A slightly dilapidated house this was Minamoto Takuya's residence.
Theoretically, the earning capacity of a ninja was not low; even the simplest missions offered considerable compensation.
As a Special Jonin, even if Minamoto Takuya couldn't afford a luxurious mansion, he shouldn't have been living in such a run-down shack.
This was indeed the case; Minamoto Takuya simply didn't have high standards for housing, needing only basic residential functionality.
Sure enough, the room had everything necessary, yet it exuded a sense of austerity and lacked any sign of domestic life, as if the owner did not reside there often.
This was also true. Minamoto Takuya spent most of his non-war time outside of Konoha completing missions, so he naturally didn't return home frequently.
Even when he did return, he would stay in one room researching Sealing Jutsu, so signs of human habitation were sparse.
Minamoto Takuya walked over and sat down at his desk, his fingers tapping slowly and deliberately on the surface as he pondered his next move.
"Stealing" the Chimera Jutsu was imperative; it was the only chance he had to turn his fate around with his extremely ordinary body and talent.
But what about after the theft?
He needed to master it in an extremely short time, completing the fusion at least before Nohara Rin was captured by Kirigakure, thus solving his biggest weakness: his Chakra capacity.
He just didn't know how complete the Chimera Jutsu's formula was. It probably hadn't reached the stage of fusing five bodies, but the formula for fusing one or two bodies must have been completed perhaps even three.
The initial research into a jutsu's formula is always the most troublesome, and even if the subsequent stages weren't fully perfected, Minamoto Takuya was confident he could complete them.
As for the bodies to be used for fusion? They were naturally already prepared; his twenty-seven years had not been wasted.
Where were they kept? Naturally, not inside Konoha. His experimental base wouldn't be placed inside Konoha waiting to be discovered like Hiruko's!
With that, Minamoto Takuya picked up the sealing scroll on the desk and began scrutinizing it, contemplating any possible modifications.
That night.
Minamoto Takuya put down the scroll and looked toward Hiruko's experimental base, which remained completely silent. Even Hatake Kakashi's side showed no activity, making him feel a little anxious.
Had he misremembered? This section in the original work was quite vague: Hiruko was discovered almost immediately upon learning that Hatake Kakashi had obtained the Sharingan, and then the Sannin expelled him together.
"That shouldn't be right..."
Minamoto Takuya frowned. Did Hiruko brand Hatake Kakashi with the Puppet Curse after being expelled?
It must be noted that when Hiruko branded Hatake Kakashi with the Puppet Curse, Kakashi clearly still had the two-tomoe Sharingan. This meant it definitely happened after the Battle of Kannabi Bridge and before Nohara Rin was captured.
"Could it be that Hiruko returned to Konoha after being expelled..."
Minamoto Takuya frowned, considering the possibility. Then he recalled the scene in the original work where Uchiha Itachi entered Konoha directly with Kisame, and he suddenly felt a headache coming on.
Don't dismiss it given Konoha's tendency to never change its barrier passwords, this was truly possible!
Fortunately, although he hadn't seen Hiruko leave, he also hadn't seen the Sannin, so the plan hadn't failed yet.
If the possibility he had just thought of were true, then the plan would need to change.
Hiruko being able to escape the Sannin could basically be attributed to them showing mercy due to their shared history, but the necessary actions still had to be taken. Hiruko would inevitably be injured; the only question was the severity of the wounds.
Regardless, he could only make his move against Hiruko at this specific time. Otherwise, if Hiruko went into hiding to search for Kekkei Genkai corpses, finding him again would be too difficult.
To be honest, Minamoto Takuya didn't want to engage Hiruko. Not because of anything else, but because even without using the Chimera Jutsu yet, Hiruko's strength should have reached Jonin level; he was merely inferior to the Sannin.
The fact that he could easily brand Hatake Kakashi with the Puppet Curse even if Kakashi's Jonin rank was accelerated due to wartime showed that Hiruko's strength was considerable. For him, a Special Jonin, to take on Hiruko was not a safe bet.
If he could intercept Hiruko, that wouldn't be the worst outcome. The worst outcome would be completely losing the opportunity to intercept him, forcing him to rely solely on his own research if he still wanted to change his natural talent.
In fact, he had considered researching it himself before, but on one hand, he wasn't guaranteed to succeed, and on the other, he had other techniques he needed to study. After all, his experimental base wasn't in Konoha and he was working alone, so he couldn't have too many research focuses.
Since the Chimera Jutsu was recorded as existing in the original work, he naturally wanted to acquire the ready-made formula and focus his attention on another technique instead.
Minamoto Takuya took a deep breath and tapped his forehead with his finger, slowly calming himself down.
Wait a little longer. The Sannin hadn't appeared yet. Things hadn't reached the worst possible outcome; he still had a chance.
And so, filled with anxiety, Minamoto Takuya waited until the evening of the third day. Then he opened his bloodshot eyes, which were filled with delight.
Because Hiruko had finally emerged from the experimental base, and his direction of movement was exactly where Hatake Kakashi currently was!
Minamoto Takuya breathed a sigh of relief, then stood up and began to move. Even now, he absolutely could not become careless and allow the night patrol ninja to discover his presence. He definitely did not want to be watched by the higher-ups right now.
Soon, Minamoto Takuya arrived at Hiruko's experimental base. Following the exact method Hiruko had used to enter, which he had previously observed, he proceeded into the interior of the base without error.
Once inside the base, this area was beyond what his crows could observe. After all, he was worried that Hiruko might discover the crows, so he never dared to let them get too close.
However, he wasn't without methods.
"Water Release: Restoration Technique!"
Minamoto Takuya formed hand signs, channeling the Chakra within his body.
That's right, it was Water Release. Minamoto Takuya's Chakra natures were Water and Earth, very common attributes, completely lacking the protagonist-level Wind and Lightning.
The Water attribute was acceptable; after all, Konoha had the Water Release master, the Second Hokage, so he wouldn't lack Ninjutsu later. But Earth Release was troublesome; useful Earth Release Ninjutsu like the Light Weight Rock Technique and Added Weight Rock Technique were only mastered by Iwa ninja.
As for an Earth plus Water Kekkei Genkai, like Wood Release? How could that be? Even Mizukage Terumī Mei's Earth plus Water Kekkei Genkai turned out to be Lava Release. Therefore, Wood Release must have its own special characteristics, perhaps only achievable by the First Hokage's bloodline.
However, Minamoto Takuya didn't worry too much about these things. As long as he possessed the Chimera Jutsu, he would eventually acquire other attributes; there was no rush.
During this time, he had researched quite a few Ninjutsu for this purpose, such as the previous Clairvoyance Jutsu.
And the Water Release: Restoration Technique he was using now was... below Minamoto Takuya's feet, a thin layer of liquid began to flow rapidly, quickly covering the ground ahead. Within this liquid, many footprints emerged some entering and some exiting.
Minamoto Takuya naturally focused on the clearest set, which were the footprints left by Hiruko when he had just departed.
Following those fresh footprints, Minamoto Takuya quickly moved into the interior of the base.
Soon, the view opened up. What greeted his eyes were countless corpses, some exposed and others submerged in solution within culture tanks.
Minamoto Takuya sniffed the putrid odor filling the air and couldn't help but frown. This Hiruko was too sloppy. His own experimental base was much cleaner than this; the difference was huge.
The corpses here at Hiruko's were mainly animal bodies, while his own... were mainly the bodies of targets he had personally killed during missions.
However, this was not the time to comment on such things. Reaching this point meant it was mostly safe. Traps were mostly confined to the corridors; this was the experimental area, and mechanisms were generally not deliberately installed here.
In fact, Minamoto Takuya hadn't found any traps in the previous corridor, unlike his own setup which included a host of lethal mechanisms, poisons, acid, and so on. But thinking about it, it made sense: in the original work, the Sannin had already reached the interior of the base before Hiruko even noticed them.
Therefore, the Sannin's unimpeded access was partly due to their strength, and partly because Hiruko probably truly hadn't set up traps or pitfalls.
Even if he had set them up, he hadn't installed any alarms. If this were his experimental base, he would know immediately if someone had invaded, even if only one mechanism was triggered or bypassed.
But now was not the time to criticize Hiruko. His gaze quickly scanned the base, and soon he found a large pile of experimental records stored nearby.
Minamoto Takuya felt a slight headache coming on. It seemed he would have to organize these experimental records later to find what he needed.
Sighing, he began to act. He retrieved the scroll he had prepared, unsealed it, and instantly a large number of blank scrolls appeared.
Then, Minamoto Takuya opened Hiruko's experimental records. He didn't have time to read all of them inside another man's base, so he had long ago researched a Ninjutsu for this purpose.
"Water Release: Copy Technique."
Countless clear drops of water covered Hiruko's experimental records. Eventually, this water adhered entirely to the text of the records. Afterward, Minamoto Takuya took the new scroll he had prepared; the water seemed to find its new target and merged into the scroll in Minamoto Takuya's hand.
Finally, countless characters quickly appeared on this scroll, the handwriting identical to that left on Hiruko's experimental records!
Looking at the scroll in his hand, Minamoto Takuya smiled contentedly, and then quickly completed the duplication of all the experimental records, one by one.
By the time the last one was duplicated, he could barely suppress the urge to burst out laughing.
But now was not the time, especially not here.
Finally, Minamoto Takuya reined in his smile. He inspected every corner of the laboratory, including Hiruko's bedroom, making sure no experimental records had been missed. Then, he stretched.
He then formed hand signs and used the Clairvoyance Jutsu once more, discovering that Hiruko had succeeded and was already on his way back.
Minamoto Takuya wasn't worried about encountering Hiruko, because while entering was complicated, leaving was far less so.
By now, he had reset all the experimental records, and his footprints overlapped with the other man's. The only real change was a slight increase in humidity within the base due to his extensive use of Water Release.
However, this was only a minor change in humidity, difficult for anyone to notice. Furthermore, Hiruko himself didn't seem to pay much attention to details, and having just succeeded, he was likely extremely excited, making him even less likely to notice this subtle change.
Minamoto Takuya had no malicious desire to deliberately leave any traces for the other man to find and start suspecting things.
Unlike some who might play dangerously, leaving just moments before Hiruko returned, Minamoto Takuya had already completed communication with his summoned beast.
In that somewhat dilapidated room, a crow slowly used its small body to unroll a very large scroll. A jutsu formula was inscribed upon this scroll.
"Summoning Technique!"