Unlike Ryosuke's group, who were leisurely making their way toward the royal capital, Warsaw City, Sasuke and Rei were traveling day and night, wanting to rush back to the Research Institute as soon as possible.
Whether it was Shinnō's memories, the ninjutsu discs, or the Uchiha clan's bloodline, to many people, all of these were temptations worth risking their lives for.
Along the way, they encountered three small squads that tried to assassinate them. But whether it was Sasuke, Rei, or the cavalry of the Anhilation Army, after being tempered in Water Country's "Chaotic April," they had already developed flawless cooperation.
Their journey could be said to be thrilling yet without true danger, and they finally returned safely to the Research Institute.
"Here."
Sasuke handed over Shinnō's memories and the ninjutsu discs to Samui.
This kunoichi from the Hidden Cloud had always been controversial ever since she took on the task of liaising with Cloud and Mist. In the beginning, quite a few people called her a "village traitor," a "shameless woman."
To this, Samui never argued. She just lowered her head and did the work.
As time went on, with the adjustment of military expenditures, improvements in productivity, and tangible benefits falling upon the ninjas and villagers, many people gradually shut their mouths.
Samui also never mocked them in return, never saying something like, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river." She still just lowered her head and did the work.
After all, her choice was never about making others look at her differently, nor was it about proving herself to anyone…
No, that wasn't entirely true. There was still one person Samui wanted to prove herself to, to let him know she was faithfully walking the path he once walked.
"Ryosuke didn't come?"
Samui stared at Shinnō's memory discs without raising her head, like she was asking casually.
"Brother Ryosuke went to the royal capital of Wind Country. Otherwise, something this important, he'd definitely deliver it himself," Sasuke said.
Samui nodded, her eyes slightly unfocused. In a low voice, she said, "Busy, being busy is good."
Rei leaned close to the corkboard where countless documents were pinned with big needles. On it were many marks showing the progress of different research directions, roughly divided into three fields,
Biological Genetics, with Orochimaru's research as the core, and after Tsunade joined, the research area expanded even further. The current primary focus was Hidan's ashes.
Anti-Air Weapons, with the Cloud Village's weapons development projects as the blueprint, further strengthening strategic-level weapon power.
Ninjutsu Development, based on Mist, Cloud, and now, with Sand also included, ninjutsu, combining them to develop brand-new techniques.
"You brought back these discs."
Samui quickly adjusted her mood, shaking the memory disc in her hand.
"They'll become a fourth research field, the Aerospace Project."
"The sky carrier ship built from this technology will become the platform carrying 'Biological Genetics,' 'Anti-Air Weapons,' and 'even stronger ninjutsu.'"
"Pla…tform?" Rei tilted her head slightly.
Samui put away the two discs.
"Just saying it dry like this sounds a bit abstract. I'll take you to see the 'Hidan Laboratory.'"
She led Sasuke and Rei to a massive research room at the core, covering nearly a thousand square meters.
Before entering, they had to go through three rounds of disinfection and ninjutsu scans.
"The Hidan Laboratory is, at present, the division with the most funding and the most researchers in the institute. Look..."
Samui raised her hand and pointed. Inside the cultivation chamber, rows of glass tanks.
Inside the tanks were countless organs, arms, hearts, thighs… at first glance, it looked like a human body museum.
"Each one of Hidan's ashes, as long as you inject a huge amount of life energy, can spontaneously grow organs out of nothing.
With the technical support of Orochimaru and Tsunade, perhaps one day, we might be able to use the ashes to create one 'Hidan' after another."
Sasuke and Rei were shocked stiff on the spot.
'Th-this… isn't this way too evil?'
Even if they were enemies, killing was one thing, but this kind of endless torment…
"I know what you're thinking."
The researchers here weren't inhuman madmen. If it were truly living humans, they'd be the first to abandon the experiments. Besides…"
"You should've noticed the problem, right?"
Sasuke froze. He had been so stunned by the sight before him that he hadn't looked carefully. After another glance, he seemed to realize something and was just about to speak, when Rei pointed with her little hand and spoke first, "These organs don't have a head, a bu*t, or a p..."
Sasuke's hand covering her mouth was just a second too late.
Sasuke gave a small cough, skipping past the topic. "So, the researchers' ultimate goal is to create soulless 'Hidans'? But… what's the use of that?"
"Just an empty-shell Hidan really is useless. Or maybe I should say, the several current research directions, taken separately, aren't very useful. But imagine this."
Samui said, "A sky carrier ship that breaks the limits of gravity, capable of flying into space, equipped with the latest weapon systems, heading to the moon for exploration."
"The people aboard the sky carrier, whether pilots or fighters, are all 'Hidans.'"
"For these soulless 'empty-shell Hidans,' we'll use upgraded puppet-tech for remote control. That way, even if they encounter aliens, not a single human life will be lost."
Not only that, high-risk missions like mineral mining or deep-sea exploration could be done by 'Explorer-Type Hidans.' Even some surgeons could use 'Medical-Type Hidans' to perform brain surgeries across half the ninja world.
The more Sasuke and Rei listened, the wider their mouths opened.
'It could even be used like this?'
But when they thought it over, they felt, why not?
A technique used directly for killing was the most shallow application.
Many times, a seemingly ordinary ability or technology, once "rerouted" a little and crossed with other ordinary abilities, could produce unimaginable results.
"But…"
Sasuke asked, "Cultivating 'empty-shell Hidans' requires massive amounts of life energy. Where does that life force come from?"
"Of course, from other living beings. For example… cockroaches."
Samui said, "Right now, the technology can only extract life energy from cockroaches. After a few more iterations, it might even be possible to take the life force of tardigrades."
Seeing the two kids looking dazed, Samui hooked up a small smile.
To be able to work with this group of researchers, she had burned midnight oil and studied tirelessly.
Samui gazed at the laboratory.
Ryosuke's battlefield was the ninja world, was this earth.
This group of researchers' battlefield was this laboratory.
Unlike the labs in ninja villages, which demanded they produce mass-destruction weapons, here, researchers could, for the first time, truly be themselves. As long as they had an interesting project, they could submit it upward and apply for resources.
For them, this was an unprecedented opportunity.
Every one of them was giving it their all, wanting to achieve results.
Not to "repay" anything, that sounded too hollow. It was just to prove they weren't useless wastes of resources.
"So."
Sasuke rubbed his chin. "The key right now is to find the 'missing' heads, butts, and pee-pees."
He remembered Brother Ryosuke had mentioned during the Kyoto battle that some of Hidan's ashes had been eaten by summoning beasts. By now, those had probably already been… expelled.
"So those pieces of Hidan… where are they now?"
A few kilometers away, inside a cave.
An eye suddenly opened, followed by Hidan's arrogant voice, "Your daddy's right here!"
Right after speaking, a white snake's tail smacked across his mouth.
"Quiet! Don't let anyone hear us!"
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