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After parting ways with Sasori, Midorima's first action was to remove the ring engraved with the character "Ao".
Having not been a member of Akatsuki for long, he wasn't entirely sure of the ring's purpose.
Besides serving as an identification mark, Midorima even speculated whether it could be used for tracking, facilitating Zetsu's surveillance.
Just in case, Midorima decided to take it off for now.
Afterwards, he found a secluded mountain forest and began his research on the "First Hokage's cells."
In the world of Naruto, aside from Hashirama Senju, very few people possessed the First Hokage's cells.
Because Madara Uchiha bit off a piece of Hashirama's flesh, the purity of the First Hokage's cells he obtained was extremely high.
The same applied to Yamato and Danzō.
However, the Danzō's arm that Midorima obtained was different.
On one hand, after such a long period of coexistence, Danzō's cells had partially fused with the First Hokage's cells. On the other hand, the piece of flesh he tore off contained not only the First Hokage's cells but also Danzō's cells.
Placing that piece of flesh into the [Cell Laboratory] meant simultaneously researching both Danzō's cells and the First Hokage's cells.
Originally, there were three slots available for "Kekkei Genkai," but one was pointlessly occupied by Danzō's cells—Danzō did not possess a "Kekkei Genkai."
Therefore, purifying these cells and removing Danzō's cells became an extremely complex process.
Completely separating the fused cells was not only difficult but also very complicated. However, it wasn't impossible. Because the chakra of Danzō and the First Hokage's cells differed, they could be marked based on this characteristic. Afterwards, the flesh could be removed from the [Cell Laboratory], and the First Hokage's cells separated from Danzō's cells based on the markers.
To improve precision, Midorima used the Chakra Scalpel with extreme delicacy, its edge even thinner than a sheet of paper.
Fortunately, Midorima, after all, had a background as a medical-nin and possessed considerable proficiency with the Chakra Scalpel. After working continuously for 72 hours, he finally separated the two. He then eagerly placed the First Hokage's cells into the [Cell Laboratory], while Danzō's cells were unceremoniously discarded—Danzō's soul had been sealed, so even "Impure World Reincarnation" couldn't make use of this flesh.
High Emotional Intelligence: It has its own place to return to.
Low Emotional Intelligence: Not even a dog would want it.
In Midorima's plan, obtaining the First Hokage's cells should have come after obtaining Jūgo's cells.
Because the difficulty of using Wood Release was indeed higher than other ninjutsu. Especially powerful Wood Release techniques, like Wood Dragon Technique and Several Thousand Hands Technique, were hard for even Yamato or Danzō to use, aside from Hashirama and Madara. The primary reason was that their chakra reserves were insufficient to sustain such powerful ninjutsu.
Jūgo could absorb natural energy. Whether the [Cell Laboratory] could convert absorbed natural energy into chakra was still uncertain, but it was still better than Midorima's current situation.
Now, he had obtained the First Hokage's cells.
His previous stay at Orochimaru's laboratory for several months was the period when Midorima learned the most ninjutsu.
With a mindset of preparing for rainy days, he had also learned some Wood Release techniques, such as Wood Transformation, Wood Replacement, and Wood Clone—the Clone Technique and Replacement Technique were largely similar, the difference lying in chakra usage, so the time required to master them was extremely short—he had also learned Wood Locking Wall and Tree Binding.
However, he hadn't encountered large-scale Wood Release techniques like Advent of a World of Trees.
Considering Orochimaru's lifelong desire was to master all knowledge, Midorima could conclude that Orochimaru must have acquired many Wood Release ninjutsu; he just hadn't found them himself.
As for the reason... ahem... never underestimate a "pack rat's" heart for collecting. Just like before his transmigration, Midorima bought countless games for his library, only to end up playing them for less time than the number of games he owned.
He didn't have to play them, but he had to have them.
Human psychology is roughly the same.
After confirming he could use Wood Release, Midorima could finally sleep soundly. Waking up the next day, he officially began practicing Wood Release.
Only after truly starting to learn Wood Release did Midorima realize how exaggerated the chakra consumption was.
Take the Clone Technique for example. After performing the Water Clone Technique, he couldn't stray too far from the clone, or it would disappear. The Shadow Clone Technique was slightly better. But the Wood Clone Technique didn't have such drawbacks; it could maintain the clone form for a long time and over long distances, and was more realistic than the Shadow Clone. In a sense, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the strongest clone technique.
Since the quality of the clone was high, the chakra consumption was remarkably "substantial."
Practicing Wood Release, the most limiting factor for Midorima was chakra consumption. Sometimes he would even deplete his chakra to the point where he couldn't perform any more ninjutsu.
This situation persisted for a full half-month. As his proficiency increased, Midorima became able to perform his Wood Release techniques faster and more precisely. His own chakra reserve also increased by about one-fifth compared to half a month ago. He could now use relatively large-scale Wood Release techniques, like Smothering Binding Technique or Tree Binding Eternal Burial. But in Midorima's view, he still needed to continue increasing his chakra reserves.
During his spare time, besides resting, Midorima also examined the pair of Sharingan eyes placed in the [Cell Evolution Chamber].
To complete the evolution from Sharingan to Mangekyō Sharingan without failure required six months. Five months had already passed; in another month, he might have another pair of Mangekyō Sharingan.
This was very important to him.
And the pair of Mangekyō Sharingan placed in the [Cell Research Laboratory] had indeed been a great help to him.
The ability obtained from this pair of Mangekyō Sharingan was a Space-Time Ninjutsu named "Shunkan," which was fundamentally different from "Kamui."
"Kamui" transferred objects between the real space and a different dimension, while "Shunkan" could warp real space itself.
That is, within his line of sight, Midorima could arbitrarily shorten or extend real space.
To give a simple example: if an opponent used a ninjutsu against Midorima, after activating "Shunkan," Midorima could instantly increase the distance between himself and the ninjutsu until it was out of sight. Conversely, if Midorima used a ninjutsu, he could shorten the path the ninjutsu had to travel, directly striking the opponent's body.
During his confrontation with Danzō, Midorima used "Shunkan" to increase the distance between himself and Danzō, thus evading the "Dead Demon Consuming Seal." During his fight with Kakashi, considering the limited usage of the Mangekyō Sharingan and his desire to learn the "Chidori," he did not activate "Shunkan."
This ninjutsu could not only move ninjutsu but also Midorima's own position, making it a very useful technique.
However, "Shunkan" had another special characteristic—it could be used on a single object, including living organisms.
For example, Midorima could add a space within a person's arm. The arm could then detach from the body. After the jutsu's effect ended, if the arm hadn't been reconnected to the torso, it would remain separated. Similarly, it could be applied to the neck for a kill.
But this application had two prerequisites: first, he had to touch the corresponding part of the object; second, the chakra difference between the two parties couldn't be too large—it had to be within a factor of two—otherwise, he couldn't create the corresponding space.
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