As Tsunade walked away, Orochimaru's earlier conversation with her still echoed in his mind.
"I thought it would be a lot," Tsunade had said casually. "It's only 150,000 Ryo. Just wait, I'll go back and get it for you!"
Sure enough, a wealthy family is a wealthy family, Orochimaru mused. For most genin, 150,000 Ryo was an astronomical amount of money. Even chunin had to risk their lives on many dangerous missions to accumulate such a sum. Yet, Tsunade, without batting an eye, offered it to him like it was pocket change.
Even though she emphasized that it was a loan, the fact that a mere child could hand over that much money so casually spoke volumes about the financial strength of the Senju clan.
To be honest, borrowing money had never crossed Orochimaru's mind. He didn't have close family or friends in this world. Besides, Tsunade was just a little girl herself how could he, with his adult mindset, even bring himself to ask for a loan? But once the conversation had naturally veered toward money, and Tsunade had offered to lend it, he didn't hesitate to accept. After all, this would save him nearly two months of time, and Tsunade could be considered someone under his care now. It was a win-win situation, with neither side losing out.
---
Half an hour later, true to her word, Tsunade returned with a thick stack of banknotes and threw them in front of Orochimaru. One-thousand-ryo bills, stacked up to a total of 150,000.
"Well, here's 150,000 ryo!"
At that moment, Orochimaru felt a strange sensation almost as if he were being pampered like some kept boy. The absurdity of it all wasn't lost on him, but he still had to express his gratitude.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome," Tsunade replied nonchalantly, waving it off. "With your talent, it won't take long for you to make that kind of money yourself."
Orochimaru nodded, not disagreeing. It was true although making money as a genin was slow, advancing to chunin would open the doors to higher-paying missions. And with his current abilities, advancing to chunin was only a matter of time.
After parting ways with Tsunade, Orochimaru set off to purchase the necessary experimental equipment. His home wasn't too small, and now that he lived alone, he had already cleared out space to use as a laboratory three days earlier. There was no concern about not having enough room for the equipment he was about to buy.
Typically, setting up an ordinary laboratory would require many large machines, and the average private home wouldn't suffice for such large-scale experiments. But for the first experiment creating the basic genetic enhancement serum the process was relatively simple. The main challenge lay in obtaining rare ingredients, while large, complex equipment wasn't needed. So, for now, Orochimaru's home would suffice.
---
By the time Orochimaru had bought all the necessary materials, it was already evening. The streets were busy with people coming and going, but he remained focused, carrying bags of supplies and equipment back to his home. Despite the lateness of the hour, sleep was the last thing on his mind. He had gone over the experimental steps countless times in his head and couldn't wait to begin.
After meticulously setting up all the equipment, Orochimaru finally began the first real experiment of his life creating the basic gene enhancement serum. He followed the steps that were engraved in his mind, moving with precision.
At first, he thought his strong theoretical knowledge would make the process simple. But reality soon proved otherwise.
"Alright, first, heat this herb slightly…"
"Wait, why is it turning mushy?"
"Let's try again…"
"This fire seems too weak now?"
"Okay, this time should be fine wait, too much material again?!"
The harsh truth of scientific research was dawning on Orochimaru successful experiments required countless trials and errors. Every step had to be precise. Every failure contributed to a deeper understanding of the process.
Still, Orochimaru wasn't one to give up easily. He had almost memorized all the theoretical aspects, so there was no reason he couldn't figure it out with enough practice. And so, his long journey of trial-and-error scientific research began in earnest.
---
Day by day, time passed.
Orochimaru gradually grew more accustomed to life in Konoha Village. The day after his graduation, Hiruzen Sarutobi officially gave him, Tsunade, and Jiraiya their Konoha forehead protectors. At the age of six, they were now officially genin.
During the day, Orochimaru followed Sarutobi on D-rank and C-rank missions, learning various combat techniques and honing his skills. At night, he devoted himself to his experiments. He balanced his schedule with strict discipline, ensuring he went to bed at midnight and woke up at 7 a.m. sharp. Now that he had become Orochimaru, he had no intention of slacking off like an idle otaku.
Finally, half a year later, late one night, Orochimaru stood in his dimly lit lab, holding up a test tube filled with light green liquid. A satisfied smile tugged at his lips.
"It should be successful this time! System, check if the serum is qualified!"
"Ding! Beginning analysis… Testing complete."
"basic gene enhancement serum, purity: 92%, exceeding the 90% standard."
"Final verdict: The basic gene enhancement serum has been successfully produced! Next technology available: Gene Extraction. Would you like to unlock it?"
"Unlock it," Orochimaru said without hesitation.
The effectiveness of the gene enhancement solution was determined by its purity. Only serum with a purity of 90% or higher could fully exert their effects. Though Orochimaru wasn't aiming for perfection 100% purity he knew that the benefits wouldn't significantly increase past 90%, so this result was more than satisfactory.
"Ding! Gene extraction technology successfully unlocked!"
"Congratulations, host, you've acquired…"
Another set of experimental equipment appeared in his storage, though this time there wasn't as much as during the first experiment. The new tools were small and specialized.
Orochimaru checked the new scientific data. The next area of research was gene fusion.
---
Gene Fusion: The process of combining two or more genes to enhance an existing species or create a new one.