Give Shinnō Something Extra

Retsuo had never intended to become sworn friends with Shisui. In the entire Uchiha clan, only Itachi was suited to share such a bond with Shisui. They were the same kind of people.

Still, by observing Shisui's words and behavior, Retsuo had gained an important reference for what a "nine-year-old Uchiha genius" should be like. Shisui's resolute tone and little expressions gave Retsuo a better sense of things.

He often felt deeply anxious over whether he could convincingly play a nine-year-old Uchiha genius, but his childish exchange of insults with Shisui just now had helped him find the right feeling.

Retsuo rather hoped Shisui would relay his words to Sarutobi Hiruzen, so that old man Hiruzen could think things through.

So Retsuo would not lose all hope in Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Given how thoroughly Sarutobi Hiruzen had brainwashed Shisui, there was no way he would simply ignore this, right?

Yet Sarutobi Hiruzen made no move, while Shinnō came directly to Retsuo and pulled him back into an experiment.

Retsuo had recently been trying to develop his Kekkei Genkai, but his Chakra was far too limited, leaving him nowhere to begin.

When Shinnō arrived, Tenma happened to come by to borrow the training ground. Retsuo casually dragged him away, and Tenma had no idea he was about to take part in such a dramatic experiment.

He regretted it soon enough. The underground passage was pitch-black, and though the pale electric lamps still offered a faint bit of light, it could not penetrate the thick darkness filling the corridor. It felt terribly wrong.

Like Retsuo, his entire body was covered in Chakra-conducting metal, and he was nervous as hell.

The laboratory was completely soundproofed from the outside. Only a thick glass door allowed them to see beyond it. In the sealed environment and terrifying atmosphere, Tenma asked in a trembling voice, "Retsuo, what exactly are we doing?"

"Being studied."

"But why drag me into it?"

"Aren't you my best friend?"

"Shinji is my best friend!"

At that moment, Shinnō entered the laboratory through the soundproof door, holding a Black Rod. "Are you two ready?"

Without waiting for an answer, he inserted the Black Rod into the prepared Sealing Technique, then hurried outside and slammed the soundproof door shut with a bang.

At once, two sets of data began spiking wildly across the large screen. Shinnō had also put Orochimaru's Chakra-conducting equipment to use, including Tenma in the data group for comparison.

Retsuo was completely relaxed and did not even glance at the screen.

The ultimate purpose of this experiment was surely to introduce Dark Chakra into the human body. He had no interest in collecting Dark Chakra.

Dark Chakra sounded like it was packed with negative energy. If he had a Negative Emotion Collection System, that would be another matter. The system could directly convert negative emotions into rewards, which would then become power.

The problem was, he had no system. His Golden Finger was so meager that it hardly resembled a transmigrator's cheat. What good could come from planting all those negative emotions in his own body? If it collected positive energy, he might have given it some thought.

Shinnō was carefully watching their expressions. Through the glass, he saw Retsuo looking utterly uninterested and immediately relaxed.

Heh, good. He hadn't noticed anything.

And yet, Retsuo had noticed everything he was supposed to notice.

I need to give Shinnō something extra. I can't let this go so smoothly for him! But how should he add that extra ingredient?

What about trying his Kekkei Genkai? Hiss...

The thought startled even Retsuo himself.

Minato Namikaze's Chakra clone had guided him in developing his Bloodline Limit, but its instructions had been vague. Coupled with his lack of Chakra, he had yet to gain any real direction.

More importantly, it was somewhat dangerous.

But if he did not try, how would he know where the danger lay?

He suddenly understood his own thoughts—why had he brought Tenma along? Didn't they happen to have Chakra-conducting equipment here? The combined Chakra of two people should be enough, right?

It was the perfect time for an experiment!

Meanwhile, Shinnō clenched the fist hidden in his sleeve.

"Damn it! Damn it!"

What kind of monster was this Uchiha Retsuo? Why had he produced such results? Did he already have a Zero-Tails growing inside his stomach?

With ordinary boy Tenma as a comparison, the contrast in the data became far clearer. Shinnō wanted nothing more than to pin Retsuo to an operating table and dissect him! What he had seen already was astonishing enough. Retsuo was certainly more suitable than Yuliu, but his scientist's intuition told him there had to be more to it than this!

Considering that the other party was an Uchiha, he was even more worthy of continued research!

Looking at the chaotic yet faintly patterned data, Shinnō thought this time would likely take even longer, and his plans would have to be adjusted.

Orochimaru's equipment really was excellent. Built upon scientific measurement while also possessing the special trait of Chakra conduction, it was no longer merely an instrument. Strictly speaking, it should be considered a ninja tool.

But he did not dare unleash his abilities fully inside Konoha! Especially for the next step—if the target were Yuliu, it would be simple enough. But now that it was Uchiha Retsuo, he could not guarantee there would be no accidents. Going to Angkor Fortress would be safer.

The problem was how to trick him into going there. What a headache!

But he absolutely could not leave things at that!

Just as Shinnō was racking his brains, the data on the large screen suddenly began jumping rapidly! He was immediately drawn to the abrupt change, then was stunned senseless...

The Spiritual Energy data representing ordinary boy Tenma was soaring!

The wrinkles on Shinnō's forehead deepened, his bulging eyes nearly popping from their sockets. The pen he was using to write down observations fell to the floor with a clatter.

Inside the room, Tenma was just as bewildered.

Earlier, when Shinnō had left the room, Tenma had been drawn to the wildly jumping data, only to find that Retsuo was not even looking at it.

"Hey, hey, why aren't you concerned at all?"

"Are you very concerned?"

"Of course! This is such a high-end experiment. It'll give me enough to brag about for an entire semester once I return to the Ninja Academy. What are you thinking about?"

Your aspirations really don't match that face of yours!

"I'm thinking... about our Chakra natures."

A few days ago, Retsuo had tested Tenma. Tenma's Chakra paper had initially reacted to earth, an extremely ordinary single nature.

But it was exactly what he needed now. Its ordinariness was just right; two or more natures would have been useless instead.

Shinji had a single Lightning Release nature, while Retsuo's own Chakra natures were earth and fire. As for Yin Release, that went without saying, while Yang Release was practically nonexistent.

In truth, every ninja possessed at least a little Yin-Yang Release. After all, physical energy and Spiritual Energy had to be refined together to form basic Chakra.

It was simply that bloodlines with such powerful innate Yin and Yang Release as the Senju, Uzumaki, and Uchiha were rarely matched anywhere in the Shinobi World.

Tenma's Yin Release was pitifully weak. Its readings on the machine were utterly incomparable to Retsuo's, making it perfect as a baseline.

Retsuo had already thought it through. With a cheerful smile, he asked, "Tenma, do you trust me?"

"I do."

"Then are you afraid of danger? If you had a chance to become stronger, but needed to take a risk, what would you choose?"

"How strong?"

"You might have a chance to become a Jōnin."

"Of course I'd become stronger. Why even ask?" Tenma did not need to think about it. In Konoha, becoming a Jōnin was something civilian ninjas like him did not even dare dream of.

Becoming Naruto, on the other hand, was something he could think about.

"I see." Uchiha Retsuo suddenly became incomparably solemn. "Then refine Chakra with everything you have. Now. Do not stop."

Tenma immediately focused. He was a third-year Ninja Academy student who had lived through the Third Shinobi World War and had started refining Chakra long ago, so he was thoroughly familiar with the process.

Then he nearly stopped in fright, because the Chakra he refined began flowing through the conducting metal attached to the equipment. To his senses, it was as though the Chakra vanished the moment he refined it!

"Put more into it. Don't stop!" Retsuo's eyes lit up. It worked, just as expected! This was not his first time conducting experiments here. He had previously discovered that Orochimaru's equipment seemed capable of transmitting Chakra into his Yin Release Barrier.

In that case, the guinea pig plan seemed feasible?

Very soon, Tenma's earth-nature Chakra began seeping into the Yin Release Barrier.

The test had arrived!