Now, there was no choice but to tell the truth.
Any excuse would always have loopholes. Rather than leave them confused because of his concealment, he might as well tell them what was at stake.
He would make it clear how important and dangerous this examination was to him.
They might be devoted to academia, but they were not all fools.
And they could be trusted.
Looking sincerely at the four men before him, who seemed somewhat hesitant, a series of thoughts flashed through Chiba's mind.
Once he realized that his earlier excuse could not achieve the result he wanted, Chiba had decided during the brief walk to tell these old scholars the truth and ask for their help.
It was just that he would leave out the most crucial part of that truth.
As long as they did not know that most crucial detail, the risk to Chiba would be reduced to a minimum. Regarding his current physical condition, the riskiest part was the cause of his bodily problems—in other words, the reason he had come back from the dead.
That was to say, the greatest risk lay in the reason for his body's current "undeveloped" state, which was directly related to how he had miraculously survived certain death and completely recovered. His body might contain the secret of surviving certain death. That secret was the riskiest and most sensitive aspect of his physical problems.
And people like Orochimaru—no, not just people like Orochimaru. If anyone learned that Chiba's body contained the secret of reviving from the brink of death and recovering completely, many people would probably consider dissecting him for research.
As for people like Orochimaru, they would go to even greater lengths to capture Chiba and study the secret of resurrection in pursuit of immortality.
But if