Chapter 25: Danzo, You Old Dog, what Are You Up to?

"See you next year, Shishou-nii," Ino Yamanaka cheerfully said as she waved goodbye at the school gate.

It was already winter, and with the school reopening in two months, it would be the start of a new year.

"Yes, see you next year," Shishou Aburame replied, waving back at Ino.

As Ino walked away, Hinata Hyuga quickly approached Shishou, her face already turning crimson before she even spoke. "Shishou-kun, see you next year," she stammered, then immediately turned and ran, her heart pounding.

"Why does she run so fast? I'm not going to eat her," Shishou chuckled as he watched Hinata disappear into the distance.

"Shishou, are you not coming to our house again this year?" Shino Aburame asked, approaching Shishou once everyone else had left.

Although Shishou was nominally adopted by Shino's father, he mostly lived on his own and seldom visited Shino's home.

"I'm busy studying ninjutsu. I don't really like crowded places. I'm sure you understand how I feel," Shishou explained, patting Shino on the shoulder.

"Yes, I understand," Shino nodded, sharing Shishou's preference for solitude.

"Please give my regards to your father," Shishou added.

"I will," Shino replied.

Back at home, Shishou sat at his desk, took out paper and pen, and began planning his future actions.

"The animals in the Forest of Death have almost all been transformed. If I continue, Konoha will notice. I need to find a new place to cultivate my phosphorescent insects," he wrote. "My Mangekyo Sharingan is activated, but my genjutsu skills are lacking due to insufficient basic knowledge. I need a teacher. Also, I need to prioritize finding Hashirama cells, or my eyes won't last long. Integrating the Flying Thunder God's sensing technique is crucial, or I can't utilize its full power. I also need to find ways to increase my chakra reserves..."

Shishou continued jotting down his thoughts for half an hour, then slumped in his chair with a sigh. "So many things to do."

He casually burned the paper with a flick of his fingers and stared out the window at the sun. "But to achieve the Kekkei Genkai and become immortal like Kaguya, these are necessary steps."

Once the paper was completely burned, Shishou used the Flying Thunder God technique and vanished.

In the Forest of Death, at Danzo's newly established experimental base...

"Lord Danzo, the experiment failed again," Ryoma Aburame reported. "Everyone died."

Danzo's expressionless face showed no sign of emotion. "Where did we go wrong?" he asked, indifferent to the loss of the experimental subjects, whom he saw merely as tools.

"Most of the original experiment data was taken by Orochimaru. Replicating the process now is extremely difficult," Ryoma explained.

Danzo frowned. The initial experiments involving Hashirama cells were conducted mainly by Orochimaru, with Danzo's participation being minimal. While Danzo managed to graft an arm using Hashirama cells, his understanding of the cells was limited. This made it challenging to restart the Wood Release experiments.

Without successfully integrating Hashirama cells, Danzo couldn't hope to surpass Hiruzen Sarutobi and become Hokage. His right eye, possessing Kotoamatsukami, was well-known among Konoha's upper echelons, rendering it unusable for political maneuvers. It was intended for controlling clan leaders once he became Hokage, and he wouldn't use it unless absolutely necessary.

"Orochimaru..." Danzo muttered, regretting not maintaining contact with him the last time they met.

Hidden in the shadows of the base, Shishou also sighed. He had planted a few dormant phosphorescent insects on Danzo during their last encounter to track him, hoping to steal or deceive his way to Wood Release once Danzo succeeded. But Danzo was stuck on the first step.

"Danzo, you old dog, can't you do anything right?" Shishou cursed internally.

"However, it's not a complete loss," Shishou thought, redirecting his focus towards the base's depths. The failed experimental subjects, still containing traces of Hashirama cells, were discarded in a deep pit.

These experimental bodies, although failures, still retained some Hashirama cells, holding immense energy. Shishou planned to use his phosphorescent insects to devour these corpses, hoping to gain a fraction of Hashirama's power. Even if he didn't acquire Hashirama's abilities, he could still absorb some chakra, which would be beneficial.

An hour later, in the Forest of Death...

"As expected, it's not enough," Shishou sighed, feeling no significant change in his body. He recalled that he had absorbed hundreds of Uchiha clan members to awaken his Sharingan. Devouring just ten subjects with traces of Hashirama cells wasn't sufficient to gain his power.

With Danzo's failure, Shishou knew he had to turn to Orochimaru or Uchiha Madara. However, Madara's Kamui technique was too dangerous, and he wouldn't share the transplant techniques. Orochimaru remained his best option.

The idea of directly stealing Hashirama cells from Danzo was also dismissed. Even with his Mangekyo Sharingan, the success rate wasn't high enough for Shishou to take such a risk. There were safer methods to gain Hashirama's power.

"Let's move on to the next task," Shishou sighed, disappearing once again.

And so, the story continues. If you enjoyed this chapter, please remember to add to the library and follow for more updates!