"It's all right, Captain Hizashi. You have to trust me." Duke grabbed Hizashi, picked up another test tube, and force-fed him a mouthful of poison.
"Wah—" Hizashi could barely move and couldn't wrestle free from Duke. His mouth was pried open, and the still-warm poison was poured down his throat. He couldn't even spit it back out.
"How does it feel? Is it working?" Duke patted Hizashi on the back and asked with concern. Seeing how attentive he was, anyone unaware of the truth would have thought someone else had administered the poison.
Having been force-fed poison, Hizashi jumped up in fury. He opened his Byakugan, ready to explode, but once he stood, he realized his back no longer ached, his legs no longer hurt, and even his breathing had become smooth. He circulated his chakra and discovered in shock that the Sand Shinobi poison in his body had melted away completely upon encountering Duke's poison, like spring snow beneath the blazing sun.
"It worked..." Hizashi touched his face, still unable to believe it.
"Looks like it really was a success. Test Subject Number One, Duke, and Test Subject Number Two, Hizashi, showed no rejection reactions, and their bodily functions have recovered well. Neutralizing Poison 1.0 has been successfully formulated. Its detoxifying effect is perfect!"
Hizashi immediately tossed his gratitude to the back of his mind. With a twisted expression, he forced a smile. "May I ask what... test subject means?"
"It means exactly what it says!" Duke waved him off, signaling Hizashi not to disturb him, then turned around and began preparing large batches of poison.
"If, and I mean if, it hadn't worked just now and I got poisoned again... what then?" Hizashi's face twitched. *Why did my heart seem to stop for two seconds? Did I get