Gen Takano naturally focused on the clearest set, which were the footprints left by Hiruko when he had just departed.
Following those fresh footprints, Gen Takano quickly moved into the interior of the Experimental Base.
Soon, the view opened up. What greeted his eyes were countless corpses, some exposed and others submerged in solution within culture tanks.
Gen Takano sniffed the putrid odor filling the air and couldn't help but frown. This Hiruko was too sloppy. His Experimental Base was much cleaner than this, and the difference was huge.
The corpses here at Hiruko's were mainly animal bodies, while his own... were mainly the bodies of targets he had personally killed during missions.
However, this was not the time to comment on these things. Reaching this point meant it was mostly safe. Traps were mostly confined to the corridors; this was the experimental area, and mechanisms were generally not deliberately installed here.
In fact, Gen Takano hadn't found any traps in the previous corridor, unlike his own setup which included a host of lethal mechanisms, poisons, acid, and so on. But thinking about it, it made sense: in the original work, the Three Sannin had already reached the interior of the Experimental Base before Hiruko even noticed them.
Therefore, the Three Sannin's unimpeded access was partly due to their strength, and partly because Hiruko probably truly hadn't set up traps or pitfalls.
Even if he had set them up, he hadn't installed any alarms. If this were his Experimental Base, he would know immediately if someone had invaded, even if only one mechanism was triggered or bypassed.
But now was not the time to criticize Hiruko. His gaze quickly scanned the Experimental Base, and soon he found a large pile of experimental records stored nearby.
Gen Takano felt a slight headache coming on. It seemed he would have to organize these experimental records later to find what he needed.
Sighing, he began to act. He retrieved the scroll he had prepared, unsealed it, and instantly a large number of blank scrolls appeared.
Then, Gen Takano opened Hiruko's experimental records. He didn't have time to read all of them inside the other man's Experimental Base, so he had long ago researched a Ninjutsu for this purpose.
"Water Release: Copy Technique."
Countless clear drops of water covered Hiruko's experimental records. Eventually, this water adhered entirely to the text of the records. Afterward, Gen Takano took the new scroll he had prepared; the water seemed to find its new target and merged into the scroll in Gen Takano's hand.
Finally, countless characters quickly appeared on this scroll, the handwriting identical to that left on Hiruko's experimental records!
Looking at the scroll in his hand, Gen Takano smiled contentedly, and then quickly completed the duplication of all the experimental records, one by one.
By the time the last one was duplicated, he could barely suppress the urge to burst out laughing.
But now was not the time, especially not here.
Finally, Gen Takano reined in his smile. He inspected every corner of the laboratory, including Hiruko's bedroom, making sure no experimental records had been missed. Then, he stretched.
He then formed hand signs and used the Clairvoyance Technique once more, discovering that Hiruko had succeeded and was already on his way back.
Gen Takano wasn't worried about encountering Hiruko, because while entering was complicated, leaving was far less so.
By now, he had reset all the experimental records, and his footprints overlapped with the other man's. The only real change was a slight increase in humidity within the base due to his extensive use of Water Release.
However, this was only a minor change in humidity, difficult for anyone to notice. Furthermore, Hiruko himself didn't seem to pay much attention to details, and having just succeeded, he was likely extremely excited, making him even less likely to notice this subtle change.
Gen Takano had no malicious desire to deliberately leave any traces for the other man to find and start suspecting things.
Unlike some who might play dangerously, leaving just moments before Hiruko returned, Gen Takano had already completed communication with his Summoned Beast.
In that somewhat dilapidated room, a crow slowly used its small body to unroll a very large scroll. A technique formula was inscribed upon this scroll.
"Summoning Technique!"