Meeting

Once inside the base, Fugaku buried the entrance again, sealed it, and switched on the lighting equipment in the cave. He went straight to the Cultivation Tank.

The genetic material inside had absorbed a good deal of nutrients. Its activity had begun to increase, and many cells had already divided again.

Before long, he estimated, he could move to the next stage of the experiment: dividing the genetic material for separate cultivation.

In case one pair of Mangekyo Sharingan could not produce the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, Fugaku needed to prepare more bodies for his experiments.

After all, no one knew how a body grown from cells would differ from a blood-related brother.

Cultivating more bodies might also produce different Mangekyo Sharingan. Then, when he revealed his own in the future, his enemies would have a harder time guessing his abilities.

Without accurate intelligence, they could not devise a plan to counter him.

There was still a day before the Wind Shadow and the Tsuchikage were due to meet. Fugaku lay down in the specially designed bedroom and fell fast asleep.

By the time he woke, it was already the following afternoon. He washed up, then waited until sunset before leaving the Secret Base.

After sealing the entrance again, Fugaku vanished from the spot and plunged into the dense forest.

Black Mist swirled around him. Hidden squads of Stone shinobi and Sand Shinobi noticed nothing, feeling only a faint breeze brush past.

Golden Valley Mountain lay along the central axis of the Land of Birds. It was hardly conspicuous; calling it a small mound would have been more accurate than calling it a mountain.

But it was roughly the same distance from the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, making it a fairly neutral meeting place.

The Wind Shadow