Project R

Two more months had passed since the conquest of Kirigakure, marking the historical milestone of the fall of one of the Five Great Ninja Villages while everyone remained on high alert due to the alliance between Sunagakure, Seimeigakure, and Kumogakure.

Thanks to the conquest of the Land of Water, they now had maritime dominance over at least half of the world map's waters and resources. Although it made their forces more scattered, it would only take a few years to fully absorb the gains. By then, the population of the Land of Water wanting to become ninjas would be redirected to Sunagakure or Kumogakure.

Interestingly, despite spies later discovering how everything unfolded and the significance of Seimeigakure ninjas' level of involvement, there weren't too many traces of them after the battle.

It was as if they were no longer interested in what would happen later.

Sunagakure and Kumogakure prepared a warehouse with all kinds of rare resources for them, but none of the observers could see where the cargo was going to be moved. It was there, and a moment later, it disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Initially, they suspected the use of some kind of spatial fuinjutsu, but there were no marks anywhere on the warehouse. And if there were, they were so skillfully hidden that no one could find them.

So, the location of the village of Seimeigakure remained a mystery that felt like a fishbone stuck in the hearts of the people...

While everyone tried to adapt to the new redistribution of forces, the laboratory on the Sky Island of Seimeigakure was in full swing as all kinds of fluorescent liquids flowed rapidly into two distinct medical pods.

Nemu was checking the numbers on the touch screen, making sure all the lights were green, without unexpected alterations. Sometimes, she raised some parameters, and in others, she lowered them.

When she heard the sound of the door opening, she turned her head to see Tsunade entering the laboratory with a medical gown while holding a tray with various flasks containing unknown substances.

"I brought everything you asked for. How is he?" she asked while pouring the contents of the flasks into different containers in carefully calculated measures.

"He's almost done recovering," Nemu replied while pulling a lever forcefully backward so that the new liquids began to pass through a centrifugal force.

"Mmm," Tsunade nodded as she approached to observe one of the two pods.

Suspended in the liquid inside was an Enel who had lost a significant amount of weight compared to his usual self.

"Are you going to tell me now how he ended up like this?" Tsunade asked Nemu while trying to keep her gaze above Enel's waist, unsuccessfully joking about the not-so-discreet "efforts" he had with Anko and Pakura for two weeks to achieve their pregnancies. It had been four weeks since Enel had to enter the medical pod to recover, and with the physique she had observed he had, she didn't believe it was possible to be so battered from spending some stamina. These damages were on a deeper level.

"Dad got a little obsessed with researching souls and... the Pure Land," Nemu replied without taking her eyes off the screen. She was controlling so many things at once that she had her Byakugan activated to avoid having to turn her neck constantly. "Due to a small mistake, he suffered a painful reaction and had to use the pod to ensure there were no permanent sequelae."

"Tch, so he's still human," Tsunade clicked her tongue with an impressed tone. Until now, Enel's abilities, powers, and knowledge had surprised her so much that she had started to think he had such good control over everything that he couldn't make mistakes no matter what he did. Seeing that wasn't the case left her somewhat satisfied, as selfish as that might sound. She felt that the distance between them wasn't as large as she thought.

Regarding investigating these things, it's not the first time someone does it; what's the problem?

Nemu frowned but refrained from responding to that statement. As her father's assistant, she was present when the research was carried out, and it's not as if this situation caught them by surprise. Her father suspected that someone would try to interfere with his research, and they were already prepared for several possible scenarios.

Still, she felt disturbed when she saw her father suddenly spit out blood and several veins in his body burst to dye his entire body red. She had to admit that she felt panic until she verified that everything was treatable. As a result of the situation, it seems they would have to activate Project R.

A beep brought her out of her musings when Enel's medical pod started reducing its liquid contents, and with several jets of steam, it opened to let out a slightly disoriented Enel.

"Ugh, I feel my body stiff all over," Enel complained as he cracked his neck and tried to shake off the discomfort. "Oh, I didn't know you were here, Tsunade."

"Put on your pants!" Tsunade deigned to avert her gaze after three seconds of silent contemplation and snorted.

Enel rolled his eyes as he took the clothes next to the pod and dressed without any embarrassment whatsoever. He didn't doubt that the kunoichi had already looked at everything she wanted while he was unconscious.

"How long was I out?" he asked while putting on his bracelets.

"Four weeks," Nemu replied as she deactivated her Byakugan.

"Four weeks... a little more than I estimated, but it's okay," Enel nodded as he returned to his exercises to adjust his body. "Did I miss anything important?"

"Nothing. The new Water Daimyo knows not to bother anyone for a while and is still trying to understand how to deal with the new distribution of forces in his lands. The new Fire Daimyo has already been persuaded by Shizune, like the previous one, although he had to fight during an ambush, and thanks to his Devil Fruit, he suffered no injuries."

"It would be strange if he got hurt, even if it's not a Logia," Enel commented, remembering what Shizune's ability was. "By the way, Tsunade, how's the garden you decided to establish?"

Since Ameyuri brought the tree from Takigakure, Tsunade took the opportunity to set up an experimental garden plot to try to find creative ways to use her own ability. She hoped to create some hybridizations of medicinal herbs that were more challenging to grow, to be able to lower the growth conditions without affecting their effectiveness.

"Not entirely well," Tsunade sighed now that Enel was dressed, well, with pants. "The presence of that Takigakure tree seems to facilitate the combinations, but it also makes them less stable."

"I see," Enel took a piece of paper and wrote a series of lines. "Try this; it should make your job a bit easier."

Tsunade took the paper and raised an eyebrow after reading it.

"Couldn't you have given me this earlier?" she asked a little annoyed.

"And what would you have learned then?" Enel responded with a joking tone.

Tsunade stared at him with an unimpressed expression before turning around and leaving to try the idea on paper. Only when the door closed did Enel turn to look at Nemu.

"It seems indeed that someone doesn't like us poking around in the Pure Land. Were you able to finish Project R in my absence?"

"It still needs one more week to be stable, but apart from that, everything is finished."

"Good," Enel nodded as he looked around and noticed the other pod. "Wait, did you do it by my side while I was recovering?"

"... I couldn't work efficiently while worrying about your health," Nemu slightly averted her gaze downward. "So, I thought it was the most optimal solution."

Enel put on an apologetic expression as he hugged Nemu.

"I'm sorry I worried you," Enel admitted, and Nemu hugged his waist with somewhat stiff movements, remaining like that for a minute before parting. "How are they?"

"Mom Ameyuri is having a great craving for strawberries and other fruits lately," Nemu informed him when she felt more at ease. "Mom Pakura is feeling somewhat sensitive to temperatures and changes the shower temperature constantly, while Mom Anko is bored because she can't investigate poisons, fight, or drink."

"At least everything is manageable," Enel sighed. "Have the three of them been taking the recipes I wrote?"

"Yes, although they're not very happy with the taste."

"You know what they say, good medicine is good because it's bitter."

"No one says that..." Nemu murmured under her breath.

Enel ignored Nemu's comment and carefully observed Project R.

"Well, it seems that indeed someone doesn't like us poking around in the Pure Land. Ryuk is going to have a lot of work if I can't investigate on my own, at least he'll be entertained..."