WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 171, "The Results of Training," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
The Boruto anime has given fans an exclusive peek behind Kara's curtain at the mysterious Hashirama Cell -- something that we didn't get in the manga. It turns out Victor and his medical facility have been working with a sinister scientist, the Doctor, on experiments and possible weaponization of the First Hokage's DNA.
However, no one knew where the genetic collection came from, who created it and what was its intended purpose before it fell into Victor's hands. Now, in Episode 171, the truth about the item comes out when it revives one of Naruto's nastiest villains: Orochimaru.
When the Fourth Great Ninja War ended, Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin, redeemed himself for his crimes. He tried hard to use Sasuke and Itachi as weapons, but he saw the error of his ways, working against Madara, Obito and Kaguya. However, when the Naruto series ended and he was left to improve the world using science, fans were skeptical. He created altruistic clones such as Log and Mitsuki, but the fact he was alone without direct Konoha supervision left people worried.
Those concerns have just been justified. Log informs him of what's happening as Konoha tries to get the DNA back. It's why Deepa has been running amok and Naruto's council is scared at what's to come. But when Log inquires about the other cells, Orochimaru is nonchalant about it belonging it to him. Apparently, he left it in one of his former labs, which Victor's people found and are now trying to turn into something bigger for Kara. Still, he doesn't show remorse or isn't even willing to help Naruto's team with the investigation as he admits there may be more cells that got stolen.
He's merely preoccupied with fixing Mitsuki's broken body, which leaves Log cynical. This is the DNA of Hashirama Senju, one of the most powerful ninja ever, and Log knows they should be doing more to recover it as it's his dad's fault. He doesn't trust his boss anymore, leaving us wondering what other weapons Orochimaru left unattended. Stuff like this could fall into terrorist hands other than Kara, and fans are speculating about whether he's secretly working with Kara -- who are known for melding science with ninjutsu.
The snake shinobi adopted this role with the Akatsuki so it wouldn't be surprising if this were the case. Still, it's shocking to see him having no conscience, especially as he and Kabuto tried to use Hashirama's cells to power-up in the past. Madara used it, too, as it allows the user to control the Nine-Tails Fox, Kurama, inside Naruto.
It's very much something you don't want enemies having but Orochimaru's willful neglect and poor attitude indicate he's playing a chess game once more. He's too calculating to leave this for others to find, seemingly returning him to his old ways. He always wanted to create the next Hashirama or evolve using his DNA, and it looks like Victor's doing the extra work for him.
