Research Cooperation

The faint light that slipped through two tiny holes into the cell fell across the rotting edge of the bed. Hiruko watched the light and scratched a mark into the wall with his fingernail.

One vertical stroke, plus a T-shaped mark. That meant seven days had passed.

"Hiruko, come out!"

The cell door, which hadn't been opened in a long time, swung wide. A shinobi wearing a Konoha flak jacket and an armband embroidered with the Military Police Force's insignia walked in, his manner cold and slightly condescending.

"Yeah."

Hiruko answered softly, a glint returning to his eyes. He followed the prison shinobi out.

Uchiha Nara had instructed them to treat Hiruko well, so the prison had given him a cell of his own. It was also more secure—and more isolating.

Following the prison shinobi, Hiruko looked into the other cells. They were all much the same: seven or eight ragged prisoners huddled in the corners of each cramped cell.

Looking at those ragged prisoners, Hiruko felt no kinship with fellow sufferers. Instead, his eyes lit up.

"If I could experiment with the Chimera Technique here, it would be wonderful."

Hiruko thought to himself, studying the surroundings carefully as his eyes flickered.

Konoha Prison

Warden's Office

Uchiha Nara sat grandly in the warden's chair.

The prison's superintendent, Warden Uchiha Riki, sat below him, smiling obsequiously.

"Clan Leader, I've already sent someone to fetch the prisoner. He'll be brought here soon."

Nara didn't reply. He rubbed his chin, his expression inscrutable. Warden Uchiha Riki couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Clan Leader, I followed your instructions and treated that shinobi well. I gave him a private cell, and he's been receiving the same meals as our Police Force members. I'm sure he'll be grateful for your kindness."

Seeing that Nara still hadn't answered, Uchiha Riki cautiously stole a glance at him.

"Mm. Good." Nara nodded.

When Nara finally responded, Uchiha Riki let out a small breath of relief. It was all but certain that Nara would become the next captain of the Military Police Force.

He was also the leader of the Uchiha Clan, in charge of every aspect of the many Uchiha shinobi's lives.

With Uchiha Nara's rare visit, Uchiha Riki had done everything he could to curry favor with him. But Nara was often expressionless and unpredictable, which kept Uchiha Riki on edge.

"Knock, knock." Someone knocked on the office door.

"Come in." Uchiha Riki regained his composure and calmly addressed the person outside. As warden, he needed to maintain some authority in front of his subordinates.

The office door opened, and a prison shinobi from the Security Department entered with a white-haired man.

"Warden, the prisoner has been brought in," the prison shinobi reported to Uchiha Riki.

"Mm. Understood. You may leave." Uchiha Riki replied calmly, his face expressionless.

"Yes, sir!"

After entering the warden's office, Hiruko discreetly sized up Warden Uchiha Riki, as well as the mysterious man at the desk whose chair was turned away from him.

Uchiha Nara's chair turned around to face Hiruko. He smiled faintly.

"Leaf Jonin Hiruko, it's been a week. How have you been?"

Hiruko realized that things weren't going as he'd expected. He'd thought he would be brought in for questioning, convicted, and then executed.

The man before him was clearly in a position of power, yet seemed to be treating him with considerable courtesy. A multitude of thoughts flashed through Hiruko's mind.

"Lord Nara asked you a question! Are you deaf?!"

Once the prison shinobi had left, Warden Uchiha Riki's expression changed, turning him into a toady. When Hiruko still didn't answer, he slapped the desk hard and shouted at him.

"Riki, leave us. I'd like to have a good talk with this Jonin." Nara spoke calmly.

"Yes, Lord Nara. Just call if you need anything. I'll be standing guard outside!" Uchiha Riki's fierce expression instantly turned deferential. He rose and headed for the door.

As he passed Hiruko, he didn't forget to bark at him.

"I'm warning you, behave yourself! Lord Nara is the leader of our Uchiha Clan. If you entertain any ideas you shouldn't, Konoha Prison will make you regret ever being born in Konoha!"

Hiruko's eyes flickered, but he ignored the scolding. Uchiha Riki didn't wait for a response. After delivering his warning, he went outside to stand guard.

"Heh. It seems you haven't taken well to life in prison, Hiruko." Seeing that Hiruko still hadn't replied, apparently lost in thought, Nara asked softly.

"When are you going to let me go?"

Hiruko had fought in the Shinobi Wars and shed blood on the battlefield. Though imprisoned, he still carried himself with the dignity of a Konoha Jonin.

"Let you go? Heh. You must be joking, Hiruko. You conducted forbidden research and used your fellow Konoha shinobi as human test subjects. That's an unforgivable crime."

Hiruko furrowed his brow. The laboratory where the shinobi had found him still contained plenty of materials he hadn't had time to destroy.

Seeing Hiruko's eyes flicker, Nara's lips curled slightly as he continued.

"By law, you should be executed immediately. However..."

Nara fell silent, picked up his teacup, and took a small sip.

"Lord Nara, however what?"

The warden's warning had told Hiruko who the man before him was: the leader of the Uchiha Clan, Konoha's foremost noble clan, someone even the Hokage had to treat with deference.

"However, I've seen your laboratory. You seem to be developing a ninjutsu involving fusion or merging. I'm very interested in your forbidden research, and I don't want such a talented person to go to waste."

Nara spoke slowly, then raised his teacup and took another sip.

Hiruko's eyes brightened. He hadn't expected anyone to appreciate his wild ideas and rough ninjutsu experiments.

"But you actually dared to abduct lower- and middle-ranking shinobi from the Uchiha Clan for your experiments. I have to say, you've got some nerve."

As he spoke, Nara set down his teacup and stared at Hiruko, his face expressionless.

Though Nara's demeanor was somewhat threatening and intended to put pressure on him, Hiruko understood that his life was safe for now.

Lord Nara was interested in and impressed by his ninjutsu. As long as Hiruko had value, and the forbidden technique had value, explaining the Chimera Technique clearly might even win Lord Nara over and earn his support!

"Lord Nara, the development and testing of ninjutsu inevitably involve bloodshed. The Chimera Technique is based on the idea of a merging jutsu: a supreme technique in which the user serves as the core and devours and fuses with other life forms."

"Just imagine: what if our frail human bodies had muscles and blood vessels as strong as a tiger's? What if we had wings like birds—couldn't we fly through the sky, too? If we could fuse all kinds of extraordinary creatures into ourselves through the Chimera Technique, wouldn't we become invincible in the Shinobi World?"

Hiruko grew more and more fervent as he spoke about the Chimera Technique.

At this point, Hiruko's research into the Chimera Technique centered on the concept of merging and fusion. He intended to improve his own aptitude, strengthen his body, and increase his chakra, among other things.

He hadn't yet come up with the idea of fusing Kekkei Genkai or stealing secret techniques.