Chapter 44: Even If Crashed by Fate, It Can Still Be Changed
Although the Daimyō of the Land of Water was already over fifty years old, he still held on to a dream—to make the Land of Water great once more.
For that dream, he was willing to do anything and accept help from anyone.
Whether it was from S.H.I.E.L.D. or Kara.
"S.H.I.E.L.D…"
The Daimyō of the Land of Water frowned. After pondering for a moment, he finally recalled what S.H.I.E.L.D. was: a mysterious organization that had recently appeared in the shinobi world, currently under investigation by all five great villages.
"So this is the method you're offering to help me achieve my goal?"
The Daimyō stared at the small briefcase opened on the table. Inside were five vials filled with a spiraling green liquid.
"That's right. This is a product developed by a subsidiary of S.H.I.E.L.D.—the Umbrella Corporation. It enhances multiple attributes of ordinary people, such as strength, reflexes, stamina, resistance, and durability. With it, even a regular person can reach the level of a jōnin-tier taijutsu ninja. We call it the Hulk Serum."
Shunhi nodded as he spoke.
Since people in the shinobi world had never encountered drugs like this before, skepticism was only natural.
But skepticism wasn't a problem—after all, the only true test of truth was practice. Soon, the Daimyō called for one of his most trusted samurai.
"My lord."
The young samurai knelt before the Daimyō, his face full of fervor, clearly brainwashed by the Daimyō's slogan of "making the Land of Water great again."
"For the Land of Water, drink it. When the Land of Water rises again, everyone will remember your name."
Ao picked up one of the vials and handed it to the young samurai.
The young samurai looked at the Daimyō before him. After receiving a nod of approval, he tipped his head back and downed the entire contents.
The emptied vial slipped from his fingers and shattered on the ground. Clutching his throat, his face turned purple from oxygen deprivation. His body convulsed and curled up in pain as he fell to his knees, letting out beast-like growls from deep in his throat.
Moments later, the young samurai's muscles rapidly swelled, bursting through his clothing. Now fully exposed, he stood before the four onlookers, his once-average 1.7-meter height transformed into a 2.5-meter giant.
His entire body was green and muscular, with spikes protruding from his arms.
Glowing green from head to toe, his face twisted into a fierce, demonic visage, and a chilling, terrifying aura radiated from him—enough to make one's blood run cold.
Even Ao didn't notice that he had instinctively taken a step back in fear when faced with the transformed samurai.
"How do you feel now?"
The Daimyō asked urgently, his eyes full of excitement and the thrill of seeing his dream within reach.
"Great. I feel better than I ever have before."
The Hulk spoke in a deep, resonant voice. Though he had gained immense strength, he still maintained his respect toward the Daimyō. However, when he looked at Ao, a flicker of disdain flashed in his eyes.
"Ao, go test his strength."
At the Daimyō's command, Ao nodded. As a seasoned ninja, he had certainly noticed the disdain in the now-transformed samurai's gaze.
"Water Style: Water Shockwave."
A torrent of water crashed against the Hulk's body but caused no damage whatsoever—it was as if he had merely been splashed with cold water.
"My turn now!"
The Hulk suddenly charged at Ao with visible speed, swinging his spiked fists. But Ao turned into water and evaded the blow.
Reappearing behind the Hulk, Ao raised his prosthetic arm.
"Laser Cannon."
A beam of laser pierced through the Hulk's chest, but within a few breaths, the gaping hole had completely healed.
"All right, that's enough."
At the Daimyō's command, both the Hulk and Ao ceased fighting.
Although the Hulk wasn't Ao's match in skill, his incredible regeneration posed a significant challenge.
"I'm quite satisfied. But… something this powerful—why give it to me? What do you want in return? No—if you used it yourselves, you could easily obtain anything you wanted."
Despite his satisfaction with the serum, the Daimyō didn't lose his clarity.
"The Hulk Serum is strong, yes. But even so, it still has limitations when facing powerful shinobi. And we at S.H.I.E.L.D. don't have that many trustworthy candidates suitable for transformation."
"Besides, the Hulk isn't even the most successful product of Umbrella's Bio-Ghost Project."
As Shunhi spoke, Uchiha Itachi silently committed the term "Bio-Ghost Project" to memory.
The Daimyō remained skeptical of Shunhi's explanation. He hadn't fully placed his trust in S.H.I.E.L.D., but he was still willing to use the Hulk Serum they offered. Yet upon hearing those words, his eyes widened in shock.
"You mean… you have even more powerful serums?"
Just one Hulk had already given an elite jōnin like Ao considerable trouble. If there were more dangerous variants, wouldn't that be utterly insane?
Shunhi nodded and said nonchalantly, "Yes. There's also the Invisible Baby, which grants invisibility; the Mist Phantom, which creates fog; the Soul Shinobi, who can create bombs… These are all established research projects under Umbrella."
He completely ignored the stunned expressions of the Daimyō, Ao, and Uchiha Itachi, continuing to spout his nonsense.
Although strictly speaking, it wasn't nonsense. If the system could produce the Hulk, then it wasn't unreasonable to believe it could generate the Invisible Baby, Mist Phantom, and Soul Shinobi as well.
"…Truly shocking—beyond imagination."
After a long pause, the Daimyō finally managed to squeeze out a sentence. He couldn't think of anything else to say.
"It's nothing to be surprised about. Umbrella loves researching this kind of stuff. Though in the early days, they made some serious mistakes."
"There was once a viral leak that caused an entire village's population to turn into creatures called zombies. They lost all reason, craved human flesh, and could only be killed by destroying the brain. Anyone bitten would also turn into a zombie after a while."
"We at S.H.I.E.L.D. had to expend considerable effort to clean up that mess."
Hearing Shunhi's account, all three present instinctively took a deep breath. The more they learned about S.H.I.E.L.D., the more unfathomable and terrifying it seemed.
"So… what exactly do you want from me?"
The Daimyō asked with a strained smile. After learning the terrifying scope of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s capabilities, his first instinct was to sever ties and seek Konoha's help to destroy them. Yet… he still couldn't bring himself to abandon his dream.
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