Chapter 62
War ends around ch 70. Time skips will happen there, these last thirty or so chapters were just establishing what was possible with Shiro's current skills.
After chapter 70 stuff won't be as experiment heavy.
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It hadn't even been a day since the battle and I had changed my mind about A's DNA.
It wasn't the Raikage's DNA, but it was close enough.
After seeing him shrug off both of our blows like they were a light breeze I couldn't help myself.
I wanted that.
At first, I didn't want to look anything like them, but after seeing the Raikage in action I had changed my mind.
I'd still try my best to keep my build as it was, but if I couldn't it would be acceptable.
I wanted to be as unstoppable as the Raikage.
And I regretted dismissing it when I did.
I could have been more powerful...
A's blood was a lucky find that I had taken for granted.
But I wouldn't anymore...
I'd make good use of it.
Dismissing the usefulness of the blood was foolish, but it wasn't too late to put it to use.
...
The camp was nearly back to normal, everyone was on guard and we were receiving reinforcements.
So, things looked alright so far.
The Raikage snow globe was under heavy guard even though it could be seen from the camp, people took the opportunity to curse the Raikage for the death of their friends and family.
The Raikage didn't react to the curses and insults, he instead focused on meditating and saved his strength.
There were rumor's that the Hokage was negotiating with Kumo but Orochimaru told me not to worry about it.
The Raikage was extremely proud and would rather die than be sold back to Kumo.
Or so Orochimaru claimed.
"Aomi, go ask around and see if anyone wants to do the strengthening procedure." Aka giving them blood.
The blood only worked if the person it came from had Kage-level reserves, I'd use it all the time if that wasn't the case.
"Let them know that this procedure has no risks, and tell them to nearly exhaust their chakra before they come."
Last time some people almost died because their chakra was attacking the foreign blood. It turns out that chakra will sometimes defend the body when your unconscious.
"I want twenty people, between the ages of twelve and twenty." There were a few old Genin that produced few results and then tattled on me for not delivering on the strengthening.
"They should have a lightning affinity for the best results, but I'll accept anyone if we can't get enough people with a lightning affinity." I pushed a stray strand of hair behind my ear.
Oh yeah...
Snap*
"Is Isami still around?" I snapped my fingers.
Aomi shook her head.
"Alright, put in a recommendation for a field promotion and put it on my desk." Aomi frowned.
I wasn't quite breaking the rules, but I was ignoring the spirit of them.
I wasn't allowed to recommend and then promote someone.
But I could promote someone who had been recommended...
"Sneaky..." I raised an eyebrow when she spoke but nodded.
The spirit of the rules mattered little when you were too powerful to get in trouble.
"I'm not breaking any rules." Aomi shrugged and set off towards the exit.
No one would be willing to cause a fuss over such a small matter.
...
Another two days rolled by.
There hadn't been an attack but some scouts had been captured.
They had killed themselves when they were caught so we got nothing from them, but there was going to be an attack.
Or so I thought.
The Raikage had been without food and water for three days.
So, they'd need to get to him before he died of dehydration.
Kumo only had Iwa to worry about, so they could field a good amount of their strength.
Though the number of men in the camp had doubled with the addition of reinforcements, so I wasn't overly worried.
"How many want to be 'strengthened'?" I ignored the clone who pushed past me and focused on Aomi who was scribbling away.
'All twenty beds were filled. Each has a lightning affinity.'
I nodded.
"Anyone over twenty?" I rolled my eyes as I heard glass shatter in the background.
'No, everyone was under eighteen.'
"Nice."
I watched a clone bumble around with my favorite brush set and had the urge to strangle him.
"Alright, keep everyone in the beds sedated, I'll be around but it's your job to keep them alive for now." I nodded and she nodded back.
Alrighty...
...
"So, what's happening with our guest?" I pointed in the direction of the Raikage snow globe.
Orochimaru shrugged.
"We're in negotiations currently." Distaste was visible on his face.
I nodded.
"Should we water him? He might not survive for much longer." I eyed the papers on Orochimaru's desk.
Orders from the Hokage.
"He's been procuring his own water with Ninjutsu." I nodded barely paying attention.
The Hokage was currently negotiating for the return of Konoha-nin held prisoner and an end to hostilities.
"Hopefully Kumo doesn't want their prisoners back..." Most of them were long dead.
And those that weren't had undergone extensive genetic manipulation.
So, they probably couldn't be given back.
Orochimaru remained silent so it took that as my cue to leave.
I gave him a bow and made my way out.
...
A new day and a new annoyance.
But thanks to the power of delegation, my clones were now doing paperwork while I spent a little bit looking over the DNA from people who got blood transfusions.
The last batch who was kept unconscious didn't use the chakra from A's cells and received lesser benefits.
The overall increase in strength was less then what it had been with Isami and they didn't learn to use lightning chakra as Isami did.
It was still a good increase bringing those in Genin-level to low-Chunin, but it didn't suddenly make them more talented or more skilled.
They were still the same crappy Genin but with the speed and power of a low-Chunin.
There were some neat mutations in their DNA but it was only interesting and not helpful.
For example, the DNA for their hair color mutating was interesting but was a waste of time to pursue.
There were mutations in their chakra density genes as well, but the mutations often did nothing or next to nothing.
So, it wasn't worth the time to pursue it.
Most of the DNA from those who had undergone the 'strengthening' wasn't too interesting.
Isami had the most interesting mutations, the gene responsible for bone density and the gene responsible for estrogen production being the ones that stuck out.
But even those weren't interesting enough to look into.
Overall, I didn't find anything interesting.
But at least I confirmed that chakra caused mutations.
...
Fugaku arrived annoyingly late.
He should have arrived at the beginning of May, but instead arrived three weeks into May, and was too late to participate in our battle with the Raikage.
I wanted to give him shit, but a twelve-year-old scolding the Uchiha clan head probably wouldn't go over well.
"What are you working on?" Fugaku's expression was stoic and his voice was dull.
Why he felt the need to hover over me was a mystery.
"I'm going over some DNA I got from the Raikage's son and trying to find what makes them so strong."
There was a lot that made them strong, it wasn't simply one thing, so I had to shift through their DNA and find the genes responsible for their strength and durability while avoiding the genes that would change my appearance.
"Like muscle composition for the smooth muscle, cardiac muscle, and skeletal muscles." Fugaku still looked vaguely interested so I continued. "Currently I'm focused on his skin cells the keratinocytes, melanocytes, Merkel cells, and Langerhans cells."
"Hmmm..." Fugaku hummed.
I wasn't sure if it was a hum of understanding or if he was just making noise so I'll stop looking at him.
"Basically, I want to see if I can use the DNA to make more people like the Raikage." Mainly myself.
I'd probably pretend it didn't work and scrap everything to do with the DNA when I was done.
I didn't want people like the Raikage running around...
"It doesn't look like it's going to work though." Not until my reserves increased some more.
It took a lot to sustain a body like that, both in terms of nutrition and chakra.
"So, what brings you here?" Uchiha repellent activate!
Making conversation seemed to make the Uchiha flee.
"Mikoto was asking about you, I wanted to see how you were doing so I could give her an update." Fugaku turned and started towards the door.
My Uchiha repellent was a success.
"Thanks for stopping by, I'll see you around."
Fugaku nodded. "Hn." and grunted at me before strutting out the door.
I went over our conversation in my head.
I'd hoped he'd want me to enhance some Uchiha with the Raikage's DNA, but when I didn't get a response, I'd claimed it a failure.
It was a mediocre attempt at manipulation.
But it was still an attempt.
Maybe I'd get better in the future...
...
Negotiations continued and it was decided that the Raikage would be handed over in exchange for an end to hostilities and the release of prisoners from Kumo.
There were additional reparations and such but that didn't matter to me.
I was more focused on keeping my lab.
There was a good chance I'd get reassigned, in Suna or Grass.
We were in the process of moving the Shinobi in Noodles to Frost and with the apparent end to hostilities, we'd have to lessen our presence in Frost or risk continuing the war with Kumo.
It sucked.
Kumo still had most of its strength and was still a threat so we might maintain a presence in frost.
But I felt that was only a small possibility.
The Hokage was more likely to order us to withdraw...
We could have pushed into Water Country...
And we could have pushed into Lightning Country...
But instead, we were probably going to back off and let them recover.
And Kiri hadn't even surrendered...
They were still in the war even with their diminished strength.
Fuck.
We were not taking advantage of their weaknesses.
So, fucking annoying.
The more I thought about it the madder I got.
What a shitshow.
...
I stood beside Orochimaru and Minato while watching over the release of the Raikage.
Our presence was meaningless if the Raikage decided that he wanted everyone dead.
But it comforted the cannon fodder, so here we stood.
The Raikage looked a little leaner and angrier than I remembered but that was to be expected.
Being starved and humiliated for two-weeks does that to people.
"He's still fucking huge." I spoke with an amused smile.
Weeks of starvation hadn't done much to him, he was still a big bearded mass of muscles.
"Think he's going to start a fight?" I turned to Minato.
He shook his head.
"He's too prideful to go back on his word."
I hummed.
"Hmmm, I didn't know that conversation was even had." I probably should have been paying attention.
But I was Overwriting prisoners and seeing what happened when normal people got Hyuga genes.
"..." The barrier fell and the Raikage stepped out.
I watched Kumo's delegation of cannon fodder receive the Raikage and depart immediately.
The Raikage sent Orochimaru a menacing look and Shunshined away in a flash of lightning.
"Thankfully it's not me who he's mad at." Hopefully, he forgot about me.
Orochimaru snorted and covered his face with the sleeve of his kimono.
Snort*
"Lucky me..." Orochimaru said dryly.
Minato didn't look amused but I ignored him as he was usually no fun anyways.
"How's my cute little Kohai? Has she punched anyone into a bloody mist yet?"
Minato nodded looking even less amused than he previously did.
"She slapped a Missing-Nin and covered Obito in blood and brain juice, he said he couldn't remove the smell for a week." Super Rin?
I nodded, feeling quite proud of myself.
"Good, glad to hear she's doing well." Rin was my favorite. "Tell her to always aim for the body, it's less messy."
I wondered how Kakashi was doing but put it out of my mind, as it wasn't worth thinking about.
"When are we supposed to withdraw from Frost?" The Hokage had sadly agreed to remove our presence from Frost entirely.
Orochimaru was pissed and I was feeling bitter about it.
"Two weeks from now is when we start moving the troops away." Orochimaru lip curled.
My lips were pursed and I joined him in making faces.
"Hopefully the Hokage won't regret that." The ninja of Kumo and Iwa were both known for being backstabbers.
So, making any sort of agreement with the savages was usually meaningless.
I shook my head and decided to get back to work.
I had people to fill with blood, DNA to collect, and DNA to splice.
With the power of clones and human experimentation, I'd hopefully be able to Overwrite myself using A's DNA within the week.
...
More then a few prisoners died due to accelerated aging.
I didn't have time to wait for traits to express themselves, and needed results.
Everything seemed to be going well on that end, and with liberal use of clones I sped up my experiments on mutation as well.
The Chakra Density Gene was pretty good already, I thought I could take it further but that could be done later.
With the loss of my lab in Frost, I'd have to finish anything I had on the go and start sealing anything I wanted to keep.
The whole camp was to be blown up to deny Frost and Kumo any easy infrastructure.
Clones were a godsend when I was rushed, but a burden when I was trying to keep boredom at bay.
...
The dreaded news came in the form of a scroll.
It was decided that I and my team would be moved to Suna, Fugaku would go to grass, and Orochimaru would be stationed on our north-eastern border.
Orochimaru wasn't happy but also wasn't angry, probably because he had free reign on any bandits or Missing-nin.
I wasn't so lucky.
I was going to get burnt by the sun and poisoned a lot.
Lots of sand was going to get in my shoes and eyes.
And I'd have no lab for the foreseeable future.
It sounded fun...
...
With the power of clones and human experimentation, I sped through the indexing of A's DNA, the mutations of the Chakra Density gene, the Splicing of my DNA, regenerating the telomeres, and the making of an Overwrite Seal.
Somewhere along the way, a clone had nearly killed Kenji with a Gravity Seal.
Luckily it was only nearly.
Kenji was now bedridden due to extensive internal bleeding and semi-crushed organs.
A valuable lesson was learned.
If someone's annoying you, slap a Gravity Seal on them and crush their organs with the power of gravity.
...
I gave the Overwrite Seal a once over while pondering the necessity of future Overwrites.
I was thinking this was to be the last Overwrite to my DNA for the next few years.
There were no-need to push my luck before I got into the good stuff like the Ōtsutsuki's DNA or DNA from the quarter space god reincarnations.
What I'd done to myself was already enough and I felt that any more was asking for something to go wrong.
It was probably best to let my body grow and to improve on my existing techniques.
It sounded boring.
And it was probably going to be boring.
But boring was safe, and I wanted to be safe for a little while.
"Sigh..." I gave the seal another quick once over and unlocked the seal on my forehead.
A hand-sign later, the room had gained another occupant and half my chakra was gone.
I closed the seal and sent as much chakra as I could into the Overwrite seal before blacking out.
...