After a long silence, Tsunade said, "Jiraiya, once we return to the Village, I plan to resign and travel around."
Jiraiya was taken aback: "Tsunade, why is that?"
Tsunade looked at Ryou's tombstone and said, "When I was at the Ninja Academy, my clan told me to stay away from the Uchiha. I only lowered my guard later when I realized Ryou was different from the others in the Uchiha Clan."
"But when I tried to approach him, he stood me up. Now I understand that it was the old man and my clan interfering."
Jiraiya understood. Tsunade was an incredibly proud person, the recognized Konoha Princess of the Ninja World. How could she allow others to interfere in her affairs?
"Tsunade, the old man was also afraid of the Uchiha..."
Tsunade nodded. "Ryou himself admitted that he was following the Uchiha's arrangements, but during that Jonin meeting, only Ryou barged in to support me. You and Orochimaru remained silent."
"..."
Jiraiya fell silent.
The matter Tsunade referred to was the Medical Reform she proposed at the Jonin Council Meeting after Nawaki's death—namely, that every mission squad should be equipped with a Medical Ninja.
What Tsunade proposed back then was somewhat unrealistic.
That was the era of the Second Great Ninja War. Every Medical Ninja in the Village was treated like a treasure. The requirements were high, and the numbers were few. How could every Ninja squad be equipped with a Medical Ninja?
Everyone rejected Tsunade, including her own teammates, but Ryou, dragging his weak body, ran in to support her.
Jiraiya spoke again: "Tsunade, the war isn't over yet. If you, the greatest medical ninja, leave now—"
Tsunade interrupted Jiraiya: "No. Right now, the Village is only fighting Kirigakure. Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure are mostly defensive."
"And judging by Kirigakure's posture, they won't last much longer. Otherwise, we Three Sannin and Minato wouldn't be here."
Jiraiya and Minato were speechless. If the war situation were truly tense, they wouldn't have this much free time.
Ultimately, every Village was exhausted by the war.
Tsunade continued: "I estimate that the Village will soon elect the Fourth Hokage, and the Fourth Hokage..."
Tsunade looked at Minato.
Minato was startled and humbly said, "Lady Tsunade, you overestimate me. Your achievements, as well as those of the old man and Orochimaru-senpai, are greater than mine. You are more suited to be Hokage."
Tsunade shook her head: "No, Minato, you are the protagonist of this war."
If anyone was a born Hokage, it was Minato. The Third Great Ninja War was Minato's stage.
Tsunade looked at Jiraiya: "Given Jiraiya's personality, he'll probably travel after the war ends. I doubt he's interested in the Hokage position!"
"Tsunade, you really know me!"
Jiraiya scratched his head, laughing awkwardly, and then teased, "How about this? We can travel together—"
Tsunade cut Jiraiya off, intending to literally break him. A Super Strength punch was about to shatter Jiraiya's bones.
Jiraiya quickly shouted, "Tsunade, calm down! Don't smash Ryou's grave!"
Tsunade stopped.
Minato asked, confused, "Isn't there still Orochimaru-senpai? Why did Senior Tsunade say I would be the Hokage?"
Tsunade sneered: "Orochimaru? The old man asked Jiraiya and me to return from the front lines specifically to keep an eye on Orochimaru."
"You all saw how agitated Orochimaru was earlier when faced with Ryou's forbidden jutsu!"
"Speaking of which, he's probably still salvaging Ryou's forbidden jutsu, even though it exploded into fragments!"
Mentioning Orochimaru, Jiraiya became serious for once, looking with Tsunade at the cliff beneath Kannabi Bridge: "Orochimaru... has become increasingly inscrutable!"
Tsunade said, "Jiraiya, once we're back in the Village, you should investigate Orochimaru thoroughly. I think Ryou was right; that guy Orochimaru might be secretly researching some Human Body forbidden jutsu!"
Jiraiya nodded.
"Alright, I should go. If you two want to wait for Orochimaru, go ahead!"
As Tsunade spoke, her body dissolved into an afterimage and she left.
Jiraiya sighed, watching Tsunade's retreating figure. His offer to travel with Tsunade was not a joke, and Tsunade had rejected him again.
Jiraiya patted Minato's shoulder: "Minato, honestly... if Tsunade wanted to become the Fourth Hokage, you couldn't compete with her."
Minato nodded, acknowledging Tsunade's absolute advantage.
The eldest daughter of the Senju Clan, granddaughter of the First Hokage and Second Hokage, one of the Three Sannin, the Slug Princess, the greatest medical ninja...
If Konoha lacked Tsunade in this Ninja World War, Minato didn't know how difficult the fighting would be. The discussions in the Village about Tsunade becoming Hokage were already rampant.
"However, you don't need to feel inferior. Tsunade was right, you are the protagonist of this war."
Jiraiya changed his tone, encouraging Minato: "Furthermore, the old man entrusted you with the secret mission of dealing with Ryou, which proves he has already made his choice. You should know that the old man is wary of Orochimaru."
"Minato, when you go back, have Kushina secretly sew a Hokage Robe and hide it at home, waiting for the right time!"
"Sensei, stop joking!"
"Hahaha..."
Minato looked at Jiraiya, whose eyes were slightly teary beneath his laughter. Was he laughing or crying?
Sensei was also heartbroken, yet he had to calm down and comfort them.
Because Jiraiya might not be the strongest, but he was the most reassuring Ninja.
Everyone who worked with him was willing to entrust their back to him.
Ryou, however, was unpredictable. He would betray people; Hiruko was one example.
Beneath Kannabi Bridge, Orochimaru shot out of the rapids and jumped onto the bank, holding a white, leather-like fragment that resembled wood.
Orochimaru stared at the fragment, which looked like wood yet felt like the cuticle of some creature, completely baffled: "What is this? Why did Ryou's body have something like this? Is it because of the forbidden jutsu?"
They thought they knew Ryou well, but they knew too little. They only knew Ryou researched the forbidden jutsu of Immortality.
But Orochimaru had only heard the principles behind the Chimera Technique and the Creation Rebirth Technique, which were derived from that forbidden jutsu.
If Ryou's research into forbidden jutsu hadn't been mysteriously exposed, Orochimaru wouldn't have known that his former classmate was just like him.
Playing with life!
But one thing Orochimaru could confirm was that Ryou was very similar to him: someone who would stop at nothing for eternal life and power.
"Ryou, don't think I can't deal with you just because nothing is left. Your vision, like Hiruko's, is ultimately substandard."
"Although I haven't fully mastered the Second Hokage's forbidden jutsu, I must take a risk for eternal life. Wait for me, Ryou. I will resurrect you."
Orochimaru used a Body Flicker and left the bank.
After he left, a pitcher plant emerged from the spot where he had been standing.
"I didn't expect Orochimaru to pursue this so relentlessly. I need to report to Lord Madara quickly; he discovered my spores."
...An underground base not far from Kannabi Bridge.
An old man with white hair sat quietly on a wooden seat, eyes closed, holding a staff.
Behind the old man was a massive Sinister Statue of the Forest. Several wooden tubes extended from the old man's back, tightly connected to the statue. Clearly, his life depended entirely on the statue continuously supplying nutrients.
And lying in front of the old man was... Ryou!
Ryou hadn't exploded into fragments, nor was he dead, but his condition was poor. His hair was completely white, and he looked like he was about to breathe his last—he might as well have been the brother of the old man with his eyes closed.
White Zetsu Tobi was poking Ryou's body on the ground, seemingly trying to see what difference there was between this new human and Obito.
The old man slowly opened one eye: "Get up! Stop pretending. You've been sleeping for almost a day."
Tobi picked up a stick as instructed and poked Ryou's body.
Ryou was still feigning sleep, so Tobi poked him directly in the backside.
Ryou quickly rolled over to protect himself and stood up shakily.
This was the downside of being old: you fell asleep at the slightest touch, and when you were helped up, you looked ready to extort someone.
Minato's Kunai had indeed pierced Ryou's heart, and he was moments from dying.
The mistake was that Minato didn't stab him in the head!
The moment the Kunai pierced his heart, Ryou used the Chimera Technique to suppress the injury. As for the subsequent explosion, he didn't cause it.
Just as Orochimaru guessed, his Exploding Tags were self-imitations; what he swallowed was just a wad of paper.
A White Zetsu spores had attached itself to Ryou at the time. When Ryou jumped down, the White Zetsu clone took his place and self-destructed. Ryou was then rescued by the White Zetsu and transferred to Uchiha Madara's base.
As for his current appearance?
Because his heart was indeed pierced by Minato, Ryou used Creation Rebirth to dedicate all his active cells to repairing his heart, thereby sustaining his life.
The principle of the Creation Rebirth Technique is Chakra stimulating cells to accelerate division, achieving organ regeneration.
This technique requires the use of the Yin Seal, but Ryou didn't have the Yin Seal, so he over-drafted his own cells to produce Chakra.
Since he essentially used all his bodily cells to regenerate his heart, his cells were over-drafted, and his youthful appearance naturally aged.
Ryou secretly glanced at the old man in front of him. His hair was like frost, his face crisscrossed with wrinkles, looking as if he would breathe his last the next second.
If nothing unexpected happened, this person was the Uchiha's Specter, Ryou's ancestor—Uchiha Madara!
Judging by his condition, if he were nurtured a bit longer and then killed, Ryou could absorb a hundred-year Soul Ring.
Ryou noticed the tube behind Madara. This was Madara's oxygen tube; without it, Madara would kick the bucket.
Ryou coughed twice, wondering how he should act.
When Ryou was born, Madara had long since left Konoha.
To the Uchiha, Madara was a source of pride, but also a taboo.
He was arguably the first rogue ninja of Konoha! But his seniority was too high, so the Konoha authorities didn't dare treat him officially as a rogue ninja.
The Uchiha couldn't promote Madara as a Heroic Spirit either. The younger generation had only heard of him, never met him.
Before Ryou could figure out his role, he heard a loud commotion.
"Old man, that's Uchiha Madara. He's a very evil person. Don't let him deceive you."
Ryou turned his head to look.
He saw a humanoid creature lying on a bed, his head wrapped in bandages, one half of his body intact and the other half stitched together with some grayish-white substance, looking at Ryou with concern for an elderly person.
Ryou was stunned: "Obito?"
Obito was surprised: "Old man, you know me?"
Ryou laughed heartily: "Obito, you brat, you're not dead! Uncle cried so sadly when you died, I only ate one bowl of rice that whole night."
"I was planning to hold your funeral and collect money, but that damned Fugaku brought people to crash the party."
"Uncle?"
The underground base was too dark, and Obito couldn't clearly see Ryou's appearance for a moment. When he did see him, he didn't recognize him because he was so old.
"Who are you? Why do you sound so much like that guy Ryou?"
Ryou angrily said, "Idiot Obito, you dare call me Ryou? I am your Uncle, Ryou."
"Ryou, you're really Ryou!"
Obito jumped off the bed and bounded over to Ryou: "Ryou, why are you so old?"
"Does that mean I've been stuck in this cursed place for decades?"
Obito clutched his head in disbelief, thinking that Kakashi and Rin must have already gotten married and had children.
Ryou looked around, snatched the staff from Madara's hand, and tapped Obito's head: "Obito, wasn't Uncle good to you? I gave you two big red envelopes when you were born. Is this how you address your Uncle behind his back?"
Obito held his head: "Uncle, stop hitting me. My grandma said the red envelopes you gave me were Exploding Tags and almost blew me up."
Ryou chased Obito, hitting him: "You ungrateful brat! Aren't Exploding Tags the standard red envelope for a Ninja? Do you know how much one exploding tag costs?"
Madara: "(☉д⊙)."
Did these two think they were long-lost neighbors?
"Enough! Obito, go play elsewhere!"
Madara activated his Sharingan, and Obito was immediately immobilized on a nearby wooden bed, completely pinned down.
With Ryou here, Obito was basically useless, and Madara didn't bother being polite to him.
Seeing Obito so easily hard-controlled, Ryou swallowed, turned to look at the somewhat imposing Uchiha Madara, and pretended: "Old man, where is this place? Who are you?"
Madara scoffed: "Stop pretending. You're not that naive brat Obito. How many good people research Human Body forbidden jutsu?"
Obito, though controlled nearby, still had his thoughts.
He was shocked to hear Ryou researched Human Body forbidden jutsu: "Uncle, you actually researched Human Body forbidden jutsu? Is that true? You're not lying to me, are you!"
"Wait, Uncle, the headband on your forehead, you defected!"
Ryou adjusted the rogue ninja headband on his forehead, which looked rather worldly. He stopped pretending in front of Obito: "That's right, Obito. I'm an Uchiha rogue ninja now. My bounty outside is already as high as 100 million Ryo."
Obito was stunned: "Uncle, what did you even do?"
Ryou sneered, "What did I do? I went to the orphanage to hand out milk to the children, but they needed a parent's signature to receive it."
That's really evil!
Obito hadn't expected Ryou to be such a cruel person.
(╬☉д⊙).
Madara had been holding his breath. He was very old and usually slept deeply. If those tubes behind him were pulled out, he'd kick the bucket. After Ryou's antics, he felt like he was about to kick the bucket anyway.
He quickly gave Tobi a look, and Tobi immediately went to cover Obito's mouth. Suddenly, the entire world became quiet.
"Mmmph mmmph—"
Ryou didn't dare cause trouble anymore. He quickly crawled down before Madara to show submission: "Junior Ryou greets the Ancestor!"
Madara was of Ryou's grandfather's generation, but with Madara's strength and prestige, serving as an honored Ancestor was more than enough.
However, Ryou felt that considering the beastly things Madara had done, calling him Old Demon Madara was more fitting.
Ancestor?
Madara slowly regained his composure, feeling a little emotional about the title. In the blink of an eye, he was now an ancestor!
Hashirama, so many years have passed in a flash!
Recalling the great old ones by the riverbank...
Ryou changed his tactic, rushing forward to hug Madara's leg and wailing, "Ancestor, do you know how much prejudice your descendants have suffered in Konoha?"
"Senju Tobirama, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and Shimura Danzo are not good people; they are trying to completely destroy the Uchiha!"
Madara sneered internally, Serves them right!
When Madara left Konoha back then, he had considered taking his clansmen, but the Uchiha had become infatuated with Konoha's peace, and every single one of them refused to continue following Madara. They had betrayed him.
Madara's later years were lonely... "And what about me? All I did was kill a few people and research a couple of forbidden jutsu, right?"
"That old bastard Danzo and that old venomous snake Orochimaru, the evil deeds they've committed are too numerous to record. I could become a saint just by killing them."
"Ancestor, you must judge this fairly!"
As Ryou spoke, his hand slowly reached behind Madara, feeling for his oxygen tube.
Madara looked calmly at Ryou: "Junior, go ahead and pull it!"
"..."
Ryou gave an awkward smile, lowered his hand, backed away, and crawled down.
Even if Uchiha Madara was so old he couldn't walk, he wasn't someone Ryou could plot against.
Moreover, even if he pulled Madara's oxygen tube, with so many White Zetsu here, could Ryou possibly escape?
Furthermore, Ryou couldn't even tell if he was currently under a Genjutsu.
From that moment until now, Ryou had not made eye contact with Madara, but in front of someone who was the strongest below the Six Paths, Madara could forcefully control Ryou without even using his eyes.
Madara tossed a scroll to Ryou. Ryou took it and immediately widened his eyes, because it was the scroll containing Ryou's forbidden jutsu.
Researching forbidden jutsu always required written records; humans couldn't possibly have such perfect memory, so Ryou recorded it on a scroll.
He had wondered who stole it; turns out it was Madara. That meant his own affairs were also exposed by Madara.
Fine, you old geezer! Just watch me pull out your oxygen tube!
Facing a dark-hearted person like Ryou, Madara saw no need for pretense.
Madara snatched the cane from Ryou's hand and tapped his head: "What kind of garbage is written here? Who is your teacher? Bring him to me!"
Ryou lowered his head, allowing Madara to tap his head with the cane, but joy rose in his heart.
Ryou usually recorded the scrolls in a language only he could read.
Madara probably had the White Zetsu steal it but couldn't understand it, so he devised a plan to force Ryou to defect.
"Alright, Ryou, I won't mince words. I designed your escape. I need your forbidden jutsu to restore myself to my prime."
Madara changed all his plans the moment he heard about Ryou's forbidden jutsu.
Originally, his plan was to wait for Nagato to grow up, have him use the Rinnegan to activate the Rinne Rebirth Jutsu to revive him, and then he would complete the Eye of the Moon Plan himself.
Madara also considered potential accidents. If Nagato failed to revive him, who would oversee the Eye of the Moon Plan?
Madara set his sights on the naive Obito.
He manipulated Obito, making him completely despair of the world and place all his hope in the world of Genjutsu.
After Madara's death, Obito would take over the Eye of the Moon Plan, ready to revive Madara at any moment.
But even that carried risks. Nothing was more reassuring than doing things with his own hands.
Now, as long as he obtained Ryou's forbidden jutsu, Madara could regain his youth and return to his peak.
He asked himself, in the current Ninja World without Hashirama, who could stop him?
Moreover, the Five Great Ninja Villages had just finished the Great Ninja War and were exhausted.
He held the advantage of timing, geography, and support; what was Uchiha Madara waiting for?
Madara even halted the plan to make Obito fall into darkness; all the White Zetsu were deployed to seize Ryou's forbidden jutsu.
For Ryou, with his level of strength, escaping the pursuit of the Uchiha Police Force, Konoha Anbu, and Root was simply wishful thinking.
Even Orochimaru's attacks were aided by Madara.
When Orochimaru was about to capture Ryou, Madara used the Shōten no Jutsu to transfer his consciousness into a White Zetsu and used Genjutsu to help Ryou escape.
What Madara least expected was that, because of Ryou, the Third Hokage even deployed Namikaze Minato.
Minato immediately tried to appeal to his heart.
Madara thought his ambitions were about to be shattered then, yet he didn't expect this kid Ryou to survive.
Getting back to the point, one of Madara's Sharingan fixed on Ryou, radiating immense pressure.
Dealing with someone like Ryou couldn't be done by slowly setting up a plan, gradually making him despair of the world, and then making him believe in the Eye of the Moon Plan, as with Obito.
Would an immortal person pursue living in a dream? Such people are usually commoners; they don't care what the world becomes.
As long as they live comfortably, that's enough.
Uchiha Madara looked down on such people, believing them to be driven purely by greed and self-interest.
But such people are the easiest to handle; simple coercion and enticement are enough.
Ryou quickly lowered his head and replied, "Ancestor, I have always admired you, but my forbidden jutsu is too complicated. It involves Quantum Mechanics, Calculus, and General Relativity..."
"Even if I gave it to you, you wouldn't be able to learn it."
Quantum Mechanics, Calculus? What nonsense is that?
Madara immediately knew this was outside his area of expertise. He felt he was falling behind, and it was time to have the White Zetsu collect textbooks from the Ninja Academy for him to study.
He didn't want to be abandoned by the times.
Madara tapped his cane once, pressuring Ryou: "Then tell me, Ryou, how can you restore my youth?"
Ryou quickly said, "Ancestor, my forbidden jutsu can be used on others besides myself. How about this: first, help me find a life, and I'll demonstrate it for you."
Ryou glanced around, spotted Obito being held down by Tobi, and immediately pointed at Obito, saying, "Him! He's a living person."
Ryou, I'll $&@m*#...
If Tobi hadn't stopped him, Obito would have jumped up to fight Ryou to the death.
Madara ignored Ryou's choice, tapping his cane. A white humanoid figure emerged from the ground, slowly revealing its true form on the surface: a White Zetsu clone.
Madara's White Zetsu consisted of two parts. One type was inside the Gedo Statue; these were the original White Zetsu, whose prototypes were puppet weapons controlled by Ōtsutsuki Kaguya to fight the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
The other type was cultivated by Madara using Hashirama cells.
The original White Zetsu were the main body White Zetsu, like White Zetsu Tobi, who were infused with Hashirama cells and possessed Wood Release power.
The remaining White Zetsu were White Zetsu clones cultivated by Madara using Hashirama cells and the Gedo Statue's energy.
Madara pointed at the White Zetsu clone and said, "This is a White Zetsu clone, an Artificial Human I cultivated using Hashirama cells. Its vitality is much higher than that of ordinary people."
"Use him to demonstrate for me!"
Ryou nodded, slowly walked next to the White Zetsu clone, and looked at the clone, whose eyes were dull and lacked consciousness.
To be honest, Uchiha Madara was not the type of person who cared for his juniors; he was Old Demon Madara.
Even a fool like Obito had a Cursed Tag placed on him to ensure loyalty, so a dark-hearted person like Ryou was probably already filled with Curse Marks planted by Madara.
If he restored Madara's youth, wouldn't Madara have no need for him anymore?
Unnecessary people would be disposed of.
But if he didn't help Madara regain his youth, Ryou would still be disposed of, perhaps even faster.
And the most crucial point: Ryou was lying to Madara. His technique didn't have an option for use on others at all.
Ryou's technique was to seize the life force of others to prolong his own life. To prolong Madara's life, Ryou would have to give him his own life force.
How could Ryou have possibly developed such a self-sacrificing technique?
He had neither the time nor the kindness to do so.
But for the sake of his own life, Ryou needed to possess value that Madara would prioritize right now.
But what if Madara discovered the truth later? Ryou was getting a headache.
However, the current Madara's power was not absolute; in fact, he was at his weakest. Old man Madara's Rinnegan was with Nagato.
He only had one transplanted Sharingan in his eye socket.
In the manga, Madara fell into slumber after having White Zetsu bring Obito, proving that Madara couldn't stay awake for long periods.
If Ryou could improve his strength further, he might still be able to escape.
But increasing strength is not achieved overnight; it must be done step by step.
If Ryou were given time, he could reach the level of the Sannin.
Alas, he had already boarded Uchiha Madara's pirate ship and couldn't get off.
He had solved his body's problem and severed Konoha's shackles, but now Madara had become the new shackle placed upon him.
How could he quickly increase his strength?
Ryou thought of the Kekkei Genkai Plunder aspect of the Chimera Technique.
Speaking of the Chimera Technique, we must mention Hiruko.
Ryou used to be quite confident, thinking he could rely on his own strength to solve his hereditary disease, but he despaired when the Sannin gradually pulled ahead of him.
One person's power is limited.
Moreover, Ryou wasn't a genius. His Medical Ninjutsu came from his experience in his previous life, and he knew how to train the Rasengan because he had read the manga.
Ryou dared not approach Orochimaru, fearing that the venomous snake would devour him completely, so he sought out Hiruko instead.
In the original story, Hiruko was a contemporary of the Sannin. Due to his mediocre aptitude, he secretly researched the Chimera Technique to compensate for his deficiencies.
He was later discovered and expelled by the Third Hokage.
During Shippuden, Hiruko gained the power to rival, and even surpass, the Three Sannin using the Chimera Technique. The fact that the Chimera Technique could perfectly plunder others' Kekkei Genkai was astonishing.
Ryou approached Hiruko, and Hiruko also needed Ryou's expertise in Medical Ninjutsu.
The two hit it off immediately; it could be described as two scoundrels working together.
The day the technique was completed, Hiruko was backstabbed by Ryou just as he was rejoicing wildly.
Although the technique was complete, it was only an initial version, capable of plundering only one Kekkei Genkai and unable to exceed the body's maximum capacity.
There was no way around it. Even if Hiruko had developed it in the original story, it would still take over a decade to perfect the Chimera Technique.
At this stage, how many Kekkei Genkai were available to plunder in Uchiha Madara's Base?
The first was Uchiha Madara, but his Rinnegan was with Nagato, and the Sharingan in his eye socket was transplanted.
Furthermore, he had transplanted Hashirama cells and possessed Wood Release within his body.
This was undoubtedly the best Kekkei Genkai Plunder target, but Ryou never dared to set his sights on him.
The second was Obito, who had one two-tomoe Sharingan.
If it were Mangekyo Kamui, that would be one thing, but two-tomoe... although Ryou hadn't awakened his eyes, he possessed a mysterious confidence that made him disdain the two-tomoe.
The last remaining Kekkei Genkai was the White Zetsu cells.
Do White Zetsu cells count as a Kekkei Genkai?
Yes! White Zetsu's combat power isn't strong, but they are excellent for intelligence, infiltration, and support.
They possess the Spore Technique, which allows them to attach to people, undetectable even by powerful figures like the Five Kage.
The spores can monitor targets and absorb Chakra.
White Zetsu can also transform perfectly. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, White Zetsu could not only mimic appearance but also copy the opponent's Chakra and voice.
Not even the Byakugan could expose them.
The Allied Shinobi Forces suffered greatly, and only KCM Naruto could sense the disguised White Zetsu through malice detection.
They also have the Mayfly Technique, which allows them to move underground, and simplified Wood Release power.
Simply put, White Zetsu cells are a variant of Hashirama cells, possessing superior special abilities compared to Hashirama cells.
They are Hashirama cells that mutated toward stealth, reconnaissance, and infiltration.
Ryou's body currently couldn't absorb complete Hashirama cells, and if he asked Madara for them now, Madara would certainly become suspicious.
Therefore, he should first plunder the White Zetsu, use the White Zetsu cells for support, and slowly plan how to obtain complete Hashirama cells later.