Some of them were taken to the Research Area—a remote zone heavily guarded by protective seals and Uzumaki forces.
The buildings there were made of pale gray stone, standing solidly without windows, like living tombs hiding secrets behind their walls.
This is where the captured ninjas had their status changed: from fighters to research subjects.
They were not physically tortured—not directly—but were released into cramped spaces to test various experimental fuinjutsu variants.
Each room was filled with intricate lines of living, glowing chakra ink, like little eyes watching every movement.
Reiji showed not a shred of compassion.
Where Reiji merely glanced briefly, he ordered the Uzumaki Clan members to begin taking notes calmly.
At one point, a ninja attempted to escape when the experimental seal suddenly weakened.
The person's body was immediately struck by a piercing pain, as if shocked from within, while their heart felt like it was being tightly squeezed—causing the man to fall, unconscious and powerless.
However, the experiments continued as usual, as if nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, the others were directed by Reiji to a much simpler place—but far from easy: Keito's residence.
There, the ninjas were ordered to carry heavy sacks filled with various items, distributing them to every corner of the village.
This work was extremely degrading. But it was not just about distributing goods.
It was a true humiliation.
The sharp aroma of the pile of goods mixed with dust pierced the nose, each sack lifted pressed down on the shoulders until they felt almost broken. Sweat flowed, eyes involuntarily watered, and the stinging sensation in the mucous membranes bore silent witness to their shame.
From a distance, the villagers watched with mixed expressions—between disgust and fear—as if the ninjas were a problem to be kept away.
On the other side of the district, behind a building that was an explosive paper factory, stood the Pharmaceutical Area.
This place looked more like a temple of exile, with the bitter scent of medicines floating in the air and the sound of bubbling liquids from glass vessels continuously boiling.
Its walls were lined with glass shelves filled with small bottles labeled with strange names: blood from venomous snakes, liquid from swamp animal bone marrow, black rose petals, and various other odd substances.
Here, the ninjas were used as subjects for drug experiments—antidotes, chakra-enhancing serums, and mixtures from chakra-purifying poisons.
Not all tests were conducted through injections.
Some were done through experimental fuinjutsu that targeted the chakra system directly.
The bodies of the ninjas often convulsed uncontrollably, or they suddenly screamed silently because their vocal cords were silenced by seals.
But no one died—not yet.
Because for Uzushio, dead subjects were a wasted resource.
Out of thirty-one ninjas, only one was not handed over to the researchers or farmers: Yukina Yuki.
One of the three leaders of the assault team.
The woman always appeared cold, looking very calm, and extremely dangerous.
Yukina was a puzzle that could not be ignored.
Reiji, with the sharp eyes of an eagle watching its prey from above, quickly realized that there was something different about this woman.
The reason was not merely because Yukina had once annoyed Reiji with her arrogant demeanor and challenging gaze on the day the assault team failed.
Nor was it because Yukina seemed unafraid of death, like a rock facing the waves.
But because every time Yukina used Ice Jutsu, her jet-black hair would turn white—white as snow that had not been tread upon by anyone's footsteps.
Where this strange phenomenon had never been found by Reiji in any archives about the Yuki Clan from Kirigakure.
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