I Am Orochimaru

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 research had only deepened. How could he possibly rest when such invaluable samples were at his disposal?

Ding! It has been detected that this sample contains water attribute energy. Fusion will grant the power of water.

Orochimaru's lips curled into a satisfied smile. "As expected. Blood is the best genetic sample."

He knew the results being detected reflected the chakra attributes of the blood donors. Previously, when he had tested Tsunade's hair, the system had only extracted a small amount of life energy. But now, with blood samples, he could unlock the chakra nature of other ninjas.

Tsunade herself had chakra with four different attributes: Water, Fire, Lightning, and Earth. This difference between the energy extracted from her hair and blood made it clear to Orochimaru just how much more potential lay in the use of blood for genetic analysis.

The tests continued.

Ding! This sample contains two chakra attributes: Fire and Lightning. Fusion will grant the power of Fire and Lightning.

Ding! This sample contains the Wind attribute...

One blood sample after another, each providing Orochimaru with valuable data. Some contained only a single attribute, while others had two or even three.

Then suddenly

Ding! A special human gene sample has been detected. Fusion can grant the genetic traits of this sample.

"Special genes?" Orochimaru's eyes narrowed in curiosity. "System, check the details!"

Holding the syringe with the special blood sample in hand, Orochimaru's heart began to race as he awaited the analysis.

Host, please wait. The system is analyzing the sample... Analysis complete. The gene belongs to the Uchiha clan. Fusion with this gene will grant the traits of the Uchiha, including the potential to awaken the Sharingan.

"The Uchiha clan?" Orochimaru murmured, his golden eyes gleaming with excitement.

When he had tested Tsunade's cells earlier, the system had only granted him a small portion of life energy, nothing particularly noteworthy. But now, this blood sample from the Uchiha clan promised something entirely different the ability to inherit the traits of the Uchiha, possibly even the Sharingan.

But why the difference? Why had Tsunade's hair yielded only a small amount of life energy, while this Uchiha blood sample promised the potential for far more powerful abilities?

"Senju and Uchiha are supposed to be genetically equal. So why did Tsunade's sample result in such a minor gain, while the Uchiha sample offers something far greater? Is it simply the difference between hair and blood?"

No. The reason lies in the activation of genetic traits. Tsunade has not awakened the Sage Body, which is why you cannot gain that ability from her genes. However, the owner of this Uchiha blood has awakened the Sharingan, which is why you can gain the power of the Uchiha through fusion.

As the system explained, Orochimaru quickly grasped the concept.

It wasn't just about having the right genes; it was about whether those genes had been activated. Tsunade had the potential for the Sage Body, but since she hadn't awakened that ability, it wasn't available for extraction. On the other hand, the Uchiha donor had already awakened the Sharingan, which meant that power was ripe for the taking.

Orochimaru's knowledge of genetics and biology had grown immensely, and he understood that transplanting cells often resulted in rejection. But what made the Uchiha clan so special? Of course, it was the Sharingan that dazzling, coveted dojutsu that many sought after but few could wield properly.

The spiritual energy within the Sharingan was so potent that most people couldn't handle it. Only those with Uchiha blood could fully control the power of the Sharingan. Those like Kakashi, who had a transplanted Sharingan, couldn't activate or deactivate it at will.

But now... If Orochimaru could successfully fuse this Uchiha gene into himself, he would not just transplant the Sharingan he would awaken it as if he were born with Uchiha blood.

Seven days later, the gene extraction task was complete, and the system had unlocked new data: the gene fusion process, as well as something called gene fusion fluid.

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."