After completing the mission with Orochimaru, Hyuga Asana waited for Uchiha Yuan's return near the Uchiha clan's camp. Now that she was known as Orochimaru's disciple, almost no one in the Hyuga camp dared to interfere with her.
Her current status was nearly equal to that of a Hyuga main family member.
However, there were some among the Hyuga clan who were displeased with Asana's current position.
To some of the main family members, Asana already enjoyed privileges equivalent to the main family, which made them feel that their status was being threatened.
Still, they dared not confront Asana directly—she represented the Hokage faction, and even the Hyuga main family could not afford to offend them.
Thus, certain main family members had been trying to provoke Hyuga Hiashi, the Hyuga clan leader, to restrict her in some way.
But because Hiashi had been stationed on the battlefield, he hadn't yet addressed the issue.
Even if he did speak up, it would likely just be to advise her to stay low-profile. After all, the Hyuga clan still depended on the Hokage faction's support to maintain its current privileges in Konoha.
Once Uchiha Yuan returned to the Uchiha camp, Asana immediately approached him.
"Yuan, are you alright?" Asana asked with concern.
"Don't worry. I'm fine."
"Who were those people who suddenly appeared?"
"You saw them?" Yuan asked, surprised.
"My Byakugan happened to catch a glimpse of some figures underground."
"I see. Since you've already seen them, there's no point in hiding it from you. They were…"
Yuan gave Asana a basic explanation about White Zetsu, but he didn't mention anything about Uchiha Madara.
Partly because he had just agreed to a deal with Madara, and partly because revealing Madara's existence wouldn't do Asana any good.
However, Yuan had no intention of hiding the matter about Hashirama's cells.
Hashirama's cells were important to Yuan.
He had no siblings—he couldn't rely on transplanting another Mangekyō Sharingan to obtain an Eternal Mangekyō.
And he wasn't certain whether gaining enough stat points through the text game would allow his eyes to evolve into the Eternal form.
At present, the only confirmed way to counter Mangekyō blindness was Hashirama's cells, making them a critical backup plan.
Over the years, Hyuga Asana had learned a lot by following Orochimaru—she had achieved significant proficiency in medical ninjutsu.
Yuan also suspected that Asana knew something about Hashirama cells.
After all, she had helped Orochimaru seize Byakugan from the Hyuga main family, suggesting she had gained Orochimaru's trust and been involved in secret research.
Even if Asana knew nothing about the First Hokage's cells, Yuan still would have told her.
First, the trust between Yuan and Asana was absolute there was no need for secrets.
Second, she was the only person he could count on to help study those cells.
According to Yuan's estimate, reaching 1000 in eye power would likely trigger his Mangekyō evolution.
Based on his current stat gain rate, that would take about half a year.
So within six months, they had to finish research on the First Hokage's cells.
Then, Yuan and Asana left the camp and went to a nearby cave.
Yuan took the arm made from Hashirama cells out of his sealing scroll.
Asana activated her Byakugan and examined it closely.
"So these are Hashirama's cells? Just as Orochimaru-sensei said, they possess a strange kind of vitality."
"You've never seen them before?"
Asana shook her head. "I've only heard Orochimaru-sensei talk about them. He said all the research is back in the village, and he'd let me participate once the war ended."
Yuan nodded without pressing further.
"Yuan, where did you get this arm?" Asana asked.
"You don't need to worry about that. Just help me analyze it."
Asana took the arm and opened a scroll containing simple medical equipment to begin studying it.
About an hour later, she said, "Yuan, the cells in this arm aren't quite normal. They're not as active as expected. It looks like someone deliberately suppressed their vitality.
The benefit is that the arm's rejection potential is lower—but so is the effectiveness of the Hashirama cells."
Yuan nodded—her analysis matched his own.
In other words, this arm couldn't support Mangekyō use without backlash.
To achieve what Obito had—using the Mangekyō without damage—he'd need a massive amount of Hashirama cells. At minimum, half his body would need to be made of them.
But that wasn't what Yuan wanted. He had no desire for his body to be overtaken by another person's cells.
And he never intended to transplant this arm in the first place.
In the original story, Madara had planted a seal in Obito's heart during surgery.
Knowing Madara's personality, there was a good chance this arm also contained some kind of trap.
So this arm was meant for research only—direct transplantation would've been foolish.
"Asana, do you have any way to give someone some of the First Hokage's characteristics without fully transplanting the cells?"
"I didn't at first," she said, "but this arm gave me an idea.
Orochimaru-sensei once told me that Hashirama's cells are so special because he developed Yang Release to its peak. Every cell in his body carried powerful vitality.
So if we could enhance Yang Release chakra, it might make a person's cells evolve into something similar."
Yuan blinked in surprise—then his eyes lit up. This might be a way to solve the Mangekyō blindness problem.
If a massive increase in Yang Release chakra could transform someone's cells into Hashirama-like ones…
Then perhaps Yuan could simply increase his "life force" stat through the game, strengthening his cells until they mimicked the First Hokage's.
And in doing so, eliminate the fatal flaw of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
(To Be Continued...)