Chapter 515: Limb Regeneration Serum

'That kid... he's made a breakthrough this quickly?'

A flicker of delight rose within Danzo, though his expression remained unchanged as he continued reading.

In the document, Shinichi described in great detail that his research into the first Hokage's cells had already achieved preliminary results.

Now, he was prepared to advance the research into its next stage, human experimentation.

He stated that he had already found a suitable candidate and had great confidence in achieving success.

Even if the experiment failed, with his current methods of control and technical expertise, the participant's life would essentially not be in danger.

However, exceptions were always possible.

Therefore, Shinichi had formally submitted an application to the village, requesting the Hokage's approval to proceed with the experiment.

Once the village approved it, he would personally communicate thoroughly with the chosen participant, fully explaining the risks and potential benefits.

Everything would be based entirely on the participant's voluntary consent, and only after every preparation had been completed would the injection experiment officially begin.

Danzo's eyes continued downward until they reached the final section of the document.

There, Shinichi shifted the focus of his writing, mentioning the many retired ninja in the village who had been forced into retirement because of crippling injuries. They had devoted their youth and blood to the village, only to spend the rest of their lives living with broken bodies.

Although the village had always treated them generously in terms of pensions and compensation, no amount of support could restore the missing limbs of a ninja.

However, the first Hokage's cells possessed extraordinarily powerful vitality and regenerative abilities. Through his research, Shinichi had discovered that by using a special extraction and cultivation process, this regenerative capability could be applied to the repair and regeneration of human tissue.

If research continued along this direction, then in theory it would be entirely possible to develop a genuine limb regeneration serum.

The moment Danzo saw the words, limb regeneration serum, his heart immediately warmed.

From beginning to end, the document had not mentioned Danzo Shimura by name even once.

Yet Danzo could not help but think to himself that this kid must be doing it for him. He must be specifically researching this direction so that Danzo's crippled right arm, and even his right eye, could one day be fully restored.

With that thought, an uncontrollable smile gradually appeared on Danzo Shimura's usually stern face.

Seeing this, the third Hokage gave a light cough and asked, "What do you think, Danzo?"

Coming back to himself, Danzo closed the document once more, nodded, and replied in an unusually gentle tone, "I think it's acceptable."

Ever since the mysterious monk had unexpectedly visited Konoha and generously demonstrated Wood Style for the village, the medical corps had become completely supplied with Shinichi Paper, the crucial material needed for producing medical scrolls. For quite some time to come, they no longer needed to worry about shortages of raw materials.

However, relying on someone else was ultimately never as good as possessing the capability themselves. Depending on an outsider of unknown origins was by no means a long-term solution.

If Konoha could cultivate its own Wood Style user, that would be the truly foolproof solution.

Moreover, the origins of this monk Genjo remained completely unknown. Although Danzo had mobilized Root's intelligence network to investigate him over the past several months, they had failed to uncover the slightest trace of his background, as though the man had simply emerged from a crack in a rock.

It was precisely because of this that Danzo had always remained highly wary of the mysterious Genjo monk.

Even though everything the man had done thus far had benefited Konoha, Danzo had not relaxed his vigilance in the slightest.

After discussing the matter briefly, the two of them both signed their names on the application document.

...

A few days later, Kizashi Haruno was walking back home while lost in thought.

There had been no missions these past few days, so as usual, he had gone to the Ninja Way Origins Research Society to help out, doing whatever was within his abilities.

But compared to his usual carefree self, always wearing a bright smile for everyone he met, Kizashi now walked beneath the setting sun with a troubled expression.

The reason was simple. Earlier that day, Captain Shinichi had called him aside for a private conversation.

Captain Shinichi told him that he was researching the First Hokage's cells and had now reached the stage where human experimentation was necessary.

And Kizashi Haruno was currently the person known to have the highest compatibility with the First Hokage's cells.

At the time, Kizashi had been so fired up that he almost agreed on the spot. Whenever there was work to be done for the village or for Captain Shinichi, when had Kizashi Haruno ever hesitated?

But Captain Shinichi had placed a hand on his shoulder and told him to go home and think it over carefully before making a decision.

On the way home, the evening breeze gradually cooled his overheated mind, and the more he thought about it, the more conflicted he became.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Captain Shinichi. If the captain said there was basically no danger to his life, then it had definitely been verified over and over again.

It was just... he had recently started dating someone. The girl's name was Mebuki. Her eyes curved into crescents whenever she smiled, and the two of them had even begun living together. Their little life together had only just begun.

The whole way home, Kizashi kept turning it over in his mind as two voices argued endlessly inside his head.

One voice said, "What kind of person is Captain Shinichi? If he says it'll be fine, then it'll be fine. What are you afraid of?

"You've been through life-and-death battles with Captain Shinichi so many times. Don't you trust the captain's character by now?"

The other voice said, "Kizashi Haruno, you'd better think this through. What if... even if it's only a what if... what will happen to Mebuki?"

Still tangled in that inner struggle, Kizashi finally returned home.

Even after the meal had been served, he remained absentminded, poking around in his bowl with his chopsticks for quite a while without taking more than a few bites.

Mebuki noticed and wanted to ask what was wrong several times, but stopped herself each time.

Since Kizashi never brought it up himself, she chose not to press him.

In her mind, it was most likely some confidential village business that he couldn't talk about.

So she asked nothing and simply placed a few more pieces of food into his bowl in silence and filled his soup bowl to the brim.

That night, Kizashi tossed and turned in bed. It wasn't until very late into the night that he finally drifted into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Kizashi groggily opened his eyes as rays of dawn slipped through the gap in the curtains and spilled across the floor.

He lay there staring blankly at the patch of white light for quite some time before the scales that had been wavering in his heart all night finally settled decisively.

He made up his mind to do it!

Perhaps because what occupied his thoughts during the day became his dreams at night, he had a dream the previous evening.