"Let me explain this."
Tsunade drew a deep breath, her expression grim.
Shuguse could have defected at any other time, yet he had chosen to do it just days after Gentō's accession ceremony. Wasn't he deliberately trying to make her look bad?
"To sum up Shuguse's research during his time in Konoha, it was a project to construct a virtual Ninja World."
"Specifically, virtual-space technology combining mental links with chakra extraction."
"Using genjutsu, Sealing Jutsu, and Scientific Ninja Tools, it would create a virtual mental world."
"People could log into this virtual Ninja World from anywhere in the Ninja World."
"In this virtual mental world, ninja could enjoy themselves, sample food from every nation, experience the thrill of hard-hitting combat, and enjoy researching new ninjutsu..."
"Because it was a virtual mental world, even the most extreme actions would only cause mental exhaustion. You would never have to worry about dying in that world."
"How wonderful, how marvelous it all sounded..."
"Unfortunately..."
A sardonic smile appeared on Tsunade's face.
"Unfortunately, how could something so wonderful come into existence that easily...?"
"Upon entering this virtual mental world, the user's mind would be linked to the space. At that point, chakra would be extracted from them without their knowledge, and a control formula would also be branded onto their spiritual body."
"This technology was far too risky and extremely easy to exploit. It posed a risk of mass brainwashing, making it an extraordinarily dangerous forbidden line of research."
"So the research was halted, and its records were sealed away."
"While everyone was heading to Blue Tide Port for the accession ceremony, Shuguse, who had long resented the ban on his life's work, seized the opportunity. With another ninja's help, he stole his research and fled the village."
"According to our intelligence, the ninja