Probe

"Tap, tap, tap~"

Kumo walked down the stairs leading underground, carrying a dead Green Lizard in one hand.

After descending a spiral staircase, he came upon a door with a Sealing Talisman pasted onto it, bearing a single Seal Character.

Kumo walked up to the door, pressed a button on the wall to the left, and said, "Braised pork is my favorite."

A few seconds later, numerous Sealing Formulas appeared on the door, which then opened automatically.

Seeing this, Kumo continued forward and entered a spacious, brightly lit basement.

The basement was filled with neatly arranged glass containers containing all manner of strange things, all soaking in green liquid.

Kumo looked at the glass containers as though he were used to the sight. After briefly glancing at one particular container, he quickly approached a boy wearing a Small White Coat.

The boy was only eight years old and around 1.2 meters tall. His face still held traces of childish innocence, but his eyes lacked the purity of ordinary children his age. Instead, they were as deep as those of an old man who had endured countless hardships.

He was Kirito—or, more precisely, one of Kirito's Shadow Clones.

At the moment, he was staring at a Tissue Mass soaking in a glass container.

His expression was one of excited fascination, as though the oddly shaped Tissue Mass before him was not something ugly, but a beautiful work of art.

"Lord Kirito, something has happened."

Kumo spoke respectfully to the eight-year-old boy.

Hearing the words of the one-armed man, Kirito shifted his gaze and turned to look at the dead Green Lizard in his hand. With interest, he said, "A Karasu Lizard. It's a rare species of lizard found in the Phantom Desert of the Land of Wind. Adults can grow up to five meters tall and possess exceptional camouflage abilities. It has the potential to grow into a Ninja Beast."

"So it's a creature from the Land of Wind. No wonder I'd never seen this kind of Green Lizard in Konoha before. That means spies from Sunagakure have come here. I didn't expect them to arrive so quickly."

After hearing Kirito's explanation, Kumo said coldly.

During the day, Yakushi Nonō had already informed him that Kirito had caught the attention of people from Sunagakure. Thus, he had followed Kirito's arrangements and stood guard at the Orphanage. Yet he had not expected Sunagakure's spies to arrive so soon.

"There's nothing strange about that. There must be spies from Sunagakure in the village. This Karasu Lizard may be small, but it's still a genuine Ninja Beast. If your sensory abilities weren't so outstanding, you probably wouldn't have discovered it."

Kirito said dismissively.

Kumo was a Sensory Ninja whose sensing method relied on his exceptional hearing. His hearing was an innate talent, a special gift he had been born with.

The reason Kirito had chosen Kumo, a disabled ninja, in the first place was because he was a Sensory Ninja and was well suited for guarding the home.

"What should we do next? Since there has already been one probe, there will definitely be another. And the next infiltration method will surely be even more covert."

Kumo continued, a nervous expression appearing on his face.

As a former Konoha Jonin, he knew well how troublesome spies could be. Spies sent by Sunagakure to infiltrate Konoha might not be powerful, but their disguise and reconnaissance skills were undoubtedly first-rate, and they were proficient in all sorts of bizarre Transformation Jutsu.

This time, they had used Summoning Jutsu for reconnaissance. Next time, they might disguise themselves as someone from the Orphanage and enter.

When that happened, hearing alone would not allow him to distinguish the infiltrating spies.

"Don't worry about that. I've already activated the barrier set up in the Orphanage. Its range is enough to cover the entire Orphanage. Without my permission and a Pass made by me, no stranger will be able to enter. But you'll all have to work a little harder from now on. Remember to replenish the Chakra Scroll with chakra regularly."

Kirito answered confidently.

The Orphanage was his base, so naturally, he would do everything he could to make it impregnable. The Barrier Seal was the first line of defense he had set up there.

He had used the Five Seal Barrier. To destroy it, one had to remove five Sealing Talismans located in different directions simultaneously.

"As expected of you, my lord. So you had already thought of countermeasures. Rest assured, the few of us will replenish the Chakra Scroll with chakra on schedule."

Kumo said respectfully.

He had willingly become Kirito's subordinate not only because Kirito had promised to help him regrow his severed arm and take care of his family in the future, but also because he saw a brilliant future in Kirito.

Over the past two years, he had watched Kirito rise step by step to where he was now, and he had personally witnessed how terrifying the abilities of the eight-year-old boy before him were.

Even now, he still remembered the match they had fought when Kirito found him two years ago. The other party had silently set up a large-scale Binding Seal beneath his feet at terrifying speed. The moment the battle began, he had been subdued.

Sealing Jutsu truly was unreasonable.

As long as it could be deployed quickly enough, it would become an enemy's nightmare.

Now that two years had passed, Kumo had no way of estimating how strong Kirito had become or how far his Sealing Jutsu had advanced.

In any case, based on the instincts he had developed as a former Jonin, he felt that this boy—usually smiling and seemingly harmless—was extremely dangerous when he got serious.

"I'll leave the watch to you for now. The main body isn't here, so I can't use the limited chakra in this body too freely."

Kirito said with a smile.

"Ha."

Kumo immediately obeyed. He set down the Green Lizard and swiftly left the basement.

The basement door closed automatically, and the Sealing Formulas on it vanished from sight.

After Kumo left, Kirito returned his gaze to the Tissue Mass and muttered, "The previous experiments have never been ideal. As expected, Mito's cells are simply too strong. Unfortunately, Mito's were the only pure Uzumaki Clan cells I had before. The experimental materials were too limited. Hopefully, this fusion experiment will make some decent progress."

After saying that, he suddenly crouched down and placed his hand on the dead Green Lizard.

The next instant, numerous chakra-formed Sealing Formulas appeared and crawled all over the Green Lizard's body.

When Kirito stood up again, the Green Lizard was completely wrapped in black Sealing Formulas. Then the space around it warped, and it vanished in an instant.

Sealing Jutsu: Reverse Four Symbols Seal (Reduced Version)

"Though it was faint and well hidden, there was clearly still chakra inside that Green Lizard. There's probably some unknown ninjutsu concealed within it as well. But no matter what it is, once it's banished to an unknown alternate space with the Reverse Four Symbols Seal, everything is futile."

Kirito smiled faintly at the sight, then continued observing the Tissue Mass.

At the same time, inside a private residence somewhere in Konoha, an ordinary-looking Konoha Chunin suddenly opened his eyes, and his expression quickly darkened.

The Death Soul Technique he had left inside the Karasu Lizard had disappeared.

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