Chapter 210: Pregnant Again, Tiger Cannon!

Chapter 210: Chapter 210: Pregnant Again, Tiger Cannon! [Bonus Chapter]

A fresh start to the new year, and with the young Hokage in power, Konoha is bustling with renewed energy.

Year 48 of Konoha quietly arrives.

Returning from the orphanage with Nonō Yakushi and the others, Shūichi receives a piece of news.

Kushina Uzumaki is pregnant!

This means, if things don't change, the countdown to the Nine-Tails' rampage has begun.

Feeling a sense of urgency, Shūichi heads to Amegakure soon after the New Year hype fades—and has a sparring match with Nagato.

Nagato has grown stronger!

Returning to Konoha from Amegakure, Shūichi suddenly smiles to himself. "Having a strong opponent isn't so bad."

The training continues!

Meanwhile...

In the Hokage's office, Minato Namikaze speaks to Kakashi, who just entered after knocking. "Kushina is pregnant, so I'll need you to take on the responsibility of protecting her in secret until the baby is born."

Kakashi hesitates for a moment, then quickly responds, "Congratulations, Sensei, on becoming a father!"

Minato smiles and nods, "Yes, so I'll be counting on you for this."

Kakashi nods solemnly, "Understood!"

He already knew Kushina was the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.

Though he wasn't certain that childbirth could weaken the seal, he knew that pregnancy, even for a jinchūriki, would make her vulnerable. And there was also... Obito.

This thought brings a hint of worry to Kakashi.

Seeing through Kakashi's concerns, Minato reassures him with a smile, "Don't worry, everything will be fine."

...

"Training can't stop..."

As he leaves the Hokage Building, Kakashi glances up at the soft sunlight, then creates four shadow clones to continue training, before heading to Minato's home to begin his mission.

Time slips by, and soon it's March.

Shūichi has quietly turned fifteen. He now stands at 178 centimeters—almost indistinguishable from a grown adult.

This year, however, he spends his birthday inside the research lab.

The reason? His research on Asuka's cells has finally achieved significant progress.

...

"Are you planning to transplant it into White Zetsu next?"

Looking at a fleshy mass resembling White Zetsu's swollen form, Tsunade frowns.

This isn't just pure White Zetsu cell cultivation—it's a mix of Asuka's cells harmonized with tailed beast chakra.

It looks like White Zetsu, but even Tsunade can sense there's something distinctly different about it.

Shūichi shakes his head. "Of course not."

"We'll start with smaller animals first; White Zetsu should be fine. The key is seeing how ordinary beings react. White Zetsu isn't exactly a typical lifeform."

White Zetsu is ideal for experimentation; every human modification Shūichi attempts goes through White Zetsu first.

"Then let's start with mice!" Tsunade rolls up her sleeves.

Shūichi nods, leaving Tsunade to work while he heads to the Forest of Death to catch some animals.

Chimpanzees, black bears... soon enough, the lab has a dozen types of large animals.

When Shūichi returns to the lab, Tsunade has already completed the first cell transplant on a lab mouse.

Watching the mouse scurry around in the glass box, Shūichi smiles, "It seems there's no immediate risk."

Tsunade nods slightly. "Alright, let's continue!"

She grabs the mouse, and with a quick slice, severs its tail.

Both watch closely, but the mouse's tail doesn't regenerate.

Tsunade frowns. "It seems the regenerative ability from my grandfather's cells is completely suppressed."

Shūichi nods. "Though, the mouse does seem a bit agitated."

Tsunade observes for a moment. "Let's see how the other animals react."

The transplants continue.

Now Shūichi begins transplanting into the large animals he brought from the Forest of Death, placing each in a cage for observation.

Roar!

Howl!

One by one, the animals wake up, all showing signs of increased agitation.

Life thrives on movement, life pulses with energy.

Shūichi pondered. Shiro's description wasn't entirely clear, but it was far better than those of mute animals.

At this moment, Tsunade said, "This shows that Hashirama's cell power was indeed suppressed, but not completely."

"While cellular regeneration is contained, the boost in power still impacts the mental state."

The body and mind are tightly interconnected, like yin and yang influencing one another.

The Uchiha's Sharingan affects chakra through mental influence, and chakra in turn impacts the physical body.

In this case, however, it's clearly the physical transformation that's affecting the mind. The influence seems minor, but if they're going to transplant it into a person—especially one of their own—they need to improve it further.

"Let's go, let's test Shiro's abilities outside."

With Shūichi, Tsunade, and the white tiger, Shiro, they left the lab and moved to an open field nearby.

Standing about seven or eight meters away, Shūichi gestured to Shiro to make the first move.

"Lord Shūichi, be careful!" Shiro warned, letting out a low growl. Immediately, a whirlwind formed around him.

Tsunade watched as the intense, almost tangible wind currents created razor-sharp vacuum blades. "This ability is already on par with a jōnin's."

The swirling wind surged toward Shūichi under Shiro's control.

But such an attack posed no threat to Shūichi. With a simple wave of his hand, he split the wind in two.

From the very beginning, Shūichi had never summoned Shiro for combat.

He'd been too weak for that. Though Shiro could use Wind Release, his power was barely at the level of a chūnin, making him more suited as a playmate for future children.

But now...

Looking at Shiro, Shūichi chuckled. "That's still not quite enough."

Without replying, Shiro opened his mouth wide, condensing chakra inside.

Boom!

The air exploded as a massive wind sphere shot out of Shiro's mouth.

Wind Release: Tiger Cannon!

This was a jutsu Shiro had created based on Shūichi's guidance, similar in essence to the Vacuum Great Sphere and Shukaku's Drilling Air Bullet.

He'd struggled to perform it before, but now, with the cell transplant, he was able to unleash it with ease.

Shūichi's eyes gleamed. "You've captured a bit of Shukaku's style."

As he spoke, Shūichi raised his hand, cutting down with a wind chakra-coated palm, emitting a resonant hum.

Boom!

He split the Tiger Cannon in half with a single strike, sending powerful gusts rolling to either side. The force whipped Tsunade's cloak and sent her ponytail flying as she watched from the sidelines.

Shiro was left in shock, seeing his ultimate move cleaved in two.

But Shūichi was quite pleased and asked with a smile, "Anything else?"

"Can you tap into any other powers?"

Shiro scratched his head with a paw. "I don't think so."

Tsunade thought for a moment. "Perhaps he'd need to train like Yamato to unlock it."

"However, without the ability to form hand signs, it's going to be difficult for him to learn such techniques."

Shūichi nodded in agreement.

The reason Shiro could use Wind Release was likely due to Shūichi's years of conditioning him with Wind Release chakra.

But developing Wood Release would be extremely challenging.

After all, Shiro isn't human.

Nevertheless, Shūichi was satisfied and smiled. "This is already excellent progress."

"That Wind Release jutsu you just used—most jōnin can't even pull that off."

Shiro had a unique advantage with his large mouth, able to compress and launch powerful wind spheres.

"Head back to the Forest of Death, but try not to cause too much of a stir," Shūichi advised.

After dismissing Shiro's summoning, he turned to Tsunade. "Let's proceed with further adjustments."

Tsunade nodded, feeling a sense of anticipation.

If they could stabilize this further, the results would solve countless issues, especially with access to White Zetsu's capabilities.

(End of Chapter)

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