Outside Konohagakure.
At the end of an extremely hidden canyon fissure.
Humm—
The air rippled.
Within the distortion, a small figure slowly materialized.
"So this is Root's real nest?" Kai muttered, mildly surprised. "And it's out here?"
If he remembered correctly, Root facilities had existed inside the village before.
"Tsk… that old bastard Danzo really did prepare multiple hideouts."
He lifted his gaze.
On both sides rose jagged black cliffs, as if split apart by a giant axe. Moonlight filtered down only in thin strands, barely illuminating the depths of the ravine, making the place feel eerily dead.
Ahead was a narrow entrance—just wide enough for one person to squeeze through sideways.
"This entrance…"
Kai activated both his Sharingan and Byakugan-level perception simultaneously.
The scene instantly changed.
What looked like empty air was actually layered with dense chakra barriers, overlapping like spiderwebs. Complex sealing runes flowed slowly across the surface, while the air itself carried a faint, filtered stench of decay.
"A sewer for rats," Kai commented flatly.
He stepped forward without hesitation.
Bzzzt—!
The moment he entered the barrier's range, the runes flared crimson.
Invisible pressure walls surged toward him, crushing and slicing like a high-voltage grid.
Tzzzz—
Feeling the terrifying force brush against his skin, Kai clicked his tongue.
"This could probably mince Kakashi on the spot."
No wonder the Third Hokage hadn't dared touch Root's lair even after Danzo died.
Kai shook his head and activated Light Body.
Pop.
Moonlight spilled down.
His form shimmered, dissolving into pure radiance.
The crimson cutting light passed straight through him—no resistance, no alarm, not even a fluctuation.
Without slowing, Kai slipped through the fissure and vanished.
Only a few lingering strands of pale moonlight remained at the entrance.
Inside the Cavern
Drip. Drip.
Stalactites crowded the ceiling. Pale liquid fell intermittently.
Ahead stretched a downward-sloping tunnel, clearly man-made, its walls rough and uneven. The air was cold, damp—and filled with a familiar smell.
Kai inhaled once.
Soil… and disinfectant.
"Bingo."
His eyes sharpened.
Disinfectant meant experiments.
Which meant—organs.
"…Wait. Organs?"
He halted mid-step.
"System," Kai muttered, "does touching organs count as looting corpses?"
System: …
No response.
"Tch."
He continued, pace slightly faster.
Boom—!
An explosive tag trap detonated beneath his foot—
—and vanished instantly, swallowed by a spatial vortex.
Kamui. Transfer complete.
Explosions were fine.
Just not here.
Shk—shk—shk!
Poison-coated senbon shot from the tunnel walls.
Kai didn't even look.
Kamui opened again.
Hundreds—no, thousands—of needles disappeared into the warped space.
At the tunnel's end stood a massive metal door, engraved with sealing arrays.
Veins bulged at Kai's temples as he focused.
The runes' pressure points lit up clearly in his vision.
Click.
A single press.
The door opened.
The stench hit instantly.
Disinfectant mixed with a sickly, sweet-salty smell.
Overwhelming.
Kai silently layered chakra in front of his face like a mask before stepping inside.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Footsteps echoed sharply.
Beyond the door lay a vast underground laboratory.
Under harsh white lights, rows of enormous cylindrical glass tanks lined the walls.
Inside pale-green nutrient fluid floated nightmares.
Detached Sharingan, red and intact, their tomoe clearly visible.
Chunks of pallid flesh—segmented, cultivated.
And in one corner—
A pair of Byakugan.
The room was deathly silent, broken only by the occasional glug of rising bubbles.
"Very on-brand for Orochimaru," Kai thought coolly.
A scientist without a bottom line.
His gaze drifted deeper.
In the far corner sat two iron cages.
One held a white-haired boy, younger than Naruto, curled tightly, eyes empty like a broken doll. Bloodstains on his abdomen had long since dried.
The other cage held a black-haired, pale-skinned boy around Naruto's age.
He clutched a worn, frayed sketchbook to his chest, fingers white with tension, body trembling.
When he noticed Kai's gaze, he shrank back instinctively—then glanced at the white-haired boy beside him and forced a gentle smile.
"You're… a new test subject?" he asked softly.
The voice was dry, hoarse—and afraid.
Kai's eyes lingered on the battered sketchbook.
"What's your name?" he asked instead.
The words echoed clearly through the lab.
The boy flinched.
"He… he's called Shin," he whispered. "I'm… Sai."
As expected.
Kai raised his chin slightly, considering, then asked:
"Do you want to live?"
"Yes!"
Sai answered instantly.
Not controlled. Not forced.
Pure instinct.
His hollow eyes ignited with a fragile yet desperate light.
He wanted to live.
The white-haired boy beside him stirred faintly.
Barely noticeable—but Kai saw it.
"Then from now on," Kai said calmly, "you belong to the Uchiha Clan."
Crack—! Crack!
Golden chains erupted from his sleeves without warning.
Like living serpents, they shattered the iron cages and crushed the sealing arrays as if they were paper.
Step. Step.
Kai walked forward.
His left eye rotated.
The faint outline of 666 surfaced.
The Three-Foot Domain unfolded.
Gentle, life-bearing energy wrapped around Sai and Shin.
Healing.
Restoration.
"Support healing," Kai murmured. "I can do that too."
But—
ROOOAR—!
A massive cultivation tank behind them suddenly convulsed.
The fluid inside churned violently.
Something was waking up.
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