"We're catching them, we're catching them! Root and the ANBU haven't rested in almost three months!"
"Could you at least use them up a little slower?!"
"Kirigakure's Dark Release? They might not even have it themselves! Where am I supposed to catch someone with it for you?"
"All right, all right! Stop, stop!"
"I'm here to show a few younger brothers of mine your results. Save your questions for the symposium the day after tomorrow!"
Danzo swept his hand, dodging the researchers with blood-covered gloves, and hurriedly pointed at someone in the corner dressed just like them.
"Lan! Are you trying to rebel?!"
"Get over here! What are you staring at?!"
Standing to the side in a white coat, though without gloves, Yamanaka Arashi pulled down his mask.
"Lord Danzo, this is how they pester me every day..."
That single sentence from Yamanaka Arashi made Danzo swallow the curses he was about to let fly.
"Ah... forget it. Have someone from your clan cover for you tomorrow. Hurry!"
"Show my younger brothers the brilliant ideas your department has come up with!"
Seeing that Danzo kept brushing them off without promising anything, the researchers sighed and dispersed to continue their work.
Yamanaka Arashi stepped in front of the group in two or three strides and led them to a huge cultivation tank.
Takahashi Yū and the others curiously examined the pale green cultivation tank, where a fleshy growth bobbed in the nutrient solution.
The growth was pale red, its surface pitted and covered in densely packed cursed seals.
On closer inspection, they could also see black insect eggs being squeezed out from inside the growth.
Takahashi Yū, Sakumo, and Fugaku all stared at the disgusting thing with indescribable expressions. Even Danzo frowned.
"This... doesn't look like what you reported last time."