Main World.
Konoha Year 30, autumn.
British Continent, New Capital.
Imperial Palace, the Institute of Technology's Underground Laboratory.
The lights were on, maintaining their usual brightness. The walls were pale gray alloy panels, their surfaces engraved with fine energy-absorbing runes that were almost invisible under the lights. A faint smell of ozone lingered in the air, left by the instruments running for long periods.
Toyotomi Yinglang stood before the central Control Console. He wore a pale gray lab coat with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His Immortal Mangekyō Sharingan was already active, its scarlet light occasionally flashing beneath the projection's blue-white glow. He had been standing there for a while, his posture unchanged. A holographic projection floated before him, its set of gene sequences being dismantled segment by segment. Each separated segment remained in a fixed position, waiting for the next segment to be attached.
Tsunade pushed open the laboratory door. Rather than looking at Toyotomi Yinglang first, her gaze drifted toward the corner.
Toyotomi Jinsyokuin sat on a low stool with an enamel basin in front of him, half-filled with warm water. His shoes were off to one side, his socks rolled into a ball beside the stool's leg, and his trouser legs rolled above his knees. He was bent over, one hand braced on his knee while the other reached into the water and picked several times along the edge of his heel. His expression was serious, as though he were carrying out a procedure with clearly defined standards. After picking at one section, he stopped to inspect it, changed his angle, and tried again. The water was clean and had not yet changed color.
Tsunade stood where she was, one hand on the doorframe. Her gaze moved between him and the projection several times. Then