Naruto: The Sage Body of Konoha

Beside the tree hollow, Heiyan had already donned the Two-Tails Catgirl Armor.

After all, he was here to infiltrate Root's laboratory. Revealing his identity was out of the question, so it was better to stay "low-key."

It must be said—having an alternate identity really did make things much more convenient.

Heiyan didn't charge straight into the tree hollow. Instead, he pulled out the symbiotic Byakugan, pumped some chakra into it—as if charging a battery—and placed it inside.

The symbiotic Byakugan silently adhered itself to the walls of the underground passageway and quietly entered Root's laboratory.

Through the vision provided by the Byakugan, Heiyan spotted numerous traps within the tunnel, along with two Root guard ninjas. Going deeper, he could see a lab filled with equipment—and a familiar figure.

It was Orochimaru.

The latter was leaning over, fully focused on observing a culture dish beneath a microscope. Inside was a wriggling lump of flesh sprouting many green sprouts.

That lump was clearly the object of Heiyan's mission—the Hashirama cells.

[The symbiotic Byakugan truly is a great tool for reconnaissance.]

Heiyan mused inwardly.

Thanks to this eye gifted by Hiashi, he had already mapped out the underground path and learned about the enemy's situation in advance. Otherwise, charging in blind would've spooked them and blown the whole mission.

Swish!

Heiyan lightly leapt forward, skillfully jumping into the tree hollow, swiftly dropping downward.

Deep beneath the earth stretched a long corridor.

This passage was over ten feet wide and sixteen feet high—plenty of space for large equipment to pass through. Every dozen steps or so, lighting fixtures were installed on the walls. Perhaps due to unstable voltage, the dim yellow lights flickered from time to time, creating a more unsettling atmosphere.

Midway through the corridor, two masked Root agents leaned against the wall, taking a nap.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, one of the Root ninjas noticed that a shadow had somehow appeared on the ground before him.

He quickly lifted his head, pupils constricting instantly as his body stiffened in alarm.

There stood a figure over six foot two inches tall—tall yet graceful—approaching them step by silent step like a cat. The flickering lights illuminated her silhouette and face, revealing not a human, but a blue-skinned catgirl.

This figure possessed paw-like soles on her feet, which allowed her to move soundlessly without making the slightest noise.

"Enemy attack!"

As soon as the Root ninja shouted in alarm, his vision blurred.

In the next second, a long leg over four feet in length swept toward him, carrying a fierce gust of wind.

Bang! Bang!

Several heavy sounds rang out in the corridor, followed again by silence.

Meanwhile, inside the laboratory.

Orochimaru, eyes burning with fanaticism, was stimulating the Hashirama cells within the culture dish using various methods while observing under the microscope, carefully recording every change occurring within the cells.

Just moments earlier—

Although he had already cultivated Hashirama cells suitable for human transplantation, those sprout cells had all been weakened to make them easier for recipients to accept and reduce rejection, thereby increasing the success rate of transplants.

But this piece of flesh before him now was the original tissue from Senju Hashirama given to Orochimaru by Black Zetsu at the very beginning.

Within it lay a more domineering and complete power of the First Hokage.

In Orochimaru's opinion, cell transplantation surgery was nothing special—many Medical Ninjas could perform it. His good friend Tsunade, for example, could even do it better than him.

What he truly wanted to research, however, was gene manipulation technology.

He had discovered that compared to forcibly implanting cells, gene manipulation was more thorough, advanced, and perfected—the only true method to inherit Hashirama's abilities into his own bloodline.

To study this technology, Orochimaru next planned to obtain one hundred infants and integrate Hashirama's cells into their bodies, verifying his hypothesis through brutal selection and elimination.

He knew what he was doing was "wrongdoing," but he didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

After all, all his actions were a reflection of his obsession with his idol, Senju Tobirama.

As the Second Hokage of Konoha, during his lifetime Tobirama had conducted countless inhumane human experiments. Otherwise, how could he have developed so many forbidden ninjutsu?

Yet still, Tobirama was a hero worshipped by everyone because he led Konoha to victory in the First Great Ninja War.

History is written by the victors—that was simply how the ninja world worked.

Thus, Orochimaru bore no psychological burden. He knew that as long as his research on Hashirama cells allowed him to uncover humanity's secret to immortality, he would become a hero across the entire ninja world.

Of course, whether or not he chose to share that immortal technology with others would entirely depend on his mood at the time.

Just then.

Suddenly, Orochimaru heard an unusual sound echoing from the corridor outside his laboratory.

And before he could investigate further, a tall catgirl was already in the lab. She casually glanced left and right, examining the surrounding experimental equipment, paying him no respect whatsoever.

"..."

A pair of golden eyes with vertical pupils shone with surprise. He honestly hadn't expected anyone to find this place—much less a strangely dressed catgirl.

At this moment, after finishing her survey of the room, the catgirl's gaze finally fell upon the petri dish containing the Hashirama cells in Orochimaru's hand.

Neither side spoke—not a word, nor... any need for words.

A moment of silence stretched between them.

[Hidden Shadow Snake Hands]!

Orochimaru struck suddenly, launching dozens of snake-like creatures as thick as bowls from within his sleeves. Their mouths wide open, revealing fangs dripping with venom, they attacked the catgirl from every direction—floor, air, ceiling, walls—swarming toward her like a storm.

These weren't mindless beasts. They moved with clear purpose, some meant to intimidate, some to distract, some aiming directly at capture—combining together into a complex chain of attack that was nearly impossible to defend against.

"Hiss… Hiss… Hiss…"

Several venomous snakes hissed and lunged at the catgirl, aiming to bite various parts of her body.

But the catgirl remained calm and collected, even curling her lips into a faint smile. The next second—

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two razor-sharp blades shot out from her feline paws, gleaming coldly under the laboratory lights.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

With an elegant twist, the catgirl sliced her claws so fast they left trails of afterimages, blocking all attacks before her. Like cutting vegetables, she carved each snake into dozens of pieces.

Then, she switched from defense to offense, darting and leaping through the lab with the ferocity of a wild panther.

Compared to her movements, the once-lethal snake attacks seemed painfully slow, all easily evaded by the catgirl.

Wherever her claws passed, the snakes were ruthlessly torn apart, utterly helpless.

Cats are natural enemies of snakes.

Therefore, the catgirl Heiyan was naturally the nemesis of the snake man Orochimaru.

Fwoosh!

After slicing the last snake down, the agile catgirl launched herself toward Orochimaru like a lightning bolt.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, staring directly into hers. His serpent-like pupils emitted a subtle ripple of Yin Release chakra.

[Genjutsu: Yami no Kokoro Jutsu (Hell Viewing Technique)!]

This was a deadly genjutsu that forced victims to witness their worst fears—such as seeing themselves dying.

However, to Orochimaru's complete shock—

His genjutsu inflicted not even the slightest effect on the catgirl. Not even a single second of delay could be achieved.

After all, if even Madara Uchiha's Mangekyou Sharingan genjutsu had no effect whatsoever on Heiyan, how could this simple Hell Viewing Technique pose any threat?

Then, while Orochimaru was still in extreme shock and fear, he saw the catgirl leap high into the air. She spun gracefully three hundred and sixty degrees mid-air, swinging her long legs as she delivered a powerful flying kick—straight toward him.

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