Listening to Moody's arrogant laughter, the woman draped over him rolled her eyes. "Alright, isn't our current life good enough? Without that life-stealing 'Main God' breathing down our necks, we can just eat, drink, and live our days. It's paradise!"
"Paradise? We're living like rats! We don't even dare to bask in the sun..." Skoll grumbled, clearly dissatisfied. "Running with the Main God was dangerous, but the potential was limitless. Becoming a Great Golden Immortal wasn't out of reach. But now? We're stuck in this tiny world! We might even die of old age!"
"Old age? How? We're Vampires! As long as there's blood, we're immortal!" the woman said dismissively.
Moody shared her sentiment. To him, laying low in the Naruto world was far better than dying for the Main God. In a thousand years, they could be the strongest beings here, doing whatever they pleased.
"Enough. Our peak combat power might have dropped a bit, but didn't we join the Main God Space for eternal life anyway? We've achieved that. Not many in this world can challenge us. Once we get through this early period, I'll eat whatever meat I want!"
"Hahaha! I don't eat beef!"
Moody and the woman, Mills, burst into laughter, already picturing their glorious future. Seeing this, Skoll sighed and grabbed a captive from the floor. He sank his fangs into their neck, greedily guzzling blood.
In the shadows, Minato and Ren watched the trio's every move. From their brief dialogue, Minato was certain: these three were from another world. Though their origins were mysterious, the fact that they only preyed on ordinary civilians suggested their actual strength wasn't world-breaking.
Minato weighed a kunai in his hand, ready to strike. But when he looked at Ren, he saw his friend's face glowing with pure excitement.
Vampires? A Main God? An organization that traverses the multiverse? Ren's mind was racing. But it sounds like they're deserters who were abandoned by this 'Main God'.
Ren didn't feel like overthinking it. With the Sharingan, he could just "ask" them directly. His eyes shifted into the blood-red wheel.
The next second, Ren vanished from Minato's side and reappeared directly in front of the three vampires.
"Who's there?!"
The trio jumped in alarm, scanning the intruder. Ren didn't waste words. He moved like a blur, instantly severing their limbs. Before they could even register the pain, he wove a series of hand signs. Black sealing formulas crawled over their bodies, stripping them of all motor control!
Ren hauled them together like bags of trash and waved to the shadows. "All clear! Come on down!"
Minato landed nearby, a trace of helplessness in his eyes. He had been planning to show off his Flying Raijin, but Ren had speed-run the encounter in the blink of an eye.
"What do you plan to do with them?" Minato asked, ignoring the three sensory-deprived figures on the ground.
Ren rubbed his hands together. "Take them back for research, obviously! Didn't you hear them? They're immortal! If I can isolate their genetic serum, we could become immortal too!"
"But... they seem to survive by drinking human blood. I have no intention of turning into a monster like that."
"Relax! I wouldn't accept those drawbacks either," Ren grinned. "That's why I need to study them! I'll find a way to fix the bugs. We'll have eternal life while still enjoying rice and noodles. It's a win-win!"
Ren tied the three vampires together like livestock. He realized he hadn't brought any storage scrolls since Minato had dragged him out so suddenly. "Right, living things can't go in basic scrolls anyway..."
He patted Minato's shoulder. "I'm heading back to the lab. You handle the rescues." With a hand on his "test subjects," he vanished instantly.
Minato scratched his head. He had brought Ren along for an adventure, but it turned into a five-second blitz. "Next time I'll just ask Kushina... wait, she can't leave the village easily."
He felt annoyed.
Ren arrived directly at his lab. The trio was bleeding profusely; he didn't want to mess up his courtyard.
Poof! Poof! Poof!
He summoned a dozen Shadow Clones and released the sensory seals on the vampires. Under their terrified gazes, Ren pulled on white surgical gloves and picked up a razor-sharp chakra scalpel.
As for the interrogation? He'd ask the questions while dissecting them. It wouldn't delay the work!
"NO! STOP! PLEASE—!!"
A few days later.
"Ren still hasn't come out?" Tsunade asked, sipping sake in the courtyard.
"Not yet," Hikari replied, leaning back. "He went out with Minato once, and he's been buried in the lab ever since. Honestly, washing all his lab coats is a full-time job~" She complained, but there was a hint of pride in her voice.
"Sigh..." Tsunade rose to leave.
Since she had reported Nawaki's new abilities to the Third Hokage, the news had been completely blacked out. The Third had even assigned Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake, to drop all other missions and become Nawaki's personal shadow guard.
Worse, Elder Danzo had proposed using Nawaki's cells for research to "unlock the secrets of Wood Style." Wood Style research wasn't new; ever since the Second Hokage, Tobirama, Konoha had never stopped trying to replicate it. Even though Hashirama had forbidden it, Tobirama had conducted secret studies.
Back then, they used Hashirama's cells, but the failure rate was 100%. Every subject was consumed by the cells, turning into a white, wooden mass. Tobirama eventually sealed the data and warned future generations to stop. Of course, he hadn't tried using Uchiha subjects—otherwise, he would have found that the Sharingan can neutralize the cell's volatility. (It only takes about a dozen 3-tomoe eyes to stabilize a full arm!)
When Tsunade heard Danzo wanted Nawaki's cells, she was furious. She rejected him flatly, stating that if research was to be done, she would do it herself in her own lab.
She had come to find Ren today to ask him to help her pressure the Third Hokage into permanently blocking Danzo's "Wood Style Lab" reboot. Or, at the very least, ensuring the lab remained under her control.
After all, she wouldn't use live subjects for experiments. At least... not yet?