation, the incident might have resulted in severe backlash.

Fortunately, after some time, the people of Konoha began to gradually forget the event.

After all, people are prone to forgetfulness.

...

In Konoha, Aoba's family underground laboratory.

He expelled a burst of flames from his mouth, turning the constantly twisting and proliferating half-flesh, half-plant substance before him into ashes.

"Experiment 79 with Hashirama cells, failed."

Next to him, Yumi made a note.

"Do you really want to implant that stuff into yourself? It looks so dangerous."

Aoba's previous project involved fusing his cells with Hashirama's cells. But without a doubt, his cells would be instantly devoured, causing a rapid proliferation.

He had tried various methods to assist the fusion, but the results were consistently similar.

"Now it seems that achieving this fusion using only biological means is basically impossible."

"But you also used chakra as an aid, and it still didn't succeed."

In fact, he didn't just use chakra as an aid; he used Yang Release chakra as a harmonizer.

His original idea was that since Hashirama was a natural Sage, he might be more compatible with Yang Release chakra. Using Yang Release chakra might yield results. But after injecting Yang Release chakra, Hashirama's cells became even more active, turning into a half-flesh, half-plant monster.

He didn't possess full attribute chakra.

However, in this world, not having a particular attribute doesn't mean one can't use that attribute's ninjutsu.

With practice, one can actually convert chakra into a specific attribute and use the corresponding jutsu.

However, ninjas are highly agile. Converting chakra and then performing jutsu makes it practically impractical for real combat.

Therefore, not having a certain attribute doesn't mean one is absolutely incapable of using that chakra; it just means they can't use that type of jutsu in combat.

Though he didn't have Yang Release chakra, he could still conduct similar experiments in the lab.

So far, he had tried stimulating the cells with all attributes of chakra, but none achieved the desired effect.

Aoba felt a bit helpless. The Hashirama cells were the cheat of this world, but using such a cheat depended on luck and certain individuals' arrangements.

Just as he was about to end today's experiment, he suddenly thought of a new direction.

Besides chakra, there was one type of energy he hadn't tried—natural energy.

"Prepare for the 80th experiment."

Yumi never argued with his decisions and immediately began preparations. Though she wasn't a ninja, she had learned a lot of specialized knowledge from Aoba. She handled all the preparations and support tasks very adeptly.

Aoba drew a small amount of his blood and added it to Hashirama's cells once more.

This time, he abandoned all biological harmonizers. Since Hashirama's cells were too dominant, most biological harmonizers would turn into nutrients for them.

So, this time, he directly injected natural energy and observed the results.

Initially, Hashirama's cells became active and started devouring his cells. However, this time, Aoba's cells contained natural energy, so the devouring process wasn't as smooth.

Under normal circumstances, ordinary cells exposed to natural energy would turn to stone. But since Hashirama was a Sage, his cells could naturally adapt to natural energy. So, the process was much smoother compared to previous experiments.

Unfortunately, this state didn't last long. As the natural energy depleted, the previous rampant proliferation reoccurred.

After burning the experiment subject to ashes again, Aoba was not disheartened but rather excited. This experiment finally showed some different results.

Although natural energy didn't assist him in completing the experiment, it had a noticeable effect. With White Zetsu yet to intervene, this was the best result he could achieve.

After finishing the experiment, a voice called from above.

"Mom, Mom, where are you? I'm starving!"

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