Chapter Fifty-Four: Injection of Serum, Transformation of the Body

After Kahn left the Uchiha compound, he found Tsunade still waiting nearby, so he hurried over to her.

When Kahn approached, Tsunade asked, “Are you done talking?”

“If it’s just a courtesy visit, they received me with reasonable formality. As for other matters, it wasn’t a success, nor was it a failure,” Kahn replied, shaking his head. He had met Uchiha Hamada, but that was all; they hadn’t discussed much else. After extending his greetings and expressing thanks, Kahn had taken his leave.

Uchiha Hamada was a man of considerable experience, having witnessed the first Hokage’s era and lived through the second. At present, Konoha’s attitude toward the Uchiha was mainly a view held by certain high-ranking officials, with no signs of open hostility yet. The moment Kahn met him, he sensed that persuading Hamada would be a difficult task, whether it was about business cooperation or any other matter. So, he simply left those words unsaid.

If the current clan head was hard to move, he’d have to wait for the next. Fortunately, Uchiha Hamada had his son late in life, and Uchiha Fugaku was nearly his age, so he would soon inherit the position.

In the days that followed, Kahn spent his free time in the Senju compound, and whenever he wanted to go out, he’d call Tsunade along. Meanwhile, Tsunade made the most of her time dealing with village affairs, using shadow clones and transformation techniques to help Orochimaru complete some tasks.

This was the price of letting Orochimaru remain in his research lab. As a Hokage’s pupil and Konoha jōnin, being too idle would not befit his reputation.

Moreover, after the war, there was a surge in missions. With a backlog accumulated, nearly every jōnin had been assigned numerous tasks. Only Tsunade, leveraging her reforms in the medical corps, could avoid missions outside the village. Even so, she still helped Orochimaru complete his assignments.

One day, Tsunade returned from the Konoha Hospital earlier than usual, bringing good news for Nawaki.

“Nawaki, come with me. Orochimaru has succeeded.”

Hearing this, Nawaki immediately understood what Tsunade meant and rose with excitement to follow her.

Tsunade then handed Kahn Orochimaru’s message for him to read. All the remaining experimental subjects had been successful—none had failed.

As for those successful cases, Orochimaru must have already dealt with them. In just a few short lines, it was clear he had disposed of dozens of lives, but neither Tsunade nor Kahn dwelled on it.

The three packed lightly and set off at once. Originally, Tsunade wanted to bring the serum back for Nawaki’s injection, but Orochimaru convinced her that the research base, with all its monitoring equipment, was the safest place to observe Nawaki’s responses in real time.

At the village gates, Tsunade was stopped by the guards for inspection, but a single stomp from her sent the two chūnin scrambling back in fear. Although ninjas weren’t supposed to leave the village without proper clearance, much depended on who was asking. After the Second Great Ninja War, the Sannin’s names were known far and wide. Tsunade was also the granddaughter of the First and Second Hokage, and the Third’s student. Even without a permit, the gate guards could hardly refuse her.

Outside the village, two of the three were ordinary people—Nawaki’s physical condition was even poorer than Kahn’s—so their pace was slow. Tsunade split off a shadow clone, and together, her true self and the clone carried the two men, rushing for the research base and arriving there in less than a day.

When they entered, Orochimaru had already cleaned up the lab.

“Master Orochimaru!” Nawaki greeted him joyfully.

Orochimaru smiled and said, “Nawaki, come inside. By the end of today, you’ll be back to normal.”

Kahn and Tsunade followed, but Kahn first checked the surveillance footage. He was worried Orochimaru might have exaggerated the number of successes to save some of the serum. But after fast-forwarding through the recordings, he could finally relax.

All the subjects had adapted to the new version of the Despair Virus serum, and over ninety percent had awakened Wood Release. The rest, whose talent for ninjutsu was abysmal, were killed by Orochimaru, who lost patience with them.

All the serum Kahn had entrusted to Orochimaru was used up, raising Kahn’s estimation of him.

Once in the lab, Orochimaru asked, “Kahn, do you want a dose of the new Despair Virus for yourself?”

“Yes, if you’d be so kind. That’s my intention,” Kahn replied, tapping his temple. “A serum that swiftly heals severed limbs, enhances the body, and defends against genjutsu—who wouldn’t want that? Besides, when I return, there might not even be enough left for me.”

Fabricating a background of tight organization was routine for Kahn. Once he injected the Despair Virus serum, as long as he didn’t lose consciousness immediately, with his golden finger, no one in the shinobi world could pose a threat to him.

“Very well. Cultivating one dose or two is no different to me. I’ll just need to take a bit of your cells for the process,” Orochimaru said, then set off to prepare the new serum.

Kahn also copied all the data on the new Despair Virus for himself. As for the Hashirama cells Tsunade had promised him, the batch he received should be enough to produce twenty doses of the new serum.

“When the serum is finished, you’ll be one of only two in the world able to use Wood Release. Would you consider joining Konoha? I can smooth things over with the higher-ups so they won’t trouble you again, and there’s also the Wood Release jutsu...” Tsunade tried to repair Konoha’s relationship with Kahn, offering the Wood Release as a tempting benefit, though Kahn didn’t care much for the jutsu.

The First Hokage’s strength lay in himself, not just Wood Release. Even with the serum and Hashirama cells, to reach the First’s level would require massive chakra reserves, not to mention Sage Mode.

“I think not, Tsunade. Where there’s a first time, there’ll be a second, unless the higher-ups step down and you take over,” Kahn replied, shaking his head. “There are few in Konoha I trust—just you and Kushina. Unless you two become Hokage, let’s not speak of this again. I don’t value Wood Release that much, and I also need to consult others before giving you an answer.”

Seeing Kahn’s resolve, Tsunade sighed inwardly. Those old men really had a knack for making enemies.

It took about two days to cultivate the serum. When Orochimaru finally produced it, Nawaki was so excited he leapt to his feet.

Tsunade immediately scolded him, “Calm down! I told you, the worst thing you can do before the injection is get emotional.”

“I understand, sister,” Nawaki replied, suppressing his excitement. Kahn was much more composed—the success rate was nearly one hundred percent, so he had little to worry about, except perhaps the pain.

The two of them lay on their beds, restrained, and Tsunade administered the new Despair Virus serum.

Instantly, Kahn felt as if he’d been dropped into molten lava; all he could feel was pain. Nawaki experienced the same, the serum beginning to repair his damaged body.

After thirty minutes, both of them, drenched in sweat, emerged from their physical metamorphosis; only their eyes still glowed red. Kahn immediately sensed a remarkable improvement in his body.

Clang!

The metal restraints snapped as he broke free. What once seemed tough as iron was now as fragile as dried clay.

Whether it was strength, speed, or awareness, Kahn felt himself far superior to before.