A plot against him

Yakushi Nonō had quite a talent for learning. In just over a year, she had learned all the medical knowledge Jie Kang Miki had to teach, along with two Medical Ninjutsu techniques. Apart from her lack of experience, she had mastered everything he knew.

If she wanted to improve further, she would have to study at Konoha Hospital. Jie Kang Miki only knew those two Medical Ninjutsu techniques.

Karn was already very satisfied with Nonō's progress. Next, he planned to recommend that she study under Tsunade for a while. Although she had already been assigned to a team, someone of Tsunade's standing in Konoha would have no trouble securing a single Genin.

That would also keep her out of Danzo's clutches. At the very least, Danzo would not openly snatch someone away from Tsunade. With her fiery temper, she would never let him get away with it.

Just as Karn was thinking about this, Tsunade came to see him. When he saw her, though, he felt that she was in a bad mood. She did not look dejected, just thoroughly annoyed.

"What happened? Run into a dog on the way here?"

Karn joked as he poured Tsunade a glass of iced lemon tea to help her cool off.

Tsunade burst out laughing at his words. Thinking back on what had just happened, it really had been no different from running into a dog. It was not a very nice thought, but the way the old man and those other two had acted was truly repulsive.

"I wanted to discuss our collaboration with you."

Once she got down to business, Tsunade grew a little awkward, unsure how to begin. She had just gone home to check the Senju Clan's stored treasures and discovered that there really was not much money left. Their most valuable assets now were probably their houses and the research notes her second grandfather had left behind.

The remaining odds and ends would probably sell for a little over a hundred million altogether. That sounded like a lot, but buying the instruments alone would eat up a considerable portion.

When Tsunade remained silent for a long while, Karn could not help asking, "Tsunade, it's rare to see you this awkward. Don't tell me you've agreed to collaborate but have nothing to contribute?"

"Of course not! It's just those people in the village..."

Tsunade hurriedly shook her head, then stopped hiding things and briefly explained Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others' stance. Although she softened their words considerably, Karn still heard one thing loud and clear: greed.

"Keep your family's belongings. I'll handle the research instruments and human test subjects. I'll buy some death row prisoners from elsewhere in the Land of Fire. It shouldn't cost much."

Karn did a quick calculation in his head. Human lives in the Shinobi World were far cheaper than in the United States. If the Land of Fire's prisons had too many death row inmates, he could get them for a hundred thousand ryo each, or even fifty thousand with a little bargaining. As for the instruments, he would bring over some more advanced equipment from the other side. The results would be used on him anyway.

"As for the serum, they'd better forget it. A single dose of extremis virus serum is more valuable than you can imagine. If we get results, I'll give you one dose at most. You should know that each dose costs nearly a hundred million ryo to produce. Your village refusing to contribute money is one thing, but then expecting..."

"If it weren't for you, I might well have gone elsewhere to try my luck."

Hearing this, Tsunade quickly said, "I understand. I'll tell them when the time comes." If Karn really was scared off, Nawaki would lose his chance to become a ninja.

Once they reached an understanding, Tsunade and Karn began discussing their joint experiments.

The laboratory would be best located outside the village, but not too far away. During human experiments, people would enter alive and come out as corpses, which was not something the villagers should see. Tsunade also had duties at Konoha Hospital, so she could not manage both if the laboratory was too far away.

After they settled on a location, Tsunade would be responsible for finding Earth Release ninja to build the research facility. Karn would handle the instruments and equipment, along with purchasing death row prisoners from across the Land of Fire. Once everything was ready, Tsunade would begin experiments on combining the extremis virus with Hashirama cells.

The supply of serum would be limited. He would give Tsunade only two doses at a time to give Konoha the impression that it was expensive. Fortunately, Karn had all the data on the extremis virus and could produce it without Maya and the others knowing. Taking it from the laboratory every time was not a sustainable solution.

After settling a few details, Tsunade went back to make preparations.

As Tsunade walked home, she thought things over. The Hashirama cells would be easy enough to obtain. She remembered that her second grandfather had sealed away a batch after his research failed. As for an Earth Release ninja, she could ask Orochimaru. Few people in the village were better at Earth Release than he was, and he could not possibly refuse her.

Inside the Hokage Building.

"Hiruzen, are you certain nothing will go wrong with this plan?"

Utatane Koharu asked with some concern. Although Lady Mito was still alive, her health had already deteriorated badly. If anything happened to Kushina, they would have no next Nine-Tails jinchuriki.

"Don't worry. I've already deployed plenty of ANBU, and the border leading to the Land of Lightning has been tightly sealed. They won't escape."

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a puff of pipe smoke and said decisively, "This is a good opportunity to strengthen Kushina's bond with Konoha. After this incident, she'll be grateful to the village. The Cloud Ninja spies can also help us probe Karn. If we can get the secret behind his medicines..."

This had been Danzo's suggestion, and Hiruzen thought it would work too. If Konoha could not conveniently act itself, they could make use of those Cloud Ninja fools. As long as there was no sign of Konoha's involvement, even if Karn died, the force behind him would send someone else over, and they would not hold a grudge against Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt the plan was viable. They could root out the Cloud Ninja spies in the village, make Kushina develop warm feelings toward whoever rescued her, and finally uncover Karn's secrets. It was worth a try!

After finalizing their collaboration, Karn decided to put his affairs in Konoha in order, then make arrangements for the death row prisoners and the equipment needed to research the extremis virus.

That afternoon, Kushina suddenly came to see him. It was her first day with her mission team, and Karn had thought she would not come.

Since she was there, however, Karn welcomed her as usual. After pouring her a cup of tea, he asked, "How did your first day as a ninja feel?"

"Nothing interesting. After introductions, we had a combat exercise. There's something wrong with that Jonin leading us. If he wanted us to work as a team, why didn't he say so sooner? He waited until we worked together before announcing that we'd passed."

"That means your Jonin leader wants to help you grow, so..."

Before Karn could finish, he suddenly heard a voice call from the front. "Is the owner here? I'd like to buy something."

"Someone wants to buy something? Boss, I'll help!"

Kushina had never tried selling things before. When she arrived earlier, she had seen that all the clerks had gone home, so she wanted to try being a shop assistant. Before she could run out, however, Karn caught her by the back of her collar and pulled her back.

"Get back here. Stay put. I'll go take a look out front."

Karn spoke to Kushina in a slightly grave tone. The wooden door had already been pulled shut. A customer would at least knock before entering, so what was this person planning by opening the door outright and calling out from inside?

Besides, this was a Dessert Shop, not a pharmacy. The person had clearly seen that it was closed. Were they really so desperate that they had to eat dessert tonight?

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