Chapter 70: The Perfect Tool

Two days later, Kakashi brought Aoba some news.

"This was planned earlier. Shikaku wanted to get your opinion."

Aoba took the document and found it was an early graduation form for Karin. As her guardian, his signature would make it effective immediately.

After a moment's thought, Aoba understood.

"They want Karin to join Naruto's team?"

"That's right. Originally, I was supposed to be the team's leader. But now, if you agree, it'll be you."

"Heh, interesting. Is this Shikaku's idea or the Third Hokage's?"

"It's probably something they both decided together. Any issues with it?"

"Not really. I just think it's a pretty clever move. They wouldn't fully trust me to lead a team with a jinchuriki. But with Karin on the team, I'd have to take it seriously. Plus, Karin and Naruto are both Uzumakis, so it'll be easier for them to bond. Who's the third member? Uchiha Sasuke?"

"That's right."

"Sasuke and Naruto are close, and he's an Uchiha. Once the Sharingan develops, it can suppress a Tailed Beast. Add me as Karin's guardian, and the team is full of bonds and checks. Konoha's higher-ups really thought this through."

"Sorry—I forgot you're one of Konoha's higher-ups now," Aoba said with an insincere apology, leaving Kakashi slightly exasperated. Truthfully, Kakashi wasn't very interested in the role of Hokage advisor.

But after actually assuming the position, he found it involved less work than he'd thought, leaving him plenty of time to relax, so he didn't mind it.

"By the way, whose spot is Karin replacing?"

"A girl named Haruno Sakura, a civilian ninja. She's top of the class in theory, much like you used to be—mostly perfect scores."

"If Karin had half that dedication, her mom and I wouldn't be so worried about her studies. Graduation is next month. Keep that girl available for me; I want to see if she'd like to be my student."

"Got it."

Kakashi was starting to appreciate the perks of being a Hokage advisor, or rather, the benefits of power. For small matters like this, he didn't need approval from the higher-ups. One word from him, and Konoha's instructors would arrange everything.

After finishing their discussion, the two went to the basement, where Hidan was undergoing a Hashirama cell transplant.

Aoba had planned a series of enhancements for Hidan, with the Hashirama cell transplant being just the first step.

At that moment, Hidan's body was wrapped in bandages—a result of Aoba cutting away the mutated parts after the previous transplant attempt failed.

The mutations were still progressing, making it impossible for his wounds to heal.

Honestly, if this had been an ordinary person, they would have gone insane from the pain even if they couldn't die. But Hidan, as a devotee of Jashin, had an extraordinary tolerance for suffering.

He even claimed that Lord Jashin enjoyed this pain, and he could endure it for a while longer.

Of course, in Hidan's mind, Jashin ranked second. Aoba was first. If it would please Aoba, he would sacrifice himself—or even Jashin—without hesitation. A little pain was nothing to him.

"For Hidan, the Hashirama cell transplant was a failure—and not just once. But his undying body gives him countless possibilities. Now, his body has begun to merge with the Hashirama cells. The process is slow and would normally be unbearable, but he can handle it."

Kakashi was speechless. He realized that his own imagination couldn't keep up with Aoba's in this area.

But he couldn't deny that while Aoba's methods were brutal, if successful, he would have a subordinate with massive chakra reserves, an immortal body, and potentially Wood Release—a perfect, loyal tool willing to die for him.

And all of this was only the first step in Aoba's plan.

Once Hidan fully merged with the Hashirama cells, he would have him start training in ninjutsu. Hidan's body was ideal, possessing most of a shinobi's traits, with the exception of ninjutsu and genjutsu.

The ninjutsu issue was easy to solve. With sufficient chakra, he only needed to practice hand seals. With his vast battle experience, Hidan would intuitively understand how to use ninjutsu effectively.

For genjutsu, he already had plans in place.

But Aoba wasn't content with just that. He had another idea in mind for Hidan: the Eight Gates technique in taijutsu.

Imagine an immortal who had mastered the Eight Gates. Aoba was eager to see that day. When the time came, Hidan would be the ultimate tool.

As an advisor, Kakashi still had some work to attend to, so after making rounds, he left.

Aoba returned to another one of his projects: studying the Sharingan.

Now that he had a Sharingan of his own, even though he had used Kotoamatsukami, the Mangekyo itself was still useful. He could still use it for genjutsu and reflection.

The Sharingan also filled his last elemental weakness, Yin Release. Now, he had the full set of Yin-Yang and Five Elemental releases.

In theory, he could now attempt to create Truth-Seeking Balls or develop his own Kekkei Mōra.

Of course, he knew these were still just fantasies for the moment.

Neither the Truth-Seeking Balls nor Kekkei Mōra were within his reach for now. So, his focus remained on the Sharingan.

His current research wasn't focused on the Sharingan's abilities. Instead, he aimed to delve deeper and analyze the ocular power within the Sharingan.

He had been curious about this variant of Yin Release chakra for a long time.

The Sharingan had many capabilities: enhanced dynamic vision, boosted genjutsu abilities, and even genjutsu reflection. Once the Mangekyo was unlocked, it could manifest superpowers reflecting the user's deepest inner self.

The core energy needed to fuel these abilities was ocular power.

Ocular power was a form of Yin Release chakra but wasn't just chakra. It had a unique trait: it could spike due to emotional fluctuations.

This characteristic was the standard progression for the Sharingan. At least until the Mangekyo, there was no other shortcut.

Based on this, he hypothesized that Sharingan's ocular power might be a combination of Yin Release chakra and spiritual energy, much like how Sage Mode chakra was a blend of natural energy and chakra.

So Aoba's goal was to reverse-engineer this combination, uncover the formula, and find a way to artificially synthesize ocular power.

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Currently on Chapter 110 - The Dilemma of Sunagakure