Chapter 78: Human Experimentation
A cave entrance so deep the bottom couldn't be seen.
This was the place Masahiko and Hashirama had arrived at after following the two Anbu members.
The light inside the cave was dim, illuminated only by a few candles. Whatever lay deep at the bottom, it was somehow blocking Masahiko's Mind's Eye of the Kagura.
The two Anbu had already carried their load inside. Hashirama sensed something was wrong. He exchanged a glance with Masahiko and prepared to go down and investigate.
However, Masahiko stopped him.
"This place is so hidden; it might be an assembly point or training ground for the Anbu. It's better if we don't go in."
Hashirama was silent for a moment, then nodded.
On the way back to the village, taking advantage of a moment when Hashirama wasn't paying attention, Masahiko quietly created a Shadow Clone, intending to secretly investigate the situation underground.
As a result, an awkward scene unfolded. At the entrance of the cave, Masahiko's Shadow Clone ran into Hashirama's Wood Clone.
The two clones looked at each other. Masahiko sighed. "Let's go, then."
In his heart, he sighed, 'I hope it's not what I think it is...'
The two stepped into the cave. After a few steps, a staircase appeared beneath their feet. As they descended, the candles on both sides of the path became more frequent. After walking straight down for a hundred meters, they turned right, and a massive door appeared before them.
"It's this material..." Masahiko murmured. In his senses, the entire underground area was encased in a material similar to this door, which prevented him from sensing the specific situation inside.
The two exchanged a glance and prepared to open the door to investigate, but the door opened on its own.
Two people walked out. They were the Anbu members who had carried the object in earlier. The four of them looked at each other, and the atmosphere instantly became awkward.
"Guze, Yiran, why are you stopping at the door?" A familiar voice came from inside the gate.
The two Anbu didn't answer. The person inside walked out slowly. When he saw Masahiko and Hashirama, he was visibly stunned.
"..."
The air froze. After a long while, Masahiko waved his hand. "Tobirama, what a coincidence running into you here..."
The person who walked out was indeed Senju Tobirama... or rather, his Shadow Clone. If the setting weren't so grim, the meeting of Masahiko, Hashirama, and Tobirama's clones here would have been inexplicably comical.
"Great-Uncle," Tobirama paused, his expression tightening. "Brother..."
"This is the training ground for our Konoha Anbu. Why have you come here?" After saying this, he turned to the two Anbu. "You two, go back first."
After the Anbu left, Hashirama sighed. "Tobirama, you are not good at lying. Besides, Great-Uncle is a sensory ninja. Once the door opened, there were no secrets left. Great-Uncle, what's inside?"
Masahiko fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "Go see for yourself..."
Tobirama's expression changed, but he couldn't stop Hashirama. Hashirama walked quickly through the door.
Masahiko sighed and looked at Tobirama. "How do you plan to explain this to your brother?"
Although he hadn't gone in yet, given the location, the secrecy, and the living person carried in by the Anbu just now, how could Masahiko not guess what this place was? He originally thought Orochimaru, who was yet to be born, was the greatest scientist in the Naruto world. He hadn't expected that Tobirama had dabbled in human experimentation before him.
Tobirama's face was dark. He didn't answer Masahiko's question and turned to chase after his brother.
Masahiko shook his head and walked in slowly.
The first thing that caught his eye were the corpses of various animals, sealed in blocks of ice.
"Wait... these are all Summoning Beasts? Where did Tobirama find them? Is his experiment only about Summoning Beasts?" Masahiko murmured. Remembering the living person carried by the Anbu, he shook his head and continued forward.
Arriving in the next room, Masahiko looked around, his heart sinking.
Various human corpses and organs were preserved in glass cylinders, looking like a biological laboratory. And the subjects of the experiments were humans.
However, after careful inspection, Masahiko breathed a slight sigh of relief. He didn't recognize any of the faces here as Konoha villagers. At least Tobirama hadn't used his own people for experiments like Orochimaru would.
Continuing deeper into the room, stairs leading further underground appeared before Masahiko.
From below, the faint sounds of Hashirama and Tobirama arguing could be heard. Masahiko quickened his pace, and the argument became clearer.
"Brother! I'm doing this for the village! Once the research on this jutsu is successful, our Konoha will be invincible in the coming wars!"
"Stop this experiment immediately! Tobirama!"
"Brother! The test subjects are spies from other villages. It's better to make use of them."
"Test subjects? These are living human beings!"
...
As Masahiko walked in, both Hashirama and Tobirama looked at him simultaneously. He froze for a moment, not knowing what to say, so he just sighed. "You guys keep arguing, I'll just listen."
Hashirama glared at Tobirama again, about to speak, but Tobirama refused to give up, wanting to change his brother's mind. "Brother, Great-Uncle, my jutsu has already yielded some results. Let me show you!"
Tobirama walked quickly to the back. A moment later, he dragged a person out.
Hashirama frowned at Tobirama, but Tobirama held his ground. "Brother, this is a spy from Takigakure we just captured. He was probing Konoha's defenses."
Hashirama sighed and said nothing more.
Tobirama took out a sealing scroll from his robe. After releasing the seal, a small patch of blood appeared before the three of them.
Tobirama formed hand seals. "Tiger-Snake-Dog-Dragon!" Then he clasped his hands together. "Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation (Edo Tensei)!"
A coffin rose from the ground, engulfing the unconscious Takigakure ninja. A moment later, the coffin opened again, revealing a strange face inside. Hashirama was stunned.
Masahiko, however, was not surprised. "It really is Edo Tensei. Is this considered the 'grand living person disappearance trick' of the Naruto world?"
The ninja inside the coffin slowly opened his eyes, then stood motionless.
Tobirama explained, "The summoned person has half the strength they had in life. I am currently working hard to give them some intelligence. If successful, even if we are besieged by the other four nations in the future war, it won't matter!"
"Summoned? Intelligence? In life?" Hashirama uttered three questions in a row, his brow furrowing tighter and tighter.
After a long while, Hashirama flew into a rage.
"Tobirama! Not only are you using living people for experiments, but you are also toying with the souls of the dead! The research on this jutsu must stop immediately!"
Tobirama looked uncomprehending. "Brother, this is for Konoha..." He stopped halfway, forced back by Hashirama's gaze.
"Wood Release: Birth of a Dense Forest!" Hashirama said no more, choosing to destroy the laboratory directly.
However... Masahiko's face turned green. We're going to be buried alive!
It wasn't just him; Hashirama and Tobirama were buried too. Fortunately, all three were clones.
At the entrance of Konoha, Masahiko and Hashirama were just about to enter when the information transmitted back from their clones made their expressions change slightly.
Masahiko frowned. "I didn't get to participate in the development of Edo Tensei, so I didn't get any Witness Points..."
He sighed again. "But, I didn't expect the development method to be like this. It's better not to be involved."
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