Chapter Ninety-Two: The Fruits of Two Years

Time flew by like an arrow, and two years passed in the blink of an eye.

Within the experimental district of the Terra world, what was once a rather empty space was now filled with a multitude of laboratory equipment. Thanks to the energy contained within the Grell Stone, Uchiha Li could operate all manner of experimental apparatuses in Terra without the need to install circuits. The machines whirred and clicked, and the sight of Sharingan eyes soaking in containers atop the tables lent an unsettling atmosphere to the place.

Uchiha Li stood beside the lab bench, carefully injecting a pale, concentrated solution into a Sharingan before him. In these two years, not only had he grown to the age of sixteen, but more importantly, he had made significant progress in his study of genetic technology. The credit for this belonged to the research notes gifted by Orochimaru, and the steady funds he acquired through “The Legend of Terra,” which allowed him to indulge freely in all manner of experimental simulations.

It is said that practice is the sole criterion for testing truth, and Uchiha Li understood this deeply. Often, he would find himself bewildered by the theoretical points recorded in books, but direct experimentation was another matter entirely. Sometimes, it would take dozens or even hundreds of trials, muddling through partial understanding, before he grasped where his errors lay. Yet, there was no doubt—the speed of progress through such practice was remarkable.

“The thirty-seventh simulation begins. No obvious rejection reaction so far; slightly increasing the dosage…” Uchiha Li picked up the syringe again, injecting the concentrated solution into the Sharingan’s culture dish on the table.

This solution was his latest research achievement: the “First Generation Cell Extract.” As the name implies, it was formed by cloning and refining cells from the first generation, resulting in a liquid rich with their tissue.

He had chosen this method after careful consideration. Direct transplantation of first-generation flesh, even for a member of the Uchiha—whose lineage traced back to the same ancestor as the Senju—remained highly dangerous. But by using the extract, he could precisely adjust the dosage, minimizing risks.

Nevertheless, the probability of petrification remained high, regardless of how much he reduced the risk. Over thirty similar experiments had shown that when the Sharingan encountered a large quantity of first-generation cells, it would instantly be consumed by the cells. The result? Either the entire Sharingan lost its vitality, becoming mere fertilizer for a sprouting tree, or the extract was insufficient and the Sharingan failed to fuse, ending up discarded.

The margin for error was exceedingly narrow—so precise it demanded measurement to several decimal places.

“I hope this attempt succeeds. Eyes are running low,” Uchiha Li murmured, casting a glance at the dwindling supply of Sharingan beside him.

Even dividing the thirty pairs of Sharingan for single use, he could only run about sixty experiments. Though sixty trials was impressive, there was a caveat: the Sharingan tomoe patterns were not all identical, so there was always variation, complicating the experiments.

Shaking his head, Uchiha Li set aside his anxiety and refocused on the lab bench.

At that moment, the Sharingan received another injection of the extract, and began to change. Through the scanner nearby, he could clearly see the cell activity inside the Sharingan rapidly increasing. The rise accelerated, until it broke through a certain threshold. The Sharingan’s activity exploded, like a water balloon bursting, and was swiftly engulfed by the first-generation cells.

A sound reminiscent of cracking echoed; a small sapling sprouted from the Sharingan, growing at an astonishing rate.

“Another failure?” Uchiha Li sighed, preparing to remove the burgeoning tree. But as he moved, he noticed something strange.

The tree did not continue to absorb the Sharingan’s activity—instead, it began to wither on its own. And the Sharingan, which should have lost all vitality, began to revive.

“Is this… a success?” His heart skipped a beat. Without delay, he began recording the experimental data and rescanned the sample.

When the scan finished, Uchiha Li’s face lit up with joy as he read the results: the Sharingan had successfully adapted to the first-generation cells. The fusion greatly enhanced the eye’s vitality—when he compared the figures before and after, the activity was five times higher, and the number was still rising!

With this surge in vitality, Uchiha Li could feel the depth of the three-tomoe Sharingan before him. Though it could not breach the threshold to the Mangekyo, it was far stronger than a typical three-tomoe Sharingan.

This was undeniable proof of a successful experiment.

Suppressing his excitement, Uchiha Li quickly instructed himself, “Using the thirty-seventh experiment as a template, proceed with repeated simulations to ensure success is not mere coincidence.”

He carefully preserved the successfully fused Sharingan, then selected another and injected it with the extract. With the previous data to guide him, the verification process was swift. Before long, he witnessed the same scene—the new Sharingan also fused successfully.

“The first verification succeeded; even a two-tomoe Sharingan can stably fuse,” he noted, then took a single-tomoe Sharingan for the next run. Following the same procedure, it too fused successfully, though the process was riskier. Clearly, the single-tomoe Sharingan’s inherent weakness raised the chance of failure.

Still, with these three consecutive successes, Uchiha Li felt a surge of confidence. Now, he only needed to make minor adjustments to the experimental data.

Time slipped by unnoticed; Uchiha Li had no idea what hour it was outside. He paid no heed to anything else, conducting experiments with every remaining Sharingan.

At last, he arrived at what he believed to be the most precise and suitable dosage. All Sharingan eyes had been consumed in the process. Apart from three single-tomoe Sharingan that petrified, the remaining two- and three-tomoe Sharingan had all stably fused with the first-generation cells.

“Two years… Do you know what I’ve endured these past two years?” Uchiha Li looked at his hard-won results, unable to restrain the emotion in his voice, speaking to no one in particular.

For two years, he had almost never left his room, immersing himself in study within Terra. Some villagers, even Yao, suspected something was wrong with him. But after all this time, his diligence had finally paid off.

Without hesitation, Uchiha Li surveyed the Sharingan around him, took a deep breath, and laid himself down on the lab bench…