'Sage' Plan

Having not seen a computer in a long time, Simu immediately got to work researching.

This was clearly a research computer. Games were out of the question; it contained nothing but information and research data on these test subjects.

There were 127 test subjects in total, covering multiple research projects.

For example, Artificial Alteration of Chakra Attributes?, <Fusion of Chakra Attributes and the Realization of Kekkei Genkai>, <Research on the Possibility of Kekkei Genkai Transplants>, and so on...

What interested Simu the most, however, was a project called Artificial Sage Mode Feasibility Study.

"Artificial Sage Mode?"

Simu pondered as he reviewed the data recorded on the computer.

He had always been interested in the history of the Shinobi World before the Warring States Period. According to the scant records of the Jashin Cult, before Chakra appeared, this world had likely once possessed an era belonging to all manner of gods.

Many of those gods were known as sages.

Not to mention the Sage of Six Paths and the like. In any case, anything associated with sages was definitely no simple matter.

Could this so-called Sage Mode be connected to those gods?

Clearly, Orochimaru seemed to have done some research in this area as well.

As Simu learned more from the files, the interest in his eyes grew ever stronger.

"Test Subject No. 0: Possesses the special constitution of the Uzumaki Clan. Compared to ordinary people, she can endure erosion from Natural Energy for longer periods and at greater intensity."

"Artificial Sage Body Project: Apply [Natural Energy Perception Serum] to absorb Natural Energy, observe the test subject's condition, and analyze methods for improving control over Natural Energy."

Simu's gaze moved across the computer screen, his eyes gradually burning with excitement.

"The Uzumaki Clan. Natural Energy. Sage Mode."

"I'm very interested."

After copying all the data from the computer and transmitting it back to his main body, he adjusted his glasses and turned toward a test tube at the deepest part of the laboratory.

Here, every test tube had its own unique designation.

And the designation on the one before him was...

Zero.

Simu's gaze passed through the jade-green fluid and fell upon the teenage girl inside.

The girl had long crimson hair. Her pale, slender arms were wrapped around her long, jade-like legs, her head buried between her bent thighs as she floated curled up inside the enormous test tube.

"So this is Test Subject Zero?"

Simu examined her closely.

Suddenly, the pipes connected to the test tube moved. The green liquid rapidly drained away, and Test Subject Zero was exposed to the air.

"Oh no."

Simu turned around and, sure enough, Hidan had just lifted his finger from a button. He looked at Simu with an awkward smile on his face.

"Well, I'd never seen something like this before. It looked pretty fun."

Before Hidan could finish explaining, the red-haired girl in the test tube had already opened her eyes.

Without the barrier of the specially formulated nutrient solution, all the Natural Energy in the surrounding air—even that within the forest above—began flooding madly into the girl's body!

Almost instantly, the girl's skin rapidly turned ashen white and became covered in a hard layer of keratin, her appearance transforming toward something monstrous.

Her once jewel-like eyes suddenly became incomparably scarlet. Her fanged mouth opened, and a shriek that nearly pierced their eardrums shattered the test tube.

A red shadow shot out in an instant and slammed into Simu.

The compressed air let out a terrifying sonic boom. Simu flew backward like a cannonball, blasting a huge hole through the wall.

"You bastard!"

Hidan immediately lost it, grabbing the Three-Moon Blood Scythe and launching a frenzied assault on the monster.

The Three-Moon Blood Scythe left afterimages as it whirled at high speed, smashing quite a few of the surrounding test tubes.

But the girl's movements grew faster and faster, and her strength was absurdly immense.

A savage punch struck the Three-Moon Blood Scythe and actually forced Hidan back two steps.

Hidan was now a taijutsu expert. The fact that one punch could drive him back showed just how terrifying this monster's current strength was.

However, Hidan's core ability was not taijutsu.

In the midst of the fierce battle, Hidan easily slashed a wound across the shoulder of the monster, which had completely lost its mind.

The price Hidan paid was one arm.

That sort of injury meant nothing to him. He could simply use Parasitic Spiders to pull the arm back and reattach it.

Truly detachable limbs.

But for this monster, it was far more than a minor wound.

Hidan immediately drew the Jashin symbol, stuck out his tongue, and blissfully licked the blade as he entered the Jashin Ritual state!

"Hehehehehe! Accept Lord Jashin's judgment!"

Hidan pulled a spear from his pocket, only to be sent flying by an incoming black feather.

"I still have use for this one."

At some point, Simu had already climbed out from the rubble.

That fierce blow had directly cracked his Koukaku in several places.

Such terrifying strength was truly rare.

But it also made Simu even more interested in this so-called Natural Energy.

From Zero's records, Simu knew that this girl had previously been nothing more than an ordinary member of the Uzumaki Clan. She had received no special training, yet merely absorbing Natural Energy had granted her such terrifying power. It was truly unbelievable.

"Grrr..."

The girl turned her head and let out a growl at Simu.

The next second, the ground beneath her feet suddenly shattered. A dark crimson Rinkaku burst from the earth and wrapped tightly around her like a centipede.

"Aah!!"

She released another piercing shriek like a sonic attack, and the surrounding test tubes shattered all at once.

"That's enough."

Simu's Rinkaku showed no sign of loosening. Countless Black Beetles swarmed in from every direction, covering the woman like a tide.

Then came a maddening scratching sound as the Black Beetles frantically gnawed away at the keratin covering the woman's body.

The woman's screams lasted for nearly ten minutes.

Simu raised his palm, and a cluster of Black Beetles burrowed from his palm into his body.

"So this is Natural Energy?"

He could sense a special energy being expelled from the Black Beetles. It was powerful, but violent and almost impossible to restrain.

Simu frowned. Before he could properly feel out the energy, his palm had already begun petrifying at rapid speed.

"Because it can't be controlled, it assimilates you into Natural Energy and turns you into a part of nature?"

Without hesitation, he swung his Rinkaku and severed his petrified hand. Rather than showing pain from losing his hand, his face instead revealed the excitement of encountering something new.

"Natural Energy... interesting."