Although the First Hokage's cells were overwhelmingly dominant, even cells have a minimum fusion threshold. If the First's cells fail to fully devour the others before this threshold is met, they themselves will begin merging into the weaker ones, forming an entirely new tissue.
Danzo's method involved crudely grafting an arm infused with Hashirama cells onto his body. In this forced union, his own tissues never truly fused with the First's cells—hence the loss of control and eventual self-consumption.
While the Gedo Senjutsu seemed more sophisticated than Danzo's crude attempt, in essence, it wasn't much different. It forcibly bound together incompatible flesh through forbidden techniques. The risk of catastrophic rejection was still high.
That's why Hinata had no intention of following either path. Her plan was to achieve fusion at the cellular level—creating tissue that was perfectly integrated at its origin, thereby eliminating the risk of future rejection or collapse.
But to do that, she needed to find the perfect ratio that would allow Hashirama's wood-release cells to coexist with Haku's ice-release bloodline.
From what she'd just seen, Haku's cells were clearly no match for the First's. Relying solely on them to counterbalance the First's was obviously impossible.
Hinata closed her eyes. As long as it didn't involve advanced mathematics, she could solve most problems by substitution or analogy.
(BS)
Let's say she was building the perfect team: she already had an aggressive First Hokage-type cell, [A], and a comparatively delicate Haku-type cell, [B]. Just the two of them couldn't function harmoniously—[A] would inevitably overpower [B]. That's an unbalanced team doomed to fail.
What she needed was a mediator—someone with less strength than [A] but more brains, and with more strength than [B] but less finesse. This [C] would be strong enough to resist bullying, but not so exceptional as to alienate the weaker one.
It was the same logic she used when assembling her mid-tier lieutenants.
So that meant…
"I need a third type of blood… someone who can balance both the First's and yours, Haku."
Arms folded, Hinata opened her eyes and looked at the sleeping snow maiden. A strange smile curled at her lips—because she already knew the answer.
Her own blood. Hyūga Hinata.
In the original series, Hinata—often relegated to Naruto's emotional support—didn't have many noteworthy combat achievements. But her lineage and heritage had always been emphasized. Titles like "Princess of the Byakugan" or "the purest bloodline of the Hyūga clan" weren't handed out lightly.
And based on her own experience since taking over this body, her use of the Byakugan was effortless. It activated seamlessly, with none of the strain or fatigue typically associated with it.
Even within the Hyūga clan, this was rare. Most members, save for a few geniuses, couldn't use the Byakugan freely. Typically, it required time to gather chakra and prolonged use often led to pain or exhaustion.
Which meant that Hinata had not only perfect control over the Byakugan but an extremely pure bloodline. In bloodline-limited abilities, this purity directly translated to potency.
Historically, the Hyūga descended from Ōtsutsuki Hamura, the younger son of Kaguya. And for thousands of years, the clan had fiercely guarded the purity of their bloodline—resulting in almost no branching of the family tree.
That made them the polar opposite of the Sage of Six Paths' lineage. From his two sons alone, the line splintered into the Senju, Uchiha, Uzumaki, and beyond. Even the First Hokage, with all his might, had blood so diluted that it couldn't compare to the Hyūga's in terms of concentration.
(Here the talk about is concentration of Kaguya's blood factor not anything else.)
Drawing a kunai, Hinata slit her own wrist and let her blood flow into the beaker. It mixed with Haku's, blending perfectly—two identical reds swirling together in flawless harmony.
"Now I see it. A being like you could never survive without a protector strong enough to shield you. Since your soul chose Zabuza, even choosing to die with him… then let me be the one to protect and use what you left behind."
She added a sliver of the First's flesh to the mixture.
In the dim chamber, Hinata's Byakugan gleamed like twin flames, unwavering and resolute.
"Forbidden Technique—Gedo Senjutsu!"
---
Inside the Land of Waves, it had been about a week since the bridge's completion.
Although the sea routes were still blocked by unexplained reefs, the bridge had restored full access to the country. The people were finally free of their cage-like isolation.
Notably, as a gesture of gratitude for the Leaf ninja's help, Tazuna and his fellow builders named the bridge "Team 7 Bridge"—a tribute to the Konoha squad that made it possible.
What puzzled the townsfolk most was that Gato—the true villain—and all his thugs had seemingly vanished. Tazuna and the others were surprised but delighted. They didn't care where Gato went, as long as he was gone.
"Ahh~ so this is the Land of Waves, huh? Meh, it's alright."
Deidara commented with a mouthful of dango. As one of the key consultants for the new figure factory, he was there to help train local workers in clay modeling techniques.
"You've got no room to talk. We had to bust our asses for a whole week to get this country under control. You better make those figures sell."
Arms crossed, Kakuzu grumbled from across the table, clearly annoyed by Deidara's dismissive attitude.
"Exactly~ We had to kill, create reefs, and bust our backs out here. If you and your art buddy can't make money, that's on you."
Hidan chimed in, sitting beside him. Surprisingly, every current member of the Akatsuki was present. And rather than some hidden cave or secret lair, they were gathered in a private room at a hotel in the Land of Waves' capital.
Technically, this was their first official work dinner.
"This mission was tough for both your squads, but considering the location, the effort was worth it."
At the head of the table, Pain spoke calmly. Now that the Land of Waves had been designated as Akatsuki's manufacturing base, he had come to inspect it personally—and was satisfied with what he saw.
As Kakuzu had reported, the region had no ties to any major nation or shinobi village, and apart from Team 7's bridge, it had no external connections. It was an easy place to control.
Typically, such a nation would lack the resources to serve as a strategic base. But for producing figures? It was more than enough. The materials—clay, bamboo, fish glue—were abundant locally.
This was the perfect location.
"Exactly. No ties to big nations means we can keep taxes at a reasonable level."
Kisame took a sip from his sake bowl, his words reinforcing his right to speak, given his role in the takeover.
"Indeed. So then… where is Suigintou?"
Pain's tone turned more pointed. He had another reason for coming—the report from Zetsu that Kakuzu's team had delayed his orders, choosing to wait for Suigintou's input.
It was a concerning challenge to his authority. While Pain didn't believe they were plotting a coup, any deviation from direct command had to be addressed.
The Akatsuki was never a tightly unified group.
Sasori and Deidara were artists chasing their obsessions. Kakuzu and Hidan were in it for money and religion. Itachi, no matter how obedient he seemed, had his own agenda—namely, his brother.
The rest—Kisame and Zetsu—were Madara's pawns. And Orochimaru, long gone, was already a traitor.
In reality, the only person Pain truly trusted was Konan.
So even as their leader, he had to tread carefully. He had power—but he wasn't a tyrant who killed subordinates for minor insubordination.
"According to her message, she'll be meeting with us today. She should be arriving soon."
Konan's tone was calm. She wasn't worried about the meeting.
---
Back in Konoha, the village was buzzing with activity.
Roughly half a kilometer outside the gates, a small plot of land was under heavy construction. It was about the size of a modest market, and due to the project, manpower and resources in the village were stretched thin. But the pay and benefits were generous, so the villagers were enthusiastic rather than resentful. Jobs like this didn't come around often.
Unquestionably, this was the beginning of "Akihabara."
Thanks to Danzo's influence with the Third Hokage, construction began the very next day. Ninja had selected a location that formed a strategic triangle with Konoha for mutual defense, and work began immediately.
Ninjutsu reshaped the terrain in hours—but buildings couldn't be left to Earth Release alone. People couldn't live in underground bunkers. So Konoha's craftsmen were tasked with building proper homes, using processed lumber atop pre-shaped foundations, each structure marked and planned in advance.