As dozens of syringes were thrust into necks almost simultaneously, the once quiet training ground transformed into a living hell.
"Arghhh!!"
The first to let out agonizing screams were the Four Sound Ninja.
Their faces were contorted, veins bulging across their bodies, and their skin turned a deep crimson from the rush of blood.
But they were, after all, talents with Cursed Seal adaptability.
After enduring several minutes of hellish torture, the aura surrounding them began to surge wildly, and their eyes became as sharp as those of wild beasts.
They successfully unlocked the First Stage Gene Lock, overcoming the threshold of evolution.
On the other side, Suigetsu's body instantly collapsed, turning into a puddle of water that boiled frantically on the ground as he repeatedly cried out.
"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"
However, a few minutes later, he reformed his body, having survived the side effects.
Haku and Zabuza merely let out a muffled groan, using their formidable willpower to endure the agonizing pain of gene restructuring, remaining upright from beginning to end.
Next was Karin.
She looked at the vial of eerie red liquid in her hand, her fingers trembling slightly.
"Don't be afraid."
Naruto's voice rang out at the perfect moment.
Since Karin's genes had been added to the serum, her adaptability would theoretically be much higher.
Karin took a deep breath.
To avoid being a burden and to keep up with that person's footsteps, she no longer hesitated and plunged the needle into her arm.
"Ugh."
Karin let out a short, muffled groan, her body arching as if she were enduring immense pain.
But in the next second, a sudden change occurred!
A massive, suffocating torrent of chakra erupted from within Karin, even condensing into a physical storm.
"This amount of chakra—how is this possible?!"
Tsunade, who was monitoring nearby, widened her eyes in shock and instinctively raised her hand to block the wind pressure.
Then, accompanied by a sharp, metallic clattering sound...
Four chains shimmering with brilliant golden light burst from Karin's back without warning, dancing like wild dragons and instantly piercing the hard ground.
"Adamantine Sealing Chains?!"
Tsunade's eyes twitched at the sight.
"Is this... the constitution of the Uzumaki Clan?"
This kind of gene modification, which was a life-or-death gamble for others, seemed as easy as drinking a tonic for this young girl.
Karin panted heavily, slowly opening her eyes.
She looked at the dancing golden chains behind her and felt the surging power within her body, her eyes filled with surprise and awe.
"Is this... my power?"
"Very good."
Naruto looked at the golden chains and showed a satisfied smile.
"It seems your potential is even greater than I imagined."
Karin nodded excitedly, her gaze toward Naruto becoming even more worshipful.
However, not everyone possessed such a blessed bloodline.
The ordinary 'elites' who had been selected were not so lucky.
"Help... help me..."
A member of the Sound Ninja remnants wailed, his skin turning red like a cooked shrimp before starting to ulcerate over large areas.
"My heart... ah!"
Another Hidden Mist rogue ninja let out a desperate scream as his fragile blood vessels, unable to withstand the terrifying pressure from his heart, burst directly.
In just a few seconds, over a dozen subjects collapsed to the ground, their cries of agony filling the air.
"This is bad! The effects are too violent! Their gene chains are collapsing!"
Tsunade, casting aside her earlier shock, shouted with a pale face.
"Naruto! You must stop this! Otherwise, they will all die!"
Naruto's brow furrowed slightly.
In the few previous experiments, the subjects had mostly survived; even Shizune, with her average constitution, had managed to endure an incomplete gene serum in earlier tests.
This had given him a severe case of survivor bias.
He thought that by making slight adjustments and dilutions based on Shizune's version, it would be at a level ordinary people could handle.
But he had overlooked that Shizune was, after all, an elite ninja who had followed Tsunade for many years; her base stats far exceeded those of these chunin.
Furthermore, she had only survived thanks to Tsunade's one-on-one treatment.
"It seems... I still overestimated the limits of ordinary people."
"I cannot waste resources."
Naruto instantly vanished from his seat.
"Tsunade, Kabuto, start saving them!"
Before his voice had even faded, Naruto had appeared beside a dying ninja, pressing a hand against his chest.
He forcibly locked the other's rampaging chakra and suppressed the violent medicinal power.
Tsunade and Kabuto also reacted quickly, and the glow of medical ninjutsu lit up the field.
After ten minutes of emergency rescue...
Although three ninjas with the weakest constitutions died on the spot, the rest managed to keep their lives, and two even found a blessing in disguise, barely managing to open the Gene Lock.
They lay limp on the ground, gasping for air.
At this moment, the survivors felt no resentment; instead, they cast looks of profound gratitude toward Naruto for saving their lives.
In their eyes, failing the test was simply because they were trash.
And Lord Naruto, who was willing to step in to save such trash, was the embodiment of pure mercy.
"It seems this serum is still lethal poison for mortals without special bloodlines."
Naruto wiped his hands and looked at the failures on the ground. He wasn't disappointed, but instead calmly addressed Orochimaru.
"Change of plans."
"Use the cells of those three White Zetsu as a blueprint to develop a diluted First Stage serum."
"Utilize White Zetsu's powerful life force as a buffer to lower the threshold."
"If necessary, the injections can even be divided into three phases."
Naruto pushed up his glasses, his gaze cold.
"What I want is an army, not a pile of corpses."
"As you command."
A glint of excitement flashed in Orochimaru's eyes.
Having handled the interlude, Naruto turned his gaze toward the last person.
Jugo.
"Um... do I have to take it too?"
Jugo looked at the tragic scene on the ground, his body trembling violently with fear.
He wasn't afraid of dying, but rather that the monster inside him would lose control and harm the people around him again.
"It's fine,"
Naruto said indifferently.
"There are enough people here to stop you."
He signaled Kimimaro to proceed.
Kimimaro nodded, feeling a slight pang of pity, but he still injected the serum into Jugo's body.
As expected, an accident occurred.
The moment the serum entered Jugo's body, it caused a violent chemical reaction with his natural Sage Body.
It was like throwing a massive amount of gunpowder into a volcano on the verge of eruption.
"Ugh—Arghhh!!!"
Jugo suddenly clutched his head and let out a non-human roar.
Boom!!
A terrifying shockwave of chakra exploded outward with him at the center, instantly flipping the surrounding tables and chairs.
Jugo's eyes turned blood-red, his muscles expanded wildly, and black Cursed Seal patterns began to spread across his entire body, transforming him into a hideous, half-man, half-beast monster.
Killing intent instantly overwhelmed his reason.
"Kill... I'll kill you all!"
Jugo roared, smashing a fist into the ground.
The entire training ground shook as debris flew everywhere.
"Has he gone berserk?"
Naruto returned to his seat, his expression unchanged.
"My, my, what a terrifying fellow."
Suigetsu Hozuki, who had just gained power and felt like he was back in top form, drew the blade from his back and looked at the rampaging monster.
Instead of being afraid, he showed an expression of eager anticipation.
"Perfect, I was just feeling like I had nowhere to use this power. My body is full of energy!"
"Hmph, as a sandbag to test new power, this guy feels like he can take a beating."
Zabuza also took off his suit jacket, revealing his lean, powerful muscles.
He lifted his Kubikiribocho, his eyes flashing with a battle-hungry light.
The Four Sound Ninja also activated their Cursed Seal states and surrounded him.
These thugs, who had just survived the lethal selection and gained the power of the First Stage Gene Lock, now needed an outlet to verify their strength.
Naruto watched this scene, his lips curling slightly, and did nothing to stop them.
"Go ahead and play with him."
"Just don't kill him; do as you please."