Haruki originally thought Kushina would return first, but a week later, there was still no sign of her.
Given her personality, she was probably having so much fun that she forgot about her teacher and best friend.
But Haruki and Mikoto didn't rush her back.
Because it wasn't time yet.
Mikoto was busy sorting the list of the Uchiha clan.
However, she and Fugaku didn't know everyone well, so it took a lot of time.
They managed to divide the Uchiha into three factions.
The radicals who believed in their own supremacy, the moderates who remained neutral, and the Hokage supporters who maintained the village.
Naturally, the focus was on the arrogant group that upheld Uchiha pride.
Leading them was the Uchiha elder.
In comparison, Fugaku's father, the current clan leader, Uchiha Hisaku, leaned more towards neutrality.
But like Fugaku, his indecisiveness and lack of resolve were apparent.
Haruki didn't interfere with this matter.
Mikoto had become more decisive and powerful, capable of handling it.
In recent days, Haruki had been preparing for the movie.
In fact, Haruki didn't know much about filmmaking.
He mainly served as a screenwriter, providing story ideas.
As a participant in the Second Shinobi World War, he understood the events and feared the writers might add irrelevant elements.
Like unnecessary romantic subplots in a war film.
After helping for two days, Haruki felt he was no longer needed and returned to teaching at the ninja academy.
Indeed, being a teacher suited him.
Haruki couldn't help but think.
---
After class, he received news from Orochimaru that the wood release experiment had succeeded.
Hurrying to Orochimaru's lab in Akihabara, Haruki saw a clone soaked in a transparent cylinder.
It bore some resemblance to Orochimaru.
But judging by the bubbles it emitted, it was still alive.
"His condition is very stable now."
Orochimaru's eyes were fixed on the clone, licking his lips, "And it's very suitable as my vessel."
Haruki extended his right hand, his palm touching the glass as blue chakra swirled into the clone's body.
Moments later, all the information about the clone was clear in Haruki's mind.
Haruki nodded slightly and asked, "When can we proceed with the surgery?"
"Anytime." Orochimaru glanced at Haruki and replied.
"I'll get Tsunade."
Haruki heard the confidence in Orochimaru's calm words, indicating his certainty rather than a fluke.
Haruki trusted Orochimaru to some extent.
Moreover, Orochimaru didn't care much about others, but he did care about Tsunade and Jiraiya.
Haruki quickly called Tsunade over.
She wasn't surprised, as she knew in advance.
However, she was very interested in Orochimaru's clone.
Her first thought was its potential use for injured ninjas.
Medical ninjutsu was miraculous, but severe injuries like missing limbs were hard to heal.
Haruki frowned and nudged Tsunade's shoulder, "What's so interesting about a knockoff Orochimaru vessel?"
Tsunade immediately reacted, turning to Haruki with a smile, "Then how about I try you out?"
Haruki was caught off guard by her sudden advance.
"…Let's begin the surgery."
Orochimaru turned away expressionlessly, putting on gloves.
Haruki and Tsunade chuckled lightly.
"Thank you, Orochimaru."
Tsunade's beautiful eyes seemed to reflect the stars, always mirroring Haruki.
"Go ahead. With me here, nothing will go wrong."
Haruki kissed her forehead, smiling, as he was one of the strongest medical ninjas in the world.
Moreover, Tsunade's Yin Seal was an additional guarantee, paired with Creation Rebirth, making it almost impossible for her to die.
"Get on."
Orochimaru interrupted the tender moment.
Tsunade ignored him, responding to Haruki with a kiss on his cheek.
Afterwards, she lay on the operating table.
While wood release involved transplanting the cells of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, the degree of success varied.
In the original series, people like Yamato, Uchiha Madara, Obito, and Danzo all gained wood release abilities through Hashirama's cells, with vastly different results.
The strongest, Uchiha Madara, could even rival Hashirama, while the others had much lesser abilities.
Obito, with half his body made of Hashirama's cells, showed good results due to no rejection.
Yamato had only 20% of Hashirama's power, and Danzo could only use wood release with his right arm and couldn't stabilize the cells.
Ultimately, wood release was an external power. The ninja's inherent strength was crucial.
The Sage Body and massive chakra were fundamental.
As Hashirama's granddaughter, Tsunade inherited some Sage Body traits and had the Yin Seal's chakra accumulation.
Her conditions were closer to Hashirama's than others like Yamato.
Haruki watched Tsunade intently, his hands glowing with pale chakra, ready to intervene.
Fortunately, there was no rejection so far.
"As expected of the Senju clan."
Orochimaru couldn't help but be impressed. He had experienced numerous failures and had never seen such smooth success as today.
He withdrew his hands, removed his gloves, and said, "The surgery was successful."
Haruki sighed in relief, waiting for Tsunade to wake up.
As Orochimaru was about to leave, Haruki suddenly remembered something.
"Orochimaru, I need you to perform another surgery, this time on Uchiha Mikoto."
"Your student?" Orochimaru knew of Mikoto but refused, "Mikoto is Mikoto, Tsunade is Tsunade."
Haruki had anticipated this. Orochimaru wasn't a philanthropist.
Tsunade was his teammate, and with Haruki's influence, he was willing to help her.
But Mikoto didn't hold the same weight.
Haruki pondered briefly, "What's the price? If I want you to operate on Mikoto, what do I need to pay?"
A rare opportunity to negotiate.
Orochimaru squinted, "Sharingan."
"You're not embarrassed, are you?"
Haruki couldn't help but shake his head. This was typical of Orochimaru. Ordinary people had no leverage to negotiate with him.
"However, your price is something I can fulfill. How about the Uchiha elder? A three-tomoe Sharingan."
Orochimaru gave Haruki a surprised look.
He had expected Haruki to refuse or find a scapegoat from the Uchiha, but he didn't expect Haruki to offer such a significant target.
Almost the strongest pair of eyes in the Uchiha clan.
"Agreed."
Orochimaru nodded. How Haruki would deal with the Uchiha elder was none of his concern.
A few minutes later.
Tsunade woke up.
She could clearly feel a qualitative improvement in her physical strength.
In the original series, Obito's self-healing and chakra significantly improved after transplanting Hashirama's cells, greatly alleviating the side effects of his Mangekyo Sharingan.
From the experiment, Tsunade's results were no less impressive than Obito's.
"How do you feel?"
Haruki interrupted her thoughts.
Tsunade jumped off the operating table, leaned close to his ear, and whispered with a smile, "I'll definitely make you bow down."