“Better to proceed step by step. Leaving aside how to utilize terrain, just waiting for the right celestial phenomenon could take over a decade.”

“The urgent priority is stabilizing methods for fusing a single bloodline limit. You can’t become fat in one bite.”

Orochimaru’s critique was sharp.

And not just five bloodline limits…

Did Hiruko think bloodline limits grew on trees?

“I know…” Hiruko nodded.

“But people need dreams! Hizashi’s experiment inspired me. Since Storm Release and the Curse Mark can coexist, then fusing two bloodline limits must also be possible!”

“Though once you attempt a third, the structure changes entirely, and the difficulty multiplies…”

Hiruko sighed.

“Still, two are probably enough. Double bloodline-limit users are already incredibly rare in the ninja world. Triple bloodline limits are practically unheard of…”

Orochimaru’s expression suddenly stiffened.

At present, perhaps they were unheard of.

But the future might say otherwise…

“Hiruko… why do I feel like the perfected version of your technique was practically designed for the teacher?” Orochimaru muttered.

“The greatest difficulty of this technique lies in collecting multiple bloodline limits and integrating them into one body. Every additional bloodline limit increases the difficulty exponentially…”

“But the teacher doesn’t need to absorb others’ bloodlines. He can synthesize them himself!”

Hiruko’s pupils trembled.

That was right!

Lord Hokage cultivated them himself. There would be no rejection reactions whatsoever…

Kakuzu’s expression slowly turned puzzled.

He had once believed that as the possessor of Earth Grudge Fear, he was already a monster beyond human understanding in the ninja world…

Able to steal others’ hearts and acquire their chakra affinities!

A terrifying power!

But in Konoha, Earth Grudge Fear no longer seemed particularly strange…

This village could steal bloodline limits, and even synthesize them artificially! As for bizarre bodies, Orochimaru’s strange serpentine physique wasn’t any more normal than Kakuzu’s black tendrils.

A strange sense of belonging grew within Kakuzu’s heart.

“You’re right…”

“With Lord Hokage’s talent, he’ll definitely be able to synthesize countless bloodline limits… Therefore, what I should focus on now is perfecting single and dual bloodline transplants before pursuing my ultimate Chimera Technique!”

Excitement gleamed in Hiruko’s eyes.

“To be honest, I don’t have much confidence in transplanting five bloodline limits. Multiple rejection reactions are uncontrollable. Even if it somehow succeeded, the subject would probably no longer resemble a human at all—they’d merely maintain structural stability.”

Hiruko’s thinking gradually became clearer.

To strengthen Konoha’s overall military power, developing a Chimera Technique capable of relatively easy one-to-two bloodline transplants was his current mission…

Afterward, he would create an ultimate Chimera Technique impossible for anyone else to achieve—something only Lord Hokage might one day use!

“This is the Sage of Six Paths’ revelation…”

“Lord Hokage discovered me when I was nothing, and the culmination of my life’s work was destined from the beginning to be tailor-made for him…” Hiruko said emotionally.

Tsunade rolled her eyes.

No wonder Orochimaru always called him a charlatan…

He created a jutsu involving “Heaven, Earth, Humanity,” and now he was invoking the Sage of Six Paths too!

The teacher’s Will of Fire had nearly driven him insane.

“Save your grand ambitions for later…” Tsunade patted Hiruko’s shoulder.

“How’s Asuma’s training going?”

At the mention of this, Hiruko sighed.

“My combat experience is lacking, so honestly I don’t have much to teach Asuma directly. As his teacher, all I can really do is improve his aptitude and help him find the path best suited to him…”

“Asuma inherited part of Lord Hokage’s physique. His strength, speed, and close-combat instincts are excellent. Ironically, he’s fairly average with the Sarutobi Clan’s signature Fire Release.”

“He should become a close-combat fighter—but not like Sakumo or Minato. Instead, he should rely on strength and defense, more like the Third Raikage…”

Kushina asked curiously:

“Then Commissioner Hiruko, are you going to help Asuma learn Lightning Release Chakra Mode?”

“That technique demands too much talent. Only Lord Hokage could master it midway through his career…” Hiruko replied slowly.

“I’ll do everything possible to help Asuma successfully transplant Swift Release and Steel Release!”

“Those are the most suitable bloodline limits for him in the Second Hokage’s sample archive. With those two techniques, Asuma’s survival ability will be guaranteed, and his close-range talents can be utilized to their fullest…”

In Hiruko’s imagination…

Asuma’s battle style would involve activating Steel Release and Swift Release before charging through enemy ranks like a hurricane, wielding chakra weapons in violent melee combat!

Orochimaru nodded slightly.

It certainly sounded promising…

The sort of ninja who could accomplish countless tasks for Konoha and the Land of Fire, worthy of the Hokage’s son!

“Mr. Kakuzu, would you be interested in teaching Asuma together with me?”

Hiruko coughed lightly before speaking seriously.

“Asuma needs your vast experience as guidance!”

Kakuzu was stunned, then immediately nodded enthusiastically.

“Of course!”

Konoha truly was his promised land!

After arriving in the village, he had first enjoyed an excellent conversation with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Then he met Minato Namikaze, collaborated with Hiruko on the Earth Grudge Fear project, and now he was even invited to help train the Hokage’s son—a role that was pure prestige…

Everything was going unbelievably smoothly!

Kakuzu felt absurdly fortunate.

Hiruko smiled and nodded, a burden lifting from his heart.

He deeply feared disappointing Hiruzen Sarutobi by failing to provide Asuma with the best educational resources, causing the Hokage’s son to become weak and damage the Hokage’s reputation in the future…

Therefore, sharing the honor of teaching the Hokage’s son with others was unquestionably a good thing.

It demonstrated magnanimity while also allowing him to build a relationship with Kakuzu, one of the Hokage’s favored associates…

“By the way, have you heard about Uchiha Aokawa recently?”

Orochimaru suddenly said quietly.

“That talented Uchiha kid Danzo recently took as a disciple has been entering and leaving the Research Department constantly using assistant authorization documents, borrowing all sorts of instruments and materials…”

“He acts like he actually knows research!”

Hiruko chuckled.

“Oh, I know about that. Danzo even went to the Uchiha district and got drunk while recruiting Aokawa as a disciple. He threw his arm around Fugaku like they were brothers…”

“One of the jonin under my supervision said he thought he was trapped in a genjutsu when he saw it!”

Kakuzu nodded deeply in agreement.

That day, he and Yashiro had also believed they were under genjutsu…

“What kind of research could Uchiha ninja possibly understand? Don’t joke around…” Hiruko waved dismissively.

“They’re strong fighters, sure, but they don’t have the brains for this!”

Orochimaru agreed.

“That’s what I think too…”

Secretly, Orochimaru also had another thought.

If that Uchiha named Aokawa really liked research, then he was probably just one of those amateurs with more enthusiasm than skill.

And once Aokawa witnessed Orochimaru’s true research ability, he would definitely be shocked into admiration!

So with just a bit of guidance, Danzo’s disciple would surely become captivated by his genuine brilliance!

The mere thought of that scene made Orochimaru smile slightly.

“Danzo, trying to plant spies in the Research Department? Against me, you’re far too clumsy!”

“In Konoha, no one understands research better than I do!”

What Orochimaru did not know…

Was that although “Aokawa” was indeed an Uchiha…

He had once gone by another name:

Senju Tobirama.

The very person Orochimaru revered most in the field of research…

Tsunade shook her head.

“You people really need to stop being so exclusionary… Having an Uchiha around isn’t bad. Didn’t we say Grandfather’s cells can be suppressed by Uchiha power?”

“Let that Aokawa help. Even if he doesn’t understand research or Hashirama cells, those Sharingan eyes should still be useful…”

“The teacher once said he hoped that someday every Konoha ninja would benefit from Grandfather’s cells.”

“Although he already reduced our burden by not demanding they inherit Wood Release or excessive vitality, we still haven’t truly made progress on that project.”

Hiruko and Orochimaru exchanged glances and silently reached the same conclusion.

They would work together to lure in “Aokawa,” overwhelming him with their astonishing scientific talent and converting the Uchiha into a valuable researcher for the Hashirama cell project!

And in the process, disgust Danzo a bit too. After all, Danzo was constantly causing trouble for the Research Department.

“I suppose I should take on a disciple too…” Kakuzu and Hiruko’s conversation reminded Orochimaru of the matter.

“Maybe I’ll visit Konoha Orphanage someday. I heard there are several children with excellent medical talent. Nono Yakushi has apparently cultivated some impressive seedlings…”

The increased production of the “Sacred Ground Pills” was partly due to years of investment finally yielding technological breakthroughs, but also because Nono Yakushi had enthusiastically taught medical skills to industrial ninja workers.

Her medical ninjutsu level was not especially high, but she excelled at guiding others from beginner to proficiency.

It could only be said that none of Konoha’s commissioners or candidates were ordinary people.

Several hours later, although Hizashi remained asleep, all his bodily indicators had stabilized completely.

“You all can leave. I’ll stay here with him until he wakes up…”

Hiruko waved the others away. Once everyone departed, he stared at Hizashi’s face and laughed softly.

“You bastard really are lucky…”

“If you can master the Curse Mark’s power, then according to the body structure Lord Hokage and I designed for you, your combat abilities are going to become terrifying…”

Dragging over a chair, Hiruko sat beside Hizashi and muttered to himself.

Storm Release combined Lightning Release and Water Release, possessing speed and tracking capabilities.

Meanwhile, Hizashi—gifted with the Hyuga Clan’s unique physique and exceptional chakra emission control—would use the specially tailored Curse Mark developed by Hiruko and Orochimaru to further enhance his body structure, compressing Storm Release chakra to its absolute limit…

This had been their planned vision before the surgery even began.

The Hyuga Clan traditionally specialized in close combat.

Yet their all-seeing Byakugan was actually even better suited for long-range attacks.

Once full-range vision activated, as long as the user possessed sufficiently powerful and accurate ninjutsu, enemies would have nowhere to hide. The instant Hizashi detected them, relentless attacks would follow.

Storm Release…

Especially Storm Release compressed to the extreme through the Curse Mark and Hyuga precision chakra control…

Would become an unstoppable lightning arrow, mercilessly piercing enemies hiding anywhere.

Hiruko even imagined a scene.

Suppose someone in the village spread slanderous rumors about Lord Hokage…

Using the Byakugan to read lip movements, Hizashi would no longer need to hide on ceiling beams and laugh mockingly first. Instead, he could simply fire a Storm Release blast directly in front of the offender from extreme range…

Hizashi slept deeply.

Hiruko yawned. The lengthy surgery had exhausted him mentally as well. Leaning back in his chair, he gradually drifted asleep too.

If something went wrong, the instruments’ alarms would wake him anyway.

Who knew how much time passed.

Hizashi slowly opened his eyes and saw Hiruko reclined backward in his chair, snoring loudly.

Feeling the power surging within his body…

Hizashi stared at Hiruko and shook his head quietly.

“You idiot…”

Several days later.

The Mist Village exchange students bid farewell to their friends at the Ninja Academy.

Happy times were always short-lived…

Before leaving, they shared one final meal in Konoha, bought several souvenirs, and set off on the road home carrying complicated emotions.

“We have to truthfully report Konoha’s intelligence to Lord Mizukage…” Kisame thought silently.

Mei Terumi likely held similar thoughts.

They were not fools. They knew Elder Genji had long coveted Konoha, and the cooperation treaty with the Mist Village possessed no real credibility. It was effectively meaningless paper that could be torn apart at any time.

“We can’t allow Lord Mizukage to misjudge Konoha’s strength…”

Mei sighed.

“Just imagining having to fight ninja like Konoha’s on the battlefield someday puts enormous pressure on me…”

Kisame silently nodded.

But Kimimaro and Haku secretly wished the Third Mizukage would continue descending into madness, so their clans would finally realize the Mist Village was no longer a place where people could survive.

Upon reaching the borders of the Land of Fire…

The four Mist ninja, each carrying different thoughts, considered how to report matters to the Mizukage and Elder Genji…

And at that moment—

A ninja wearing the Mist ANBU uniform silently appeared before them.

“By order of Lord Mizukage, you are to unify your stories. After returning to the village, you must strongly emphasize Konoha’s weakness and their negligence toward proper ninja duties…”

Naturally, this was not a true Mist ninja, but a White Zetsu personally controlled by Uchiha Madara.

“Anything harmful to the Blood Mist Village or detrimental to the Mist Village’s future must not be spoken!”

“The village is currently enduring the painful transition toward greatness. You must remain aligned with Lord Mizukage’s direction and prevent Konoha’s corrupt influence from spreading into the Mist Village.”

Uchiha Madara’s voice was icy.

He could not allow Konoha’s false prosperity to intimidate the Mist Village…

Otherwise, how could he prove that the chain of hatred could never truly be severed?

The flames needed more fuel.