Kimimaro twitched his lips. Uchiha blood was technically the same across the clan, but he wouldn't say that aloud. Besides, he doubted Orochimaru had preserved much of it after the massacre—especially given Itachi's precision.
"What about this?"
Kimimaro extended his arm, drawing out a bone from his palm. As it emerged, half of it transformed into wood—dense, chakra-rich bark winding along the calcium.
"A stable fusion of Shikotsumyaku and Wood Release. That should suffice for your research, right?"
Orochimaru's eyes lit up with amusement. "Hehe... Deal."
Kimimaro took out a sterile test tube, swiftly drew a sample of his blood, and handed it over along with the unique bone fragment. Orochimaru responded in kind, unfurling a sealing scroll and retrieving a preserved Sharingan in a glass container.
The two exchanged without hesitation.
Kimimaro was genuinely curious—could Orochimaru actually decode the secrets of merging bloodlines perfectly? He chose to come now, before he'd assimilated Uzumaki vitality or the Byakugan. If Orochimaru succeeded with the current sample, the result would be limited to Shikotsumyaku and a relatively undeveloped Wood Release.
Better that than risking Orochimaru unlocking a more advanced hybrid later.
Of course, there was also the possibility Orochimaru would gain nothing—just one of his many fruitless experiments.
"Guren, let's go." Kimimaro turned to her calmly.
Guren looked to Orochimaru, but he didn't move to stop her. His silence was answer enough. Though conflicted, she stepped beside Kimimaro.
A bet was a bet.
"Kimimaro, you're not even curious?" Orochimaru asked with a chuckle. "Since you're after the Sharingan, you could meet Sasuke. You two have only crossed paths once, yes?"
"No interest," Kimimaro replied coldly. "I'm not his fated rival. That role belongs to Naruto Uzumaki."
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. "Naruto Uzumaki? Funny you mention him—I just got word that he and Jiraiya were spotted heading into the Land of Rice Fields. Likely searching for me."
"I ran into some of your men two days ago."
Orochimaru's grin widened. "And you didn't expose my base? Hehe… thoughtful as always."
"We're not enemies, Lord Orochimaru. Not truly. I trust you see it that way too."
"Haha… how entertaining. Kimimaro, you continue to surprise me. I'm beginning to expect great things from you."
Once Orochimaru vanished into the darkness, Karin exhaled sharply. "Ugh… He gives me chills. Jiraiya and he are both Sannin, but their aura is like night and day."
"You'll get used to it," Kimimaro said. "Jiraiya doesn't pressure people. Orochimaru… you know at a glance that you can't let your guard down."
"Hey, Kimimaro!" Suigetsu cut in. "You can use Wood Release now? Seriously? You've been hiding that from me? Think I could learn it too? I've got strong Water Release—might make me a natural, y'know?"
Kimimaro ignored the tangent. "We're heading to the Land of Waves next. After we're done there, I'll consider training you—if you prove useful."
Suigetsu's eyes sparkled. "No way! For real? What about letting me try that Sharingan of yours?"
Kimimaro shook his head. "The Sharingan isn't a toy. Its chakra consumption and compatibility requirements are severe. Without Uchiha blood, it's a liability. But if you follow me seriously, you'll gain other powers. That, I promise."
"Hah, I like the sound of that!"
Kimimaro turned to Jugo. "Take care of Guren for now."
"Eh? Uh, sure." Jugo scratched his cheek, a little awkward. He found Guren intriguing, but hadn't thought of her that way yet.
"I don't need anyone to babysit me!" Guren snapped. "Kimimaro, I'll come with you. But don't think that means I belong to you."
"I never said I wanted subordinates," Kimimaro said calmly. "I want trustworthy comrades. Guren, I chose you for your potential—and for your heart. Brave, decisive, sincere. You're not heartless, and that's not a flaw."
Guren blinked. "I… I'm really like that?"
She fell silent, uncertain. Kimimaro knew she wouldn't fully trust or follow him yet, but that was fine. She wasn't difficult to win over. Time would do the rest.
He pulled out a fresh test tube, marked with the system's seal, and uncapped the container holding the Sharingan.
He had briefly considered splitting the Sharingan—perhaps using only one half for now, saving the other for later—but the system had made it clear: full genetic absorption required complete specimens. That meant whole eyeballs, not fragments.
It was a waste, but necessary.
After all, as he had just told Suigetsu—not everyone could handle the Sharingan.
"[The raw materials for the Uchiha clan's bloodline gene potion have been collected. Since the source material is a Sharingan eye rather than blood, the life energy required for activation and the total production time will be reduced.]"
"[To activate the potion, 30,000 units of life energy are required (it would be 40,000 if blood were used). The full synthesis takes 300 days, but consuming 400 life energy can shorten the duration by one day (500 if it were blood).]"
Overall, the Sharingan potion had a shorter synthesis period compared to the Hashirama Perfect Gene Potion. If both were derived from blood, the Sharingan potion would still require 10,000 less life energy to activate and two months less time to complete.
This was likely because Hashirama's perfect gene potion incorporated the full capabilities of the Senju lineage—especially Wood Release, which surpassed the Sharingan in versatility and vitality.
Kimimaro ran a quick calculation: if he used life energy to accelerate the process entirely, it would cost him around 150,000 units. But he had no intention of doing that.
He planned to allocate only the 30,000 needed for activation and let time handle the rest.
For one, he didn't possess that much spare life energy. And more importantly, he didn't urgently need the Sharingan right now. He still had five other bloodlines left to integrate. Rushing to acquire the Sharingan would be inefficient—he had made promises and had comrades whose strength still needed enhancement.
There were many competing needs for life energy.
"Right… I already have the foundation needed to activate Hashirama's perfect bloodline. That also gives me the potential to evolve the Sharingan into the Rinnegan. But there's a problem… without the Eternal Mangekyō, will I go blind?"
Kimimaro had long been concerned about this. Awakening the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan wasn't simple—it required transplanting the Mangekyō from a close blood relative to stabilize the chakra and prevent deterioration.
"[Host, you needn't worry too much. Transplanting a relative's Mangekyō is only one method. If the host acquires two additional dōjutsu-based Kekkei Genkai, the risk of blindness can also be negated.]"
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