Naruto: Reborn as Orochimaru

Chapter 22: The Power Of Gene Fusion

Konoha Hospital!

Hiruzen was there, busy helping out, given the influx of injured ninjas.

"Bed 11 needs another blood transfusion!" a medic shouted.

"This wound is deep and almost infected. Didn't you disinfect it while on the front lines?" another nurse asked, her tone full of concern.

"We tried, but the medical facilities on the front lines are limited!" replied the injured ninja, grimacing in pain.

At that moment, Hiruzen noticed Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya entering the hospital and quickly stood up to greet them.

"Ah, you're here! Come on, help out! You're not skilled enough to handle advanced treatments, so just focus on bandaging for now!"

He turned to a young woman wearing a white coat with a brown ponytail tied neatly behind her back. "Biwa, have the three of them help with the bandaging."

The woman, none other than Biwako Sarutobi, Hiruzen's wife looked up and replied, "Got it! There's plenty of bandaging work, so I'll have them assist the nurses."

At this point, Biwako was only in her twenties and already dedicated to her work as a medic-nin. 

Orochimaru took a quick glance around the hospital. The number of injured people today was staggering far more than he had ever seen on his previous visits.

"Why are there so many wounded?" Orochimaru asked, clearly puzzled by the overcrowded state of the hospital.

Hiruzen smiled slightly, though there was a trace of sadness in his eyes. "You're quite observant, Orochimaru. Well, it's no secret now, so I'll tell you. The fighting on the front lines has eased, and we've managed to transport some of the more seriously injured soldiers back to the village for proper treatment."

"Ah, I see," Orochimaru nodded in understanding.

The sheer number of wounded was indeed the consequence of the ongoing war. The injured were being brought back from the front lines, those who had narrowly escaped death but still bore the marks of battle. 

"This is war..." Jiraiya muttered, looking at the injured shinobi with a pained expression. "It's awful..."

Tsunade, standing beside him, wore a similarly somber look as she observed the wounded. 

For Orochimaru, however, the sight didn't evoke the much emotional reaction. He had mentally prepared himself for this, knowing full well the harsh reality of war. While he helped with the bandaging, he couldn't help but covertly scan the hospital for something else his prey.

It wasn't long before Orochimaru's eyes locked onto the hospital's blood storage room.

Given how chaotic the hospital was today, no one would notice if he slipped in for a moment... 

---

That night, after a long day of helping at the hospital, Orochimaru returned home. He was exhausted but far too eager to rest just yet. On his desk were more than a dozen small syringes lined up neatly, each containing a small amount of red liquid blood samples Orochimaru had carefully extracted from the hospital's blood storage room.

Despite his fatigue, he immediately began his testing. After everything he had learned so far, his interest in genetic re

With this new information, Orochimaru's suspicions were confirmed: he could now fuse the genes of others and gain their powers.

This process was far more advanced than the crude cell transplants seen in the original series. It wasn't just about inserting cells from one person into another's body. It was about true fusion extracting the genetic material of one individual, processing it, and then merging it with another person's genetic code using the gene fusion fluid.

In other words, Orochimaru could now combine the traits of two different beings into one.

If he mastered this technique, he could gain the power of anyone's bloodline.

He could fuse Uchiha genes to awaken the Sharingan.

He could fuse Hyuga genes to awaken the Byakugan.

He could even fuse the genes of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, to awaken the Sage Body.

Yes, awaken not merely transplant. This was the key difference. By using gene fusion, he could naturally awaken the powers of other bloodlines within his own body.

"Gene fusion fluid can perfectly merge two different sets of genes?" Orochimaru mused, his grin widening. "Haha... So, if I truly master this technique, I could give anyone the Sharingan. I could give anyone the Wood Release. I could even extract the chakra of Asura and Indra and cultivate my own Rinnegan."

His thoughts spiraled into deeper possibilities.