Chapter 50: An Unexpected Harvest
"Sir Akira!" The messenger from the police force spoke urgently. "Shentian Biologics requests your immediate presence. The director there needs to see you. It seems to be a matter of some urgency."
Akira glanced at Uchiha Mikoto. "Lady Mikoto, I must attend to this."
Mikoto, aware of the general nature of Shentian's work, nodded. "Go ahead. I will convey your thanks to Kushina."
Arriving at the Shentian research facility, Akira went straight to Yakushi Nono's office.
The moment he entered, his attention was captured by a potted plant on her desk. It was a small tree, about fifty to sixty centimeters tall, with vibrant green leaves and branches. It radiated an unusually rich, palpable aura of vitality.
Yakushi Nono stood beside it, observing the plant intently.
This tree... its life force is immense... and that's chakra...
Akira instinctively activated his Sharingan. His eyes narrowed in genuine surprise.
"Jonin Akira," Nono greeted him, noticing his arrival.
"Has the... branch I gave you... sprouted?" Akira asked, stepping closer to examine the potted sapling carefully. He hadn't anticipated that Nono's team could actually revitalize the inert Gedo Statue tissue to this degree.
"It appears so," Nono confirmed with a nod. She looked at the plant with a strangely complicated expression. "Jonin Akira, what you provided me was not a branch, was it? It's the tissue of some living creature, correct?"
Akira met her gaze and nodded. "You are correct. It is indeed not plant matter, but the flesh and blood of a... particular entity."
Hearing his confirmation, a look of understanding crossed Nono's face. "I thought as much. Using cultivation methods designed for organic tissue is what prompted it to regenerate and sprout."
She then glanced toward the closed door and lowered her voice. "It isn't... tissue from the First Hokage, is it?"
Akira let out a soft chuckle. "No, it is not. You need not worry on that account."
"That is a relief," Nono exhaled, some tension leaving her shoulders. After days of intensive study, the specimen's characteristics—the intense vitality, chakra absorption, rapid cellular reproduction, powerful regenerative properties, aggressive growth patterns, and the emergent Wood Release-like traits—had unavoidably reminded her of the documented properties of Hashirama Senju's cells, which she had worked with during her time in Root.
"Why did you suspect it was from the First?" Akira asked, curious. "Are the properties that similar?"
"Similar is an understatement," Nono said with a rueful smile. "When the research began, I genuinely suspected it might be a derivative or mutation of the First Hokage's cellular matter."
"You're saying the exhibited characteristics are identical to Hashirama Senju's cells?" Akira pressed, his surprise evident.
"Not identical," Nono clarified after a moment of thought. "I participated in the First Hokage's cell transplantation experiments within Root. This substance... it's more akin to a heightened, more potent version of those cells."
"In essence, the tissue I gave you is stronger than the First Hokage's cells?" Akira asked, seeking final confirmation.
"That is the preliminary conclusion, yes," Nono nodded. "Of course, our research is far from complete. But based on the traits observed so far, it can indeed be classified as a more advanced, more powerful form of the First Hokage's cellular lineage."
Akira's expression turned thoughtful. "So, in theory, successful transplantation of these cells could also grant Wood Release?"
"In theory, yes," Nono affirmed. Then she offered a stern warning. "However, judging by the cell behavior, the difficulty of transplantation would be exponentially greater than with standard First Hokage cells. We've already conducted preliminary animal trials. Unsurprisingly, all subjects perished."
Her tone grew graver. "More importantly, these are only surface-level observations. This substance undoubtedly possesses many hidden properties we have yet to uncover."
Akira gave a slow nod. He understood the subtext of Nono's lengthy explanation. Her goal was to dissuade him from venturing down a forbidden path—from repeating Konoha's own dark history of human experimentation in the desperate pursuit of Wood Release power. As the most powerful clan in Konoha, with control over the police force, the Uchiha could conceal such activities for a long time, but the moral and practical consequences would be catastrophic.
His focus returned to the emerald tree on the desk, observed through his Sharingan. "Its growth rate... is it not accelerating?"
In just the few minutes they had been speaking, the small tree had added over ten centimeters in height, its growth speed surpassing that of bamboo.
Hearing his remark, Nono quickly turned back to the desk. A look of astonishment crossed her face. "It wasn't this rapid before! What is happening?"
"The chakra concentration within the tree is increasing," Akira murmured, his Sharingan analyzing the energy flow. "It's coalescing toward the crown. Where is this chakra coming from?" A hypothesis formed. "Perhaps... it is preparing to bear fruit."
"Bear fruit?" Nono looked at him, bewildered. She couldn't fathom how he'd reached that conclusion.
Despite her confusion, she didn't hesitate. A soft green glow—medical ninjutsu chakra—enveloped her hands as she gently placed them on the tree's trunk to sense its internal state directly.
The moment her chakra-infused hands made contact, the green light was violently sucked into the trunk as if by an invisible vortex.
"Ah!" Nono cried out in surprise, snatching her hands back. She stared at the potted tree with deep puzzlement. "It could absorb chakra before, but never to this degree..."
"Let's observe for now," Akira suggested, halting any further intervention. Within Shentian Biologics, his authority was final.
Nono acquiesced.
One minute passed. Then two.
Ten minutes later, the tree had grown to nearly a meter tall.
At the very apex of the now-lush trunk, a fist-sized, dark purple bud began to swell.
As they watched, the purple bud slowly unfurled, layer by layer, eventually revealing a single, dark red fruit about the size of a newborn's fist.
The fruit was a deep, blood-like crimson, its surface faintly traced with intricate, jade-black patterns.
Seeing the dark red fruit perched at the tree's crown, Yakushi Nono turned to Uchiha Akira, her eyes wide with astonishment. "It truly bloomed and bore fruit!"
Akira himself was less shocked. He looked at Nono. "Your next task is to study the properties of this fruit. It may possess... unusual effects."
He harbored no illusion that this was a true "Chakra Fruit" from the Divine Tree; that was impossible. This was merely a product cultivated from shed tissue of the Gedo Statue. If one were to infuse this sapling with the chakra of all nine Tailed Beasts and then allow it to fruit, perhaps the result would hold a fraction of that legendary power. For now, it was likely just a fruit with some unique, possibly useful, characteristics.
(End of Chapter)
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