Chapter 366 - 364 Narrow-Minded

Immersed in her own thoughts, Orochimaru did not notice Hyuga Mio's unusual behavior.

Imu quickly prepared everything needed for the cell transplantation surgery.

Orochimaru's cell transplantation and cell modification techniques were already very mature, and she easily transplanted Shikotsumyaku cells into the white snake that had split from her white snake tail.

"Collect the data."

Orochimaru stood on the precise instrument. Hyuga Mio and Imu skillfully operated the instrument to collect her body data, most importantly the changes in the white snake tail.

Soon, the white snake, which had been transplanted with Shikotsumyaku cells, began shedding its scales, one by one.

No, rather than shedding, it was more like they were being pushed off.

Bones pierced through flesh and grew out, aggregating to cover the white snake's body, forming a layer of white bone armor.

The white snake opened its mouth and fired bone needles like senbon, then spat out a white bone sword from its mouth.

Orochimaru grasped the hilt of the bone sword, and with her other hand, she gripped the blade and forcefully snapped it, the bone making a crisp breaking sound as it split into two.

This level was too fragile... Orochimaru was not very satisfied with the bones produced by the white snake.

What would the bones be like if they were enhanced with Sage Chakra?

That would be equivalent to the bones Kimimaro produced in his Cursed Mark state?

No, it's different. In the original story, Kimimaro's Cursed Mark was an incomplete Sage Mode, which cannot compare to my perfect Sage Mode.

Orochimaru tried to reinforce the osteoblasts and osteoclasts with Sage Chakra. She ate a soldier pill to mobilize more materials needed for bone production, and a bone sword, as clear and lustrous as jade, emerged from the mouth of the Shikotsumyaku white snake.

Orochimaru held the bone sword, flicked the blade, and it made a sound like metal.

"Not bad."

Orochimaru smiled slightly. The Shikotsumyaku white snake swallowed the bone sword into its mouth. Producing such a bone sword consumed a lot of energy, so how could it be discarded casually?

The white snake tail transformed into a white snake, opening its mouth and swallowing both the Ice Release white snake and the Shikotsumyaku white snake that had split from it, until it reached the base where the two white snakes had split, their heads and bodies merging back into the flesh to become the white snake tail.

"Orochimaru, here's the data."

Hyuga Mio handed the document in her hand to Orochimaru, involuntarily looking at the white snake tail behind her.

"Want to confirm it?"

Orochimaru extended the white snake tail in front of Hyuga Mio, its tip swaying as if to tempt her.

"Okay…"

Hyuga Mio touched the smooth, cool white scales of the white snake tail, unable to resist observing it closely with her Byakugan, and saw cells of different colors preserved within the white snake tail, visible under the Byakugan's gaze.

"Orochimaru, this… this is…"

A hint of surprise flashed in Hyuga Mio's eyes.

The cells were isolated?!

"Whether it's Ice Release or Shikotsumyaku, ultimately, they are merely means to catch opponents off guard, or tools, one could say. I will not let them affect my own body."

Orochimaru explained.

Neither Ice Release nor Shikotsumyaku were Orochimaru's trump cards; they were used to catch enemies by surprise, and more importantly, for when she transformed into the Eight-Headed Serpent.

The only thing that could truly be her trump card was Dust Release.

Learning Dust Release from that old man Ōnoki wouldn't be so simple.

Manipulating Ōnoki was easy, but how to make him willingly hand over Dust Release was a problem.

Recently, the Land of Earth Daimyō had been considering cutting Iwagakure's funding. Iwagakure's performance during the Second Shinobi World War was truly unimpressive.

If it weren't for the Hidden Sand Village of the Land of Wind being at the bottom, the Land of Earth Daimyō would have already been yelling at Ōnoki's big nose.

A little manipulation could make Ōnoki very uncomfortable.

Orochimaru already had a plan to make Ōnoki obediently hand over Dust Release, and a sinister expression appeared on her face.

"Orochimaru, what are you thinking?"

Hyuga Mio looked at Orochimaru's expression, which seemed to be plotting something mischievous.

"You'll know later."

Orochimaru retracted the white snake tail and said to Imu, who was beside her, "Imu, you can go rest. You've worked hard."

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."

Imu nodded and left the room.

"How is Void doing?"

Orochimaru had been busy with the transplantation of Bloodline Limit cells recently and hadn't paid much attention to Void.

"Void learns very quickly, but when watching TV, he learned a lot of unnecessary things."

Hyuga Mio said with a headache, looking at the culprit who popularized television worldwide with a hint of resentment.

"Cough…"

Orochimaru lightly coughed and said, "Watching TV is quite good; it helps him understand this world faster."

She didn't think she was wrong for popularizing television worldwide.

In the original story, by Uzumaki Naruto's generation, televisions were already widespread. Even if she did nothing, televisions would still become popular later; the only difference was that it wouldn't have developed so rapidly.

Orochimaru felt Hyuga Mio's even more resentful gaze and knew how difficult it was to teach Void, who understood nothing. The white snake tail wrapped around her waist, pulling her into her embrace. Holding her soft body, she said, "Mio, you've worked hard during this time."

"With your words, my hard work is worth it."

Hyuga Mio leaned against Orochimaru's embrace, her hand resting on Orochimaru's hand.

She knew how important Void was to Orochimaru.

Her behavior just now was less about complaining and more about wanting Orochimaru to pay more attention to her.

"Speaking of which, has Void's Rinnegan displayed any special abilities?"

Orochimaru was very curious if Void's Rinnegan had the abilities it should have.

Hyuga Mio thought for a moment and said, "I haven't seen Void display any Rinnegan abilities, but I can feel that those eyes have very strong ocular power, far exceeding my Byakugan."

"Orochimaru, when will you transplant Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's cells into me?"

Hyuga Mio held Orochimaru's hand.

"Mio, I'm worried the cell transplant surgery might fail."

Orochimaru hugged Hyuga Mio tightly, not really wanting to perform the cell transplant surgery on her.

The success rate was high, but there was still a chance of failure.

She had thought about transplanting Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's cells into Mio before, but when it came time to actually do it, she hesitated... She was worried about accidents, worried Mio would suffer unbearable pain... Hyuga Mio felt the strength in her hands and heard her worry and fear in Orochimaru's words.

She turned around and hugged her.

"Orochimaru, you are the most brilliant scientist. The cell transplant surgery technique is already mature, no longer experimental. I trust you, and please trust yourself."

Hyuga Mio's tone was gentle, full of trust in Orochimaru.

"But... what if something goes wrong?"

-------------------------

If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!

Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.

Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.

[email protected]/Greyhounds

"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"