Once upon a time, in order to strengthen its own military power, Konoha conducted a series of human experiments using Hashirama Senju's cells. One of the lead researchers on that project was Orochimaru.

Unfortunately, the experiments ended in failure. The cost was simply too high. The First Hokage's cells were too active, and no ninja's body could bear them—not even the members of the Senju clan. The experiment nearly led to the complete extinction of the Senju. Although the Third Hokage terminated the project, Orochimaru was unwilling to give up and continued his research in secret.

Even now, he had not stopped. He had been searching for a way to allow Hashirama's cells to be smoothly integrated into the body of an ordinary person. But despite sacrificing everything, he had still failed.

The Uchiha… How on earth did they do it? And who is the mastermind behind them?!

While Orochimaru was lost in thought, Itachi Uchiha's eyes once again morphed into the Mangekyo Sharingan. Tsunade bit her lip and whispered a reminder to the slug hidden in her cleavage. "If I get caught in an illusion later, you must help me break it, no matter what it takes!"

"I understand, Lady Tsunade."

Then, she turned her head to look at the slug on her shoulder. "If a fight breaks out, I may not have time to keep an eye on Orochimaru and that Kisame Hoshigaki. If either of them makes a move, alert me immediately."

"Yes!"

After giving her instructions, Tsunade focused all of her attention on Itachi. She frowned slightly when she saw his Mangekyo Sharingan. Strictly speaking, she had never fought against a member of the Uchiha clan since she was a child. The sparring matches during her academy days didn't count. After all, in those, they weren't trying to kill you. But now was different. This was a battle of life and death.

After a brief stalemate, Tsunade spoke first. "Itachi… Even if you possess both the Mangekyo Sharingan and Wood Release, I will not lose to you."

"In this battle, I will stake my title as one of the Sannin!" As she spoke, she shot forward, rushing toward Itachi at her top speed.

Itachi slowly raised his head, his eyes fixed on her. "Lady Tsunade, I am different from Kisame. My techniques are not so… exaggerated. I do not waste time in battle."

"Amaterasu!"

A large ball of black flame suddenly appeared in front of Tsunade. This is…! The heat of the black flames grew more intense, but a cold chill washed over Tsunade. Oh no… She knew very well that at her current speed, she would never be able to avoid the attack. She had heard of Amaterasu before. It was said to be an unholy, inextinguishable flame.

What should I do? In an instant, a dozen different strategies flashed through her mind, all of them ending in failure. Is… is my life going to end here?

Tsunade felt a wave of despair wash over her.

"Lady Tsunade, let me do it!" At that critical moment, the slug on her shoulder suddenly leaped off, blocking Tsunade's path and instantly growing to several times its original size.

"Aaaaaargh!" Amaterasu's flames were blocked by the slug.

"Damn it!" Looking at the slug engulfed in black flames, Tsunade's eyes were bloodshot with rage. Although the life of this one small slug was nothing, she was still filled with a profound sadness.

"I'm going to kill you, Itachi!"

The slug's sacrifice had bought Tsunade just enough time to attack. The next second, she appeared behind Itachi.

"Die! You evil Uchiha!"

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