Shisui! Human Experimentation is a Leaf Initiative

"Shisui?"

At this moment, Uchiha Yoru put on a look of shock, then, as if seeing the other's astonishment and confusion, he immediately broke into a smile and shook his head. "Shisui, I was shocked at first too, but later I stopped thinking that way."

"Brother Yoru, what do you mean?"

Shisui clearly frowned in confusion now. After all, human experimentation was strictly forbidden in the Shinobi World.

But Uchiha Yoru smiled and shook his head with a sigh, as if Shisui just didn't understand. "Shisui, just as you, as an elite ninja of the clan, naturally know many things about the clan that I don't, I've been following Teacher Orochimaru for a while now. I've clearly passed his tests, and after seeing some things, I'm no longer shocked."

"You know about the Second Hokage, right?"

Hearing this, Uchiha Shisui frowned, then nodded slightly. Uchiha Yoru glanced around cautiously, making sure no one was nearby, before lowering his voice. "Teacher Orochimaru is in charge of the village's classified research missions—specifically, the human experimentation that the Second Hokage never finished."

"What's more, the first person in charge of human experimentation in the village was the Second Hokage himself. Then came Shimura Danzō, the leader of Root. And now, it's Teacher Orochimaru."

At this, Uchiha Shisui was stunned. He knew about some of the village's darkness—after all, in the Shinobi World, where there was light, there was shadow—but he never imagined that while the village loudly preached prohibition, it had secretly been continuing all along. And from the looks of it, it was spearheaded by the Hokage himself—the Second Hokage, no less.

Watching Shisui's shock, Uchiha Yoru muttered to himself, I'm not lying here. This is all true. What you think of it is your own business.

"It's not just Konoha. Other villages have always done it too, they just keep it secret. Let me tell you one more thing!"

At this point, Uchiha Yoru's expression grew even more serious, and he lowered his voice. "The village's banned Wood Style ninja experiments never stopped. In fact, they've already succeeded."

"What!"

Uchiha Shisui, as a descendant of Uchiha Kagami, held a different status within the clan and naturally knew some secrets. His eyes went wide. He had heard of the Wood Release Project—that horrific human experimentation. He truly never imagined the village had been secretly carrying it out all along, and had even succeeded.

Seeing Shisui's shock, Uchiha Yoru sighed softly and shook his head. "Teacher Orochimaru saw too many tragedies happen, so he's been using enemy ninja for these experiments. As for Danzō of Root... forget it, I won't say more. If I did, Shisui, you probably couldn't accept it. After all, human experimentation was secretly planned from the Second Hokage's time, and the Wood Style ninja plan was completed under the leadership of the Third Hokage."

He wasn't lying. Wasn't the Wood Style ninja project completed during the reign of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi? As for whether the Third knew—who could blame? Only his old friend for hiding it. But to claim he didn't know about this secret research? That was nonsense.

Right under your nose, and you didn't know?

After a brief moment of shock, Shisui calmed down. Human experimentation! The Wood Release Project completed under the Third Hokage's leadership. Even Brother Yoru didn't want to talk about it—the success of that plan must have been brutal.

Watching Shisui fill in the blanks himself, Uchiha Yoru muttered inwardly, I'm telling the truth. What you make of it is your own business. He was sure that now that Shisui knew some of the village's darkness, he couldn't turn around and blindly worship the Third Hokage anymore.

In the original story, Shisui's blind trust probably came from the clan's panic and insecurity after losing power. That period must have been right after Orochimaru's defection, since it wasn't long after the Nine-Tails' Rampage.

In that situation, Shisui bore the clan's heavy burden, and the Hokage was the Third, a master at winning people over. Naturally, Shisui placed his hopes on the Third Hokage, which led to all those tragedies.

Hope shouldn't be placed on others. It can only rest on yourself.

But this time, with his appearance, the Uchiha had connected with Orochimaru early. In this era, Orochimaru was a hot candidate—a sure bet for the future Fifth Hokage. Why wouldn't the Uchiha place their hopes on Orochimaru, the future Fifth?

As a result, Uchiha Shisui also pinned his hopes on Orochimaru. And unlike the original story, he had a partner in Uchiha Yoru, not being alone. This created a psychological dependency.

When Orochimaru defected, and the Third Hokage wasn't as ideal in Shisui's eyes as imagined—heh—just thinking about it made Uchiha Yoru chuckle inside. This time, he wanted to see how the Third Hokage and Danzō would handle a united Uchiha.

Oh, right. There was still that traitor, Itachi. But no matter. According to his plan, before Orochimaru defected, he'd trick the clan into sending Itachi to the front lines. Naturally, he'd help that lost traitor find the right path in life.

"Alright. I'll secretly lead an elite squad to capture the target."

This time, after hearing these earth-shattering secrets, Shisui was shocked, but more than that, he felt helpless. The village had been doing this in secret for so long, and had even completed the Wood Release Project. What could he, a mere Jōnin, say? And the ones leading human experimentation were the Second and Third Hokage—what a joke.

He had no choice but to accept it, gritting his teeth. But Shisui didn't notice that the once-glorious image of the Hokage in his heart no longer seemed so radiant.

Seeing Shisui agree to secretly capture the human experimentation targets, Uchiha Yoru smiled and nodded. "Good. I'll go too."

"You?"

Under Shisui's puzzled gaze, Uchiha Yoru shrugged with a grin. "Didn't Teacher Orochimaru teach me the Summoning Beast to better complete missions? Besides, this is a classified mission—the future Fifth Hokage's mission."

Hearing this, Shisui froze for a moment, then forced a faint smile. He comforted himself inwardly, It's fine. They're all enemy ninja anyway. Even without human experimentation, they wouldn't escape death. It's all for the clan, for the village.

Uchiha Yoru, meanwhile, was deep in thought. Orochimaru is cunning. This is clearly a test and a way to pull me in.

The mission's scale required only the Uchiha's elite to complete. Once the Uchiha did it, they'd be on Orochimaru's ship, and mutual trust and cooperation would follow.

And the Summoning Beast he taught him was clearly meant for completing the mission. That way, they wouldn't be discovered by prying eyes. After all, the snakes of Ryūchi Cave were mobile fortresses that could swallow ninja whole—how discreet.

Thinking this, Uchiha Yoru silently warned himself to be careful. Orochimaru now isn't the later Rogue Ninja, completely obsessed with immortality and the Sharingan. Right now, he's the hottest candidate for the Fifth Hokage. Who in politics is clean? Who's simple?

Hmm. I'll need to be more cautious with the clan funds passing through his hands. Luckily, it hasn't been long, and luckily I know the future. If my kickbacks and middleman profits ever come to light, there'll be no turning back.

For a moment, Uchiha Yoru muttered to himself, Stay cautious. Once Orochimaru defects, everything becomes an unsolvable account, and all danger disappears. I just need to be careful during this time.

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