Red Nara

- Sorry, Ma," I smiled broadly, kissing her apologetically on the cheek, and scurried out of the kitchen.

- So, the modification proved to be viable, despite being quite costly and prohibitively difficult for most shinobi," I summarized the test, pacing the basement with my hands behind my back in front of the clone and the puppet.

- As if we should care about the latter," the doppelganger snorted, and the black-haired chunin nodded in agreement. - This technique will go to the grave with us anyway, won't it?

- Exactly, like Edo Tensei, even such an incomplete technique is too dangerous in the wrong hands," I agreed. "The ability to mold corpses into autonomous, albeit short-lived, fighters with all of their creator's skills is too appealing to types like Danzo. So, as soon as the technique is finished, I'll build into it the ability to instantly self-destruct with a single pulse of chakra, and burn all the paperwork.

- Actually, we haven't finished doing that yet," the kage bunshin remarked.

- Well, now that the second stage is complete, it's time to move on to the third and final part of creating a living double - testing it on live test subjects," I said, raising my hands dramatically.

- Actually, it's just a copy of the consciousness in someone else's living body, not a doppelganger," sighed the lively Chunin.

- Who cares about the details? A little plastic surgery or one good iryo-nin and his own mother won't tell the difference! - I waved away. - The main thing is the unique opportunity for me to be in several places at once, including outside of Konoha, but without fear of being declared a nukenin if discovered!

- Boss, stop with the dramatics, it doesn't look that cool from the viewer's side," the kage bunshin sighed.

- Okay, cut the lines from the audience! Instead of criticizing me, you'd better bring the scroll with the prisoners - we'll try it on the most useless ones," I commanded the pair.

- Yes, boss.

Catching the protective case, I pulled out the scroll and rolled it out to half a meter, reading the pencil notes under each prison seal. I had a little over three hundred possible subjects, but I should start with the least valuable and weakest, the genii.

***

After printing out the first test subject-a naked, skinny boy of about fourteen with blond hair, rare for Iwa-the clone dragged him over to the table, and I recalled how much effort I'd had to put in recently and twitched.

Before I could resume work on the Shikon no Jutsu, I had to get to grips with the prisoners. Many of them had been sealed in less than healthy condition, and some were dying, so, along with a team of kage bunshin, I had taken each prisoner out, treated them if necessary, stripped them of their clothing and equipment, and examined them for any unpleasant surprises or abnormalities, washed and cleaned to a squeak (including the waste products of life - so that during some experiment there was no sudden embarrassment), put on suppressive chakra and unconsciousness-holding fuin, and then, clean and healthy, sealed them back up and signed approximate characteristics.

It was dirty and hard work, even for an Iryo-nin who was used to all sorts of things, and the only thing that saved him was the fact that two thirds of the three hundred or so "trophies" were kunoichi that were at least pleasing to the eye, and the possession of suiton. And in general, among those who possessed chakra, the vast majority of people were pleasant to look at, regardless of gender - none of them had ugly bellies, excellent build and almost no ugly ones. Real carriers of the best genes of mankind.

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