Naruto: Starting as the Third Hokage with Tears in His Eyes

Chapter 332 Special Clay

"I understand Madara Uchiha's concerns. Your affection for the First Hokage deserves the respect of everyone in Konoha. Your supervision is the best way to protect the First Hokage."

"I agree with Tsunade's principles. You are a doctor, a guardian of life. Your role in upholding ethical boundaries is essential for this plan to get on the right track."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up and looked around at everyone.

"Your request is to improve this program of advisors to the pioneers."

"One is guided by the emotions of a senior, the other by the ethics of a healer. Add to that Danzo's consideration for the village's stability. Very good."

"Then, it's settled."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sealed the deal with a single blow.

……

a few days later.

Konoha Hospital, deepest underground, research lab.

This is Orochimaru's territory.

The air was filled with the peculiar smell of a mixture of medicine and disinfectant. The shelves around the room were filled with bottles and jars with complicated labels, as well as stacks of research scrolls taller than a person.

Tsunade, dressed in a white lab coat, stood solemnly in front of a huge laboratory table.

Opposite her, Orochimaru was adjusting the chakra flow values ​​on a precision instrument with an almost obsessive expression.

"The data on soul affinity has been derived."

Orochimaru's voice was hoarse with excitement as he pushed a scroll filled with densely packed formulas in front of Tsunade.

"Based on the chakra characteristics contained in the cells of the first generation and the resonant frequency of the Uzumaki clan's life force, I have found the chakra fluctuation range most suitable for carrying the soul."

Tsunade picked up the scroll and quickly began to browse through it.

She had to admit that Orochimaru was an absolute genius when it came to theoretical research.

This data provided the most solid foundation for her subsequent actions.

"Is the clay ready?"

Tsunade asked.

"certainly."

Orochimaru pointed to a constant-temperature chamber in the center of the experimental table, "This is a special clay with the most natural energy, taken from beneath the waterfall of the Valley of the End and washed by water for thousands of years."

Tsunade nodded and took a deep breath.

The next task was in her field.

She stretched out her hands and hovered them above the incubator. A vibrant green chakra, brimming with life, slowly emanated from her palms.

"Unboxing."

Orochimaru swiftly manipulated the mechanism, and the lid of the incubator silently slid open, revealing a fist-sized lump of warm, earthy-yellow clay inside.

At the same time, the robotic arm on the other side handed over a culture medium containing a pale gold color, as warm as sunlight.

That was a high-concentration life energy culture solution that Tsunade had painstakingly extracted from the cells of the First Hokage and blood samples of the Uzumaki clan.

"It's about to begin," Tsunade reminded them.

Her expression was extremely focused.

Emerald green chakra threads extended from her fingertips, some gently enveloping the lump of clay, while others probed into the tube of golden culture medium.

This is an extremely delicate operation.

What she was going to do was not a simple physical mixing. Instead, she was to use her top-notch medical ninjutsu and her meticulous control over chakra to perfectly inject the life-energy-containing culture medium, in molecular form, into every crevice of the clay, and activate its activity, so that the two could resonate with each other through chakra.

Orochimaru stood to the side, his golden snake eyes unblinking, recording every subtle change in the data transmitted from the experimental table.

Time passed, second by second.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Tsunade's forehead.

The only sounds in the entire research room were the faint buzzing of the instruments and her steady but heavy breathing.

Finally, after a powerful chakra resonance, the lump of clay in the center of the experimental table underwent an astonishing change.

It is no longer its original earthy yellow color, but has begun to exude a warm, ivory-like luster from the inside out.

A pure, vast energy fluctuation, brimming with life yet devoid of any signs of life, emanated from it.

Successful.

Tsunade wearily withdrew her hands, looked at the mass of matter quietly floating in mid-air, emitting a soft light, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"It's truly... a perfect work of art."

Orochimaru stepped forward, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism.

He reached out his finger, wanting to touch it, but Tsunade slapped it away.

"Don't move it! Its structure is still very unstable."

Tsunade carefully placed it back into the constant temperature incubator.

Orochimaru nodded, pushed up his non-existent glasses on the bridge of his nose, and calmly pointed out the next, and most crucial, question.

"The first-generation container is already in place."

"But for the second generation of teachers... we still lack the most crucial medium."