Danger! The Experiment Exposed!

There is always a trade-off.

Toji relied on his diligent and conscientious persona to earn a status that allowed him to integrate into Konoha.

But in doing so, he lost a certain degree of freedom.

Konoha could continue to function in the short term without Senju Hashirama. At the very least, as long as the various factions had not yet discovered the news of the God of Shinobi's passing, the facade of peace would not easily shatter.

However, if they were to lose Toji, Gospel Hospital would truly cease to function.

There were many highly specialized, advanced surgeries that only he could perform in all of Konoha. It wasn't just within the village; even the powerful and wealthy from all corners of the Land of Fire had heard of Gospel Hospital, and the appointment list never had a gap.

Taking his first leave of absence to go outside the village would easily attract the attention of those with ulterior motives if it happened too often. Toji would not allow such an uncontrollable and volatile situation to arise.

This meant that Toji only had the opportunity to sneak out of Konoha when he returned to his clan grounds to rest in the dead of night.

The time was too short, and the risks were too high.

The mountain bandits around Konoha had long since been wiped out like wild mobs by the hungry, eager ninjas.

If he wanted fresh human subjects for his experiments, he had to go very far.

The maximum distance his Earth Grudge Fear clone could operate away from his body was the area around the Forest of Death.

Currently, because Hashirama was still alive, Konoha had not yet erected a barrier. But once the barrier was completed, he wouldn't even have the chance to sneak out at night.

Therefore, the first mission Toji gave Uchiha Yan was to collect human subjects for his experiments outside the village.

"Fine!"

Uchiha Yan agreed quite readily.

She didn't care at all what those captured ninjas were used for or what their ultimate fate would be. She only knew that helping Toji meant helping herself obtain greater power.

"However—"

Uchiha Yan changed the subject. "Where is this place? And how am I supposed to bring people to you?"

She hadn't seen the sun for over three months, and aside from the clock in the laboratory, she had no idea where she was.

Every day, she was served standard nutritional meals; while the taste wasn't bad, it was completely impossible to use them to determine her location.

If it were seafood, it would be the Land of Water; if it were camel meat, it would be the Land of Wind... These were Uchiha Yan's stereotypical assumptions.

"Do you know genjutsu?"

"I do."

"After using genjutsu to control your target, take them to the Forest of Death. I will mark the specific coordinates on a map. You don't need to worry about what happens afterward. Once you leave this place, clean up your tracks and don't leave a trail; the Uchiha clan is searching the entire Ninja World for you."

"The Forest of Death?!"

Uchiha Yan's expression was one of astonishment, and she blurted out, "Could this place... be right near the Forest of Death?"

Logically speaking, she had been captured by the Plague Doctor Mask in front of her at the Forest of Death, so the detention site should have been far away from the scene of the incident. Yet, the drop-off point the other party gave was the Forest of Death itself.

"That is not for you to concern yourself with."

Toji's tone was cold.

In his vision, a sufficiently rigorous underground organization required subordinates to show absolute obedience to their superiors' orders; they shouldn't ask a single question they weren't supposed to.

The identity of the boss had to be kept strictly confidential, and all communication had to be handled through intermediaries to prevent anyone from following the trail and wiping them out in one fell swoop.

In this crude "organization" that currently consisted only of him and Uchiha Yan, the intermediary was his Earth Grudge Fear clone.

"Tell me, are you a ninja of Konoha?"

Toji ignored her probing and continued on his own:

"Prepare to lose consciousness now. When you wake up, you will be in the vicinity of the Forest of Death. That is also where future mission handovers will take place."

Uchiha Yan said with disdain, "I was unconscious when I was brought in; now that I'm leaving, can't you let me walk out awake?"

Toji didn't answer, walking straight toward her with a thick syringe in hand.

"Fine, fine, whatever you want."

Under the cover of night.

Toji manipulated his Earth Grudge Fear clone to send Uchiha Yan away.

Five Elements Seal, Earth Grudge Fear Cursed Seal, Mangekyō Bait... Toji had already prepared a foolproof plan.

This first chess piece cast into the Ninja World would bring him a steady stream of human subjects.

However, this method was still too crude.

Once Konoha began laying down the barrier, he would have Uchiha Yan use "legal" means to deliver the human subjects he needed into his hands through Gospel Hospital.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning.

Toji headed to Gospel Hospital as usual, only to see Senju Takayuki waiting at the entrance early on. Seeing him arrive, he immediately stepped forward: "Teacher Toji."

"Takayuki, is something the matter?"

"My father would like to see you."

"Very well, I shall go at once."

Toji rose and headed toward the Hokage Building.

Hashirama knew he was busy, so it had been quite some time since he had summoned him in such a manner.

Something must have happened...

What could it be? Toji pondered to himself as he walked.

Before long, Toji met with Hashirama in the Hokage Office.

Uchiha Chirori was also present.

Tobirama had been back in the village for a while, but he had been keeping to himself, and no one knew what he was busy with; he was not even present for this meeting.

The last time the F4 had gathered together was when the Ninja Academy was first established.

"Toji, you're here. Sit." Hashirama gestured for him to take a seat, his expression gradually turning serious. "Now that everyone is here, I will get straight to the point."

"Recently, people have reported to me that prisoners have been disappearing from Konoha Prison frequently, and some of the prisoners' families have even come to me to file missing persons requests. I went to the prison myself to inquire, but the Prison Guard Ninjas all claimed to know nothing."

"Toji, Chirori, do you have any leads on this matter?"

Although many departments had yet to be established, the prison for holding criminals had been built early on.

This was a matter of necessity.

Even Konoha, the most civilized place in the Ninja World, had only recently emerged from a chaotic era into peace, and the crime rate in the surrounding areas was alarmingly high.

The village received many commissions to capture and clear out these criminals. Hashirama was kind-hearted; he did not order them killed on sight, but instead required them to be "captured alive," giving the criminals a chance to turn over a new leaf.

Prisoners disappearing?

Toji's heart tightened.

He who has done no wrong has no fear of ghosts knocking at his door, and his subconscious reaction was that he had been exposed.

But the next instant, Toji realized.

He had not touched any prisoners, nor had he laid a hand on any hospital patients yet; this matter had nothing to do with him.

In other words...

Was there someone else in the village besides him kidnapping people in the shadows?

Combining the current situation, a certain speculation arose in Toji's mind. He spoke in an ambiguous tone: "Lord Hokage, this matter... perhaps it has something to do with Tobirama."

"Tobirama?!"

Senju Hashirama was taken aback, his expression growing even more grave. "How could it have anything to do with Tobirama? Toji, explain yourself carefully."

Toji calmly laid out his analysis:

"Konoha Prison is heavily guarded; it is impossible for an ordinary person to take prisoners away without a sound. Unless the Prison Guard Ninjas responsible for the watch deliberately concealed the matter, or they were under a genjutsu."

"But even after the Hokage personally inquired, they remained tight-lipped, and there were no signs of them being under a genjutsu."

"Then there is only one possibility. The 'culprit' behind the disappearances has a special status, making them afraid to speak, or unable to speak."

"The only person in the village who could achieve this..."

"The only one I can think of is Tobirama."

"I suspect Tobirama took the prisoners from the prison to some location and ordered the Prison Guard Ninjas to keep it a secret from you, Lord Hokage."