Hyuga Yu carefully flipped through Shigaraki Tanuki's notes from beginning to end.
Throughout the process, Shigaraki Tanuki, standing nearby, inexplicably felt a long-forgotten sense of nervousness, as though he were back at the Ninja Academy, about to hand in an assignment to his teacher.
To some extent, that was indeed the case.
The theory had been pushed as far as it could go, yet the available technology lagged behind by at least three generations. He could only watch as Orochimaru rejected the project he had painstakingly researched for years, citing its impossibility under current conditions.
His position in Root was growing increasingly precarious, and he saw Lord Danzo less and less often...
What Shigaraki Tanuki had not told Hyuga Yu was—
It was certainly feasible to join Root as a partner by sharing secrets.
But when one carried more and more secrets, while one's own "value" increasingly failed to keep pace with the value of those secrets—
Then—
The more you knew, the faster you died!
Shigaraki Tanuki had begun to sense it. Hashirama Cells, the Sharingan, prosthetic limb transplantation, the Cursed Seal of Heaven... He had already taken part in far too many research projects he should never have been involved in.
At this moment, he stood at the edge of a cliff where he could be discarded at any time.
If he wanted to live, he either had to rely on heaven's mercy, or immediately produce research results that were newer, stronger, and more valuable...
That was Root.
Every ninja who joined this place constantly raced against death with their "value."
This silent unease lasted a full hour and a half. Only after Hyuga Yu finished reading the final page did he close the notebook with both hands and slowly shut his eyes.
Shigaraki Tanuki stared intently at