A puff of white smoke emerged from the scroll, and a tall, thin figure slowly materialized from within—it was Takuno, who had just been at Hiruko's experimental base.
He had long since placed many Summoning Jutsu scrolls both in his home and his experimental base; when he needed to use one, he only had to instruct the crow to unroll it.
As for why he hadn't let the crow carry the scroll before, it was naturally because carrying the scroll would immediately reveal it to be a summoned beast, thus exposing it.
Secondly, the size of this scroll was almost identical to the one Jiraiya carried on his back, making it very difficult for a single crow to carry.
Takuno also wanted to go directly to his experimental base, but unfortunately, Konoha was constantly enveloped by a barrier. Although it seemed useless, he knew the entry and exit password.
But the problem was, if he used the Summoning Jutsu to enter or exit, it would be akin to an unauthorized intrusion without identity verification, and being mistaken for a spy would not be good.
Therefore, even if he used the Summoning Jutsu to go to the experimental base, he would not use it inside Konoha's barrier.
As for Hiruko's experimental base? That, of course, was inside Konoha's barrier!
Takuno, summoned back, unsealed the scrolls and looked at the pile of scrolls in front of him, which documented the research process of the Chimera Technique. A slow smile spread across his lips.
Finally, he couldn't help but cover his forehead with one hand and burst into laughter.
"Heh heh... Hahahahaha!"
"Finally... I've finally reached this step! The Chimera Technique!!"
Fortunately, there were no residents around Takuno's house; otherwise, they would likely have been startled awake by his laughter and shouts.
The laughter ceased, and Takuno stared at the scrolls with bloodshot eyes.
Although it was very late, given his current mental state, he couldn't possibly sleep. It was better to... devour them now!
On the other side, at Hiruko's experimental base, Hiruko's face still showed excitement as he walked in.
In the past, he had experimented endlessly, yet he still couldn't clearly see a path to surpass the Sannin.
Now, he had not only gained inspiration to surpass the Sannin from Kakashi's Sharingan but had also successfully placed a puppet jutsu on him. All he had to do now was quietly wait for the opportunity... Thinking of this, an irrepressible smile once again appeared on Hiruko's face.
As for the slightly increased humidity in the experimental base, he naturally didn't notice it, nor did he even check if his experimental records had been tampered with.
Once Hiruko suppressed his excitement, he began to ponder his future plans. The Sharingan on Kakashi was not urgent; a mere two tomoe Sharingan was not enough.
The Sharingan, at least, needed to reach the Three Tomoe stage to unleash its true power.
So, next up was finding other Kekkei Genkai.
Hiruko frowned, considering which Kekkei Genkai he could acquire. Besides the Sharingan, there was also the Byakugan in the village... As Hiruko pondered, the incident of Kakashi being attacked had already been discovered.
One must know that Kakashi was currently a hero of the entire Konoha. Being attacked while recuperating was an incident that exceeded what the Hokage could tolerate.
Thus, three individuals very familiar to Hiruko were assigned and were now following Hiruko's trail, rushing towards this experimental base.
However, all of this no longer had anything to do with Takuno... It was still that dilapidated civilian house.
Since Takuno obtained the Chimera Technique and returned here, there had been no activity for several days, as if no one was inside.
However, inside, a person, like a stone, had been sitting in one spot for a very long time.
Takuno had been sitting there motionless, clutching the Chimera Technique experimental records for a long time. A beard had grown on his face, and the whites of his eyes were completely bloodshot, indicating fatigue.
But even so, it was clear that his physical exhaustion had not affected his mental excitement.
His pupils were still bright and sharp, constantly delving into the Chimera Technique.
During this time, he had also used the Clairvoyance Technique to observe Hiruko's experimental base, and the other party had indeed not discovered him.
Moreover, not long after, Takuno saw the Sannin, and he could guess that Kakashi's situation had probably been discovered.
During this period, he suppressed his desire to continue his research and instructed the crows to observe the Sannin's movements from as far away as possible. He only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that their target was only Hiruko.
He had genuinely been a little worried that the Sannin might discover his traces. Although he had a fallback plan for escape, it would severely affect his subsequent plans.
However, he also confirmed that Hiruko had already prepared to leave Konoha, or had already prepared means of escape, the moment he acted against Kakashi.
Perhaps the other party's ability to escape Konoha from the Sannin's hands wasn't because the Sannin held back?
But no matter the truth, none of this concerned him, who had already obtained the Chimera Technique!
After confirming these things, Takuno instructed the crows to stop monitoring the area and begin freely moving and foraging in Konoha, while he himself withdrew all his focus and concentrated on the Chimera Technique.
This continued for several days.
Takuno looked at the final experimental records and the blank space that followed, slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again, revealing excitement mixed with regret.
The excitement was that the Chimera Technique could now truly be used, albeit with some difficulty.
The regret was that the Chimera Technique ultimately had its limits.
Although in the original story, according to Hiruko, if he fused five Kekkei Genkai, he would achieve immortality.
However, Takuno held a ninety-nine percent disbelief towards this statement.
Currently, it seemed that only Kaguya Otsutsuki possessed immortality, which was why she could only be sealed and not killed.
Hiruko wanted to achieve immortality by relying on five Kekkei Genkai?
That was far too childish! Even the Kekkei Mōra couldn't achieve such a feat!
Furthermore, in the original story, Hiruko never actually achieved the fusion of five Kekkei Genkai; it only existed in his imagination. Therefore, the so-called immortality was naturally even less credible.
Takuno knew that there were various gods later on. Even Obito and Madara, who possessed the Six Paths Body, couldn't achieve true immortality, let alone the ordinary Chimera Technique.
However, none of this was a big deal.
Firstly, Takuno would not waste so many slots on ordinary Kekkei Genkai like Hiruko in the original story. With his 'Heavenly Eye,' even relying solely on the Chimera Technique, he would be far superior to Hiruko.
Secondly, Takuno's lips curled into a smile. He had not failed to consider a plan after acquiring the Chimera Technique.
Standing up, he stretched, listening to the cracking sounds from his bones, as if protesting his overexertion.
He hadn't closed his eyes for several days, so he naturally wanted to rest, but the problem was that his stomach was also empty. So, before closing his eyes, he had to at least fill his stomach.
Finally, Takuno pushed open the door that had been still for several days.
To rest earlier, he didn't care about anything else. He directly gathered Chakra at his feet and quickly formed a hand seal.
"Body Flicker Technique!"
Takuno's figure vanished from the doorway.
But not long after, his figure returned to his home once again. This time, he didn't care about anything and simply collapsed onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep.
As for washing up and such, he would do it after he had rested well!
He was utterly exhausted!