Chapter 167: Elevation, the Third Power

"Then let's get ready; we'll start tomorrow morning."

Orochimaru licked his tongue with excitement as he left; he was only being polite, and seeing Shisui's insistence, he had no intention of offering a second persuasion.

However, although Orochimaru claimed only a fifty‑percent chance, during the period after Shisui returned to Konoha, with Shiliuye's funding, he had already tried many times, and he was over eighty percent confident of success in experiments on small animals.

But since Shisui is a human and the previous experiments used Shiliuye's cells, he modestly said only a fifty‑something percent chance.

Shiliuye still had some worries, but Shisui's trust left him unable to continue objecting, so the two cooperated with Orochimaru to begin preparations.

Early the next morning, Orochimaru finished his preparations, and Shisui removed his shirt and lay quietly on the bed.

"No anesthesia; let's start right away."

When Orochimaru tried to give him anesthesia, Shisui refused outright.

It's not that he has any particular fetish; the surgery carries inherent risk, and if he were anesthetized now, he wouldn't even have a chance to react if anything happened.

As for the pain, it means nothing to him.

"Fine, theoretically this surgery shouldn't be very painful."

Orochimaru smiled, set the syringe down, then re‑examined Shisui's body, confirmed the level of his Shadow Release chakra, and began the transplantation surgery.

Shiliuye stood nearby, watching tensely, the Kaleidoscope‑wielding boss, fearing any mishap.

Shisui also furrowed his brows; the sensation of a blade cutting flesh and then being sewn back together like cloth felt extremely strange and painful.

The surgery itself wasn't complicated, and Orochimaru's skill was superb, so he didn't keep them waiting long; the prime cells were quickly and smoothly transplanted into Shisui's body.

"It's already implanted; now I'll observe the situation."

【7】 Transplantation is only the foundation; the key is whether it can function inside Shisui without usurping his body.

Transplantation is only the basics; the key is whether it can work inside Shisui and not usurp the host's own space.

Various sensor probes were placed on Shisui's body, and Orochimaru stared unblinkingly at the data and graphs on the monitor.

After an unknown amount of time, Shiliuye's eyes grew sore from staring, and Orochimaru's hoarse voice, tinged with excitement, suddenly said, "So far the prime cells have successfully integrated into Shisui's body; the Kaleidoscope Copy Wheel Eye indeed suppresses the proliferation of the prime cells. If there are no other reactions within the next three days, this experiment will be a success!"

The experiment seemed simple, and Orochimaru spoke rather casually, but Shisui and Shiliuye knew there were many details they didn't understand, each of which could affect the outcome.

The two didn't know much; aside from being subjects, they couldn't contribute much, so they had to leave it to the professionals.

Shisui said bluntly, "Please, I'm counting on you."

Shiliuye had already recorded Shisui's condition and could activate eye techniques at any time, yet he continued to stay by Shisui's side.

During the next three days, Shisui gradually sensed bodily changes; the sensation came swiftly, making his body feel slightly itchy.

When the feeling reached a certain level, his eyes seemed stimulated, beginning to feel a dull ache.

After three days, Orochimaru compared the data and confidently said, "The prime cells are still merging with you; so far it's proceeding very smoothly."

Having received Orochimaru's affirmation, Shiliuye breathed a sigh of relief and then couldn't help feeling a bit hopeful.

But Shisui felt helpless; in this condition he certainly couldn't return to the village directly, so he had to stay.

The two reactions persisted until the fifth day before gradually fading, and Shisui clearly felt his own changes.

The most obvious was his recovery ability; both chakra regeneration speed, eye‑power restoration, and wound healing all increased dramatically.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Boom—boom—boom— in the training ground, Shisui launched over a dozen massive fireballs at a distance, each noticeably larger and more powerful than before.

Orochimaru stood aside recording data, while Shiliuye watched calmly, though a burning heart pulsed beneath his placid exterior.

"Shisui, how do you feel?"

Shisui thought for a moment and said, "My chakra amount hasn't increased much, but its recovery speed is much faster."

Uchiha's chakra reserves are already massive; the prime cells' boost in this regard is far less noticeable than in other aspects.

Orochimaru stared at Shisui, licked his lips and said, "Try the power of the Kaleidoscope; I'm looking forward to it."

Shiliuye also looked over; although he had awakened the Kaleidoscope, his body had never allowed him to try it.

Shisui nodded, opened his eyes without further words, and the Kaleidoscope instantly manifested, instantly altering both of their gazes.

Orochimaru radiated naked greed.

"What magnificent eyes—this is the power of the Uchiha? Sparasa~"

Shiliuye was simply more, just pure anticipation and curiosity.

Shisui ignored Orochimaru's gaze, his eyes shifting to the distant target; his pupils slightly lifted, and a black flame suddenly rose, engulfing the wooden target.

A few drops of blood then trickled from the corner of Shisui's eye.

"Hm?"

Orochimaru's smile froze as he looked at Shisui's eyes, and he furrowed his brows and stepped forward.

"Clan head, are you alright?"

Shiliuye also jumped in surprise; he still didn't understand the inheritance scroll, and Shisui's sudden eye bleeding made them involuntarily think of the prime cells.

Shisui waved his hand lightly and said plainly, "No problem; it's an issue with the technique itself. My body has never been better; using these eye techniques is extremely easy."

The black flame, called Amaterasu, is an eye technique recorded on the inheritance scroll, known as the never‑extinguishing flame, and its power is formidable.

He didn't awaken this eye technique himself; had he used Amaterasu before the prime cell transplantation, the consumption would have been huge and would have placed considerable strain on his body.

But Shisui now feels incredibly relaxed; he can use such a technique repeatedly without worrying about eye‑power depletion or vision loss!

"The prime cells are unbelievably strong!"

Shisui was shocked; the leftover cells already have such effect, so the original prime cells must have been extremely powerful—what level, and how did Madara's ancestor fare against them? "Good that nothing's wrong, but we should still go with Orochimaru for a check‑up, right?"

Shiliuye still offered the suggestion, while Orochimaru's gaze had already shifted from Shisui to the wooden target.

By then the wooden target was almost completely burned, and the black flame gradually spread across the ground, continuing to blaze.

"Eh?"

Orochimaru, curious, casually fetched some water and poured it onto the fire.

"Wait!"

Shisui hurried to stop him, but it was too late; the flame crawled up the water and onto Orochimaru's hand.

Orochimaru did not panic; instead, he watched the flame in his hand with keen interest, and the burning pain did not affect him at all.

Shisui stepped forward and explained, "This is Amaterasu; it will not extinguish until it burns everything, and I have no way to put it out."

After speaking, just as he was about to take out the scroll to seal it, Orochimaru's body went limp, then, like a snake, shed a layer of skin; Amaterasu remained on the shed skin, while Orochimaru himself was unharmed. "Hm?"

Shiliuye widened his eyes and thought, "No wonder Orochimaru is one of the Legendary Sannin."

"This fire is interesting; if you don't need it, Shisui, why not give it to me?"

Orochimaru licked his lips, and in an instant, many ideas flashed through his mind.

"Alright then."

Orochimaru's thought process differs from ordinary people; Shisui didn't quite understand, but he showed respect, neatly sealed Amaterasu, and then gave the scroll to Orochimaru.

After receiving the scroll, Orochimaru prepared to leave, continuing the examination with Shisui.

"Wait, there's a technique I've always wanted to unleash at full power; it's a good chance to see just how strong the original cells' regenerative ability is."

"What technique?"

The two turned their heads; Shisui's aura suddenly shifted, the stones beneath his feet trembled slightly, a green glow enveloped him, instantly turning him into a skeleton, then flesh and muscle grew, armor donned, and he wielded a Hurricane Great Sword.

The two stared in amazement as a towering chakra giant, dozens of meters tall, stood majestically, exuding extraordinary presence.

With a swing of his hand, sand and stone flew; even though Shisui had anticipated this, he was still thrilled. He commanded Susanoo, casually swinging the Hurricane Great Sword, easily carving a trench hundreds of meters long into the ground.

The other two quickly moved aside, keeping their bodies from being blown away by the strong wind.

"What a powerful force—this is the Uchiha? Sabra~ Sabra~"

Orochimaru's pupils quivered as he stared obsessively at Shisui Uchiha within the giant's body, his face flushed and his body trembling slightly; the thought of being involved with such power made him extremely excited.

"What… what is this power?"

Shiliuye looked up, his breathing a little rapid.

"This is the Uchiha's Third Power, Susanoo!"

Shisui's voice came, giving a brief explanation to the two, though it was mainly for Shiliuye.

"Hahaha, looks like ten."

Lick— Orochimaru noticed Shiliuye's gaze, licked his lips and said softly.

Shiliuye looked at Shisui excitedly, and after Shisui nodded, he immediately agreed.

Then the three returned to the lab, re‑examined Shisui's body, and began preparing for Shiliuye's surgery.

The next day at noon, Shiliuye's surgery was completed; Shisui stayed a few more days, and after Shiliuye adapted, he led the group back to the village.

"Shisui, remember to pay the money after we return."

To fund the two surgeries, Orochimaru had prepared everything, and now he's broke to the ringing.

"Uh, definitely, definitely."

Shisui gave an awkward smile, said that, and hurried away with the five toward Konoha.

After they left, Orochimaru licked his lips, then rushed back to the lab, looking at the cells in the petri dish and exclaiming excitedly, "Uchiha, Senju, what a fascinating power~"

Three days later, in a primeval forest, the group surrounded Shisui in the center, constantly leaping through the trees, hurrying along.

Their speed was great; now only a day's journey remained to Konoha. This outing yielded abundant results, making Shisui very pleased.

Rustle— a harsh rustling sounded, and a massive silhouette burst from the forest, opening a gaping maw toward the group, intending to swallow them.

Pfft— but it was only a moment; Shiliuye, who was clearing the path ahead, manifested a gigantic silver hand, grasped it, and instantly crushed it.

Shisui's mouth twitched; such a large creature is hard to raise and already qualifies as a ninja beast. Even if he were traveling alone and this beast attacked, it wouldn't kill him.

Yet even after several days, Shiliuye was still extremely excited.

Along the way, short‑sighted beasts were crushed by Shiliuye's greatly amplified Susanoo; the scene was very bloody, and it was clear that, aside from Shisui, the others were both envious and shocked by this power.

"The Kaleidoscope is really amazing!"

The other four were especially excited, both envious and admiring.

"I didn't expect that besides the Clan Leader, someone in the clan also awakened the Kaleidoscope!"

Shisui didn't let Shiliuye hide this from the others; moreover, he would help promote Shiliuye, as the Uchiha now have a second pair of Kaleidoscopes openly, further boosting the clan's deterrent power.

Of course, Shiliuye's assistance could also garner more support for his reforms within the clan.

Leading the way, Shiliuye felt rather spirited, his whole demeanor becoming more lively.

"Thanks to the Clan Leader's guidance; otherwise I wouldn't have the ability to awaken the Kaleidoscope."

Shiliuye felt grateful and held Shisui in utmost esteem.

The four's hearts leapt, and they all cast heated gazes at Shisui.

However, they knew the hierarchy, so they said nothing, merely staring silently at Shisui.

Feeling their heated stares, Shisui helplessly said, "Wait a bit longer; the method isn't refined yet, and failure could kill people."

As of now, Shiliuye is only an exception, and the side effects are too great; Shisui must find a way to adjust the method.

The four were not disappointed; when Shisui spoke, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief, their anticipation growing.

The group kept silent while advancing a bit further, when suddenly Shisui's and Shiliuye's gazes changed in succession, and the other four promptly drew their weapons.

Rustle— whoosh— whoosh— the wind rustled the leaves, covering the approaching rush of air; from all directions countless shuriken, kunai, and hidden weapons bearing explosive tags rained down on them.

The ground trembled slightly as dozens of sharp earth spears shot up from below, charging toward them.

Boom— explosions kept ringing, smoke rose, countless ancient trees centuries old were affected, turning into wood chips, scattering everywhere.

The booming noise lasted for dozens of seconds, and it seemed that pre‑planted explosive tags around them also detonated.

"Hmph, that's all!"

As the smoke cleared, the silver Susanoo shielded the six, rendering the successive attacks useless.

The Kaleidoscope scanned the surrounding enemies, and Shiliuye showed a contemptuous smile.

"Only this few, hm hm, hahaha— die!"

The skeleton grew muscles, its power increased again, a chakra light blade was grasped in its hand, and it lightly swung it, causing the surrounding crowd, both people and numbers, to collapse in a large area at once.

Behind Shi Liuye, Shisui watched the flickering human silhouette, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"Who sent these people?"

(End of Chapter)