Konoha, Root Headquarters!
"Aaaargh, just kill me!"
"Danzo Shimura, may you die a horrible death!"
"Aaaah..."
Inside the dark laboratory, agonizing screams echoed, enough to make one's scalp tingle.
On the operating tables, several people could be seen being cruelly dissected. In a cage behind them, more than a dozen people shivered in fear—the old, the young, women, and children were all there.
If Hiruzen Sarutobi were to see this scene, his face would surely darken:
Danzo is ruthless enough, not even sparing women, children, or the elderly?
Under a light not far away.
A middle-aged man watched this scene with a blank expression, his cold eyes glinting with a strange sense of anticipation.
A few meters from the operating table, an infant lay inside a nutrient tank, guarded by several high-ranking Root shinobi as if it were a priceless treasure.
At that moment.
A Root ninja approached, knelt on one knee, and spoke respectfully, "Lord Danzo, we've investigated the matter of the Cursed Infant."
Cursed Infant, the nickname given by Root.
"Speak!"
Danzo glanced at the infant's location, his eyes filled with curiosity.
"Three months ago, the Cursed Infant was discovered in the Konoha forest by the orphanage director. It was brought back to the orphanage to be raised. No information regarding its parents was found, so it was presumed abandoned."
"According to the investigation, the Cursed Infant cannot see, hear, speak, or even move."
Hearing this, Danzo's eyelid visibly twitched. No need for presumption, it was definitely abandoned.
"Even so, the Cursed Infant survived. Incredibly, anyone who touches the infant will have their physical or psychological defects gradually healed."
"The orphan Kiyohata, who was always bald, grew a full head of black hair a month after touching the Cursed Infant."
"The orphan Shiroki, who was missing his right hand, grew a new right arm two months after touching the Cursed Infant."
"The orphan Hokuto, who was mentally unstable, returned to normal ten days after touching the Cursed Infant."
"The orphan Saka, who had always been short, grew twenty centimeters after touching the Cursed Infant."
"The orphan Narunishi..."
With every true case the Root ninja reported, Danzo's eyes grew a little brighter.
After hearing about dozens of people whose physical or psychological defects had been self-repaired, Danzo immediately stood up, unable to suppress his excitement.
"Is there any other information?"
"Lord Danzo..."
Seeing Danzo about to touch the infant, the Root ninja quickly warned, "Those who touch the Cursed Infant do not live long. Many have died without any warning."
In an instant, Danzo stopped in his tracks, his face sinking.
As expected, there's a catch!
The Root ninja continued with a strange expression, "Not only that, but everyone who was healed by touching the Cursed Infant began to worship it as a god, calling the Cursed Infant..."
"The Child of God!"
This was the reason for the experiment.
All those old people, women, and children were from the Konoha orphanage; they had all touched the infant's body.
And it was because of this abnormal phenomenon that they attracted the prying eyes of Root, leading to this tragedy.
For a moment,
Root headquarters fell silent.
Everyone's gaze, intentionally or not, fell upon the infant.
A ninja reported, "Lord Danzo, Lord Hokage has summoned you."
"Lock up everyone who touched the Cursed Infant. No one is to touch it without my permission..."
Danzo's expression shifted, and he finally left the laboratory, leaving behind a vicious command.
"The Child of God?"
"Heh, throw it in the dungeon without food or water. Let's see if it dies!"
The Root ninja was not surprised. It wouldn't be too late to experiment after a day of confinement.
After all, Lord Danzo had a little quirk: the more outstanding the test subject, the more he felt the need to abuse it, as if to soothe some psychological deficiency.
In common terms, he was a sadist.
After the infant was thrown into the dungeon, the screams in the laboratory continued unabated.
This place was hell.
After more than a dozen heavy doors were sealed shut, several Root ninja stood guard outside. Behind the doors, inside the dungeon, the infant opened its eyes.
"&^#@*&#..."
The infant let out a low whimper, its bright eyes filled with resentment.
Old fiend Danzo, may you die a horrible death!
If Danzo could understand the infant's meaning, he would surely be stunned:
"The Cursed Infant can speak? It can recognize me?"
This was because the souls of those who died after touching the infant would turn into pure energy and repair the infant's defects.
Its ability to speak, see, hear, and so on.
They had been repaired over a month ago.
It was just that after the infant became aware of the world, it chose to use a special energy to hide the fact that its defects had been repaired, but it still met the old fiend Danzo.
"What a hell-level start..."
The infant quieted down, its heart heavy.
The infant's name was Lucian, a transmigrator from Earth who had physically traveled.
But to Lucian's dismay, his twenty-year-old body had reverted to that of an infant upon his arrival in the Konoha forest, where he was found by the director and taken to the orphanage.
Surviving as an infant is difficult in any world, let alone the war-torn ninja world.
But just when he thought being an infant was miserable enough, the problems that followed made Lucian begin to despair!
The various defects from three months ago were Lucian's initial state as an infant.
Like a stillborn, all he could feel was endless darkness.
But even so, Lucian successfully survived by relying on the special energy within his body.
Gradually, Lucian discovered that when others touched him, he would share a part of his soul, filling the gaps in the toucher's soul.
This caused the toucher's original psychological or physical defects to gradually heal.
But all those who touched Lucian did not live long.
Upon the contact's death, the previously shared piece of soul would return to his body, absorbing the toucher's soul energy to further heal his own body.
This allowed the infant Lucian to gradually recover his ability to speak, see, hear, and other functions.
Lucian also discovered that he had been revered as a god by those he had healed, who respectfully called him the "Child of God."
Then he was discovered by Root, leading to this hell-level start.
"Did I inherit Yhwach's abilities?"
At first, Lucian was in despair.
But the energy within him that protected him from death, along with the series of events, made the now-calm Lucian reflect.
Such a peculiar infant.
Besides that major boss from the world of Shinigami who was killed by the plot, who else could it be?
Yhwach!
From the Shinigami anime... His Majesty, the Emperor of the Invisible Empire!
The progenitor of the Quincy, the natural enemy of the Shinigami.
"It's not just Yhwach's abilities, there's more!"
Lucian sensed the special energy within his body.
A gem shimmering with blue-black light was helping him endure his weakest period.
Its ability resembled the Hōgyoku.
But it was far more mysterious and powerful.
Because the Hōgyoku was not enough to traverse the ninja world, it had to be a special, powerful treasure. It was more accurate to say that it recorded the Hōgyoku's ability during its journey through time and space.
Even Yhwach's abilities were likely just what it had recorded and was currently manifesting.
The gem might have many more abilities.
It might even be able to carry Lucian across worlds again.
"Whatever this gem is, I'll just call it the Hōgyoku for now..."
"At the very least, what I can feel right now are only Yhwach's abilities and the Hōgyoku's power."
"Are these my golden fingers?"