Naruto: I, Shikotsumyaku, Byakugan Princess

Chapter 173 The time has not come yet
"You want access to that 'tree'."

"Correct."

Watching Danzo lost in thought, Hairi, carrying Samehada who was starving and thirsty, gently stroked and soothed him with her palm.

The battle at Raigūzan completely exhausted Samehada's power.

Unlike Kisame Hoshigaki, she doesn't possess a vast amount of chakra, making it difficult for her to feed this voracious monster.

It's been starving these past few days.

After leaving the Forest of Death, she headed straight for the Root's underground prison, thinking that even if she couldn't replenish some chakra for her main body, she could at least satisfy the thirsty Samehada.

But the situation turned out to be completely different from what she had imagined.

The prison is mostly filled with ordinary people, with very few ninjas. The vast majority of them are only Chunin or Genin, and there isn't even a Jonin-level prisoner.

Given Samehada's enormous appetite, even if it drained all the chakra of these people, it probably still wouldn't be able to satisfy its chakra needs, let alone satisfy the bottomless pit of its own body.

With these questions in mind, she spoke with the prison staff and Chihaya Toru, and learned the specific reasons for the shortage of prison personnel.

Back then, Orochimaru and Chihaya Toru conducted human experiments together. Due to their crazy experiments and the high risk of Hashirama cells, there were simply not enough death row inmates in the village and experimental subjects kidnapped from other villages.

The experiment reached a critical moment, and it could not continue without test subjects, so Orochimaru began to indiscriminately capture Konoha ninja to fill the gap in test subjects.

This led to the Third Hokage's pursuit and Orochimaru's defection.

"The Third Hokage turned a blind eye to many things Danzo did, but the one thing he absolutely could not allow to be crossed was the red line that threatened Konoha's ninjas and civilians."

As a veteran member of Root, Chihaya Toru said this.

Unable to capture Konoha ninjas, and now in a peaceful era with no war-torn population to plunder, coupled with the Experimentation Department's slow progress, Danzo had little desire to conduct experiments on capturing people.

After all, it's better to brainwash and train them into tools than to waste manpower on the experimental department; that way, the losses will be smaller.

When Hui Li first entered the experimental department, she was treated like a test subject by the doctors and nurses, which was essentially because there were fewer and fewer test subjects available.

Danzo took all the children with excellent physical condition to replenish the Root with fresh blood, leaving only the old, weak and sick to be used as supplies for the Experiment Department.

She happened to have a disability, which, in those people's minds, made her a typical experimental subject.

Since the path of 'borrowing' chakra from prison criminals or experimental subjects was blocked, the only remaining option was that giant tree with almost inexhaustible chakra.

Ordinary people don't have the right to touch that thing. Chihaya could only show it to Hairi, and it was impossible for her to use it recklessly. She could only ask Danzo for permission to use it.

"That tree is very dangerous. What kind of experiment do you intend to use it for?"

Danzo hesitated upon hearing Hairi's request.

He was reluctant to hand over authority to Hui Li.

If everything is as Ryoma says, and the opponent has grown to the point where he can easily defeat Orochimaru, then if the opponent is allowed to continue growing, he may be completely unable to suppress him.

The effects of Kotoamatsukami on Hui Li were effective, but not very good. He would need to release it at least a few more times to ensure that the other party's will was completely modified before he dared to let the other party continue to grow.

Otherwise, it might fall into a predicament where it becomes too big to handle.

Ryoma, who was standing to the side, lowered his head slightly, his cold and hard face as usual, as if everything in front of him had nothing to do with him.

Danzo's reactions were basically within his expectations.

This situation was exactly as he had envisioned.

It's impossible to let Haili continue to grow stronger; Danzo will inevitably have to hinder her growth, either by forcing or suppressing her.

She will only settle down once she can gain Danzo's trust.

But this is almost impossible, and in the end, this conflict will escalate into a direct armed conflict.

This was the deadly trap he had set for Danzo!

From Gray Glass's 360-degree perspective, it became clear that Longma's emotions were starting to surge.

This person seems strange.

She secretly noted Ryoma's reaction, and having already prepared her response to Danzo's question, she naturally began to paint a rosy picture for him:

"The Sharingan can evolve from two tomoe to three tomoe using Hashirama cells. I'm wondering if I can evolve my two three tomoe to an even higher level."

"No... how do I evolve?"

Danzo, who was thinking about how he would resolutely reject any research proposed by Hairi, almost tripped over his own tongue.

If the Sharingan with three tomoe evolves further, wouldn't that be the Mangekyou Sharingan he's always dreamed of?

The Kaleidoscope's abilities are unpredictable and mysterious; without intelligence, even the strongest enemy could be easily killed by this power.

The power of a single kaleidoscope is already so great.

If Hui Li could cultivate all the Sharingan in his possession into Mangekyou Sharingan, then he would have an absolute power that could sweep across the ninja world. The other four great ninja villages and the Akatsuki organization would be nothing but chickens and dogs in front of hundreds of Mangekyou Sharingan.

But all of this is contingent on Gray Glass actually being able to do it.

"It's still about using the principle of yin arising from yang to yin when evolving from two tomoe to three tomoe. Evolving three tomoe is a qualitative leap, which cannot be achieved by relying solely on the power of ordinary Hashirama cells..." Hai Ri talked eloquently, knowing that Danzo was obsessed with the Mangekyou Sharingan but did not understand the technology, so she had no psychological burden when she talked about it.

Don't be fooled by Danzo's ruthlessness, viciousness, and cunning; those are matters between ninjas, areas he excels in.

But when it comes to things related to experimental techniques, he's just an ordinary old man, far less difficult to fool than people like Chihaya Toru and Orochimaru.

The reason why those stupid scams from the past could convince countless so-called highly educated and intelligent people, and even lead some university PhDs to go abroad, lies in this.

No one in this world is a perfect all-rounder; everyone has things they are not good at.

When they encounter a field they are not good at, they can only rely on so-called logic and experience, which makes them no different from ordinary people.

After all, human logic and experience are the easiest things to be misled by.

Her previous experiment with the double-tomoe evolution was successful in front of Danzo, which constituted a very sufficient prerequisite for deceiving investors.

As for what she actually did with that tree trunk after the investment was completed.

Then it has nothing to do with Danzo.

Using investors' money to do one's own thing is a common practice throughout history and across the world.

Once the research is finished, if there are results, she'll kick him aside and enjoy the spoils alone; if there aren't, she'll urge Danzo to increase investment and rake in the old man's gold coins. By the time he realizes what's happening, she'll have grown up enough to inherit Danzo's legacy.

Danzo had no son.

It should be a matter of course for a disciple to inherit an estate!

"...In conclusion, I believe that the life force of that Thousand-Armed Tree is very likely to allow the Three-Tomoe to undergo a higher level of evolution, with a probability of at least 60%."

"Reasonable."

After eating the pie drawn by Haili, Danzo's eyes gleamed, clearly indicating his strong approval of her research approach.

Although he couldn't understand anything about the evolution of Yin from Yang, or the combination of attributes to construct a bloodline network, he was even less clear about the relationship between the Sharingan's spiritual reflection and the life transformation between Hashirama's cells.

But just hearing these impressive terms gave me a strange feeling that something was going to happen.

Logically, it's feasible. From an experiential standpoint, there's a precedent for Haigai catalyzing the evolution of the two tomoe, making it more reliable than Chihaya Tohru, who hasn't achieved any substantial results in recent years.

Let her study it for a few months. If it works, we'll continue the study. If it doesn't, we can take this opportunity to give her a good talking-to. Anyway, he won't lose anything.

"If you have free access to the resources at the root, is it possible to achieve results within six months?" After a moment's consideration, Danzo gave a six-month deadline.

Even if Hui Li is a genius, half a year wouldn't be enough for her to improve her strength significantly, and such a long time would also be enough for her to produce some scientific research results.

That's quite suitable. "Hmm...no problem."

Hui Li pondered for a moment, then nodded with feigned difficulty, though she was secretly overjoyed.

In six months, she should have enough time to fully develop the Eight Reversal Techniques. At that time, it will be easy for her to create some seemingly high-end results.

Even if we don't achieve any results, haven't we still gotten six months of free usage time?
Seeing that Hui Li readily agreed, Danzo was immediately in a good mood:

"Ryoma, take Hairi to the Barrier Class and record the chakra chart."

"Uh... yes."

Completely dumbfounded, Ryoma Aburame licked his lips, feeling that everything was completely different from what he had imagined.

Shouldn't it be that Danzo was afraid of Hairi's strength and refused to grant her request, ultimately causing the two to harbor resentment towards each other due to his instigation?

How come the plan failed right from the start?

After thinking for a while, he realized it too.

It's because the benefits brought by the Mangekyou Sharingan are too great. Sufficient benefits are enough to temporarily suppress that fear and conflict. Only when the benefits are insufficient or unevenly distributed can the conflict fully erupt.

It seems that now is not the right time.

"Let's go, Ryoma."

Seeing that Ryoma Aburame had inexplicably fallen into a slump again, Hairi raised her chin and urged him on.

Samehada was already wriggling and rolling on her shoulder. Since obtaining Samehada, she had been busy fighting and traveling, and had never had a chance to study this strange ninja tool. At this moment, she couldn't wait to test the limits of Samehada's devouring ability.

If it can devour the Thousand Hands Tree, it means an almost inexhaustible source of chakra, and the research speed on its own side can even be accelerated.

If I could create thousands of clones like Naruto, I might master the Eight Gates Reversal in just a couple of days. I just hope I don't exhaust my main body.

The two left the quiet room one after the other.

The candlelight flickered in the darkness.

Danzo watched the two figures leave, a flash of orange fire in his eyes.

……

Tapping.

The empty, dark corridor of the base was once again filled with the two of them walking one after the other, just like the day when Hui Li first joined the Root.

However, the situation is now completely different from before.

"Lord Ryoma!"

In the narrow, cramped corridor, a Root wearing a gray patterned mask walked towards them. Upon seeing Aburame Ryoma, he immediately stopped and bowed his head in greeting.

"Ah."

With a heavy heart, Ryoma nodded indifferently and continued to lead Gray Glass forward.

"Lord Hui Li?!"

Only then did the man notice the short figure following behind Longma, and he quickly bowed respectfully to greet him.

She raised an eyebrow in surprise, and then Hui Li responded in the same way as Ryoma.

She could see the other person's face even through the mask.

He was one of the twelve special Jonin who participated in the Raigu Mountain mission, and his name should be Foxfire?

The ability seemed to be the ability to unleash large-scale flames, and it was specifically sent to Leigu Mountain to set it on fire. Unfortunately, a thunderstorm, heavy rain, floods, and mudslides made the mountain extremely damp, so the plan to set the mountain on fire had to be abandoned.

Although she had some status due to her identity as a disciple of Danzo, she was a newcomer, and the wooden figures of Root rarely bowed to her, mostly ignoring her.

Now that they had passed through Raigūzan, the ninjas who accompanied her on the mission, and those who had heard of or witnessed her power, were much more respectful than before.

Da da!

Hui Li followed Long Ma forward, casually surveying the surroundings.

When she first joined, she still found the Root organization extremely mysterious, and Ryoma Aburame was an aloof person who kept strangers at bay. In addition, she was troubled by the death countdown of Ash Bones, fearing that Hashirama's cells would not be able to cure her bloodline disease.

The person was in a very tense state.

Now she has solved the gray bone problem by utilizing the resources of the root, obtained and transplanted the Sharingan, and even the Reverse Eight Gates are almost fully developed.

After obtaining Samehada, if she absorbs all her chakra and activates the Tailed Beast Cloak and Lightning Release Armor, she will be able to wreak havoc in Root. Apart from Danzo, who can fight her one-on-one, no one can stop her.

As one's strength changes, one's mindset naturally changes as well.

Looking at the once mysterious root base again, I felt far less apprehensive than before. Instead, I felt relaxed, happy, and genuinely at ease.

Compare with one.

Aburame Ryoma, with countless complex emotions flashing across his head as if he were caught in some kind of dilemma, was exactly like Hairi, who had just entered the Root and was unsure whether her bloodline disease could be successfully cured.

"Ryoma, is something on your mind?" Hui Li couldn't help but ask. Although there was nothing unusual about him on the outside, the emotion above his head was too glaring, and she couldn't ignore it even if she wanted to.

"Yeah... not bad."

Aburame Ryoma's reply was extremely muffled.

Although he meant no harm, he did intend to sow discord between Hairi and Danzo, just as Danzo had once tried to sow discord between Orochimaru and the Third Hokage.

He betrayed the current Danzo for the sake of the former Danzo, yet he did the same things as the former.

Insects can only survive in the dark.

"I've remembered your question from before."

"Uh... what is it?"

Not knowing how the topic suddenly turned to this, Hui Li was stunned for a moment, and instantly connected it with the other party's recent abnormality, which was likely related to the forgotten memories.

"I can't mention anything about him, and neither should you."

"he is?"

"Beware of Danzo."

clatter--

The footsteps paused involuntarily in the empty corridor.

Hui Li looked up at Long Ma's expression, which was sincere yet tinged with a vague sense of guilt.

what happened?

Why did Ryoma Aburame tell her all this? Even betraying Danzo and bearing the curse of the tongue-severing seal, he still wanted to remind her. Were their feelings really that good?

His golden sincerity shone brightly in the dimly lit corridor. It wasn't a test from Danzo; he genuinely wanted to warn her of Danzo's danger.

She didn't reply, pretending not to hear anything, and continued to follow Ryoma's footsteps.

Unable to ascertain the other party's purpose, she dared not casually strike up a conversation with them in the base.

But the situation at the root seemed more interesting than she had imagined, and perhaps inheriting this cheap teacher's legacy would be simpler than she had thought.

(End of this chapter)