Surgical Preparations

After leaving the hideout of Ryūsetsuna and Chiyo, Shinji headed to his second destination: the secret laboratory he had set up outside the village.

In his study, he began making notes.

The Twelve Palaces was still in its infancy. Its results had been excellent so far, but he couldn't afford to be careless. Training in the Twelve Palaces involved every organ in the body; any hidden risks could have disastrous consequences.

So he recorded not only his own experiences and insights from training in the Twelve Palaces, but also, in meticulous detail, his observations of Ryūsetsuna and Chiyo as they trained.

"So far, no obvious side effects from the Twelve Palaces have been observed."

"When activated, the strain placed on the body's organs still needs further adjustment."

"Currently, it appears to put too much strain on the muscles, bones, heart, lungs, and other organs, while making slightly insufficient use of the remaining organs."

"Ryūsetsuna is progressing a little faster than Chiyo in her training of the Twelve Palaces."

"Now that Chiyo has awakened the Ketsuryūgan and gained the ability to control blood, her strength should improve significantly."

After finishing his notes, Shinji paused, lost in thought.

"Training in the Twelve Palaces is even more difficult than I expected. Ryūsetsuna and Chiyo may have made such quick progress because of Blue Spider Lily No. 1."

"After a month of observation, neither Ryūsetsuna nor Chiyo has shown any abnormalities after being injected with Blue Spider Lily No. 1."

"Whether Blue Spider Lily No. 1 has any side effects remains to be seen."

After reviewing his notes, Shinji closed the notebook.

The reason he had taken such an interest in Ryūsetsuna and Chiyo—teaching them the Twelve Palaces and guiding them in Medical Ninjutsu—was that they were important test subjects.

Whether the Twelve Palaces