Chapter 465: The Most Promising Profession
"Five hundred Ryo?"
"Five hundred Ryo!"
The two phrases of 'five hundred Ryo' marked the successful completion of a transaction between the mermaid girl and the fish market owner.
Masahiko, who was closing in, knit his brows slightly. Every single specimen Isaribi was selling belonged to the deep-sea category—highly precious fish species that ordinary fishermen could virtually never harvest. To think she was letting them go for a measly five hundred Ryo...
"Hold it right there! I bid ten thousand Ryo!"
"This grand uncle bids twenty thousand Ryo!"
"The Great Ancestor bids one hundred thousand Ryo!"
"DUANG! Sold!"
Masahiko successfully conducted a flawless, solo auction entirely by himself. Stepping forward, he snatched the fish basin from the completely dumbfounded Isaribi's hands, stuffed a one-hundred-thousand-Ryo banknote into her grip, and strode away.
Isaribi: ???
The fish market owner: "...Whose absolute spendthrift of a child is that?!"
Having left Isaribi with a profoundly vivid impression, Masahiko systematically initiated his 'stalk the young girl' operation.
There were certain details he needed to confirm with his own eyes.
Clutching the gargantuan wealth of one hundred thousand Ryo to her chest, the young girl Isaribi treaded with absolute caution through the streets. Occasionally, she would cross paths with a few unruly brats who would hurl rotten eggs or sharp stones directly at her.
From the tightly wrapped bandages running across her forehead, her arms, and even her cheeks, it was glaringly evident that she had sustained countless physical beatings over these past years.
Following the horrific modifications inflicted by the underwater research base, Isaribi actually commanded a baseline capability close to a Chunin even without actively transforming, yet she manifested zero intention of fighting back.
"As expected, she truly is a kind-hearted child. This makes things significantly easier to manage," Masahiko muttered under his breath.
Rescuing individuals couldn't be done blindly. If this girl had already completely abandoned her identity as a human being, it would turn exceptionally troublesome. Masahiko didn't possess a 'spiritual mentor' class kit, and he would likely have to drag Naruto over to unleash a wave of Talk No Jutsu...
Tracking Isaribi all the way up onto Mother Island, he even witnessed her transform into a mermaid to swim a brief leg of the journey. While she wasn't mind-blowingly gorgeous, she could certainly be considered a cute little mermaid—incomparably more pleasing to the eye than those two hideous monstrosities from earlier...
Isaribi's residence sat right along the coastline—a stark, dilapidated little shack with walls heavily defaced by malicious graffiti, presumably the handiwork of local brats.
Isaribi appeared entirely accustomed to this treatment, stepping naturally inside her home.
Masahiko fell into a brief moment of contemplation outside her shack. Weighing the fish basin in his hands, a broad grin crept onto his face as his hand systematically wove a seal: "Wood Style: Barbecue Grill Jutsu!"
"Time to roast some fish!"
Pairing rare, deep-sea delicacies with Masahiko's Level 9 Culinary Arts naturally yielded an extraordinary result. Within a mere two minutes, the rich, savory aroma of roasting fish wafted through the air, smoothly baiting Isaribi right out of her home.
Catching sight of Masahiko, she froze for a moment before instantly raising her guard.
"Little girl, don't just stand there staring! Come over and have some roasted fish together! It's insanely delicious!"
A faint smile cracked across Isaribi's face. Hearing a literal child address her as 'little girl' with such a deadpan, serious countenance looked rather adorable, but she didn't cast aside her vigilance: "I don't eat fish. The money... I can return to you."
A smirk curled up Masahiko's lips: "A certain wise philosopher once said, big fish eat little fish, and little fish eat shrimp. As a big fish yourself, refusing to eat little fish is fundamentally incorrect."
Isaribi paused, her face immediately washing over with an expression of deep agony: "You... truly saw it, didn't you, little brother?"
Masahiko: "..."
Forget trying to act profoundly deep. If I keep putting on this persona, I'm going to lose my generational hierarchy entirely.
"Do you know of Masahiko Uzumaki?"
Isaribi shook her head.
"Do you know of the Grandelder of the Uzumaki clan, the glorious founding leader of the grand Land of Whirlpools?"
Isaribi shook her head.
Masahiko pursed his lips: "Do you know of Orochimaru?"
Isaribi's face warped with absolute terror, her head nodding in frantic succession as she spun around, preparing to bolt.
"The Grandelder of the Uzumaki clan, Masahiko Uzumaki, is a legendary figure who is a million times more powerful than Orochimaru. That's right, that's exactly who I am! Get over here and eat some fish!"
Isaribi: "..."
The massive structural disadvantage of a shrunken physical body had finally manifested. No matter how meticulously Masahiko tried to explain, Isaribi didn't believe a single word.
Ultimately forced to blast a high-powered projectile straight into the sea—instantly blowing a massive school of dead fish to the surface—Isaribi barely accepted that the 'little brother' standing in front of her was an exceptionally powerful ninja. However, she stubbornly refused to believe that Masahiko was more formidable than Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru launched an assault against Konoha, and his active status remains completely unknown between life and death," Masahiko spoke impassively. "As for the underwater facility that modified you into a mermaid, I have personally obliterated it."
The moment those two revelations dropped, Isaribi's emotions instantly grew highly volatile: "Obliterated?! Then... what about me..."
"Did you truly believe that by blindly following their instructions, you would actually grant yourself an opportunity to restore your original human form?"
Isaribi's body gave a distinct pause. Nibbling a tiny fraction of the roasted fish in her hand, she chewed slowly as massive tears began to cascade down from her dark eyes.
Masahiko couldn't help but feel a wave of profound sentiment in his heart—The fish I roast is simply too delicious, so exquisite it literally moves people to tears!
"You wish to change back into a human being? No, it shouldn't rightfully be called changing back. You are fundamentally still a human being right now, merely a slightly exceptional variant of human."
Isaribi fell into a brief silence: "...I do."
Masahiko raised his eyebrows: "I have a method!"
Splat! The insanely delicious roasted fish was tossed straight onto the dirt by Isaribi: "Is that true?!"
The corner of Masahiko's mouth twitched: "It's true! Any high-tier Medical Ninja could smoothly cure you of this specific 'ailment', though it will require a bit of time. Accompany the Great Ancestor back to Konoha to receive treatment!"
Isaribi paused for a second: "Even if your familial hierarchy is massive, a child shouldn't take it upon themselves to address themselves as the Great Ancestor, it sounds highly ridiculous... Moving to Konoha... can it truly be cured?"
Masahiko's face turned completely black, only to hear Isaribi speak up once more: "Little brother, you absolutely cannot lie to Big Sister, okay? I will go with you to Konoha!"
Masahiko's face grew even darker, but it transitioned back to clear skies a fraction of a second later. A line of characters rolled across his vision:
*Witnessed and significantly altered the Naruto world side plot: Isaribi, obtained 2 (5) = 10 Witness Points.
Appraising Isaribi once more, No wonder I always felt she looked vaguely familiar, she turns out to be a character from the original story animation... Consequentially, the one who was originally supposed to rescue her was that brat Naruto?
"Would you mind transforming into a mermaid to let me observe? The Great Ancestor will personally diagnose and treat you." Having harvested active Witness Points, Masahiko was in an exceptionally grand mood.
Isaribi manifested a trace of hesitation. After a long pause, she let out a soft sigh and stood up. Her hands and feet rapidly morphed into vibrant green swimming webs, her smooth purple hair steadily shifted into a deep green, and a fish fin smoothly broke through the top of her head.
Masahiko extended his hand to clamp down on one of her swimming webs, his thumb lightly stroking the texture for several moments as his brow knit slightly.
The marine genetic traits had completely fused into Isaribi's baseline biology. This black technology was truly... However, Medical Ninjutsu was an equally potent black technology. Treating her wouldn't be particularly troublesome, taking a mere two to three days to fully resolve. If he delegated the treatment duties to Rin, it would take half a month at most.
However, this erratic addition and deletion of raw genetic code would likely place a severe toll on her natural lifespan. Masahiko roughly estimated that Isaribi would be fortunate to live past forty...
"Little brother, can it be cured?" Catching Masahiko's expression, Isaribi manifested a wave of deep nervousness.
Masahiko pursed his lips, suddenly letting out a sneaky chuckle: "It can be cured, Big Sister."
Integrity and authority can be thrown out the window anyway...
"The Witness Points harvested from your body shall be systematically reinvested right back into you." Masahiko let out a soft sigh in his mind. "I happen to be quite curious about this specific skill too."
Genetic Modification and Splicing: Level 6 (400,000/600,000)
With ten Witness Points invested, a massive influx of genetic data and advanced scientific principles seamlessly flooded Masahiko's brain. After digesting the information for several moments, his expression turned spectacular.
"To think..."
Grit-teethed, another 60 Witness Points were systematically dumped into the skill, maxing Genetic Modification and Splicing straight to Level 8.
Streams upon streams of advanced scientific data ran rampant through Masahiko's consciousness, but his main focus locked firmly onto one specific chemical formula: The human body possesses a baseline of 268 distinct aging-inducing genes. Eradicating every single one of them would extend the natural biological lifespan by a full 60%...
Holy crap... Turns out scientists are actually the single most promising profession after all?!
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