Indenture

"P-Protection... H-Heart... Protection Hair? I'm a girl! I'd never do something like that!"

Kotone let out a despairing scream. Her anguished wail and hopeless expression would have made anyone who heard her weep.

She took a deep breath, and a look of resolve appeared in her eyes.

Although her body had changed in a strange way, the increase in her strength was undeniably real.

Her only chance now was to take advantage of the moment, defeat Kazeka, and demand an antidote.

Kotone looked at Kazeka, her eyes filled with murderous intent. Her body tensed as she prepared to attack him.

But when she saw how her exertion had torn her pant legs and sleeves, revealing her muscular arms and legs, Kotone suddenly froze.

In that instant, it was as though all the strength had been drained from her. She collapsed to her knees.

She lifted her head and stared up at the sky. Everything around her seemed to have nothing to do with her anymore. Her eyes were completely vacant. Clearly, she'd given up thinking!

"Dosu, are you still not going to surrender?"

Kazeka stood where he was, making no further move. He watched Dosu at his leisure.

"Your teammates are no longer capable of fighting. Against the combined strength of our two teams—six people in all—you have no chance of resisting!"

"As a ninja, you have to persevere..."

Dosu wanted to say that they had to persevere to the end. But seeing the sorry state of his teammates, the man who was cold on the outside but warm at heart couldn't bring himself to continue.

Half of Zaku's shirt had been torn away. He was clutching the remains and huddling beneath a tree root, sobbing;

Kotone, who had once been a fair-skinned, slender girl, was now steadily turning into a muscular brute.

She was still muttering about how she had developed abs, how her body hair had grown thicker, and how her skin wasn't smooth anymore. Seeing her lost and bewildered, unable to think clearly, was heartbreaking!

He'd already used every ounce of his strength fighting Kazeka alone. Now Kazeka had five more teammates with him. The situation was utterly hopeless!

"We surrender..."

Dosu sighed and accepted his fate. He took out the Scroll of Heaven and tossed it at Kazeka's feet.

"Now, give me the antidote and let my teammates return to normal!"

"Give you the antidote? What nonsense are you talking about..."

Kazeka nudged the scroll up with his foot and tossed it behind him into Kiba Inuzuka's hands.

"You lost the fight, so handing over the scroll is only natural. I wasn't planning on giving you any more trouble, but the antidote is going to cost extra!"

He pulled three small scrolls from his clothes and tossed them to Dosu.

"Sign your names, and I'll give you the antidote!"

"This... This is an indenture!"

Dosu knew Kazeka wasn't easy to deal with. But when he unrolled the scroll and saw what was written inside, his expression changed at once.

"How could we possibly sign something like this?!"

"Hey, hey, hey, this isn't an indenture! I'm a man of science and high moral character. I don't like enslaving people..."

Seeing Dosu slander him like that, Kazeka hurried to defend himself.

"All the scroll says is that you voluntarily agree to take part in my experiments, voluntarily help me with certain missions,

and voluntarily give me a portion of the money you earn, as well as voluntarily provide me with some of your village's intelligence..."

"Isn't that exactly what an indenture is?!"

Kiba Inuzuka had just taken a look at the scroll, and even he couldn't keep his composure.

"You can't make something this serious sound so trivial!"

"Kiba, I can't believe you'd say that when you're my teammate!"

Kazeka stared at Kiba Inuzuka in disbelief.

"First of all, there are plenty of benefits to taking part in my experiments. Improving your strength is just one of them; there are lots of hidden benefits, too.

Most people would be lining up to pay me, and I still wouldn't agree!

If these three didn't have such unusual ninjutsu that made me want to study them, I wouldn't have bothered.

As for the rest, I'm conducting experiments on them. Shouldn't they give me something in return?

A fair exchange is a basic principle of being a decent person, isn't it?

Besides, I won the fight. What's wrong with asking for a few spoils of war?"

"But the way I see it..."

Kiba Inuzuka curled his lip.

"You're still forcing them to sign an indenture!"

"Kiba..."

Kazeka frowned at Kiba Inuzuka, who just wouldn't let it go.

"After this fight, I've realized that your strength is seriously holding our team back.

So I've decided that once the second exam is over, I'm going to experiment on you to improve your strength!"

"There's really no need to go that far..."

At those words, Kiba Inuzuka immediately stiffened.

"Suddenly, what you're saying makes a lot of sense. I can't even argue with you!"

"Well, what do you say?"

Kazeka didn't give Dosu much time to think.

"My time is valuable. If you keep hesitating, I'm not going to help you!"

"I agree!"

Dosu couldn't bear to see his teammates in such a state. More importantly, Otogakure had been founded by Orochimaru.

Orochimaru was a powerful man who excelled in both combat and research. Although Kazeka's scrolls included a confidentiality agreement,

all Dosu had to do was show up in front of Lord Orochimaru a few more times and deliberately leave a few clues. Orochimaru would definitely notice something was wrong!

"Kazeka, won't this get you into trouble?"

Kiba Inuzuka had thought of that, too. He leaned close to Kazeka and spoke quietly.

"Orochimaru is one of the Sannin. Won't he figure out what you're up to?"

"Don't worry..."

Kazeka chuckled.

"The fact that restrictive contracts have become so widespread proves how powerful they are. And besides, I designed this one myself.

Even if they report me, there's nothing Orochimaru can do.

And even if he can break it, the experimental data and all the intelligence they've given me during this time will already be more than enough!"

"Being your teammate means I have to watch my back around you all the time..."

Kiba Inuzuka sighed.

"But watching you deal with the enemy gives me a strange sense of security."

Kazeka ignored Kiba Inuzuka's blabbering. He took the three signed scrolls Dosu handed back and gave him two antidote injections.

"They're easy to use. Just inject them into your arm..."

Kazeka really was incredible at research. The moment the injections went in, Zaku and Kotone began visibly returning to normal.

In just a few minutes, they were back to normal, as if what had happened before were nothing more than an illusion!

"We'll remember what you did to us!"

After throwing Kazeka a vicious threat, the three of them left warily.

They'd come in full of confidence, only to suffer a humiliating defeat. They weren't happy about it.

But this wasn't the time to dwell on it. They still had the mission of participating in the exam for Orochimaru. If they didn't want to be eliminated, they would have to seize the scrolls of two more teams.

"Naruto..."

After the Sound Ninja team left, Kazeka didn't hurry off. He tossed the scroll in his hand lightly.

"Do you want the Sound Ninja's scroll? If you agree to take part in my experiment, I'll give it to you!"