Traces of Spider Silk

Outside Konoha Village.

The forest was lush and verdant, though a few withered yellow trees stood out amidst the greenery.

"Clan Leader, look. There are clear traces of Earth Style ninjutsu here. These trees were obviously uprooted by violent tremors in the ground before being replanted by hand."

"Furthermore, this small hill wasn't here before, and one can still detect lingering traces of chakra."

Uchiha Saburo pointed toward a noticeably raised mound as he spoke to Naraku.

Naraku stepped forward, pressed his fingers to the ground, and closed his eyes to sense the area in silence.

This chakra... it feels somewhat familiar. I must have encountered it somewhere before.

Naraku's brow furrowed slightly as thoughts raced through his mind. The faint residual chakra on the ground gave him a sense of déjà vu.

As a jonin, he knew such a feeling wouldn't arise without cause; he could not be mistaken about it.

Who could it be?

Naraku mentally cycled through the ninjas he knew, comparing their chakra signatures one by one.

Damn it, how could I have forgotten him!

Suddenly, Naraku opened his eyes and formed a series of hand seals.

Boar-Dog-Bird-Monkey-Ram.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

"Meow!"

A calico cat carrying two short swords appeared amidst a puff of smoke.

"Kozunmaru, has Hiruko, whom you were monitoring, never left his residence!?"

Naraku asked in a deep voice; he had finally identified that sense of familiarity. It was Hiruko, whom he had met once before, and rumor had it that Hiruko was renowned for his mastery of Earth Style ninjutsu.

"Meow, Lord Naraku, other than staying home, visiting Ichiraku Ramen, the barbecue restaurant, and the ninja tool shop, the white-haired Hiruko hasn't shown any other abnormalities, meow. He spends most of his time at home, meow."

If he's always at home, how could his chakra reach outside the village? That's impossible.

Clearly, Hiruko had noticed the stray cats and similar creatures around his home and realized he was being watched, so he had misled his observers.

Hiruko must have used a disguise or some other method to slip out.

To think that while I criticized my father Sanzang for underestimating the ninjas of Konoha, I committed the same error myself. I've underestimated these Konoha jonin!

Naraku's emotions fluctuated; he was well aware of Hiruko's experiments, though he was unclear on their progress.

"I know who the culprit is. Follow me back to Konoha!"

With that command, Naraku turned and headed toward the village.

"Meow!"

The ninja cat Kozunmaru, along with the guards and Uchiha Saburo, followed closely behind.

To think Hiruko has become bold enough to secretly capture ninjas around Konoha. Clearly, his experiment has reached a critical stage and he lacks test subjects. This is the perfect time to capture him.

Naraku moved at high speed, his hands trailing behind him in the classic ninja running style, his mind churning with thoughts.

Inside Konoha Village, a two-story house on the outskirts served as Hiruko's residence.

Naraku led his four-man guard unit and Uchiha Saburo into the house, conducting a secret search.

Several men flickered to Naraku's side, whispering:

"Clan Leader, there is no one here!"

"Meow, I saw him this morning; he was definitely inside and didn't come out."

Naraku couldn't be bothered to listen to Kozunmaru. The cat's surveillance had clearly been discovered; the target had been on guard against stray cats, and Kozunmaru and the local strays had only seen the information Hiruko wanted them to see.

"Keep looking. See if there's a basement!"

"Yes!"

The group dispersed to continue their search.

"Kozunmaru, I suspect Hiruko has a hideout outside the village. Did your surveillance ever catch him leaving the village?"

After giving orders to the ninja squad, Naraku watched as they used Body Flicker to search for hidden doors or basement structures.

"Meow, Hiruko left the village twice. I followed him both times, keeping my distance and using sensory ninjutsu. He shouldn't have noticed me, meow."

Whoosh.

Whoosh.

Whoosh.

Clang, clang, clatter. The searching ninjas triggered a trap, but fortunately, Naraku's guards and Uchiha Saburo were skilled enough to avoid being struck by the kunai and shuriken.

Hiss, hiss, hiss.

"BOOM!"

A sound of fuses burning followed by an explosion; clearly, explosive tags had been set up as well.

Seeing these traps, Naraku frowned. With so many traps laid out, how could one conduct experiments in peace? It seemed Hiruko had already departed.

Before long, the guards finished searching the entire house and approached Naraku.

As a Konoha Village jounin, Hiruko's residence, while not luxurious, was by no means small—it was a detached villa.

"Kozunmaru, lead the way. We're heading to Hiruko's hideout outside the village."

"Meow."

Kozunmaru dashed toward the village outskirts, and the group followed in succession.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

Naraku created a shadow clone and left it lurking within Hiruko's house to see if Hiruko would return.

Hiruko's methods of capturing ninjas were clean, and there were currently no clues pointing toward him, so he had no need to defect.

His home in Konoha Village was merely a front. He had surely excavated a secret base outside the village long ago to develop his forbidden techniques.

Naraku felt a twinge of annoyance at the oversight regarding a talent like Hiruko. The group rushed to a weak point in the barrier on the high wall, where Naraku once again opened the barrier, allowing them to exit the village swiftly.

Outside Konoha Village.

In an underground base.

A young man lay on an operating table, his body wrapped in a disgusting, grayish-black, fleshy tumor-like substance that was burrowing into his unconscious form.

Above the tumor, a giant centipede several meters long had half its body submerged within the mass; as the tumor merged, the large centipede was also fusing with the sleeping youth.

Hiruko watched the person on the table, his handsome face calm. Yet, the excitement in his eyes was unmistakable.

"Hahaha, it's a success! A success! The Chimera Technique fusion is viable!"

"The next step is experimental observation to see how much strength is gained after the devouring and fusion!"

"Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade—your so-called title of Sannin is nothing more than the result of having a good teacher! I, Hiruko, am the true genius!"

Seeing the fusion process proceeding smoothly, Hiruko could not contain his excitement and began to mutter to himself in a frenzy.

Hiruko's resentment was not entirely unfounded; among their classmates, Hiruko was the most outstanding after the Sannin, but the Sannin had the guidance of a teacher known as the Professor of Ninjutsu and the strongest Hokage.

They had access to endless ninjutsu scrolls, learning whatever they wished, and with a master to guide them, their progress was rapid.

Hiruko, however, was also a commoner, yet he had to rely on his own exploration and struggle to arduously acquire ninjutsu.

Every Earth Style ninjutsu Hiruko mastered had been earned by risking his life on A-rank and S-rank missions.

The Sannin, conversely, had no need for such things; they could learn any ninjutsu available in Konoha. It was truly a case of comparing people only to invite frustration.

After Hiruko returned to the village for treatment following a severe injury during the Second Shinobi War, the agony of his wounds made him realize the unfairness of their education, as well as the power of the bloodline limit ninjas and techniques from other nations.

Lamenting the unfairness of fate and the limitations of his own aptitude, Hiruko grew increasingly jealous of his classmates, the Sannin.

With his strength stagnating, Hiruko conceived the idea of researching fusion ninjutsu.

What began as a preliminary concept was now a genuine experiment. After the initial failures, Hiruko summarized his experiences, gained new inspiration, and became impatient to prove his theories.

In urgent need of experimental subjects, Hiruko turned his hands toward the villagers of Konoha...