The two of them crouched in the corner, acting like common thieves. Before long, a pushcart appeared before them.
The cart wasn't large—about a meter wide—and contained several corpses lying haphazardly inside. Men and women alike, all killed in the same manner as those in the mass grave: drained completely of their blood.
Pushing the cart was a woman. Unlike the shriveled husks she carried, she had a full figure, and her eyes were filled with disgust as she looked at the bodies.
Thud!
One by one, the mummies rolled off the cart, landing near Ren. He looked closely; the bodies were cold, having clearly been dead for some time.
"Dammit! Making me dump bodies all day, and for what? Barely any pay. I'm exhausted!" The woman rubbed her shoulders, her tone dripping with annoyance.
After a few more grumbles, she pulled the empty cart away. Ren and Minato quickly shadowed her, following her into a concealed mountain cave.
No one would have guessed that the interior of this hundred-meter-tall mountain had been hollowed out long ago. As Ren and Minato entered the structure, the overwhelming stench of blood made them wince.
Looking up, they saw the walls were stained crimson. Every so often, blood would seep from the rock face and drip onto the ground, pooling into stagnant red puddles.
Ren, who hadn't paid much attention before, now furrowed his brow in genuine distaste.
"So gross," Ren said, sounding offended. "I always clean my lab after an experiment. This place is a pigsty. You can't perform any precision experiments in an environment like this."
Minato gave an embarrassed laugh. He really hadn't expected Ren's focus to be on laboratory hygiene, but following Ren's lead, his own gaze toward the surroundings turned peculiar. Indeed, the environment was stomach-churning; no sane person would want to stay here.
The two continued deeper until they reached a junction featuring both a staircase and an elevator. The woman stepped into the elevator and ascended. Obviously, they couldn't follow her into the same car.
Just as Minato cautiously moved toward the stairs, Ren reached out and pressed the elevator call button.
"Ren! What are you doing?!" Minato hissed loudly. Well, he didn't dare make a sound, but his expression was definitely a "loud" shout.
Ren held up his hands to calm him down, looking perfectly relaxed. "Don't worry. I saw the indicator stop on the sixth floor. We'll just head up once it's clear."
"Is the floor number the issue here?" Minato whispered frantically. "We're supposed to be infiltrating! Taking the elevator so boldly is way too dangerous!"
"No, no, no! You've got it all wrong!" Ren argued. "Why do you assume the stairs are safer? What if the staircase is a trap? The moment we step on it, sensors go off and we're surrounded. Look, that woman didn't take the stairs. That proves the stairs are dangerous!"
Minato was momentarily stunned by the "logic." He found himself convinced. The two stood at the elevator doors, waiting for the car to return. At that moment, Minato's heart was heavy with conflict; he felt like his actions were completely un-ninja-like.
Ding~
With a light chime, the doors slid open. Without hesitation, they stepped inside. Ren pressed '6', and the elevator rose rapidly.
Ding~ Clack—
The doors opened, revealing the interior of the mountain. Ren stepped out to find a chamber filled with massive, working machinery. The mechanical roar echoed through the hollowed cavern.
"This is..." Minato stared, mouth agape. In his sixteen years of life, he had never seen a scene so "cyberpunk."
In the center of the mountain was a massive cylindrical machine wrapped in chains, which rotated the entire structure. A thick, mud-like black substance oozed from the cylinder. Just looking at it made one's skin crawl.
Ren scanned the area. Seeing no other living souls, he picked a direction and started walking. Minato hurried after him, staring at the rotating pillar. "That stuff leaking out... it looks like thickened, clotted blood."
"Mhm. They're likely using some method to separate the useful components from the blood. That sludge is just the filtered waste," Ren noted. "Man, I wish I had the Byakugan right now."
In a complex, low-visibility cave like this, the Byakugan would have let him pinpoint the mastermind instantly instead of wandering around like a headless fly.
Minato gave a dry laugh, pretending he hadn't heard the "Byakugan" comment. If a Hyuga clan member ended up with a bump on the back of their head in the future, he'd know nothing about it.
Creeeak—!
Ren pushed open an iron door to reveal a group of people with vacant, soulless eyes.
"Six people in total. Looks like they're under a genjutsu," Ren said, his Sharingan sweeping over them.
"Should we release them?"
"Of course not!" Ren shook his head. "They'll just slow us down. Better to take down the mastermind first, then come back for the rescue."
After a moment's hesitation, Minato nodded in agreement.
Just as they were about to move, the doorknob began to turn. Reacting instantly, the two used the Transformation Jutsu to blend into the shadows of the room.
Click—
The door opened, and a man with protruding fangs walked in. His gaze swept over the genjutsu-stricken captives. He grabbed two of them by the collars and dragged them out.
The moment the door closed, Ren and Minato used the Body Flicker Technique to shadow him, curious to see where these "materials" were being taken.
They followed the brute through a maze of corridors until they reached a hidden chamber. Compared to the rest of the facility, this room looked almost normal—at least the stench was gone.
Inside, they saw the woman from earlier. She was leaning against a muscular man; both were breathing slightly heavily, making it clear they weren't just "cuddling."
The muscular man looked at the captives on the floor with disdain. "Skoll, didn't I tell you to treat food with respect? You've gone and gotten them dirty again!"
The brute, Skoll, rolled his eyes. "Moody, we're already living like rats in this hole. Drop the 'elegant' act!"
Tossing the captives aside, Skoll continued, "We're so timid even catching ordinary people. At this rate, when will we ever refine enough Blood Pills to rule the world?!"
"Don't be in such a rush. Our lifespans are infinite; time means nothing to us," Moody said with a faint smile. "Besides, the 'plot' of this world is only at the Second Ninja War. We're forty or fifty years away from the real 'god-tier' fights. We just need to lay low and refine a few more Blood Pills. When the time comes, even if Shibai Otsutsuki wakes up, he'll be kneeling at my feet!"