Chapter 212: The Birth of the Ultimate Researcher
The next morning, after having breakfast with his mother, Yotsuki Dana headed straight to the Special Strategy Division office. Today, a hero of the village had returned.
This man had just completed an ultra-long-term deep cover mission spanning five years. Under the codename "Rai-Fu" (Thunder Wind), he had navigated the treacherous world of mercenary ninja. After the mission concluded, he spent another six months wandering the outside world to wash away any suspicion, maintaining zero contact with the village during that time. Through a winding and difficult path, he had finally made it home.
"Dana-sama, it has been a long time."
Standing before him was Masakazu Hanma, a tall and burly man, his face filled with a mix of emotions. When the mission began, Dana had been a child who still had a bit of baby fat on his cheeks. Now, the boy had grown almost as tall as he was.
Dana looked at Hanma, whom he hadn't seen in nearly six years, and spoke with heartfelt sincerity. "For the sake of the village... you have worked hard. Thank you."
Hanma handed a small, unassuming scroll to Dana. "Here are the mission reports and summaries from the past few years. I've already compiled them."
Dana looked at the scroll, which was only about the thickness of a finger, and felt a twinge of surprise. Five years of undercover work, and this is it?
Noticing the look, Hanma explained, "Don't be surprised, Dana-sama. That is merely the Storage Seal containing the actual crates of documents."
After chatting for a while about the state of the world, Dana shifted to business.
"Please rest assured regarding your service record and your pension; the village will not mistreat its heroes. I've also seen your vacation application. After so many years of hardship, you deserve it. Find a nice place to recuperate for a while. However..." Dana paused, his tone turning serious. "If you plan to leave the village for your vacation, it is best not to choose the Land of Lightning proper or the Land of Hot Water (Yugakure). You might run into that child."
Hanma nodded knowingly. "To be honest with you, Dana-sama, I already have a detailed vacation plan mapped out."
After seeing Masakazu Hanma off, Dana made his way to the Cloud Village Research Base located on the outskirts of the mountain range.
He needed to check on the progress of the new Chakra Metal applications. The mines in the Eastern Archipelago had been shipping back massive quantities of the ore—so much that they couldn't use it all and had to seal most of it away in storage. The Research Department was actively developing new uses for it.
Originally, Dana could have left this to the department heads, but he was genuinely worried. If he didn't intervene, the Cloud's war-crazy scientists might invent something ridiculous like "Self-Detonating Metal." Dana hoped the new applications would focus on production or general "Ninja Tools" rather than just explosives.
The head of this specific laboratory was Minetarou, the same genius who had developed the "Heavenly Fortress" concept. This was another reason Dana paid close attention to this division.
Under the current system of Kumogakure, the Research Department was divided into three permanent specialized bases and three non-specialized institutions.
The Three Specialized Bases focused on:
Medical & Biological Sciences.
The Heavenly Transfer Technique (Ten-sou no Jutsu).
Structure & Materials.
The Three Non-Specialized Institutions were the Sealing Corps, the Barrier Corps, and the United Iron & Steel Company. Aside from their primary duties, these groups also accepted research commissions from the village.
Today, Dana was visiting the Structure & Materials Base. In the past, this place merely assisted other departments—especially United Iron & Steel—and wasn't very large. However, after recently developing the Thousand-Machine Construction Technique, they had gained the village's attention, and Minetarou was finally walking with his head held high.
"What's the latest progress?" Dana asked.
Minetarou, whose balding head shone brightly under the lab lights, spoke with enthusiasm. "Dana-sama! We have some major breakthroughs. For instance, we discovered a special alloy ratio. By mixing in a specific amount of Chakra Metal, the resulting alloy adapts perfectly to the Heavenly Transfer Technique."
He gestured excitedly. "We are still in the verification phase, but the heat resistance and shock absorption of the delivery pods have increased drastically. In the future, we might not even need Dodai-sama to use his Rubber Wall to cushion the landings!"
Minetarou led Dana to inspect the new prototype. A diamond-shaped, spindle-like delivery pod was currently undergoing stress tests.
Unlike the previous steel-grey pods, this new version had changed from a dull iron color to a translucent, glowing white. Under the harsh lights of the laboratory, it gleamed with a lustrous sheen.
"The Heavenly Transfer Technique utilizes a massive flow of chakra to teleport objects," Minetarou explained. "This alloy, doped with Chakra Metal, conducts that energy. It allows the pod to travel faster and with much greater stability."
Dana stepped forward and knocked his knuckles against the hull. Bang, bang.
It sounded like metal, but visually—perhaps because his past-life memories had never seen glowing white steel—it looked more like white jade or fine porcelain.
Dana walked around the pod once, calculating.
"If we do this, the cost is going to skyrocket," Dana noted. "We need to consider the issue of recovery."
Even if the percentage of Chakra Metal was low, given the current market price in the ninja world, the cost of a single pod would rise vertically.
Minetarou nodded confidently. "Rest assured, Dana-sama, we've considered that. Because the material contains Chakra Metal, its properties change after conducting chakra—it becomes incredibly tough. The deformation upon impact is now within acceptable limits. It has the value for reuse, perhaps even multiple reuses."
He continued, "We are currently collaborating with the Heavenly Transfer Base and the Sealing Corps to develop a built-in mechanism. The idea is to fuse a storage scroll directly into the pod's structure. After it lands and the cargo is deployed, a single hand-seal triggers the 'One-Click Recovery,' shrinking the pod back into its internal scroll. The ninja receiving the supplies can then just pocket it."
Dana's eyes lit up. "That's brilliant."
"Just make sure to add encryption measures to the seal," Dana added cautiously.
"I will get on that immediately," Minetarou promised.
Just then, Dana bumped into a familiar face—Mamoru Anzai, the head of a completely different research base.
"Anzai-senpai? What are you doing here?"
Anzai smiled and greeted him. "Ah, Dana-sama. I'm here to pull some parameter data on these Chakra Metal alloys."
Dana raised an eyebrow. "Is your department interested in Chakra Metal now too?"
Anzai's base was the one dedicated to Medical and Biological research.
"Originally, we didn't plan to join the hype," Anzai admitted. "It seems every base is trying to find new uses for the metal. However, Old Man Yoshitoki showed a strong interest, so we are just acting as his assistants."
Dana recalled hearing something about this. He hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Grandpa Yoshitoki must be ninety-seven this year, right? At that age... does he still have the energy for new research? If conditions permit, I'd really prefer for Grandpa Yoshitoki to take it easy."
To be honest, ten years ago, Yoshitoki looked like he was ready to kick the bucket at any moment. Now, at nearly a hundred, he was truly living on borrowed time. Rather than pushing for new results, Dana wanted the legendary doctor to live a few more years in peace, perhaps teaching a few apprentices to pass on his knowledge, rather than burning himself out in a lab.
Anzai looked at Dana with genuine surprise. "You don't know?"
Dana was confused. "Know what?"
"Ah, right," Anzai realized. "I heard you've been busy overseeing the village expansion for the last few months. You haven't visited our bio-lab in a long time."
"So?" Dana pressed, puzzled.
Anzai pushed up his glasses, the lenses glinting.
"Master Yoshitoki has successfully mastered the Earth Grudge Fear (Jiongu)."
Dana froze. "!"
Anzai continued, oblivious to Dana's shock. "His physical condition has improved drastically. If you look at his vitals, he's stronger than most of us. calling him a man in his prime wouldn't be an exaggeration. After all, that was the technique you brought back to the village, Dana-sama."
"The Earth Grudge Fear is truly a miraculous jutsu," Anzai gushed. "It is incredibly helpful for medical and biological research. I'm actually quite envious of Master Yoshitoki. I've been trying to learn it myself recently."
Dana: "!!!"
"Master Yoshitoki can now use the black tendrils to directly analyze experimental subjects," Anzai explained with terrifying enthusiasm. "He can obtain vast amounts of data without needing external instruments, and he can perform micro-modifications on living subjects instantly. It is essentially the ultimate tool for biological research! However, the difficulty of the jutsu is extremely high. So far, only Master Yoshitoki has succeeded."
"He is currently refining and summarizing the technique," Anzai added. "His goal is to lower the learning threshold so that everyone in the Research Institute can master it."
As Anzai rambled on about the "rule-breaking" efficiency of Earth Grudge Fear in biology, his heart was filled with scientific passion.
Dana, however, was filling his mind with a very different image.
He imagined a horde of researchers in white coats, all practicing Earth Grudge Fear...
In a dim underground laboratory, black tentacles wriggling everywhere, flesh and blood flying across the room as they performed forbidden modifications. The atmosphere sliding gradually toward an abyss of "Eldritch Horror," until one night, they would stand by Dana's bed with a dozen monstrous abominations, trying to preach the gospel of the "Black Goat of the Woods."
The mental image was too strong.
I feel like the safety of the Ninja World is hanging by a thread...
Wait, isn't Tsunade locked up over there?
Is she... is she still alive?
Anzai got the data he wanted and left happily.
Dana stood in silence for a moment, then silently pulled out his Communication Snail.
"Order: From now on, conduct a mandatory psychological health evaluation for every researcher in Yoshitoki's lab once a month."
He paused.
"No... make that once a week."