After arranging everything, Natsuhiko quickly left the area and began circling around the laboratory.
To be honest, he still felt somewhat uneasy about the whole situation. For example, if the lizard were discovered, he himself might end up being exposed.
After all, Natsuhiko was still nearby above ground, so he had to leave quickly.
In truth, he knew that temporarily running away could also be dangerous.
Given the behavior of the people from Root, even if they didn't catch anyone and only found the lizard's corpse left behind, it still wouldn't be a good situation.
In all of Konoha, within Root, ANBU, and the village's upper leadership, who didn't know that Natsuhiko had a giant lizard?
If a small lizard were suddenly discovered inside a Root laboratory, it would be only natural for them to suspect him.
Even if they didn't catch him red-handed, what kind of place was Root?
They wouldn't bother reasoning with anyone—they would simply take action.
And those kinds of actions were the most terrifying.
If you resisted, you were finished. After all, if you were innocent, why would you resist?
But if you didn't resist, they could simply claim it was an "accident" and kill you without needing any evidence.
Afterward, they would just issue a statement to ANBU filled with words like "regret" and "mistake", then find a scapegoat, and the matter would basically be settled.
Natsuhiko didn't even doubt that the so-called "scapegoat" would likely suffer no real consequences.
Fortunately, Natsuhiko's luck this time was very good. His worries never turned into the terrifying reality he feared.
Although on the day he left, while circling about three hundred meters around the laboratory, he sensed that the small lizard had successfully unsummoned itself and left the ninja world.
During that time, Natsuhiko constantly used his sensory ability to monitor everything around him.
Yet he discovered nothing.
This allowed him to relax slightly, but he didn't dare fully let his guard down.
Because the next few days would be the most dangerous and crucial period.
During that time, he didn't even dare summon the lizard again. Even at home, he carefully monitored his surroundings for any unusual movement.
It was too dangerous.
This operation was definitely the most dangerous thing Natsuhiko had ever done.
But he also knew that if it succeeded, the rewards would be unimaginable.
When profits reach 100%, people dare to trample all laws.
When profits reach 300%, people dare to risk the gallows.
For Natsuhiko, this operation was absolutely worth more than 300% profit.
No matter how cautious he was, he would still take the risk.
However, after a week passed without any incident, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He knew he had made the right gamble.
Although he still hadn't seen what the small lizard had recorded, anything taken from that laboratory couldn't possibly be worthless.
So one week later, in the middle of the night, Natsuhiko quietly summoned the small lizard.
After waiting for so long, he could hardly wait anymore.
But—
"What?" Natsuhiko's face, which usually maintained a mask of effortless calm, twisted in shock.
"You actually didn't get anything?"
The answer he received from the lizard was borderline devastating. The creature had spent nearly an hour inside—how could it have found nothing?
"Hiss… hiss…"
The lizard flicked its tongue at Natsuhiko, seemingly trying to explain something.
"You mean the underground laboratory was too big, and you couldn't find where the documents were kept?"
Natsuhiko forced himself to calm down.
"But you weren't discovered?"
"Hiss… hiss…"
The lizard nodded in a surprisingly human-like way and continued making those strange sounds.
"You weren't discovered, but you followed the smell of blood and found something else?"
Hearing this, Natsuhiko couldn't help but frown slightly.
"What exactly did you find? I don't want this mission to end with absolutely nothing."
"Hiss… hiss…"
The lizard flicked its tongue, but soon an unusual chakra began to gather in its body.
As this chakra appeared, the lizard suddenly opened its mouth. Then a strange chunk of flesh, carrying an indescribable aura, was spat out.
"This is…"
Looking at the somewhat darkened piece of flesh before him, Natsuhiko froze for a moment. Then his expression changed.
He quickly spread his sensory ability outward. While checking the surroundings, he also focused most of his attention on the piece of flesh in front of him.
The chunk of flesh wasn't large, and it had already become somewhat dried out.
That meant it had existed for quite some time.
Yet despite being stored for an unknown period, the flesh still possessed incredibly active cells. Such a situation would seem unbelievable to most people.
But what seemed unbelievable to others felt almost normal to Natsuhiko.
Because he knew that there was one person who, even after death, could still make his body maintain such properties.
"Is this… a piece of flesh from Hashirama Senju's body?"
Excitement flashed in Natsuhiko's eyes.
"Even if it isn't, it's still an extremely powerful piece of evidence!"
That was right.
With this piece of flesh in his possession, it became Natsuhiko's greatest trump card.
Whether it was truly flesh from Hashirama Senju, or a sample created from experiments using Hashirama's cells and implanted into someone else's body, it was still irrefutable and deadly evidence.
With this trump card, no matter whether Natsuhiko chose to follow Minato Namikaze or turn around and support Hiruzen Sarutobi, it would become a powerful weapon.
If he followed Minato Namikaze, this card could make Hiruzen and the others hesitate out of fear.
If handled well, it might even force them to abandon Danzo and surrender most of their benefits.
And if he chose to follow Hiruzen Sarutobi instead, this card could allow Natsuhiko to present himself as someone who put justice above clan loyalty, exposing crimes related to the legacy of the Senju clan.
In doing so, he could demonstrate absolute loyalty to Hiruzen.
No matter how he used it, the gains would be enormous.
"But before that," Natsuhiko thought to himself,
"I still need to firmly establish myself on this bigger stage… and keep rising along it."
The value of this trump card would only truly appear as Natsuhiko's status rose higher.
On the other hand, if he remained only an ANBU squad captain, then this trump card would instead become the reason for his death.
Reality was cruel like that.
Natsuhiko understood this perfectly.
But no matter what, possessing such a trump card was still something incomparably valuable to him.
"Thank you."
After forcing himself to calm down, Natsuhiko turned to look at the small lizard.
"Thank you for bringing me such a... wonderful gift."
...
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