I, Uchiha Hikaru, have joined the chat group.

Chapter 245 "The Dragon's Curse Seal I"

Later that day.

Hikaru Uchiha and Bulma returned home together and received a stack of analysis reports on Orichalcos from Dr. Brief, as well as several letters.

"This is……"

"This is a reply to that scientist named Orochimaru. Please pass it on, Hikaru."

Dr. Brief began to speak naturally.

Speaking of which...

Orochimaru and Dr. Brief have exchanged letters several times. Using Erii's illness as a starting point, the two have had many exchanges and discussions on medical topics such as "hybrids" and "Uchiha bloodline," and each time, Uchiha Hikaru has acted as an intermediary to relay the messages.

This form of letter exchange is not inherently problematic; it's just that it can be somewhat cumbersome.

Uchiha Hikaru secretly pondered whether he should find an opportunity to gather the scientists from the several worlds he had previously visited and organize a "scientific exchange seminar".

With so many top geniuses gathered together, there's bound to be some sparks of inspiration.

"...We can try to establish a communication channel with Dr. Gro.

Since they're both in the same world, communication is easy. While the Red Ribbon Army and the Capsule Corporation have had some competition, it's only in the field of technological invention; they're not exactly enemies. As long as this "Light Marshal" speaks up, Dr. Gro shouldn't object too much.

As for Orochimaru, and Dr. Fashion and others from the Akame ga Kill! world...

It's best to play it safe for now.

After all, these guys aren't members of the chat group, and they're all morally questionable and quite ambitious. It's hard to guarantee they won't develop ulterior motives after learning about the existence of another world. Until they demonstrate sufficient loyalty, it's best to maintain correspondence for now.

With Shangri-La around, a round trip doesn't take too much time.

The next day.

Early in the morning, Uchiha Hikaru copied the data and sent a copy to Dr. Gero.

Then, carrying another copy, he went to the world of Akame ga Kill!. He found Dr. Fashion and Dortya in Tokai County and handed them the information.

I also glanced at Donghai Yunlong and "communicated" with him.

Finally, there's the Sound Village from the Naruto world.

"...Lord Guang, you're back."

"..."

Sound Village, deep within a mountain cave.

Uchiha Hikaru narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the sinister-looking man opposite him.

She hadn't seen Orochimaru for some time.

—The last time she returned was before she attacked the Red Ribbon Army. At that time, Orochimaru had to go out on business and only left a few letters for Karin to deliver to her. So this is the first time the two have met again after several months.

Well...

Orochimaru looked a little strange at that moment.

His face was still the same as before, excessively pale, which looked a bit eerie.

But those eyes were different—

Orochimaru's original eyes were pale gold, with long, narrow pupils, somewhat resembling snake eyes. But no matter how similar they were, he was still essentially human, so they lacked features like pupil shape changing with light intensity or iris reflection. But now…

Under the light inside the cave, Uchiha Hikaru could clearly see Orochimaru's eyes gleaming faintly, a fiery, molten gold light, like...

"You...injected yourself with the Dragon King's serum?"

Uchiha Hikaru considered this possibility.

That's right.

She had seen many eyes like that in another world—

The golden eyes of a hybrid!

When she went to the Dragon World some time ago, she did specifically seek out Xia Mi and Fenrir to obtain some blood samples from the Dragon King, which she then gave to Orochimaru for research. She had initially thought that even Orochimaru would need some time to produce results, but now it seems…

Is this someone directly using dragon blood on themselves?

"...As expected of Lord Guang, your insight is still so sharp."

Orochimaru licked his lips and spoke in a hoarse, strained voice: "That's right. After obtaining the Dragon King's blood sample from you last time, I conducted a very detailed analysis. The analysis results show that there are several very special active substances in dragon blood."

These substances not only endowed dragons with unparalleled mobility and regenerative abilities, but also gave them an extremely high affinity for elements in nature, allowing them to manipulate these elements and create effects similar to teleportation without much effort...

I isolated and extracted these active substances, and integrated them with Jugo's Sage Transformation Seal and the cells of the Uzumaki clan to develop a special activating agent, which I named "Dragon Seal I." Humans who take this agent will experience a significant boost to their physical abilities, and can also activate the seal to enter a state called "Dragon Seal Transformation"...

"However, you don't need to worry. I have only tested this drug on a small number of volunteers so far, and almost all of those who have had the 'Dragon's Curse Seal I' transplanted have survived."

"We owe this to the two people you brought back."

As they were talking.

Orochimaru clapped his hands.

Two footsteps came from the side, and a brother and sister dressed in kimonos walked up and bowed respectfully.

"Lord Orochimaru."

"...Hikari-sama."

These brother and sister are none other than Upper Moon Six, whom Uchiha Hikaru brought back from the Demon Slayer world nearly a year ago.

Daki and Gyutaro.

Uchiha Hikaru learned from Karin that Daki and her brother, as Orochimaru's experimental subjects, had been given a special medicine that could overcome sunlight and suppress the demons' cannibalistic tendencies. After that, they were taken in by Orochimaru as his servants. Now it seems that Orochimaru has trained these two quite well, as their attitude towards him is almost the same as when they treated Muzan.

but……

What's more interesting right now is the appearance of Daki and her brother.

Originally, the Daki siblings, being the youngest of the six Upper Moons, did not look much different from humans and did not have any special eyes.

And at this moment...

Their eyes, like Orochimaru's, were transformed into golden pupils.

A pair of pupils engraved with the words "Shanglu" were now radiating a fiery dark gold.

Furthermore, the layer of dark blue scales covering their bodies was identical to those of Xia Mi and the Genji siblings when they displayed their dragon transformation characteristics. Even when they were bowing their heads, one could feel the power contained beneath the scales, as if they could shatter stone tablets with a mere flick of their wrists.

"They're not going to be your test subjects, are they?"

"Yes."

Upon hearing Orochimaru's admission, Uchiha Hikaru understood.

Also.

Gyutaro and Daki are both demons, and Upper Moon demons at that, with extremely strong regenerative abilities. Theoretically, they will not die unless their heads are cut off on the spot by a Nichirin Blade.

Therefore, whether it's Dragon King's serum or the Heaven and Earth Curse Seal, they can be used without restraint. They can be considered natural "testing bodies".

Judging from this, Orochimaru might have actually been injecting them with a lot of dragon blood lately. If judged by the standards of Kassel College, the Daki siblings would at least be "C-rank hybrids." They might even have already awakened some kind of Word of Power.

"This medicine..."

"Is this the 'Dragon's Curse Seal I' you mentioned? It won't affect the user's mind, will it?"

Uchiha Hikaru asked a question, still a little uneasy.

The Heavenly Curse Seal itself is corrosive to the body, and the high proportion of dragon blood in hybrids could potentially turn them into mindless "dead servants." The combination of these two powers is unlikely to be without side effects.

Uchiha Hikaru wasn't worried about Orochimaru.

However, Karin and her daughter, Kimimaro, and the others are currently in Otogakure. If those experimental subjects were to become undead and run rampant in the village, these people would likely be greatly affected.

"Of course not."

Orochimaru's tone was very firm: "Without sufficient experimental data to support it, I would not transplant this cursed seal onto others, or even myself. I am always very cautious when it comes to matters concerning my own life."

"……Yeah?"

Uchiha Hikaru remained noncommittal.

Orochimaru truly values ​​his life.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have conducted research on the secret technique of soul reincarnation.

but……

His fear of death did not prevent him from using his own body to conduct dangerous human modification experiments.

After all, Orochimaru values ​​his soul. As for his body... if he truly cared, he wouldn't have abandoned his original body in the original storyline to reincarnate into the nameless woman, Genyumaru, or even the unsuccessful Uchiha Sasuke. Even if something went wrong with "Dragon's Curse Seal I," Uchiha Hikaru probably figured Orochimaru had a backup plan to ensure his survival.

"Lord Hikari."

Orochimaru coughed lightly: "The experiments and drug production over this period have consumed more than half of the blood samples you brought back. Do you think it's possible to retrieve some more? If so, I think 'Dragon's Curse Seal II' can be successfully developed very soon."

"...I'll think about it."

Uchiha Hikaru didn't finish his sentence.

"These blood samples, along with the limb specimens, all come from 'demons,' and from demons of a higher rank than Daki and Gyutaro. Take them and study them; see if you can uncover anything."

With that, Uchiha Hikaru took out the scroll containing Muzan's blood sample and body tissue sample and handed it to the man opposite him.

Orochimaru gladly accepted it.

Although he now possesses higher-level Dragon King blood, his interest in "ghosts" is not as strong as before.

But studying more and drawing inferences from similar cases is never a bad thing.

At this time.

The Daki and her brother, standing nearby, seemed to sense something and looked at the scroll in Orochimaru's hand with surprised and uncertain eyes: "This aura... it seems to be..."

"It's Lord Muzan's blood... Could it be that Lord Muzan has already been eliminated?!"

"Yes, just as you think."

Uchiha Hikaru responded with a smile.

She had actually considered bringing Muzan Kibutsuji to Orochimaru, but after much deliberation, she gave up on the idea.

However, whether Orochimaru can use Muzan's severed limbs to clone a new Muzan is another matter entirely.

After their initial shock, Daki and her brother quickly calmed down: "...Very well. Now that Lord Muzan is gone, we can only work for Lord Orochimaru without worry."

"?"

Uchiha Hikaru glanced at Orochimaru, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but didn't.

She was genuinely a little curious...

How exactly did Orochimaru train his subordinates?

From Anko to Guren, then to Kabuto Yakushi, and even Kimimaro and the Sound Four from the original storyline… aside from Sasuke, who is a traitor, almost all of Orochimaru's subordinates were loyal to him. Now, even Daki and her brother are caught up in it.

This brainwashing technique is truly outrageous.

Compared to Naruto, this guy might be the true king of verbal sparring.

"...Fine, you figure it out yourself."

Uchiha Hikaru sighed.

She had already lured Karin and Kimimaro here beforehand, so returning Daki and her brother to Orochimaru would be a fair exchange. As long as the latter didn't cause any major trouble, there was no need to interfere.

If Orochimaru really did use the Dragon King Serum to turn himself into an "S-class hybrid," or even a "hybrid king"...

That's quite interesting.

After all, a large part of the reason Orochimaru devoted himself to researching these random powers was because he wasn't allowed to learn the Sage Mode of Ryuchi Cave. But Ryuchi Cave is a "dragon," and the Dragon King of the Dragon World is also a dragon.

If Orochimaru were to stand before Manda and the White Snake Sage as a "half-blooded king," their expressions would be quite interesting.

the other side.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes imperceptibly, seemingly unconcerned about the "Muzan" mentioned by Uchiha Hikaru and Daki.

Instead, she slowly moved her gaze upwards and fixed it on Esdeath.

"Lord Guang, do you still not know who this person beside you is?"

"My second-in-command, Xiao Ai."

Uchiha Hikaru responded.

At this moment.

Esdeath stood silently with her arms crossed at the back until Orochimaru mentioned her name. She then glanced casually at him and the Daki siblings behind him, narrowing her eyes: "Judging by your appearance, you should be considered quite strong. What, want to test your skills against me?"

"……May I?"

Orochimaru licked his lips and looked at Uchiha Hikaru.

Esdeath also looked at Uchiha Hikaru at the same time.

Uchiha Hikaru pondered for a moment.

Perfect timing! She was also eager to see if Orochimaru had changed at all since before he received the "Dragon's Curse Seal." If Esdeath were to intervene, she should be able to force him to unleash his full power—

"Alright, let's give it a try."

"But don't go too hard when you hit him, just enough to avoid killing him."

present.

The group arrived at an open space on one side of the Sound Village. This place was considered the Sound Village's "training ground," but it was very crudely constructed. It was basically just a piece of wild land that had been casually fenced off and slightly cleared. It was incomparable to the training grounds of Konoha.

But it's more than enough for a fight.

(End of this chapter)