Kwaaa!
Taiyi's cries echoed through the underground training hall.
If the absorption process had been slow, there would've been no pain. But compressing hours—or even days—of transformation into a matter of minutes? That was pure torment.
Shien knew this better than anyone; he'd gone through it once himself.
Still, he couldn't afford to worry about his Summoned Beast's suffering now. His full attention was on monitoring its condition. If something went wrong, he had to intervene immediately.
Fortunately, after a short while, Taiyi quieted down.
If Shien could survive that first injection, there was no reason Taiyi couldn't.
Once he was sure the bird's condition had stabilized, Shien released the summoning jutsu, sending it back to its nest.
That nest was located deep within the Forest of Death.
Since Taiyi had been raised by Shien from an egg, it had no original home and had built its own lair there.
But now that its existence had been exposed, he might have to relocate it—the forest was too close to Konoha.
If anyone stumbled upon its trail, that would be a disaster.
"Next…"
Shien looked at the last vial of Essence of Nature in his hand.
He couldn't extract a third dose anytime soon—doing so would harm the sacred mulberry tree's roots.
After mentally reviewing the entire injection process from Taiyi's trial to ensure he'd missed nothing, he steadied his breathing and plunged the needle into his own arm.
There was really only one way to describe scientific research in the ninja world:
Brute force creates miracles.
Recklessness was the method.
In his previous world, developing a new drug required countless tests and years—sometimes decades—of trials.
But here? He made it and used it immediately.
That's how insane things were.
Then again, it was all thanks to chakra, that miraculous energy capable of defying every natural law.
From immortality and soul preservation to physical enhancement—chakra did it all.
With that kind of power, ninjas were practically small-scale superhumans.
So why hold back? Carefully tiptoeing would only slow progress.
Even Orochimaru in the future would conduct horrific experiments, sacrificing lives by the hundreds just to make scientific breakthroughs—eventually getting betrayed by Danzo and branded a traitor for his efforts.
Shien was merely adapting to the ninja world's "research culture."
If he moved cautiously like a normal scientist, he'd accomplish nothing before old age.
The moment the natural energy entered his bloodstream, his body convulsed.
Though the liquid was cold, it felt like molten fire coursing through his veins.
"Ahhh—!"
Even prepared as he was, Shien screamed.
The pain was unbearable—far worse than the first time.
It felt as if he was being roasted alive from the inside out.
The burning energy spread rapidly through his body with every heartbeat.
And yet… he wasn't afraid.
In fact, he was thrilled.
The stronger the burning sensation, the stronger the transformation's effect.
He began circulating chakra through his body, blending it with the invasive natural energy.
As long as his body brimmed with chakra, his life force and durability would both increase.
At this point, even being smashed through a wall wouldn't kill him—only injure him.
Hours later, when the heat finally faded, he lay there drenched in sweat.
"Looks like I'll have to figure out how to dull the pain next time," he muttered weakly.
"At this rate, I'll pass out before I finish evolving."
After catching his breath, he cleaned the lab and carefully locked it up.
Then he moved the sacred mulberry tree outside, placing it atop two intertwined trees in the courtyard—right where the sunlight hit best.
Sunlight was a vital component of its evolution.
Just from that arrangement alone, one could glimpse the scale of Shien's ambition.
A three-legged bird named Taiyi, a sun-drinking mulberry tree that thrived in fire…
Sound familiar?
That's right.
He was trying to recreate the Three-Legged Golden Crow and the Fusang Tree from ancient mythology.
In his old world, that would've been pure fantasy.
But here, in a world where the Otsutsuki clan could literally cross galaxies, it didn't sound so impossible anymore.
If aliens who devoured worlds existed, then so could divine beasts.
And in fact, his creations were already beginning to exhibit faint traces of those mythic traits.
If he could just get his hands on something like the God Tree or Hashirama Cells, the holy grails of ninja-world science, he was confident he could bring his dream to life.
Satisfied after tending to his future Fusang Tree, Shien returned to his room to rest.
His body was still in the process of transformation, but it no longer hindered his movement.
The next morning.
When Shien woke, he felt like his entire body had been soaked in warm water—light, powerful, and utterly refreshed.
His chakra reserves had exploded upward.
While he was still far from "Kakashi-level," he now had the chakra of an average chunin.
Not bad at all.
At last, he was no longer the deadweight of the team.
And if you factored in his Summoned Beast, Taiyi, his team's overall firepower was probably the highest.
He dressed in his black combat outfit, reluctantly tied the "ugly and cumbersome" ninja forehead protector onto his head, and checked his gear before stepping out.
When he glanced back at the intertwined trees in his courtyard, he felt a faint, almost imperceptible dimness from the top.
But on closer inspection, everything looked normal—just the mulberry sapling basking in sunlight.
It was quietly absorbing energy through a photosynthetic process Shien had engineered himself—by extracting the trait from sunflowers and transplanting it into the mulberry.
Even without a "system" or some glowing blue stat screen, his transmigrated body alone was already filled with boundless potential.
Thinking about that, he smiled faintly and strode toward the Hokage Building.
Within minutes, the domed structure at the base of the Hokage Rock came into view—the great red Fire character gleaming above its entrance.
His teammates from Team Three were already waiting there, waving him over.
"Let's go."
Namikaze Minato arrived right on time—not like his future self, who'd be "lost on the path of life." Punctuality was one of his defining traits.
The Hokage Building was bustling that morning.
Dozens of newly graduated genin teams filled the lobby, each led by their respective jonin instructors to receive their first missions.
Only jonin were allowed to take S-rank or confidential missions, which required personal approval from the Hokage on the second floor.
Those C-rank "special missions" Naruto used to get directly from the Hokage? Pure privilege.
Not everyone could just stroll in to see the village leader.
In reality, it was all much darker than the anime ever showed.
Shien even noticed two flak-jacketed guards stationed at the stairway to the second floor.
All lower-level missions were handled here, in the first-floor hall.
"Jonin Namikaze, here are your mission scrolls."
A clerk behind the counter handed Minato several scrolls.
Normally, a chunin could only take one mission at a time—but as a jonin and team leader, Minato was permitted to take several D-rank missions at once.
That was just another reflection of how absolute rank and authority were within the ninja hierarchy.
"Let's go."
Tucking the scrolls into his vest, Namikaze Minato led his three students out of the Hokage Building—ready to begin their first official missions.
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