Projection magicians starting from the Uchiha clan

October 8th, Konoha Year 40

It was assimilated without any resistance? No wonder it's the First Hokage's cells. It seems we'll have to use creatures with chakra for testing.

Without chakra, they simply cannot survive the fusion period.

October 10th, Konoha Year 40

Danzo brought over the village's spies, and I injected a small amount of cells into one of them. He looked to be in some pain, but seemed to still be healthy.

October 11th, Konoha Year 40

He's still alive, but something seems off; there's something strange about his chakra.

October 13th, Konoha Year 40

He's dead. It seems even ninjas can't survive the fusion period. It looks like we need to develop an inhibitor.

October 19th, Konoha Year 40

It worked! The inhibitors did indeed reduce the activity of Wood Release cells, allowing people to survive longer.

October 8th, Konoha Year 41

It still doesn't work. Although transplant recipients can live longer now, they still can't last until the end. Perhaps the Senju clan ninjas are a bit different?

October 1th, Konoha Year 41

The Senju clan is indeed quite fanatical about Wood Release; more than a dozen ninjas, all of them Chunin or even Jonin, have signed up. I hope we can succeed this time, otherwise I don't know how to face Tsunade.

October 10th, Konoha Year 41

The experiment seems to have been a success; those Senju clan ninjas all survived and their strength has increased significantly. However, I still feel there's something wrong with it.

October 11th, Konoha Year 41

Damn Danzo, why was he in such a hurry? The final result wasn't even out yet, and he already had the remaining Senju injected with cells.

October 1th, Konoha Year 41

The experiment failed. All the ninjas who were injected with Wood Release cells were eventually corrupted, their cells became woody, and they ultimately killed themselves.

It seems that the Senju clan's bloodline does indeed have a chance to fuse with Wood Release cells, but the probability of a successful transplant in an adult is extremely low.

October 10th, Konoha Year 41

The Wood Release experiment has been officially declared a failure, and the project has been shelved.

When Iori saw the end of the diary, he realized that the experiment was only recorded up to the end of the adult experiment, and there was no record of the Yamato experiment. So he silently added it in his mind.

After the experiment was stopped by the Third Hokage, Danzo was unwilling to accept its failure, so he secretly captured sixty babies from the surrounding areas of Konoha.

[The time should be after August 10th of Konoha Year 41, because Yamato was born then and had Hashirama cells implanted in him during infancy.]

After the other fifty-nine test subjects died one after another, Yamato himself was also considered a failed experiment by Orochimaru and abandoned.

However, his own will to survive ultimately allowed him to live on and he was fortunate enough to be discovered by Danzo Shimura, thus avoiding death.

[The current Root member, and the future Yamato, are the sole survivors of the Wood Release experiments.]

Iori gently put the scroll away, slowly stood up from her seat, and turned her gaze to Tsunade, who was busy at work.

While Iori was engrossed in reading Orochimaru's experimental diary, she was focused on transferring Hashirama cells into the laboratory's culture tank.

"Tsunade, do you know where Orochimaru is right now?" Iori walked towards her.

Upon hearing this, Tsunade paused slightly. She carefully placed the cell in her hand back into the culture medium before turning around to face Iori.

"He should be in Root, he's still Danzo's personal bodyguard."

She thought for a moment and continued, "Are you planning to bring him into this lab? It's not impossible, but are you willing to trust him?"

Iori shrugged, spread his hands, and gave Tsunade a relaxed smile.

"As long as he swears an oath to me, that's enough. I now possess sufficient power; if he breaks his oath, I can kill him directly through karma."

Iori stared intently at Tsunade, her expression serious as she explained the reasons for recruiting Orochimaru:

"Orochimaru's talent is beyond doubt. His scientific research ability is among the best in the ninja world. Only if your second grandfather were to be resurrected could he possibly surpass him."

"And I had heard about his wishes long ago: to live forever and to learn all the ninjutsu in the world."

"His wishes do not conflict with mine at all, and may even be of great help to my future self."

"Moreover, I don't think there's anyone else in the ninja world more suitable than me to help him realize his dream."

"I have more than one method of achieving immortality, but it hasn't been adapted for local use yet, so I don't know how many of them are usable."

"As for knowledge, it's not just knowledge from within the world; I also have knowledge from outside the world that I can impart to him."

"Besides me, is there anyone else who can do this?"

Iori raised an eyebrow at Tsunade, indicating her special status.

Tsunade simply nodded after listening. Although a rift had slowly developed between the three Sannin, they remained friends as long as Orochimaru had not yet defected.

Since Iori has decided to trust Orochimaru, Tsunade naturally won't object.

Nawaki's death had nothing to do with Orochimaru, nor was the failure of the Wood Release experiment Orochimaru's fault. Tsunade understood this very clearly.

As a friend who knows Orochimaru's abilities, inviting Orochimaru is a good choice, both from a personal perspective and from the perspective of the progress of the experiment.

Tsunade walked to the table, reached for a pen, and wrote down an address.

"This is Orochimaru's address outside. Only the four of us and our teacher know it. It's probably not convenient for you to go to Root right now, so leave a letter there and wait for his reply."

Tsunade handed the note to Iori, who memorized it and put it in her pocket.

"Then I'll be going now. I'll leave the lab in your care. Let's start cultivating the clone now."

Iori said to Tsunade.

"Okay, I'll take care of it."

Tsunade nodded upon hearing this.

Chapter 114 Orochimaru, you don't want to miss the chance for immortality either, do you?

Iori went to Orochimaru's address, but found no one at home, so he left a message saying he would visit again the next evening.

The following night, he arrived at Orochimaru's residence under the cover of darkness once again.

A cool night breeze blew, and moonlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

Pushing open the somewhat old wooden door, he found the room still dimly lit, with only a few candles emitting a faint glow.

Orochimaru sat on a wooden chair, his hands folded in front of his chest, his gaze as cold as a snake fixed on him.

"Long time no see, Iori-kun," Orochimaru's voice was deep and hoarse, revealing a sinister smile.

He licked his lips, his gaze sharp as he stared at Iori. "Iori-kun, you've come to see me, perhaps you've changed your mind?"

"I guess so, but my current goal is to recruit Orochimaru-senpai to help me with my research."

Iori looked at him calmly and said...

"Oh, Iori-kun wants me to be your subordinate? Isn't that underestimating me a bit?"

Although Orochimaru's tone was calm, a hint of anger flashed in his eyes.

Just as he semi-retired after taking over at Minato, he felt it was a humiliation to be made a subordinate of a junior.

"Orochimaru-senpai, would you like to hear my conditions and my secret?"

Iori remained unmoved by the sudden tension, simply smiling at Orochimaru and speaking gently.

Seeing Iori's unchanging expression, Orochimaru's pupils contracted, and his mood calmed down.

During his interactions with the Land of Wind, he had long understood Iori's character; he was a man who pursued stability and the maximization of relative benefits.

[How can he be so confident that I'll join? He must have some big secrets.]

Orochimaru pondered to himself, his heart filled with curiosity.

[Given his personality, he's probably got me figured out. What makes him so confident?]

Could it be that he obtained a magical artifact that could grant immortality?

The thought flashed through Orochimaru's mind, and a fiery glint involuntarily appeared in his eyes.

"Orochimaru-senpai, there's no need to look at me like that. Why don't you hear my terms first?"

Iori spoke slowly and deliberately, as if plucking the strings of a musical instrument, stirring Orochimaru's emotions.

Seeing Iori's performance, Orochimaru calmed down completely, setting aside useless emotions like pride. As long as Iori offered enough incentives, he wouldn't mind working for him.

After all, although Iori is a junior in terms of status, he is the senior in terms of strength.

When Orochimaru abandons useless emotions and thinks purely as a researcher, he is surprisingly calm.

"Please tell me, I'm also curious why Iori-kun is so confident in persuading me?"

Orochimaru leaned back in his chair, his posture relaxed, but a hint of anticipation flickered in his eyes.

"Illusion Technique: Mirror Flower Water Moon (Revised)" Iori activated his Sharingan and pulled Orochimaru into the illusion space.

"What do you mean by this, Iori-kun? You don't think I'll succumb to violence, do you?"

Orochimaru sneered, but he didn't think Iori would be so unwise.

"I just wanted to show Orochimaru-senpai something."

Iori smiled as he looked at Orochimaru, as if he were looking at Sun Wukong. Orochimaru was no longer able to escape his grasp.

Using illusion magic, Iori showed him scenes such as Kaguya destroying the world, the Sage of Six Paths saving the world, and the thousand-year entanglement between Indra and Ashura.

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed slightly, his heart churning with turmoil. He spoke slowly, his voice carrying a hint of consideration:

“This information is valuable and it matches the information I’ve found in the past, but it’s not enough to attract me.”

Actually, he was already somewhat tempted when he learned that both the Uchiha and Senju were descendants of the Sage.

But he felt that Iori's conditions were probably more than that, so he probed again.

"Orochimaru-senpai, don't be in a hurry. This is just the down payment. My real condition is the ninjutsu of immortality and resurrection."

Seeing that Orochimaru was already tempted, Iori pressed her advantage and threw out her own bargaining chip.