"Good, now—" Uchiha Renzo focused on the seeds in front of him.
"Wood Release: Sprouting Technique!"
"...Damn, still not quite there, huh?"
Watching his Sprouting Technique fail once again, Renzo sighed, feeling a bit frustrated.
Shaking his head, he returned to his lab, activated his Dōjutsu, Omniscience, and began analyzing Hashirama Cells again.
His goal? To fully understand the nature of Wood Release chakra.
And just like that, another entire day passed.
After hours of research, Renzo finally felt a dry, stinging sensation in his right eye, forcing him to stop.
Rubbing his eye, he muttered,
"Damn, my visual power still isn't enough... If only I had unlimited Dōjutsu energy!"
With that thought, he grabbed his eyepatch from the side and gave an order to Red Queen:
"Red Queen, transfer some Dōjutsu energy to me!"
"Understood, Master!"
Without hesitation, Red Queen obeyed, injecting some of Renzo's previously stored Dōjutsu energy into his right eye.
Only after consuming 10% of his reserves did Renzo stop the transfer and resume his Wood Release research.
Of course, his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan could naturally regenerate Dōjutsu energy over time by using chakra and mental energy.
But who the hell keeps their Dōjutsu active all day long like Renzo?
Even with massive energy reserves, the drain was too much, and regeneration couldn't keep up with consumption.
"Wood Release: Sprouting Technique!"
Renzo returned to his test site, ready for another attempt.
After forming hand seals, he slammed his palm onto the ground.
The next moment, dozens of tiny sprouts successfully emerged from the seeds!
"HA! Finally! It worked!!"
Renzo burst out laughing in excitement.
"The research direction was right all along!"
"Then let's take it up a notch..."
"Wood Release: Great Forest Technique!"
After canceling the Sprouting Technique, Renzo formed another series of seals, this time using all the properties of Wood Release.
"Zzzzzhhh! Zzzhhhhh!"
The ground in front of him exploded as hundreds of thick roots burst from below, rapidly expanding.
In just two seconds, an entire miniature forest of towering trees had formed!
"As expected! Once the fundamentals are mastered, learning the more advanced techniques is just a matter of time!"
This was exactly why he had been focusing on the Sprouting Technique in the first place—mastering control and stability before moving on to larger-scale techniques.
"Now, the final piece of the puzzle... Mastering Yang Release Chakra Transformation and integrating it into my Wood Release!"
Renzo stroked his chin, deep in thought.
He had now officially awakened his Wood Release ability!
At first, the Grass-type energy he had absorbed from Eevee had some key differences from true Wood Release chakra.
That's why his previous attempts had all failed—even basic techniques like Sprouting Technique had been impossible to execute.
But after extensive Hashirama Cell research, he finally identified the differences and successfully converted his Grass-type energy into true Wood Release chakra.
Oh, Right... About These Techniques
Renzo had traded for all these Wood Release jutsu from Orochimaru.
Gotta give that snake some credit—dude was obsessed with collecting jutsu, and even had Wood Release techniques in his collection.
Not just simple sprouting Technique or Great Forest Technique.
He even had Wood Dragon Technique and Wood Human Technique—just not the Sage Art versions.
Renzo figured he must have gotten them from Danzo.
After all, Orochimaru had been researching Hashirama Cells for Danzo for years, and they even managed to create Yamato.
(Yeah, Renzo definitely helped with that one—his genetic research played a role, but he wasn't about to take credit.)
While researching Hashirama Cells and the essence of Wood Release, Renzo made a shocking discovery: Wood Release isn't just a Kekkei Genkai.
It's actually a Kekkei Tōta!
Just like Onoki's Dust Release!
Of course, Hashirama himself was on a whole different level than Onoki, but the principle was the same—both were fusions of three chakra natures.
Dust Release = Wind + Earth + Fire.
Wood Release = Water + Earth + Yang.
And Yang Release wasn't like the basic five elements.
It was closer to the true essence of chakra itself—a higher-tier energy that surpassed ordinary elemental natures.
That's why Wood Release infused with Yang energy was so insanely powerful.
Of course, it was also powerful because its user Senju Hashirama was an absolute beast.
With his Sage Body, insane life force, and strong Yang Release affinity, combined with Sage Mode, it was no wonder his Wood Release was god-tier.
"Yang Release, huh? The best way would be to create a true Wood Release and a Sage Body!"
"But these weakened Hashirama Cells aren't going to cut it. I need the original Hashirama Cells!"
"Maybe... the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline could work too?"
Renzo rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
The Search for Pure Hashirama Cells
Right now, the only person with access to original Hashirama Cells was Danzo—even Orochimaru didn't have them.
As for Uzumaki bloodline cells...
"Even with my relationship with Minato-Sensei, getting them from Kushina Uzumaki would be nearly impossible. It'd cause way too many problems."
After all, how the hell was he supposed to explain that he wanted to study the Uzumaki Clan's Kekkei Genkai?
That was forbidden territory.
No clan would ever allow outsiders to experiment on their bloodline secrets.
Yeah... asking Kushina was off the table.
"That means my best option is to head to Grass Ninja Village and find Uzumaki Karin and her mother."
He wasn't sure if Karin had been born yet, but either way, it didn't matter.
With his plan set, Renzo returned to Konoha, leaving behind a Water Clone to maintain his presence.
Then, without wasting any time, his real body teleported out of the village, appearing in an isolated area outside Konoha.
After locking onto the Flying Thunder God seal he had previously placed on the Land of Grass's border, Renzo activated Flying Thunder God—
In an instant, he traveled hundreds of kilometers, arriving at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass.
"Hmph, the war still hasn't ended... Looks like Onoki isn't ready to back down just yet."
Expanding his sensory range, Renzo immediately picked up on scattered skirmishes between Iwa-nin and Konoha Ninjas along the border.
Disguising himself with Transformation Jutsu, he vanished from sight and continued teleporting toward Grass Ninja Village.
Within minutes, he arrived outside the village, having left several Flying Thunder God seals along the way—just in case he needed a quick escape route later.
Upon arrival, Renzo expanded his mental perception, covering the entire Grass Ninja Village in his sensory field.
"Found her. And… her situation looks pretty bad."
By detecting chakra levels and life force, he easily pinpointed a woman with an immense chakra reserve and strong vitality.
But… her life force was severely drained.
It was obvious—Grass Ninja Village had already discovered her unique ability.
The ability to heal others by letting them bite her and absorb her chakra.
They had turned her into a walking blood bank.
Renzo suddenly sensed another life signature inside her.
Though it was just over a month old, there was no doubt—this was Karin, still in the womb.
With his targets located, Renzo didn't hesitate.
Even though Karin's mother was inside the Grass Ninja Village's hospital, surrounded by guards and medics, he didn't care. He knew they were only keeping her alive until she gave birth—just so they could have another person to drain.
In an instant, Renzo teleported straight next to Karin's mother.
The Grass ninja guards monitoring her immediately jumped into action, drawing their weapons and charging at Renzo without hesitation.
Their orders from the Grass Kage were clear—kill or capture anyone who tried to approach Uzumaki Rena.
No one was allowed to interfere with Grass Ninja Village's secret healing tool.
For years, their casualties had been drastically reduced thanks to Uzumaki Rena.
Oh, and there was also her husband—another Uzumaki clan member.
Well... he used to be alive.
Just a few weeks ago, after discovering Rena was pregnant, Grass Ninja Village doubled the demand for her healing ability.
Her husband had been forced to take on both their shares of healing.
And in just half a month, they had completely drained him dry.
His chakra and life force were sucked out until he dropped dead.