Upon hearing Hiroko's introduction, Danzō's eyebrows immediately raised.
It sounds...
Quite sinister.
"Take me to see it!"
"Yes!"
Seeing Danzō's interest, Hiroko quickly stood up and led him to the training ground.
"Lord Danzō, this experiment requires a few volunteers."
Hiroko rubbed his hands together, his eyes gleaming with a dangerous light.
Danzō understood his implication.
This thing probably has significant side effects.
But he still waved his hand dismissively.
"Fetch two death row inmates from the prison."
"Yes."
Following Danzō's command, a Root ninja immediately went to the prison and brought back two death row inmates.
Currently, the Root prison had nothing else, but death row inmates were plentiful.
After all, Lord Danzō had sent quite a few to the village on his way to the capital...
Soon, the two death row inmates were brought to the training ground.
Upon seeing Danzō, their legs immediately gave way, and they knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.
If their mouths hadn't been gagged, they would have been crying.
Unfortunately, Lord Danzō had no interest in their tears.
"Begin. Let me see the effects of this new drug."
Danzō's voice was devoid of any emotion.
"As you command."
Hiroko's sinister voice rang out, and with a flick of his hands, two extremely long worms flew out from his sleeves, wrapping around the inmates like ropes.
Then, in his white-gloved hands, two syringes appeared.
Inside the syringes, a crimson liquid shimmered with an evil glow.
Ignoring the terrified expressions of the two subjects, Hiroko tightened the worms' grip and injected the syringes into them.
"Don't worry, it'll be over soon."
Hiroko whispered, his voice like a demon's murmur.
The sharp needles easily pierced their skin.
Soon, the liquid in the syringes flowed into their bodies.
Through Danzō's Byakugan, he could see the special drug rapidly reacting with their chakra upon entering their bodies.
Their chakra instantly turned orange-red, then began to proliferate wildly like cancer cells!
An evil, cold aura emanated from them.
Though much weaker than a real tailed beast, it still exuded a tremendous sense of oppression.
Their chakra surged uncontrollably, their eyes turned blood-red, and their muscles bulged.
Their bodies erupted with beast-like strength!
Under this power, the worms binding them were instantly torn to shreds.
A faint tailed beast cloak appeared on their bodies, their eyes turned fierce, and they crouched on all fours.
They charged at Danzō and Hiroko!
Hiroko, of course, wouldn't let them harm his boss.
Though even if he did, they wouldn't succeed.
But he had to show the right attitude!
So, he immediately pulled out a scroll and summoned a strange-looking chimera.
It resembled an oversized tiger, with a snake for a tail, bat wings on its back, and covered in scales...
Though it looked odd, its combat power was impressive.
As soon as it appeared, it engaged in a fierce battle with the two inmates injected with the tailed beast drug.
They tore at each other like wild beasts, displaying the most primal savagery.
Observing the battle, Danzō asked:
"Is this made from the Five-Tails' chakra?"
After obtaining Orochimaru's tailed beast cultivation techniques, Danzō had cultivated many tissues from the Five-Tails and Nine-Tails.
Many of these had been handed over to Hiroko and Orochimaru for experiments.
The aura emanating from these two clearly belonged to the Five-Tails.
Facing Danzō's question, Hiroko nodded:
"Correct, these drugs are made from the Five-Tails' chakra."
He then showed a hint of regret.
"Actually, the Nine-Tails' chakra would be more potent, but drugs made from its chakra would almost instantly explode the subjects upon injection!"
Danzō nodded in agreement.
The Nine-Tails' reputation as the strongest tailed beast was no joke.
In fact, Danzō believed that the other eight tailed beasts combined might not even stand a chance against the full Nine-Tails...
"Perhaps you could try incorporating [Wood Release cells] into the drug to neutralize the Nine-Tails' power."
Danzō's suggestion made Hiroko's eyes light up.
Because [Wood Release cells] had been proven in previous experiments to have a suppressive effect on the Nine-Tails' chakra.
Thus, Danzō's suggestion had some merit!
Hiroko immediately responded:
"I will explore this possibility next."
"Good."
Danzō nodded slightly, saying no more.
He only provided the idea; the research was best left to the professionals.
He just needed to ensure the overall direction was correct.
He turned his gaze back to the training ground.
After a few minutes of fierce combat, the battle had concluded.
The result was still a victory for the two chimeras.
But they had paid a heavy price.
Multiple injuries, large patches of scales missing, they looked quite battered.
As for the two death row inmates, once the tailed beast chakra in their bodies was exhausted, they collapsed like deflated balloons.
Their skin was severely ulcerated, their eyes lifeless, and their breathing weak.
Their bodies were in complete mess.
"This is the side effect of the new drug."
Hiroko explained.
"Their cells were forced to produce a massive amount of chakra in a short time, so once the drug's effect wore off, their bodies immediately fell into severe injury."
Danzō wasn't surprised by these side effects.
After all, the greater the power, the greater the cost.
Before the injection, these two inmates were at most ordinary genin-level.
But the speed and strength they displayed just now had surpassed chunin-level.
Though not quite jonin-level, and with added side effects like injury and loss of potential, its value was still undeniable.
With this drug, genin on the brink of death could make a desperate stand.
Even if the upper limit wasn't high, in major ninja villages, genin made up the bulk of the forces.
With enough numbers and this sudden power up, even some unprepared jonin might fall!
"Can this drug be mass-produced?"
Danzō asked a crucial question.
With such severe side effects, the drug's only use was for desperate measures.
Its primary users would be the vast majority of genin and chunin.
Thus, its production volume became a critical issue.
If production couldn't keep up, all talk was futile!
Fortunately, Hiroko quickly affirmed:
"Each dose requires a certain amount of tailed beast chakra as a catalyst, but as long as we have the Five-Tails, mass production isn't a problem!"
Satisfied with this answer, Danzō nodded.
"Don't rush to expand production yet; focus on improvements for now."
"I'll increase your funding. If you can control the side effects, that would be even better."
If the side effects could be mitigated, giving users a slim chance of survival, the drug's value in Danzō's eyes would undoubtedly rise.
Hearing Danzō's request, Hiroko immediately knelt respectfully.
"Yes, Lord Danzō!"
"I will strive to improve this drug."
Danzō nodded slightly and gently patted Hiroko's shoulder.
"Don't worry, I won't go back on my promise. The bloodline limit test subjects you requested are already on their way."
Hiroko's head lowered even further, his voice tinged with excitement.
"Yes, Lord Danzō!"
Before leaving, Danzō named the new drug:
"Let's call it [Divine Shock]."
——————————
Meanwhile.
In a laboratory, Orochimaru suddenly stopped his work, his gaze alert as he looked towards a corner of the room.
"Tsk tsk, as expected of one of the Sannin, Orochimaru. Your sensing abilities are truly remarkable."
A playful voice rang out as a man with a tiger-striped mask slowly emerged from the shadows.
He revealed only one eye, but its crimson glow was particularly eerie in the dim light.
"A member of the Uchiha clan?"
Orochimaru set down the test tube in his hand, adopting a defensive stance.
"Once was."
The masked man, Obito, replied calmly.
Orochimaru licked his lips and said:
"I haven't heard of any Uchiha defecting from Konoha recently."
The masked man chuckled coldly:
"Who said it had to be recent?"
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, like a venomous snake ready to strike.
He hissed, threatening:
"If you're a rogue ninja, showing yourself before me, are you seeking death?"
Obito remained unfazed by Orochimaru's threat.
"Mr. Orochimaru, there's no need for pretenses with me."
He spread his arms, glancing at the hidden base built outside the village, and sneered:
"If you hadn't planned to leave the village, why would you build these bases outside Konoha?"
"What do you think would happen if I revealed the locations of these bases and the experiments you're conducting to the Fourth Hokage?"
Given Orochimaru's actions, if discovered, he would be treated as a defector instantly.
Thus, as soon as Obito finished speaking, an overwhelming killing intent erupted from Orochimaru!
"You're seeking death!"
He no longer held back. Two thick pythons shot out from his sleeves.
With lightning speed, they tightly coiled around the mysterious man.
"Tell me, who are you?"
Orochimaru's sinister voice rang out, seemingly confident of victory.
But the mysterious man suddenly laughed mockingly.
"Mr. Orochimaru, you don't actually think you've won, do you?"
In the next moment, Obito's figure dissipated.
Blinking, Orochimaru found the surroundings completely changed.
The laboratory was gone, replaced by an endless expanse of crimson.
The ground was red, the sky was red, even the air and clouds were red!
What shocked Orochimaru more was that, without realizing, his body had been pierced by several iron nails, pinning him to the ground, immobile!
"This is... the Uchiha clan's genjutsu!"
Orochimaru's body trembled.
But there was no fear in his eyes, only a deep craving for power!
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