Crackle… crackle…
In front of the campfire, Tsunade's expression shifted repeatedly.
Her gaze lingered on Ren.
After a long moment, she let out a sigh. Her face turned more solemn than ever before.
"The development of this kind of forbidden technique… will inevitably involve human experimentation."
If such a forbidden technique were truly developed successfully,
the consequences would be unimaginable.
If even techniques like the Yin Seal and the Strength of a Hundred Technique—forbidden arts of this level—could be sealed into another person's body, allowing them to indirectly master and skillfully use them,
then sealing other powerful forbidden techniques would naturally become possible as well.
That alone would already be significant.
But the real problem was—
if one wanted to succeed,
the process would clearly require genuine human experimentation.
And that meant bloodshed.
"Mm. That part is unavoidable."
Ren nodded.
He understood what Tsunade was worried about.
She feared he might end up like Orochimaru—becoming obsessed with forbidden techniques until his personality gradually turned mad, obsessive, and twisted.
In the end, he might abandon all moral boundaries just to achieve his goals.
Even going so far as to conduct cruel experiments on innocent lives—or even his own companions.
"What!?"
Hearing this,
Shizune and Karin—who had been quietly sitting there, ears perked up while listening to Ren's imaginative ideas—both changed expressions.
Their scalps tingled.
"Ren, I won't stop you. And I know I can't stop you…"
Tsunade took a deep breath and looked at her genius disciple.
"But I hope you hold on to your basic moral boundaries and don't become too immersed in it. Don't lose yourself."
Tsunade knew very well that
Ren hadn't reached the level of madness Orochimaru had.
But a person's bottom line often eroded little by little while repeatedly hovering on that critical boundary.
When faced with the temptation of success,
holding on to one's true self was far from easy.
"You don't need to worry about that, Tsunade-nee."
Ren's expression grew serious.
"I won't act recklessly."
He truly hadn't fallen that far.
The ninja world was vast.
There were countless bandits and rogue ninja everywhere.
At worst, the progress would just be slower—he could spend time searching for suitable "materials."
"After all, no matter what, I wouldn't want to disappoint you, Tsunade-nee."
Ren looked at her beautiful face and smiled.
"Mm. I believe you."
Seeing that Ren showed no signs of deception,
Tsunade's gaze softened.
She placed a hand on his head.
Still patiently instructing him, she said,
"But remember—don't rush."
Having experienced the cruelty of war and traveled across the ninja world for many years,
Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin, had seen countless things.
She was no naïve saint.
Even her second granduncle, the Second Hokage, had conducted human experiments more than once while developing forbidden techniques.
Otherwise, how could something as inhumane as the Reanimation Technique have been created?
Of course, the Second Hokage had used criminals sentenced to death, bandits who terrorized regions, rogue ninja, or the corpses of enemies.
He had never crossed the line the way Orochimaru did—
using innocent lives, or even his own village's comrades, as experimental subjects.
As long as Ren could maintain his bottom line like the Second Hokage,
she wouldn't stop him.
"Of course this isn't something that can be done in one step."
Ren smiled.
"I'll try it slowly."
Sealing the complete Yin Seal and Strength of a Hundred Technique into another person's body,
then allowing them to wield these two S-rank forbidden techniques through a special chakra conversion system—similar to how a jinchūriki uses tailed beast power—
was undoubtedly extremely difficult.
But it could be done step by step.
"The first step of the plan…"
Ren smiled.
"Is to start by mastering some sealing techniques."
During these past two years of accumulation,
he hadn't chosen to go to Konoha to retrieve the village's collections of secret techniques, forbidden techniques, or sealing arts.
Instead, he patiently stayed with Tsunade learning medical ninjutsu while studying the Uchiha clan's secret techniques, ninjutsu scrolls, and the notes and journals left behind by previous generations who had trained or developed those techniques.
By now,
he had fully digested the Uchiha clan's collection.
Those priceless treasures had become part of his own foundation.
Perhaps the number of techniques he had mastered still couldn't compare to the Third Hokage—who was known as the "Professor" for mastering nearly all mainstream Konoha ninjutsu.
But in terms of mastery over the five elemental releases,
he was confident he had already completely surpassed him.
Aside from certain special secret techniques and forbidden arts,
most five-element ninjutsu could now be performed by him without even forming hand seals.
"I don't know many sealing techniques."
Tsunade asked,
"I only know the Five Elements Seal. Do you want to learn it?"
As the granddaughter of Uzumaki Mito and someone with Senju blood,
she actually possessed talent for sealing techniques thanks to her extremely precise chakra control.
However, she had never been particularly interested in them.
So aside from the Yin Seal, she hadn't studied other sealing techniques under Uzumaki Mito.
"No rush. Let me master the Yin Seal and Strength of a Hundred Technique first."
Ren said calmly.
"One step at a time."
He wasn't worried at all.
"As for sealing techniques… I can just ask that guy Danzō for them."
Tsunade crossed her arms and said,
"Perhaps someday we should visit the Land of Whirlpools. We might find something useful there."
"Huh? The Land of Whirlpools?"
Karin looked surprised and curious.
She had never seen what her mother's homeland looked like.
But after the brutal wars that had swept through the ninja world,
it had most likely become ruins—just like Uzushio City.
"In any case…"
Ren looked at Tsunade's beautiful face, smiling slightly.
"Tsunade-nee, you'll help me too, right?"
He was indeed interested in learning sealing techniques.
But developing the forbidden technique he mentioned earlier wasn't something he was rushing to do.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't even for himself.
It was meant for Yuhi Kurenai, Ino, Tenten, and the others.
He personally had no need for it.
Ren, who refused to live an ordinary life, had never doubted that he would eventually achieve immortality.
But he didn't want to watch his women grow old one by one.
So he wouldn't mind finding a few capable "assistants"
to help complete such a forbidden technique.
"You brat…"
Tsunade looked at him speechlessly.
He was actually trying to rope her into this.
But if she simply ignored it,
she really couldn't feel at ease.
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