Using the Three-Tails as Bait

Watching the young man break free from his bat form and drop to one knee, Arata's memories were drawn back to his trip to the Land of Fields several months ago.

He remembered the man.

He had once been a pawn Kabuto Yakushi used to monitor the experimental subject base and guard against Guren. He excelled at using summoned bats for reconnaissance and sonic attacks.

His sonic attacks in particular were exceptionally effective at countering Guren's invincible Crystal Release Kekkei Genkai.

However, before that pawn could be put to use, Arata intervened and forcefully absorbed him along with more than two hundred experimental subjects.

After the battle against the Hidden Leaf Village,

Arata had not only honored his promise and lifted the forced enslavement contracts on all surviving experimental subjects, allowing them to choose whether to stay or leave. He had also agreed to the wishes of some subjects who wanted to return to ordinary lives, arranging for them to undergo alterations in the laboratories of the Empty District.

However, the vast majority of the experimental subjects had chosen to remain in the Land of Fields and continue living as Demon Hidden Village shinobi under Guren.

After all, it was difficult for those who had once possessed power to cast aside that uniqueness.

Moreover, they could now be accepted and recruited openly, rather than being kept like livestock in dark underground prisons for years on end.

The Demon Hidden Village's rapid rise, along with their leader's commitment to his promises, was also why those experimental subjects, who had lost their homes, were willing to remain in the Land of Fields and build a new home of their own.

Lin'er was one of the experimental subjects who had chosen to stay.

With several special abilities gained through modification, as well as