NARUTO: Ninja World Scientific Revolution

The disappearance of the Third Kazekage had already been going on for some time. During this period, Sunagakure had sent out numerous ninjas, yet there were no traces of the Kazekage. Given that he was the village leader, his sudden and silent disappearance likely meant one thing: he was most probably killed. After all, as the highest-ranking official of the village, the Kazekage should have sent word if something had happened to him. His prolonged silence could only signal that something dire had occurred.

The Sunagakure High Council had convened multiple times to discuss the matter of the missing Kazekage. Even the retired elders, Chiyo and Eizo, had been brought in, but no concrete solution had emerged.

During the meeting, Rasa, who had trained under the Third Kazekage, spoke up. "It has been two months since the Kazekage's disappearance. Not only are our own ninjas unable to conceal the truth, but other villages are starting to inquire about his whereabouts. According to the intelligence from the ANBU, it seems that the Third Raikage might be eyeing us."

Although the Land of Wind was barren, the Third Kazekage had been ambitious and had stockpiled many resources at the frontlines of Sunagakure. The ANBU had detected that the Cloud Ninjas might have sinister plans regarding these resources.

One of the elders slammed the table in anger. "The Third Raikage? Is he under the impression that, with our Kazekage gone, we are easy pickings?"

Another elder scoffed, "If it were just that reckless brute, there would be no need to worry. When the Kazekage was alive, he never dared to make a move. Now that he's disappeared, the Raikage thinks he can trample over us. Hmph!"

"Right now, we should focus on preparing for a potential invasion from the Cloud Ninjas, not waste time discussing trivialities." Chiyo, although retired, still held considerable weight due to her position as the wife of the First Kazekage and her status as one of the strongest puppeteers in Sunagakure. Her words carried great influence.

"Rasa, if the village were entrusted to you, do you have the confidence to protect Sunagakure from invasion?" Chiyo's voice was calm but stern, and her question sent a shockwave through the room.

It was clear that she was suggesting Rasa as the Fourth Kazekage. Such a significant decision could not be made lightly, and not everyone was ready to accept it. Despite Chiyo's stature as the wife of the First Kazekage, it would be unwise to ignore the opinions of the other elders.

Some wanted to object to her proposal immediately. After all, Rasa had only trained under the Third Kazekage for a short period. While he had mastered Magnet Release, he had never been formally adopted as a disciple.

"Chiyo-sama," one of the elders began, "whoever can fend off the Third Raikage and protect the village should become the Fourth Kazekage. The duty of defending the village comes before the position of Kazekage."

Chiyo gave a soft cough and continued, "If you want the position of Kazekage, proving your ability to protect the village is a requirement."

Her gaze swept over the council members, and one by one, they lowered their eyes in guilt, unable to meet her intense stare. The Third Raikage was a terrifying figure, said to be able to suppress the Eight-Tails on his own. Even if the elders whispered that he was nothing but a reckless brute, they could not deny his immense strength.

"I will stop the Cloud Ninjas' invasion, Chiyo-sama!" Rasa stood up, his face resolute and his voice unwavering. "However, I do not seek the position of Kazekage. My sole aim is to protect Sunagakure."

Chiyo nodded in approval. "Then it's settled. I'm entrusting this to you."

The disappearance of the Third Kazekage had dealt a heavy blow to Sunagakure. Without a strong leader, the morale of the village's ninjas had suffered. Although Chiyo had stepped back from managing the village, her sharp eyes remained as keen as ever. At present, the only ones capable of supporting Sunagakure were the young ninjas, Rasa and Pakura. However, while Pakura had powerful abilities, his political awareness was lacking.

Meanwhile, in Konoha, despite the internal peace, the situation at the borders was escalating. Previously, there were escort missions traveling through the Fire, Grass, and Stone countries, but now, all such missions had been suspended.

At the same time, Konoha had begun stockpiling strategic materials such as kunai, shuriken, and explosive tags. This led to a 20% increase in the price of weapons in the village's ninja tool stores.

This price hike hit the lower and mid-ranked ninjas the hardest. Since their primary combat abilities were based on tools like shuriken and kunai, the price increase meant they could afford fewer weapons. If they went into battle with inadequate supplies, it was highly likely that they would be killed in critical moments due to running out of shuriken.

Even Hyuga Mirai, a special figure in Konoha Hospital, received a compulsory mission. He was required to submit ten healing tags every day, with the deadline for submission being every two days for B-rank wartime tasks.

Hyuga Mirai, who held a position almost equal to that of a deputy director at the hospital but had no real administrative duties, found himself burdened with such a task. This was a clear indication of the severity of the situation and the weight of the Third Hokage's decisions.

Thus, Mirai reluctantly used his shadow clones to complete the task, using this excuse to avoid training with Kiyo Hyuga and Kurenai Yuhi.

Meanwhile, at Konoha Hospital's laboratory, Mirai focused intensely on the genetic fusion process displayed in the instruments. The fusion rate had already reached 87%, meeting the standard for creating an injection, but Mirai still wanted to wait until it reached 100% before proceeding with the injection.

One of his shadow clones scratched its head. "The current results seem optimal. It appears that Senju Hashirama's genes are still too potent. If you could use some of Tsunade's genes instead, maybe we could find a weaker balance and guarantee a 100% success rate."

Mirai shot a glance at the clone. "It's useless to talk about that now. With the absence of the subject, there's no point. Redo the calculations. If it still doesn't work, we'll follow Orochimaru's method and simply discard part of the genes."

With time pressing, Mirai's main body had come to assist in the lab. Normally, he could afford to experiment slowly, but now, with the threat of being dispatched to the borders at any moment, there was no time to waste.

After several rounds of recalculating, the fusion rate finally reached 96%.

The clone remarked, "With the chakra accumulated in the Yang Seal, we should be able to increase it by 1% or 2%, but that's the limit."

The Yang Seal was a technique Mirai had developed based on Tsunade's Yin Seal. While the Yin Seal focused on passive abilities, the Yang Seal sealed Yang Release chakra into Mirai's body, allowing him to gradually nourish his cells and enhance his physical condition.

"At this point, there's nothing more we can do. If we remove some of the Hashirama Cells' characteristics, it will feel incomplete, like one of Orochimaru's test subjects," Mirai said, shaking his head. He then took the injection from the shadow clone and administered it to his chest.

The treatment required one injection every three days, with five injections needed over twelve days to fully transform his genetic sequence.

After the first three injections, Mirai lost his Byakugan, but by the time the final two injections were complete, he would possess a perfect Byakugan.

"Finally, I can rid myself of this ugly mark," Mirai muttered to himself, looking at the reflection in the mirror, his lips curling into a small smile.

(End of Chapter)