Land of Lightning, Third Underground Laboratory.
The air was thick with a scorched smell.
Crackle.
Arcs of electricity illuminated the Third Raikage A's pitch-black face.
His pectorals rose and fell violently with his breathing, while electrical arcs flickered and danced through his hair from time to time!
"Fuck! Why hasn't it worked yet?!"
Before him stood a cultivation tank.
Inside was a potato.
More precisely, it was a sliced sample of a Konoha-produced "self-peeling potato" that had been seized.
"L-Lord Raikage," the head of Kumogakure's medical division in charge of the project said, wiping cold sweat from his brow. Even the clipboard in his hands was trembling. "We understand the principle. Konoha used Hashirama cell technology to create this potato, but there are still several technical points we haven't figured out."
"The potatoes we produce only retain the first generation's traits. Those traits weaken drastically in the next generation—"
"By the third generation, we can barely preserve the potato's ultra-high-speed growth effect. As for how Konoha achieved automatic peeling, we still have no idea!"
"Damn it! How did they do it?!" The Third Raikage slammed a fist onto the console, leaving a huge dent in the three-inch-thick steel plate. "Then go to Konoha and learn it!!"
"But—" The director swallowed, then pointed despairingly at the cultivation tank. "After the programmers we sent to study in Konoha came back, they discovered that the files for the potatoes had been encrypted and locked—while Konoha has yet to teach anyone how to crack that encryption!"
The Raikage's eyes widened. "Are we supposed to just sit here and watch them dump their goods into our country?!"
His furious question rang out as he looked around!
But no one dared meet his gaze. Everyone lowered their heads.
No one answered.
The Third Raikage took a