In the days that followed, Genyumaru worked hard to adapt to the power he had gained from the ritual, with Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi's help.
However, without a public rating system like the Research Institute's, Genyumaru knew he had become extremely powerful, but he had no clear idea of just how strong he was or where he stood in the Shinobi World.
Meanwhile, the Research Institute began its fourth ritual.
The test subject selected this time was, once again, a wanted criminal guilty of every imaginable atrocity. He had burned, murdered, looted, and committed countless other crimes, with a mountain of blood on his hands.
Tsunade objected several times.
In her view, even if the test subject overseeing the ritual didn't have to be a paragon of virtue, they shouldn't choose someone utterly devoid of morals, a vicious criminal capable of anything.
After all, giving someone like that power and influence would inevitably introduce uncertainty for the Research Institute and the Shinobi World.
But none of the Research Institute's other senior officials supported Tsunade's objections.
Amado knew the truth. The Research Institute's study of divine arts was really just a cover—or, rather, only one of its objectives. Its true goal was Shinji's "Artificial Otsutsuki Project." Since the test subject was doomed to die in the end, they might as well choose someone who deserved it.
Orochimaru's reasons were even simpler. Only someone ruthless and rebellious would be easy for him to manipulate behind the scenes.
Scorpion, meanwhile, didn't care whether the test subject was good or evil. He considered morality meaningless.
As for the other team leaders, they all felt that placing too much importance on morality would constrain their research and slow its progress.
Once everything was ready, the fourth ritual began deep in the mountains of the Land