In the central experimental area, the prison chamber built for 'Upper Moon Five' had been smashed to pieces by the demon's flailing arms.
Of the ten sealing chains binding 'Upper Moon Five,' seven had snapped, leaving only three struggling to restrain its massive frame.
"How is this possible!?"
"What's happening?"
"What do we do?"
Seeing this, the research team members near the chamber were stunned!
Aside from Tsunade, Shizune, Uchiha Shinji, and Yakumo, the rest of the team consisted of pure researchers. Even during the Third Shinobi World War, they had only treated wounded in rear hospitals. They had never witnessed a scene like this.
It wasn't just the researchers. Even the Anbu team tasked with maintaining order stood frozen, momentarily at a loss.
Tsunade reacted fastest, shouting, "Activate the backup plan now!"
"Yes!"
Shizune hurriedly operated the equipment, attempting to engage the backup plan by adding more restraints to 'Upper Moon Five.'
But as the mechanical arm entered the chamber, snap, snap, snap—the final three sealing chains broke, and 'Upper Moon Five' was completely free.
"I'll slaughter you all!"
'Upper Moon Five' roared at the crowd.
In its enraged state, its already massive body swelled even further, now towering three to four stories high, rivaling the half-body form of a 'Susanoo.'
Fueled by the stimulation of the Type II aging potion, its strength temporarily surpassed even its peak condition.
It quickly locked onto Shizune, who was operating the mechanical arm, and lunged with agility that belied its enormous size.
Swish.
At that moment, a figure flashed onto the mechanical arm, rapidly forming hand seals. "Fire Release: Majestic Flame Destroyer!"
Boom!
A massive wave of flames, carrying scorching heat, surged toward 'Upper Moon Five'!
"Shinji!"
Coming to her senses, Shizune realized the figure on the mechanical arm was none other than Uchiha Shinji from the research team.
Shinji's timely intervention bought the others time to react.
Yakumo stepped forward, clapping her hands together with a snap and shouting, "Wood Release: Advent of a World of Trees!"
As Yakumo unleashed her Wood Release, the Anbu began evacuating the researchers. The sealing and barrier teams, waiting outside the cave, joined the battlefield.
'Upper Moon Five' had originally been captured single-handedly by Yakumo, and with the assistance of the sealing and barrier teams, it wasn't long before they successfully resealed the demon.
Huff, huff…
"That was close!"
"Thank goodness for Yakumo's Wood Release!"
Looking at the wreckage, the team members were shaken.
No one had expected the live test to end in such a way.
On the temporary viewing platform, the Third Hokage's face was dark, silent.
Koharu Utatane and Mitokado Homura whispered to each other, a hint of relief in their expressions.
Leaning on his cane, Danzo smirked mockingly at the potion team shinobi who had been explaining earlier. "This is the so-called 'Upper Moon'-countering potion your team developed?"
The potion team shinobi was speechless.
Everyone present could see that the Type II aging potion had little effect on 'Upper Moon Five.' In fact, it had stimulated the demon, triggering an extraordinary burst of power.
This outburst clearly came at a cost, but it at least proved the potion couldn't produce immediate results against a demon of 'Upper Moon Five's' caliber.
Shinji, who had known this all along, showed no particular reaction.
But the rest of the research team was different. Tsunade, seasoned as she was, only frowned in thought. Some of the potion team shinobi, however, were utterly dejected, as if they'd encountered something incomprehensible that shattered their understanding.
The Third Hokage, his face grim, approached the experimental site, personally inspecting the damaged chamber and the broken sealing chains.
With his keen eye, he could tell how sturdy the chamber and chains prepared for 'Upper Moon Five' had been.
Yet, even such robust restraints had been broken, which couldn't help but shock him.
"I expect your summary report!"
Leaving those words for Tsunade, the Third led the village leaders away.
Tsunade sighed.
After the village leaders, sealing team, and barrier team had left, she gathered the research team and said, "Everyone, the failure of this experiment is my responsibility. I underestimated the power of a true 'Upper Moon.' Moving forward, we must continue optimizing the aging potion to give the village an answer!"
Tsunade's willingness to take the blame restored some of the team's morale.
Seeing this, Shinji spoke up. "I think our aging potion shouldn't focus solely on stimulating cell division. We should add toxins that weaken the target."
With Shinji breaking the ice, the team, having witnessed the earlier fiasco, began sharing their ideas.
Soon, a new optimization direction took shape through their lively discussion.
At that moment, an older potion team shinobi frowned and said, "Adding so many toxins to the aging potion—how do we balance the proportions?"
This was a practical issue. Improper proportions could not only fail to enhance the potion but also cause the toxins to neutralize each other, weakening or even nullifying the effect.
Balancing proportions often had no shortcuts, requiring extensive manpower and resources for testing. Considering many toxins were rare and precious, experienced shinobi could estimate the immense scope of such a project.
Shinji didn't address the potion team shinobi's concern. Instead, he meticulously recorded every idea from the team's discussion on optimizing the aging potion.
Noticing Shinji's thorough note-taking, Yakumo glanced at him repeatedly, finally asking, "Shinji, why are you writing all this down? The optimization plan hasn't been finalized yet, has it?"
Shinji smiled. "Just learning!"
Balancing proportions was indeed a massive undertaking for others. But for Shinji, who wielded 'Izanami's Fate' and could peer into branches of fate, it was merely a matter of using his dojutsu once or twice.
Though he held great respect for 'fate,' when it came to the survival of the shinobi world, he had no choice but to take a shortcut.