Outside the experimental zone.
Two masked Root ninjas were guarding the entrance to the base.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came, as if something was growing.
The two looked towards the sound and saw thick vines spreading out from the crack in the base's gate.
Seeing this, one shouted, "Be careful!"
As he spoke, both of them jumped back several meters and drew their kunai.
With more and more vines appearing, the base door finally could not hold out any longer and collapsed with a loud bang.
Immediately, a completely naked child walked out of the base, standing dazed at the entrance with his hands raised high, shielding his eyes from the sunlight.
This child was none other than Baishi.
He ignored the Root ninjas not far away, simply reveling in the long-lost sunlight.
During the year as an experimental subject, although he spent most of his time in slumber, he was still aware of the passage of time and thus yearned for freedom even more.
"What a pity, now is not the right time to leave."
Thinking this in his heart, Baishi glanced at the two fidgeting Root ninjas and then focused most of his attention on the glowing mass deep within his soul, leaving just a thread of will to maintain his body's natural instincts.
Seeing that Baishi remained motionless, the two Root ninjas sent a signal and approached, ready to subdue Baishi first.
As for killing him, they would never dare; they were well aware of how important Baishi was to Danzo, and they wouldn't take the risk of harming him.
Contrarily, as they got closer, Baishi seemed to sense the danger. He raised a hand and summoned several vines, attacking the two without hesitation.
However, Baishi's instincts alone didn't give him any knowledge of combat.
Moreover, the two seasoned Root ninjas easily dodged the vines and closed in on Baishi again.
Yet, as soon as they approached him, vines began to sprout from Baishi's body to counterattack, forcing the two to temporarily retreat.
In this way, the ninjas were in a bind and could not subdue Baishi immediately.
After about a minute, four more Root ninjas arrived on the scene.
However, they did not attack but instead remained on alert, watching the surroundings.
After a few moments, a figure appeared silently on the scene—it was Danzo.
Seeing Baishi, who was able to repel two of his subordinates with mere instinct, Danzo felt thrilled.
Undoubtedly, this was the tool he had long sought after.
Suppressing his excitement, Danzo said, "Step back!"
At his command, the two ninjas, entangled with the vines, immediately jumped back and created distance.
At the same time, Danzo used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Baishi.
Then, with Wind Release Chakra gathered, his palm became like a blade, easily slicing through the vines that had entangled him.
Finally, he placed a hand on Baishi's shoulder, activating the Curse Mark of Binding.
In an instant, a band-like curse pattern spread from his palm, covering Baishi's entire body, binding him in place, even retracting the vines produced by his Wood Release.
"Not bad! Not bad!" Danzo remarked, pleased to see Baishi completely immobilized.
He then grabbed Baishi and jumped a few times, disappearing into the forest.
...
Time flies.
In the blink of an eye, it was now the 47th year of Konoha.
Unbeknownst to him, Baishi was now seven years old.
Over the past four years, his life had been extremely dull and tedious, but at the same time, it was also quite fulfilling.
In the morning, he studied theoretical knowledge, and in the afternoon, he either practiced alone or engaged in practical combat training—he was never idle.
It seemed Danzo poured all the energy he should have dedicated to Yamato into Baishi, often coming personally to guide him.
Of course, this guy had no good intentions; whenever he was instructing, he would unthinkingly instill certain ideas into Baishi.
Fortunately, with his worldview already established, Baishi was unlikely to be misled.
Moreover, the methods Danzo used to control him were not limited to brainwashing; the notorious Tongue Curse Seal was currently on him.
In addition, several curse seals that could affect one's spiritual will were also placed on him.
However, over these four years, Baishi was not completely unprepared.
"System, display my status."
A familiar translucent panel quietly appeared:
[Host: Baishi
Age: 7↑/65↑
－－Base Attributes－－
Strength: 5.5↑
Agility: 6.2↑
Constitution: 12.5↑
Intelligence: 10.4↑
－－Special Enhancements－－
Cell Adaptation: Ⅲ (0.1%)
Mental Resistance: V (11.2%)↑
*Poison Resistance: II (25.5%)↑
*Five Senses Enhancement: III (16.8%)↑
*Self-healing: I (74.5%)↑
Chakra Affinity: Water: VI (7.8%)↑ Earth: VI (8.5%)↑
Wood Release: V (50.5%)↑
－－Abnormal Status－－
Warning: 'Tongue Curse Seal' is binding!]
Although the past four years had consumed a lot of his time in studying and training, his evolution speed hadn't slowed down due to the increase in chakra.
First of all, his [Mental Resistance] increased directly from III (81.5%) to V (11.2%).
This allowed him to be immune to other curse techniques besides the 'Tongue Curse Seal,' thereby ensuring the independence of his will.
As for the Tongue Curse Seal, it was a curse technique that rooted itself in both the body and spirit.
With V-level [Mental Resistance], he could ignore its binding and speak about matters related to Danzo, but doing so would still trigger another effect of the curse seal: full-body paralysis.
Thus, to completely rid himself of its binding, he had to focus on strengthening his body.
Evidently, a mere 12.5 in [Constitution] could not allow him to disregard the effects of the curse seal.
Of course, Baishi wasn't eager to remove the curse seal right now.
After all, unlike other influence and emotional suppression seals, this one had a certain connection to Danzo himself. If he were detected making any moves, things could turn messy.
Thus, he wouldn't take impulsive actions without sufficient confidence.
Moreover, in order to keep his secrets safe, he had specifically evolved the ability of [Five Senses Enhancement].
The so-called five senses—touch, smell, sight, hearing, and taste—were all amplified, granting him potent perception without the need for ninjutsu.
In this way, he would easily detect anyone approaching or spying on him.
Additionally, there were two newly added abilities on the panel—[Poison Resistance] and [Self-healing].
The former was deliberately evolved to address the side effects of the training secret medicines.
Perhaps sensing the pressure from the impending war, Danzo had recently provided a lot of potent yet perilous substances to hasten Baishi's growth. Their effects were indeed remarkable but came with significant side effects.
For the sake of his own life, he had no choice but to evolve this ability.
As for [Self-healing], it was a natural effect from [Wood Release] on the body, and abundant life force allowed his body to possess a certain degree of healing ability.
Of course, his self-healing capabilities could not compare to Hashirama Senju's, but it was a beginning, wasn't it?
Apart from what was displayed on the panel, he had also learned numerous ninjutsu techniques.
Whether it was V-level [Wood Release] or VI-level Water and Earth attribute [Chakra Affinity], both allowed him to learn related ninjutsu more effectively.
With his current abilities, he could confidently say that he could easily take on ordinary Chunin, if not defeat Jonin.
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