Ninja World: I, Kisame Hoshigaki, am no longer human!

"What is it?" Tsunade frowned.

"Tsunade, do you remember when we were in the seaside town last time, I asked you if I could learn Sage Mode? You refused me then, and I've been holding a grudge ever since. After witnessing Jiraiya's Sage Mode during the battle with Konoha this time, I vowed in my heart that I must obtain that power."

Kisame slowly recounted the past, his gaze fixed intently on Tsunade, making no attempt to conceal his covetousness for Sage Mode.

"So that's how it is."

Tsunade smiled dismissively upon hearing this. She had long known that Kisame had sought her out not to help Kirigakure establish a medical ninja system, but for some other purpose.

Thinking of this, she snorted coldly and said to Kisame without hesitation, "You should just give up. No matter how many times you ask me, my answer will be the same. Sage Mode is a power used for justice, and I will never allow it to fall into the hands of someone like you so that you can harm the ninja world."

"is it?"

Kisame seemed to have anticipated Tsunade's response. He sighed, shook his head, and said, "It seems I have no choice but to bypass you as an intermediary and speak with the Slug Sage myself."

Talk to the live slug in person?

When Tsunade heard Kisame's words, she was taken aback at first, but then her expression changed.

She then remembered that when Kisame fought the summoned beasts of the three holy lands, he had used a method to seal the slug she had summoned—the latter was actually a part of the Slug Sage's true form.

It turns out that Kisame had already begun his plan back then.

145. Transplantation of interstitial cells

Kisame had long coveted immortal techniques.

In the world of Naruto, there are two power systems.

The first type, originating from the Otsutsuki clan outside the heavens, has a cultivation system centered on chakra.

Within this framework, no matter how strong a ninja is, they can never be stronger than Kaguya Otsutsuki, because she is the progenitor of the ninja world and the source of all chakra on this planet.

The second type is the world's native cultivation system, which originated from the three holy lands. It involves absorbing natural energy to gain powerful strength, and this cultivation method is known as "immortal arts".

Back then, the Sage of Six Paths learned Sage Mode from Gamamaru, which gave him power comparable to Kaguya-hime, allowing him to seal her away.

Therefore, Kisame realized long ago that if he wanted to become the strongest creature on this planet, Sage Mode was an unavoidable hurdle, and the sooner he learned it, the better.

To learn immortal arts, one must go to the three sacred lands.

Kisame first ruled out Mount Myōboku. This was because the toad clan was on good terms with Konoha, and they supported Jiraiya as their representative, providing protection and exerting influence over Konoha.

Kisame, being an enemy of Konoha, is naturally also an enemy of Mount Myōboku. Not to mention he also severed Gamabunta's leg, making him an even greater enemy of the toad clan.

Secondly, there's Ryūchi-dong.

Kisame tore the Manda apart with his bare hands and swallowed it whole. When this reached the ears of the White Snake Sage, the gates of Ryuchi Cave were probably closed to him forever.

That leaves only Shikkotsu Forest.

Shikkotsu Forest is the most mysterious of the three sacred lands. Legend has it that the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, trained in Sage Mode there.

Kisame guessed that the magic of Shikkotsu Forest must have something unique compared to the other two holy lands.

After all these years, only Hashirama Senju has mastered the Sage Techniques from there, demonstrating the immense difficulty of its training. But once mastered, the power of the Shikkotsu Forest Sage Techniques is undeniable, directly elevating Hashirama Senju to the throne of the God of Shinobi.

If you're going to learn, learn from the best.

Therefore, Kisame decided that he must find a way to obtain the sage techniques of Shikkotsu Forest.

Thinking of this, he said to Tsunade:

“You once said that my character was too bad, and that the Slug Immortal would not like me, much less teach me immortal arts. However, as far as I know, the Slug Immortal is wise and gentle, and is a very easy person to talk to, so I plan to talk to her in person and try to win her over with my sincerity.”

"Daydreaming."

Tsunade crossed her arms and coldly uttered those four words.

"It's alright, I have a backup plan. If the soft approach doesn't work, we'll use the hard approach. We'll use this slug immortal clone I obtained, along with you as a hostage, to threaten her and force her to teach me immortal techniques."

Kisame chuckled, his face utterly shameless.

“You…” Tsunade’s face froze, and she was speechless.

"Let's put the topic of immortal arts aside for now; there's no rush. What I'm actually more interested in right now is this."

As Kisame spoke, he took out a plant containing Hashirama cells and waved it in front of Tsunade.

"What do you want to do?" Tsunade asked, frowning, annoyed by his shaking.

"Is there even a question? Of course, I'm asking you, the medical saint of the ninja world, to perform a small transplant surgery for me. For you, this should be a piece of cake. In return, after I obtain your grandfather's power, I will definitely carry forward his Wood Release ninjutsu."

"You want me to perform surgery on you? Don't even think about it!"

Tsunade snorted coldly and once again subconsciously rejected Kisame.

However, as soon as she finished speaking, Kisame's expression suddenly turned fierce and ferocious.

Swish. Gu Yu

He grabbed Tsunade by the collar, lifted her off the ground, and brought his face close to hers:

"Tsunade, I think you haven't grasped the situation yet. In this war, those cowardly wretches from Konoha handed you, the princess of Konoha, over to me in order to make peace. To put it nicely, it's called a marriage alliance; to put it bluntly, you are now my slave, Kisame Hoshigaki, understand?"

As he spoke, his heavy breaths sprayed onto Tsunade's face at close range, making it difficult for her to breathe.

"You bastard..."

Tsunade clenched her fists, her eyes blazing with fury as she glared at Kisame.

He looked determined to resist to the death.

Their eyes were less than ten centimeters apart, and they stared at each other in a stalemate for a while, so quiet that they could hear each other's heartbeats.

At last.

Kisame suddenly smiled, revealing two rows of white fangs, and then loosened his grip, releasing Tsunade.

Tsunade landed on her feet, staggering back several steps. Looking down, she saw that her once fair skin at her collar was now covered in bruises, and a sharp pain shot through her.

"Tsunade, do you think I can't do anything if you don't perform the transplant surgery?"

As Kisame spoke, he took the plant containing Hashirama cells from the test tube right in front of Tsunade.

Then, he took off his shirt, raised his sewing needle index finger, and cut a bloody gash on his left shoulder.

Fresh blood gushed out.

Kisame brought the plant close to the wound.

As if drawn by the scent of blood, it immediately attached itself to his left shoulder, like a tree taking root and sprouting, its roots penetrating Kisame's skin to draw nourishment from the blood.

During this period, the plant grew vigorously at a speed visible to the naked eye, with branches growing from the trunk and tender green leaves sprouting from the branches.

In just a few dozen seconds, a large tree grew from Kisame's left shoulder, and a large number of Hashirama cells spread throughout his body, causing half of his body to quickly become woody.

If this continues, Kisame's fate will likely be the same as Orochimaru's Wood Release test subjects, his entire being becoming nourishment for Hashirama's cells, expanding uncontrollably, and eventually becoming a towering tree in this primeval forest.

Just then, Kisame let out a cold laugh.

He didn't need to do anything; his own cells had already automatically launched a counterattack against the invading interstitial cells.

Kisame was born with a powerful physique, and later transformed himself into a monster by absorbing various ninja tools. In this process, the cells in his body also evolved into monstrous cells, even more powerful and domineering than Hashirama's cells.

At this moment, they seemed to be saying to the interstitial cells: Little brother, step back a little and see clearly who the big brother is.

Thus, under the relentless pursuit and interception of Kisame's own cells, Hashirama's cells could only flee in panic, quickly retreating back to his left shoulder and obediently staying there.

It formed the face of Hashirama Senju.

Kisame's woody appearance quickly faded, and the large tree that had grown from his shoulder detached from his body and fell to the ground.

Shhhhhh.

He shot out chakra threads from his index finger, stitching up the wound, thus completing the surgery.

Is this okay?

Tsunade witnessed the whole thing and was completely dumbfounded.

This transplantation of the cells was extremely simple and brutal. Anyone else would have failed and had no chance of survival.

It was Kisame Hoshigaki who managed to forcibly absorb the power of Hashirama's cells in such an unbelievable way.

146. Infiltrating the Land of Rain

Interstitial cells, for others, might be a dream cheat code.

But for Kisame, it's at most an added bonus, meaning he's gained another ability.

At this time.

A bolt of lightning flashed across Kisame's mind, and the hand seals for numerous Wood Release ninjutsu appeared in his memory, as if he were born with the ability to use Wood Release.

After successfully transplanting Hashirama Senju's cells, Kisame naturally obtained the latter's bloodline limit.

"Let's try out this so-called Wood Release."

He muttered something to himself, then smiled at Tsunade, formed a hand seal, and pressed his palm onto the ground.

A large amount of Wood Release chakra surged from Kisame's palm into the ground.

next second.

Ok?

Just as Tsunade sensed something was wrong, she heard a violent tremor beneath her feet. She looked down and was immediately horrified.

Boom!

The earthquake trembled, and a large number of trees sprouted from the ground and grew at an extremely fast speed, forming a lush forest in just a few seconds.

This is Hashirama Senju's signature Wood Release ninjutsu—Adventure of the World of Trees.

To date, among the ninjas who have received Hashirama's cells, only Kisame has been able to perform this technique because it requires an extremely high amount of chakra.

At this moment, countless tree branches in this forest seemed to come alive, flailing wildly like monsters.

That's because every tree is controlled by Kisame, and any enemy who enters the forest will be attacked by Wood Release techniques from all directions without any blind spots.