Orochimaru immediately understood that anything related to the Mangekyō likely had to do with Kuugetsu, so he asked directly:
"Kuugetsu's eyes… they're already approaching their limit, aren't they?"
Hoshiyomi recalled how Kuugetsu had nearly tripped over a doorstep the night before, simply because the lighting was dim. His smile faded slightly as he nodded:
"At this rate she's not far from blindness. If your Mangekyō research hasn't made any major breakthroughs… she won't be able to hold out much longer."
Orochimaru knew very well how important Kuugetsu was to Hoshiyomi, so he didn't waste words. He said straightforwardly:
"If Hoshiyomi-kun wants to see the Mangekyō research, come with me to the lab."
He stood up and personally led Hoshiyomi to the laboratory where the Mangekyō Sharingan were stored.
On the way, Orochimaru stayed silent, but Anko—who had been struggling to contain herself—finally spoke.
Clearly wanting to earn Hoshiyomi's favor and erase the embarrassment of earlier, she said:
"Lord Hoshiyomi, you don't know this, but ever since Sensei returned from Rōran, he's poured almost all his energy into researching the ideas you left behind.
Every time we urged him to rest earlier, he'd say you might return any day, and he needed to present his results to you as soon as possible."
Hearing this, Orochimaru frowned slightly and softly called Anko's name, making her instantly cover her mouth in fear. Orochimaru then turned toward Hoshiyomi:
"This child is Anko. After you disappeared, I took her in as my student. She and Kabuto, along with Shin, are essentially siblings in apprenticeship. She's excellent in every way, except… her personality is unfortunately a bit too similar to Jiraiya's."
Anko poked Kabuto and whispered:
"Why is having a personality like Lord Jiraiya's considered unfortunate?"
Kabuto didn't dare answer, but Hoshiyomi did:
"Because you and Jiraiya are both too clever. Your Sensei Orochimaru doesn't particularly like people who are too clever."
"Ah… is that so? Then should I act a little dumber from now on so Sensei will like me more?"
Kabuto rubbed his forehead helplessly:
"No need. The way you are now… you really don't have much room left to get any dumber."
While they joked, the group arrived at the lab storing the Mangekyō Sharingan.
The laboratory was somewhat cluttered, but spotless—clearly someone came in daily to research and observe.
Orochimaru entered first, taking from a shelf the well-preserved Mangekyō Sharingan and a set of three-tomoe Sharingan.
Then he grabbed a thick observation log from the workbench.
Knowing Hoshiyomi wasn't fond of lengthy reports despite his many wild ideas, Orochimaru simply handed over the container holding the eyes and summarized:
"These past three years, I haven't slowed down my Sharingan research. As you can see, due to the Hashirama cells and Yin-Release chakra within Nawaki's cells nurturing them, the quality of these three Mangekyō Sharingan has improved significantly.
Their cellular activity is now almost indistinguishable from freshly harvested living tissue. These eyes are now perfectly suitable for transplantation.
However… as for measuring 'visual power saturation,' I still haven't devised a reliable method. That part will have to be evaluated based on the transplantee's feedback afterward.
Additionally, based on three years of observation, I can now fully confirm this:
both Hashirama cells and Yin-Release chakra assist in the recovery of ocular power."
"If you want to resolve Kuugetsu's vision problem quickly in the short term, we can begin arranging the Hashirama-cell transplantation surgery immediately.
Based on my research into the original Hashirama cells, Nawaki's cells, and the cells of Shin—who has already undergone Hashirama cell transplantation—I'm more than 80% confident that we can safely proceed with the transplant."
After hearing this, Hoshiyomi didn't make a hasty decision. Instead, he asked:
"Shin is still just a kid. Is it really okay for him to undergo Hashirama-cell transplantation at such a young age?"
At that, Orochimaru showed an expression of extreme excitement:
"Speaking of that, I must thank you, Hoshiyomi-kun. You truly are my lucky star. The child you brought me—he… he was practically born for scientific research.
In all my years studying human cytology, I've never seen such a miraculous physique. Shin is a biological marvel, do you understand?
A constitution that produces no rejection response—he is almost the perfect fit for human experimentation.
Shin is now seven years old. After confirming through examination that his body was strong enough, I had a good talk with him. He is genuinely interested in cellular research. After learning about his unique constitution, he agreed to the Hashirama-cell transplantation.
And just as I predicted—Shin showed no signs of rejection whatsoever. His body accepted the overwhelming vitality of the Hashirama cells perfectly.
Unfortunately, it seems that due to insufficient chakra affinity—or perhaps some unknown reason—he still cannot awaken Wood Release."
Hearing that Shin's Hashirama-cell transplant had gone smoothly, a bold idea formed in Hoshiyomi's mind.
After all, from his perspective, instead of merely preventing Kuugetsu's Mangekyō from going blind, wouldn't it be better to advance directly to the Eternal Mangekyō?
After thinking it through, Hoshiyomi said:
"Since Shin has no rejection reactions to transplants, can you try implanting a three-tomoe Sharingan—or even a Mangekyō Sharingan—into him?"
Orochimaru was stunned.
"Hoshiyomi-kun… you intend to use Shin to directly observe how your Yin Release chakra nurtures the Mangekyō?"
Hoshiyomi nodded confidently:
"Exactly. I've always wondered—if my Yin Release chakra can help recover Mangekyō ocular power, then could I use it to help a three-tomoe evolve into a Mangekyō?
I think we can perform Kuugetsu's Hashirama-cell transplant and Shin's three-tomoe transplant at the same time. With both of them as observation subjects, we can further clarify how Hashirama cells and Yin Release chakra enhance the Sharingan and Mangekyō."
Orochimaru pondered for a moment before replying:
"Kuugetsu's Hashirama-cell transplant can begin at any time. As for allowing Shin to receive a three-tomoe Sharingan, I need to speak with him first.
There's something else I'm concerned about—not the compatibility, but the risk. Shin's body can accept the Sharingan just fine. What worries me is whether the immense power of the three-tomoe will affect his mind and body.
After all… Shin is still only seven years old."
...
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