After finishing his thoughts on how to fix the flaws in the device that assisted in opening the Sharingan, Takuno also stood up and walked around the experimental base.
This was probably one of the few times he had some leisure.
Takuno arrived at the room containing some special Kekkei Genkai bodies, looking at the corpses inside.
Hyuga, Uzumaki, Uchiha, and... Kimimaro.
The matter of the Hyuga Branch Family's Caged Bird Seal was not yet fully understood. As his strength grew, he now truly felt that directly capturing a man from the Hyuga Main Family would be most suitable, as it was a method with absolutely no side effects.
As for the Uzumaki Clan and Uchiha, he had already completed the fusion, and what remained was arguably of no further use.
Finally, Takuno came before Kimimaro; he, too, was now eternally asleep here.
There was no choice; he was the only one in this world who had awakened the Shikotsumyaku, so he had no other option.
Uzumaki Clan, Uchiha, Hyuga, Kimimaro; these four slots were already confirmed, and he had not yet fully decided on the last remaining slot.
Because there were no other Kekkei Genkai that greatly interested him.
He had previously considered the Senju Kekkei Genkai, but the problem was that currently, the only confirmed person with Senju Kekkei Genkai was Tsunade. Perhaps an unconfirmed Kazamatsuri Moegi had not yet been born.
He wasn't the type to pity beautiful women, but he didn't want to consider Tsunade.
Because it was meant to be fused into his body, and she was female. After the fusion, he might truly become neither male nor female.
It was like Hiruko's movie. When he first saw him, he genuinely thought he was a petite and cute beautiful girl, and the bandages were just a special playstyle.
Later, he found out that he was male, and before using the Chimera Technique, his physique was quite tall and robust, which was... hard to comment on.
As for his eventual inhuman, ghost-like appearance, it was actually the backlash from the fusion process being disrupted.
Therefore, Takuno currently had no intention of fusing with any female body. He didn't want to change his gender, much less become neither male nor female, or even a futanari.
Moreover, the Senju Kekkei Genkai displayed by Tsunade only had the useful ability of precise Chakra control.
And this was Takuno's natural advantage. He didn't know how he compared to Tsunade, but even if he was inferior, he was confident the difference wouldn't be much.
Furthermore, Tsunade hadn't shown any special qualities of her Kekkei Genkai; her recovery ability still relied on the Strength of a Hundred Seal and she hadn't inherited Senju Hashirama's recovery ability.
So, as descendants of the Sage Body, the Uzumaki Clan seemed much more superior than the Senju, with the only deficiency being Chakra control.
Takuno also only needed to fuse one Sage Body Kekkei Genkai, which would be sufficient.
Moreover, even if he didn't fuse the Senju Kekkei Genkai, weren't there still Hashirama cells?
Wouldn't it be better to just transplant Hashirama cells directly, like Obito, once he obtained them and could use them? He wouldn't even need the Chimera Technique's limited five fusion slots.
Currently, the Chimera Technique's upper limit of five fusion slots seems to be Hiruko's research limit, not an absolute one.
However, Takuno hadn't yet figured out how to operate the third Kekkei Genkai fusion method, so he would first assume that only five Kekkei Genkai could be fused.
After successfully fusing five Kekkei Genkai, he would then consider the possibility of researching a method to fuse a sixth or even seventh Kekkei Genkai.
So, now he had the Sage Body Kekkei Genkai and the Sage Eye Kekkei Genkai, which together constituted the Kekkei Genkai of Hagoromo Otsutsuki, also known as the Sage of Six Paths.
The Hyuga are the Kekkei Genkai of Hamura Otsutsuki, and combined with the above, it would be Kaguya Otsutsuki.
Of course, synthesizing a 'big watermelon' like this was definitely not feasible, but as a reference, it was certainly sufficient.
If he added Kimimaro, a Kaguya descendant, and Hashirama cells, it would basically be the most perfect state.
He had the eyes, the physique, and the Kekkei Genkai Shikotsumyaku for taijutsu. If he wanted to strengthen himself further... Takuno thought of another Kekkei Genkai: Wood Release.
Although he could use some Wood Release after fusing Hashirama cells, its power was relatively ordinary.
Leaving aside Danzo's Wood Release, even Obito, who had half his body fused, no longer displayed the power of his Wood Release that he showed when he killed the Kirigakure after separating from Tobi.
Without Tobi's assistance, Obito's Wood Release significantly decreased in power.
And for Tobi to unleash the strongest Wood Release power, wasn't the core he needed Yamato!
With Yamato as the core, Tobi was able to use the incredibly powerful Wood Golem Technique.
Although Yamato's own Wood Release power was relatively ordinary, that was due to his low Chakra reserves. Even if he were given Wood Release, if his basic configuration wasn't good, the power of his Wood Release would naturally be weak.
However, although Takuno certainly couldn't compare to Senju Hashirama now, his Chakra reserves were not small.
Moreover, if he could activate the Sage Body in the future, his Chakra would inevitably advance further, perhaps even reaching the level of the First Senju Hashirama.
Therefore, undoubtedly, if he didn't fuse the Senju Kekkei Genkai, Wood Release would be an excellent choice for him.
"Yamato," Takuno murmured. At this time, he shouldn't be called Yamato yet, but rather 'Kinoe' in Root.
In the original story, he was also the temporary squad leader of Team 7. After his appearance, he had also escaped the shadows of the past and was a ninja who, though not outstanding, left a good impression on the audience.
If there were many people with Wood Release, then Yamato might not be his choice.
But unfortunately, it seemed he could only choose between Yamato and Tobi. However, Tobi was almost always with Obito, and even if they weren't fused into one, he wouldn't rashly appear before him.
In reality, Yamato was the only one he had a chance to obtain.
So, he could only apologize to Yamato in advance.
So, how to obtain Yamato?
Takuno frowned. He was in Root, an organization that was not easy to infiltrate. They rarely went out on missions and operated in the shadows.
Later, if he were discovered by Minato, then obtaining him might become a bit simpler.
He would definitely go out on missions in the Anbu.
In short, it seemed that obtaining Yamato still required long-term consideration. If it wasn't possible in Root, then he would wait until he was discovered and transferred to the Anbu.
At that time, relatively speaking, it would be easier for him to investigate his identity, and then find a way to capture him without anyone knowing his identity.
"I still need a higher status," Takuno murmured.
Whether it was investigating Yamato or obtaining Hashirama cells, the authority of the Head of the Sealing Team was completely insufficient. This status could at most be used to investigate less important people.
Takuno's eyes flickered, thinking, "It really seems necessary to save Minato as Takuno."
He was now one of the few trusted subordinates of Minato. After all, he was still too young and lacked accumulated experience.
So, as his trusted subordinate, after saving Minato and his wife, Kushina, his position would very likely be able to move up.
And if Minato died and Hiruzen Sarutobi took the stage again, even if he didn't remove his Head of the Sealing Team status, further advancement would be virtually impossible.
As for him becoming Hokage after Minato's death? Orochimaru hadn't even defected yet! It wouldn't be his turn no matter what.
Besides, he wasn't really interested in the position of Hokage; it was too busy.