Chapter 231: Adaptation Factor
After a long period of covert investigation—despite how unbelievable and hard to accept it seemed—
Fugaku ultimately turned his suspicion toward the ANBU and Root, led by Danzō.
Only those two departments—or more accurately, only the Hokage himself—had the ability to flawlessly orchestrate "accidents" involving Uchiha clan members during missions over the past seven to eight years, without leaving a single trace behind.
Once the suspicion formed, and the suspect turned out to be the actual culprit, identifying incriminating clues became easier.
Directly using the right Mangekyō eye to see the past of Danzō or the Third Hokage would certainly expose the truth.
But that was clearly impossible. Both were Kage-level powerhouses. The moment Fugaku used his Mangekyō on them, they would notice—and that would only deepen the rift between the Uchiha and the village.
After some thought, Fugaku chose to secretly use the right eye's ability on several ANBU and Root members. Eventually, he found visual evidence of Root and ANBU collaborating to secretly eliminate Uchiha shinobi.
It was precisely these images—combined with dark futures he had foreseen—that led Fugaku to conclude:
If the Uchiha clan didn't change the impression they left on the Third and others, they would inevitably be destroyed.
Even if he led the clan to leave Konoha now, it wouldn't prevent the coming massacre.
Changing the Uchiha's image and fully integrating into Konoha was the clan's only hope of survival.
"Disgusting!"
At that point in the memory, Li Yao backed out in revulsion. There was no need to see more.
He already understood Fugaku's Mangekyō ability.
As for the decision in Fugaku's memory to win over the Third Hokage and fully integrate the Uchiha into the village—Li Yao could only find it revolting.
Judging from the original story, Fugaku succeeded.
Though the cost was enormous, the Uchiha did indeed integrate fully into Konoha—well, in the future Boruto era, at least.
From Fugaku's perspective, it might have been the right move.
But from the perspective of the slain Uchiha clansmen—it was a complete betrayal.
To massacre the entire clan under the pretext of avoiding greater losses, leaving only his son alive for the sake of Konoha, was the vilest excuse imaginable.
If he truly cared about Konoha, he should've killed his own sons too. No Uchiha left alive—no more conflict.
Yet, after foreseeing that his two sons could survive in Konoha's future, Fugaku in the original timeline chose not to resist, allowing Itachi and Obito to slaughter his kin.
He was just as revolting as the "filial saint" Itachi.
Don't give Li Yao any of that nonsense about Itachi bearing unbearable pain or walking a path of redemption. Killing his entire clan, then acting like a tragic hero—it didn't wash away his crimes.
"Damn it... enough of this."
Li Yao shook his head, clearing his mind of the memories triggered by Fugaku.
Japanese anime often glorifies these "filial tragedies."
In Naruto, it was Uchiha Itachi.
In One Piece, it was Yamato.
Same kind of disgusting.
"Wh… mm... What's wrong, Brother Hiruzen?"
Perhaps due to the shift in his mood, Chiba Megumi—still cheering him on—noticed and softly asked in concern.
"It's nothing. Keep going."
Li Yao shook his head and smiled, wrapping his arm around the secretary's slender waist.
Before leaving, he had to leave a little gift—something that would surprise the Third Hokage.
Three nights in a row.
Finally, Li Yao sensed a trace of his chakra fluctuation in Chiba Megumi's belly—he knew, another "good son" had been conceived.
Along with the one in Mikoto's belly, he now had two. A joyous occasion.
With that, only his original goal remained.
…
"Subarashii (Wonderful)!"
Late at night, inside a Root base's hidden lab, Orochimaru stood at an experiment station, gazing upward at a syringe filled with pale blue liquid, a look of amazement curling his lips.
Then, without hesitation, he jabbed the needle into a vein on his neck, injecting the blue fluid.
After setting the syringe down, Orochimaru closed his eyes to feel it. In no time, he sensed an overwhelming surge of vitality flooding his body.
He picked up a kunai and lightly cut his palm—thin blood seeped out.
After a moment, he wiped the area. The wound was completely gone, as if he had only drawn a red line with paint.
"Marvelous!"
Orochimaru couldn't help but praise it again. But then his brow furrowed—this was only a weakened version of the adaptation factor, yet the effects were already astonishing. If it were the original version… unthinkable.
But certainly more powerful—perhaps even capable of eliminating the side effects of his reincarnation technique.
"What a pity that Danzō guards that test subject so tightly!"
Orochimaru had been invited by Danzō a year ago to join the "Rebirth of Wood Release" project, but he wasn't that interested in Wood Release itself. He was far more curious about the adaptation factor extracted from the subject—the key to making someone compatible with Wood Release cells.
"Adaptation factor" was Orochimaru's own term for it. Not only could it grant immense vitality and chakra reserves, but it also gave the host a unique ability to adapt.
After a year of experimentation, Orochimaru's body had already developed resistance to most toxins and built up general immunity.
This adaptability made a perfect match with his soul-transfer reincarnation technique, developed from Spirit Transformation and Edo Tensei.
It helped reduce the rejection between soul and body, preventing damage during the rebirth process.
"Should I...?"
Orochimaru was tempted. Should he sneak into Laboratory Zero and steal some original tissue samples from the test subject?
His current reincarnation technique was nearing the testing phase, and the weakened adaptation factor wasn't enough anymore—he needed the pure version for further progress.
Boom!
Suddenly, the entire Root base trembled violently. Even the lab around him quaked.
"What's going on?"
Orochimaru's expression darkened. He bolted out of the lab and ran toward the source of the noise.
This was Root's main base.
The walls and floors were reinforced with sealing formulas. For something to cause such a tremor—it must've been a Tailed Beast Bomb or something just as powerful.
With that in mind, Orochimaru soon reached the source.
"Laboratory Zero!!"
A chill ran down his spine—something had gone horribly wrong. But for the moment, there was nothing he could do.
The door to Lab Zero was shut, covered in sealing runes. He couldn't get in unless he used powerful offensive ninjutsu.
But… what had Danzō been doing in there?
Orochimaru was suspicious. The door was intact, so he instinctively assumed Danzō had triggered the disturbance.
After all, only Danzō had access to that lab.
Then—footsteps echoed in the corridor.
Orochimaru's pupils shrank slightly—he realized he had been wrong.
"Orochimaru... you... you caused that explosion!"
"What are you doing here?"
Danzō arrived with a team of Root operatives. Seeing Orochimaru standing at the lab entrance, he immediately shouted in fury. The Root agents behind him were ready to strike.
"I just got here," Orochimaru hissed with a grin, sticking out his long tongue.
Danzō's expression changed instantly. Realizing something had gone wrong in the lab, he performed a Shunshin Technique to flash in front of the sealed door, quickly activating the seals to open it.
Clang… boom!
As the door opened, Danzō's eyes darted to the massive glass chamber at the center—only to find the test subject gone.
"WHO DID THIS!!!"
He let out a roar of fury. But there was no answer.
Above, a large circular tunnel revealed the truth: the intruder had already escaped with the subject.
"Pursue them."
Without caring about his anger, Danzō immediately led his men up the tunnel toward the surface.
Orochimaru didn't follow.
Instead, he inspected the lab carefully.
Whoever had done this had accurately pinpointed the lab's location and punched through all of Root's sealing defenses from the surface—an extremely powerful force. Chasing them would likely be futile.
Better to take advantage of the chaos and see if anything valuable was left behind.
"Hmm... this?"
Soon, Orochimaru found a vial of deep-blue liquid in a storage cabinet—and grinned.
(END CHAPTER)
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