Mount Sumeru, underground cave.
"Failed again!"
"Damn it!"
"Damn it!!"
An angry roar echoed through the cave.
This place was like a slaughterhouse.
The dim, damp walls were hung with various incomplete biological specimens, and a heavy smell of blood drifted in the air.
Hiruko's body was wrapped in filthy bandages, looking like a maddened mummy as he raged at a test subject on the dissection table.
"Why?!"
"Why is mortal flesh so fragile?!"
Hiruko angrily stabbed his scalpel into the table, grabbed his hair with both hands, and trembled all over.
"Could it be... because I truly have no talent...?"
Rumble!
Without warning, the heavy stone gate weighing several tons was suddenly blasted away, interrupting his self-pity.
Dazzling sunlight poured into the sunless cave along with the intruders.
"Who is it?!"
Hiruko was shocked, subconsciously stepping back half a pace as he vigilantly eyed the three uninvited guests before him.
The blond youth in the lead wore a black trench coat and strolled in leisurely.
"Konoha pursuers?"
Hiruko's gaze hardened.
Without overthinking, he rapidly formed hand seals and slammed his palms onto the ground.
"Since you're here, none of you are leaving!"
"Summoning Technique!"
Poof!
Poof!
A giant, two-headed venomous snake and a bizarre bird with a wingspan of several meters emerged with roars.
Sai looked expressionlessly at the charging behemoths, his brush moving as smoothly as flowing clouds and water.
"Ninja Art: Super Beast Imitation Drawing—Ink Dragons!"
Several gigantic black ink dragons instantly leaped out from the scroll, opening their massive jaws to snap at the strange bird in midair before coiling tightly around it until its bones cracked.
On the other side, Haku also quickly formed hand seals.
"Ice Release: Black Dragon Blizzard!"
A tornado of black ice roared outward.
Before the two-headed snake, renowned for its regenerative abilities, could even spit its venom, it was frozen solid by the extreme low temperature, turning into a crystal-clear ice sculpture.
In just a single exchange...
...Hiruko's pride and joy, his custom summoned beasts, were instantly annihilated by Naruto's subordinates.
"This..."
Seeing the ninja beasts he had painstakingly cultivated slaughtered like chickens, Hiruko's pupils contracted violently.
As a researcher focused on developing forbidden jutsu, he might have been insane, but he was certainly not stupid.
He knew full well that the strength of the people standing before him far exceeded his expectations.
"Run!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Hiruko immediately activated his sole remaining trump card.
"Swift Release!"
His body blurred into an afterimage as he moved at blinding speed, attempting to bolt toward another hidden exit deep within the cave.
Naruto stood in place without even lifting a finger, his gaze narrowing slightly.
Conqueror's Haki!
An invisible yet tangible spiritual shockwave erupted instantly.
Hiruko, moving at high speed, felt as if his brain had been struck by a massive sledgehammer.
He let out a muffled groan, his body tumbling out of control like a kite with a broken string as he skidded several meters across the ground in a pathetic heap.
His pupils dilated, and saliva drooled uncontrollably from his mouth.
Afterward...
...a golden chain shot out from behind Naruto, hoisting Hiruko into midair like a chicken ready for the slaughter.
Naruto drew Hiruko in front of him, looking up and down at this bandage-wrapped freak.
Inspecting Hiruko's piecemeal, stitched-together body that looked on the verge of collapsing, Naruto shook his head.
"Is this the so-called Chimera Technique?"
"How truly ugly."
"Ugly?!"
Those two words stung Hiruko's insecure yet arrogant heart like venomous thorns.
His face twisted instantly, and completely ignoring his predicament, he roared hysterically.
"What do you know, you wet-behind-the-ears brat?!"
"Once my technique is perfected, I can assimilate every Bloodline Limit in existence!"
"I will become the ultimate lifeform!"
"I will be immortal!"
"I will rule the entire ninja world!"
Hearing these grand declarations, Naruto looked at him speechlessly, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.
He suddenly wondered why every lunatic in the ninja world with a shred of power seemed obsessed with ruling the world.
Weren't there any with a bit more creativity like himself?
"We can talk about such boring matters later."
Naruto didn't bother refuting his grand delusion, speaking indifferently as if looking at an idiot.
"Right now, I'm giving you a choice: bring your research and join my Technology Development Department."
"Join you?!"
"In your dreams!"
Hiruko sneered, his mouth remaining stubborn despite hanging helplessly in midair.
"Ever since I fled Konoha, I swore that I, Hiruko, would never bow to anyone!"
"I am going to become a god—"
"Orochimaru and Tsunade are both working under me."
Naruto bluntly interrupted his grand speech.
Hiruko's expression froze instantly, his rant cutting off abruptly as if he had been choked.
"...Who did you say?" he asked, trembling.
"Orochimaru."
Naruto looked at him calmly before continuing.
"He was actually the one who recommended you to me."
"He mentioned that while your Chimera Technique is crude, the core concept is quite interesting."
Hiruko was stunned.
Orochimaru... that genius Orochimaru... the very man he had envied and desperately chased his entire life?
Such a person was actually paying attention to him?
And had even... acknowledged his technique?
A storm of complex emotions instantly brewed inside Hiruko's heart.
It was a mixture of resentment and jealousy, mingled with the wild ecstasy of being acknowledged by a lifelong rival.
Observing Hiruko's shaken expression and sensing his inner turmoil, Naruto silently abandoned his plan to forcibly control him with the Sharingan.
There was no need to waste a spare eyeball placing him under genjutsu after all.
Winning over the mind came first.
Clatter.
Naruto released the chain, letting Hiruko drop to the ground.
He turned and walked out of the cave, leaving behind a casual yet irresistible offer.
"Follow me, Hiruko."
"I have state-of-the-art equipment, unlimited funding, and Hashirama's cells for experimental material."
"And, of course, Orochimaru and Tsunade."
"The stage I offer you is far broader than this moldy little cave."
Hiruko lay on the ground, watching Naruto's departing back as internal struggle flickered in his eyes.
In the end, he gritted his teeth, dragged himself up, and dusted off his clothes.
"Hmph... I'm only going to see how far Orochimaru has fallen..."
"To think that genius became a subordinate to some brat under twenty... what a complete joke."
He rationalized it in his mind.
"If this brat dares to lie to me... it won't be too late to run then."
With that thought, he stepped forward and followed after them.
"Um... Mr. Hiruko."
Just as Hiruko made to leave, Sai walked over with his usual unreadable fake smile, holding a massive sealing scroll.
"Please cooperate."
"We need to pack up you, along with all your jars, equipment, and experimental materials..."
"...and take everything with us."
"Packaged?!"
Hiruko was dumbfounded.
Half an hour later.
A giant ink bird, loaded with their heavy haul and carrying the group, flew off toward the southeast.
On the ground below, the dilapidated cave in Mount Sumeru had been stripped completely bare, cleaned out as if hit by a band of ruthless thieves.