A slightly dilapidated house—this was Gen Takano's residence.
Theoretically, the ninja profession's earning capacity was not low; even the simplest missions offered considerable compensation.
As a Special Jonin, even if Gen Takano couldn't afford the most luxurious mansions, he shouldn't have been living in such a run-down small house.
This was indeed the case; Gen Takano simply didn't have high standards for housing, needing only basic residential functionality.
Sure enough, the room had everything necessary, yet it exuded a sense of simplicity and lacked any sign of domestic life, as if the owner did not reside there often.
This was also true. Gen Takano spent most of his non-war time outside of Konoha completing missions, so he naturally didn't return home often.
Even when he did return, he would only stay in one room researching Sealing Jutsu, so signs of human habitation were indeed sparse.
Gen Takano walked over and sat down at the desk, his fingers tapping slowly and deliberately on the surface as he pondered his next plan of action.
'Stealing' the Kiyomi Technique was imperative; it was the only chance he had to turn his fate around with his extremely ordinary body and talent.
But what about after the theft?
He needed to master it in an extremely short time, completing the fusion at least before Rin Nohara was captured by the Kirigakure, thus solving his biggest weakness: the issue of his Chakra capacity.
He just didn't know how complete the Kiyomi Technique's formula was. It probably hadn't reached the stage of fusing five bodies, but the formula for fusing one or two bodies must have been completed, perhaps even three.
The initial research into a technique's formula is always the most troublesome, and even if the subsequent stages weren't fully perfected, Gen Takano was confident he could complete them.
As for the bodies to be used for fusion? They were naturally already prepared; his twenty-seven years hadn't been wasted.
Where were they kept? Naturally, not inside Konoha. His Experimental Base wouldn't be placed inside Konoha waiting to be discovered like Hiruko's!
With that, Gen Takano picked up the Sealing Scroll on the desk and began scrutinizing it, contemplating any possible modifications.
That night.
Gen Takano put down the scroll and looked at Hiruko's Experimental Base, which remained completely silent. Even Kakashi Hatake's side showed no activity, making him feel a little anxious.
Had he misremembered? This section in the original work was quite vague: Hiruko was discovered almost immediately upon learning that Kakashi Hatake had obtained the Sharingan, and then the Three Sannin expelled him together.
"That shouldn't be right..."
Gen Takano frowned. Did Hiruko brand Kakashi Hatake with the Puppet Curse after being expelled?
It must be noted that when Hiruko branded Kakashi Hatake with the Puppet Curse, Kakashi Hatake clearly still had the Two Tomoe Sharingan. This means it definitely happened after the Kannabi Bridge battle and before Rin Nohara was captured.
"Could it be that Hiruko returned to Konoha after being expelled..."
Gen Takano frowned, considering this possibility. Then he recalled the scene in the original work where Itachi Uchiha entered Konoha directly with Kisame, and he suddenly felt a headache coming on.
Don't dismiss it—given Konoha's tendency to never change its Barrier password, this was truly possible!
Fortunately, although he hadn't seen Hiruko leave, he also hadn't seen the Three Sannin, so the plan hadn't failed yet.
If the possibility he had just thought of were true, then the plan would need to change.
Hiruko being able to escape the Three Sannin could basically be attributed to them showing mercy due to their shared history, but the necessary actions still had to be taken. Hiruko would inevitably be injured; the only question was the severity of the wounds.
Regardless, he could only make his move against Hiruko at this specific time. Otherwise, if Hiruko went into hiding to search for Bloodline Limit corpses, finding him again would be too difficult.
To be honest, Gen Takano didn't want to engage Hiruko. Not because of anything else, but because even without using the Kiyomi Technique yet, Hiruko's strength should have reached Jonin level; he was merely inferior to the Three Sannin.
The fact that he could easily brand Kakashi Hatake with the Puppet Curse—even if Kakashi Hatake's Jonin rank was accelerated due to wartime—still showed that Hiruko's strength was considerable. For him, a Special Jonin, to take on Hiruko was not a safe bet.
If he could intercept Hiruko, that wouldn't be the worst outcome. The worst outcome would be completely losing the opportunity to intercept him, forcing him to rely solely on his own research if he still wanted to change his natural talent.
In fact, he had considered researching it himself before, but on one hand, he wasn't guaranteed to succeed, and on the other, he had other techniques he needed to study. After all, his Experimental Base wasn't in Konoha, and he was working alone, so he couldn't have too many research focuses.
Since the Kiyomi Technique was recorded as existing in the original work, he naturally wanted to acquire the ready-made formula and focus his attention on another technique instead.
Gen Takano took a deep breath and tapped his forehead with his finger, slowly calming himself down.
Wait a little longer. The Three Sannin hadn't appeared yet. Things hadn't reached the worst possible outcome; he still had a chance.
And so, filled with anxiety, Gen Takano waited until the evening of the third day. Then he opened his bloodshot eyes, which were filled with delight.
Because Hiruko had finally emerged from the Experimental Base, and his direction of movement was exactly where Kakashi Hatake currently was!
Gen Takano breathed a sigh of relief, then stood up and began to move. Even now, he absolutely could not become careless and allow the night patrol ninja to discover his presence. He definitely did not want to be watched by those above him right now.
Soon, Gen Takano arrived at Hiruko's Experimental Base. Following the exact method Hiruko had used to enter, which he had previously observed, he proceeded into the interior of the Experimental Base without error.
Once inside the Experimental Base, this area was beyond what his crows could observe. After all, he was worried that Hiruko might discover the crows, so he never dared to let them get too close.
However, he wasn't without methods.
"Water Release: Restoration Technique!"
Gen Takano formed hand signs, channeling the Chakra within his body.
That's right, it was Water Release. Gen Takano's Chakra nature was Water plus Earth, a very common attribute, completely lacking the protagonist-level Wind and Lightning.
The Water attribute was acceptable; after all, Konoha had the Water Release master, the Second Hokage, so he wouldn't lack Ninjutsu later. But the Earth Release was troublesome; useful Earth Release Ninjutsu like the Light Weight Rock Technique and Added Weight Rock Technique were only mastered by Iwa Ninja.
As for the Earth plus Water Bloodline Limit, Wood Release? How could that be? Didn't the Mizukage Mei Terumi's Earth plus Water Bloodline Limit turn out to be Lava Release? Therefore, Wood Release must have its own special characteristics, perhaps only achievable by the First Hokage's Bloodline Limit.
However, Gen Takano didn't worry too much about these things. As long as he possessed the Kiyomi Technique, he would eventually acquire other attributes; there was no rush.
During this time, he had researched quite a few Ninjutsu for this purpose, such as the previous Clairvoyance Technique.
And the Water Release: Restoration Technique he was using now was... below Gen Takano's feet, a thin layer of liquid began to flow rapidly, quickly covering the ground ahead. Within this liquid, many footprints emerged—some entering and some exiting.