In the secret laboratory.
Beep beep
In the midst of silence, only the rhythmic beeping of the instruments echoed.
On the operating table in the center of the lab, Shinji lay flat with his eyes closed. If not for the faint rise and fall of his chest, he might have been mistaken for a corpse.
After an unknown amount of time, Shinji suddenly opened his eyes.
Glancing sideways at the instruments, he murmured, "Has an entire night passed already?"
Slowly sitting up from the operating table, he began to move his somewhat stiff body while sensing the changes within.
There was no doubt—the transplant surgery with the First Hokage's cells the previous night had been a success!
The entire procedure went even more smoothly than he had imagined. When he unleashed all of his ocular power, the domineering Yang Release chakra contained within the First Hokage's cells was quickly subdued by him.
What should have been a passive Yin-Yang fusion became an active fusion guided by him.
And during this fusion, he felt, for the first time, the pure chakra of Hagoromo's Asura hidden within the First Hokage's cells!
As the Yin-Yang fusion progressed, he gradually came to appreciate the extraordinary nature of Asura's Yang Release chakra.
In terms of chakra potency alone, the First Hokage's Yang Release chakra was already at the pinnacle of the shinobi world.
Now, possessing a pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and wielding both a Rinnegan and a Koryugan, Shinji's Yin Release chakra potency was still slightly inferior.
And the First Hokage's Yang Release chakra was clearly weaker than Asura's Yang Release chakra.
It could be said that the potency of Asura's Yang Release chakra far surpassed the limits that ordinary shinobi in the ninja world could ever hope to achieve.
"No wonder, with just their chakra, Asura and Indra, those eternal rivals, could continuously reincarnate…"
After this realization, Shinji also understood why only by combining the chakra of Asura and Indra could the Rinnegan be awakened.
Because through normal training, the chakra potency of ordinary people could never come close to matching these two Hagoromo descendants—not even the First Hokage's level!
Stepping off the operating table, Shinji approached the instruments.
The various devices monitoring his vitals had meticulously recorded every change in his body during the surgery.
As he reviewed the data recorded by the instruments and compared it to his own perceptions, he sometimes nodded lightly, sometimes furrowed his brows, occasionally showed a puzzled expression, and at other times, the corners of his mouth curved upward.
Leaving the laboratory, Shinji headed to the underground training ground.
Raising his arms and forming a few hand signs, Shinji swung his right hand forward and called out softly, "Wood Release: Thorn Killing Technique!"
Swish swish swish.
In an instant, several wooden tendrils shot out from his sleeve, and in the blink of an eye, they tightly wrapped around a wooden training dummy in front of him, constricting it bit by bit.
Shinji then clenched his right hand tightly.
With a boom, the wooden dummy, made of sturdy ironwood, was instantly crushed by the constricting tendrils, breaking into several pieces!
The corner of his mouth twitched upward as Shinji formed another set of hand signs. "Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique!"
In an instant, a tree sprouted from his shoulder, rapidly transforming into Shinji's likeness before landing on the ground.
Shinji activated his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, carefully observing the clone before nodding to himself.
This Wood Release Clone was so lifelike it could pass as real. Even with his perceptive abilities, it was hard to find any flaws.
With a thought, Shinji cut his finger, letting a drop of blood fall as he formed more hand signs. "Secret Technique: Blood Clone Technique!"
Poof.
In a puff of white smoke, another Shinji stepped forward.
Because he had regained control of the Koryugan, Shinji once again had the ability to perform the Secret Blood Clone Technique.
Leaping back to clear the space, Shinji chuckled lightly. "You two, have a go at it!"
"Alright!"
The Wood Release Clone and the Blood Clone nodded simultaneously, then with a swish, they launched into action, clashing fiercely!
Watching from the sidelines, the real Shinji's eyes darted back and forth, evaluating the two clones in the heat of battle.
Compared to the Shadow Clone, both the Wood Release Clone and the Blood Clone had significantly improved durability.
The Blood Clone could even simulate bleeding, making it nearly indistinguishable from the real thing. The Wood Release Clone, supported by physical material, had greater endurance.
As for their strength…
Boom!
With a dull thud, the Wood Release Clone was defeated by the Blood Clone, reverting to a wooden figure identical to Shinji.
"The Blood Clone is still stronger, after all—it's created at the cost of my own blood."
However, Shinji wasn't disappointed. The Wood Release Clone exceeded his expectations in both finesse and strength.
Next, Shinji refrained from further testing his Wood Release.
First, many Wood Release techniques were large-scale, and a moment of carelessness could destroy his secret laboratory.
Second, at his current level of strength, he could discern the bigger picture from small details. The Thorn Killing Technique and Wood Clone Technique were enough for him to roughly gauge his Wood Release proficiency.
For now, he estimated his Wood Release to be on par with Karin's, slightly stronger than Yakumo's when she had the Koryugan, but weaker than the First Hokage's in his normal state—though the gap shouldn't be too significant.
Of course.
If the First Hokage activated Sage Mode and used sage chakra to enhance his Wood Release, the gap would widen instantly, becoming immeasurable.
Having confirmed his Wood Release proficiency, Shinji had a general understanding of the surgery's results.
First, he had mastered Wood Release. Second, his total chakra reserves had increased once again, and his physical recovery abilities had noticeably improved.
While these improvements were significant, they weren't what Shinji valued most. What he truly cared about was that his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, which had hit a bottleneck in ocular power growth, had begun to grow again under the stimulation of the vast All Creation Power generated by the Yin-Yang fusion!
Shinji slowly covered his eyes.
From this moment, his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan had broken past its previous limits and was now officially advancing toward the Rinnegan!
This process would likely take several months.
Once his body fully integrated the implanted First Hokage's cells and fused with Asura's Yang Release chakra, his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan would meet the basic conditions to awaken the Rinnegan.
Based on Karin's situation at the time, if he still couldn't awaken the Rinnegan on his own at that stage…
Then Shinji could use Wazunagi to extract Sasuke's chakra, harnessing the Yin Release chakra of Indra hidden within it to further stimulate his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, achieving the final awakening!