Naruto: Kurotsuchi Mayuri

After separating those who wanted to leave from those who chose to stay, Kagetsu turned to Shisui and said, "Cast a genjutsu on them. Make their memories of today confused for a while."

"I understand," Shisui replied with a nod. He then took the group of people who wished to leave out of the control room. Although there were quite a few of them, most were ordinary civilians with little power. A wide-range genjutsu didn't take much out of him.

"What about you all?" Kagetsu's gaze fell on the group that chose to stay.

Among those who stayed, nearly half were ninja of various backgrounds. Some were from the Land of Rain and the Land of Grass, while others were rogue or missing-nin from other villages.

These people had a clearer understanding of how dangerous the ninja world was without strong protection.

The four before them, including Kagetsu, were exceptionally powerful. They had defeated Shinnō, a formidable ninja none of them could handle, and had even taken over the war fortress, Anker Bandian.

No matter how they looked at it, as long as Kagetsu and the others didn't exploit them to death like Shinnō had, staying offered a higher chance of survival than leaving.

Most of them were already physically weak and needed time to recover their strength. Leaving now meant they wouldn't even survive a minor skirmish.

"We pledge our loyalty to you, my lord!"

A few of the Rain ninja at the front exchanged glances before taking the lead, kneeling on one knee to express their allegiance. They understood that this action amounted to betraying their village. If the village found out, it could result in bounties on their heads or even being hunted down.

But they were also realistic about their situation.

They were just ordinary ninja from the Land of Rain. The strongest among them, who also held the highest rank, was merely a chunin.

They had never had access to Rain Village's secrets and knew nothing of significant value. 

After being away for so long without returning or sending any messages, they had likely already been classified as missing-nin by their village.

A few Ame-nin (Rain ninja) began speaking amongst themselves. They even took off their Rain Village headbands voluntarily, picked up a kunai left behind by one of the Sky-nin from the earlier battle, and carved a horizontal slash across their headbands.

After the Rain-nin, other ninjas noticed and started doing the same.

"It's all yours," Kagetsu said, turning to Anko.

As a frequent visitor to the Technology Development Department, Anko, though a bit reckless, had absorbed enough knowledge from observing and assisting others. She might not be the top-tier assistant, but she was more than competent and reliable.

Managing a group of defected rogue ninjas wasn't a challenge for Anko. Even if they harbored malicious intent and suddenly rebelled, she could suppress them without much trouble.

Meanwhile, Kagetsu couldn't wait to explore Shinnō's laboratory.

Compared to the financial inheritance, it was clear that the research and data in the lab were what Kagetsu truly valued.

Standing at the entrance of Shinnō's lab, Kagetsu activated the defensive mechanisms on the door using chakra. 

After carefully sensing and analyzing the seals and protective measures Shinnō had placed on the door, Kagetsu quickly deduced the type of sealing jutsu and defenses in use.

It took some time, but Kagetsu successfully disabled the defenses on the door. Sending a shadow clone inside first, Kagetsu ensured the lab was safe before entering to review Shinnō's stored experimental data.

Squeak, squeak, squeak!

Inside several transparent boxes, strange-looking creatures made noises at Kagetsu. He crouched in front of the boxes, carefully observing the creatures inside.

Lab mice!

Despite their grotesque appearances, Kagetsu could tell what these creatures originally were. Even after their mutations, they were still identifiable as lab mice, though vastly different from what one would typically imagine.

The most recognizable one was a gray-white mouse, with fur of the same color. Its body was at least twice the size of a normal mouse, its eyes glowed blood-red, and it exuded an intense aggression.

According to the lab's equipment scans, all these mice had been injected with dark chakra. The results indicated that the gray-white mouse, whose appearance was the least mutated, was the most successful outcome of Shinnō's experiments.

The other ones, aside from a few body parts that still resemble those of a white mouse, are misshapen and not as useful. However, they're not entirely useless. 

At least they allowed Kagetsu to reverse-engineer and understand some of Shinnō's thoughts, ideas, and experimental process.

From the experimental data, it's clear that Shinnō didn't fully control the power of Zero Tail. He merely grasped the basics of Dark Chakra, using it in the same way as other types of chakra.

But this usage was dangerous.

The corrosion of the body and the mental influence caused by Dark Chakra were inevitable. Without taking precautions, bringing Dark Chakra into the body and refining it required a strong body and exceptional control over it.

Shinnō clearly achieved this.

The medical forbidden technique he developed—Body Activation—allowed his body's cells to become more active, enhancing his overall physical abilities.

Another forbidden medical technique—Body Regeneration—gave him the ability to control his organs and cells, allowing him to regenerate even if his body was shattered into pieces.

High recovery, strong vitality, and difficulty in being killed are characteristics of most known medical forbidden techniques.

Shinnō combined these two medical techniques with Dark Chakra, even allowing him to reverse his cells and make himself younger. He could even turn damaged cells and body parts into regenerated and enhanced versions after being injured.

In other words, it was similar to the high speed regeneration of a Hollow, a recovery ability on a superhuman level. The body created through the combination of these two medical techniques and Dark Chakra was what Shinnō considered the Ultimate Body.

When it came to staying youthful and immortal, Shinnō went further than Orochimaru and Tsunade. At least, his research data and the medical forbidden techniques he left behind were immensely beneficial to Kagetsu.

When it came to exploring the potential and limits of the body, Shinnō had reached the extreme that a normal ninja could achieve without cheating. 

His research on the spirit and soul wasn't as advanced as his achievements in the physical body, but it still offered many fresh insights to Kagetsu.

Even Orochimaru would consider this data a treasure.

After sealing the knowledge he had gathered onto a blank scroll, Kagetsu formed some hand signs and summoned a snake about the size of a person.

This was the snake Kagetsu and Orochimaru used for communication. Whether Orochimaru had a message for him or if Kagetsu needed to send something to Orochimaru, this white snake acted as a messenger, quickly relaying information between the two.

With the snake's lively eyes on him, Kagetsu handed the sealed scroll to the snake. The snake opened its mouth, took the scroll, and then lifted its head, swallowing it whole.

Once the task was complete, the snake, seeing that there were no further orders, turned into a puff of white smoke and disappeared, returning to the Ryūchi Cave.

With the data safely backed up, Kagetsu now had to think about Ancor Vantian and the personnel stationed here.

He needed his own research base and staff, and for now, Ancor Vantian was the best option.

As for the personnel, the remaining ninjas and civilians weren't useless. They just needed to improve their strength, at least enough to guard this mobile fortress and, when needed, be capable of doing work for him.

Helping these people grow stronger wasn't a big problem for Kagetsu.

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