Chapter 99: Justice for Hinata

Through Genjutsu, Shin understood that the detained captives were not criminals but ninjas from minor villages and clans. Most of them possessed secret jutsu or bloodline limits, which had caught Kumo's attention and led to their abduction.

Except for those with notable abilities or bloodline limits who were captured, all other ninjas from these small nations were silenced.

Just by observing the prisoners and experimental subjects in this underground base, one could imagine the horrors committed by the Hidden Cloud Village.

In the original story, it was briefly mentioned that Hidden Cloud Village had a penchant for seizing bloodline limits and secret jutsus from minor villages and clans. However, witnessing it firsthand was disturbing beyond words.

Seething with anger, Shin unleashed the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit, drawing in all the prisoners and even the Kumo guards into its void.

After a while, he released the prisoners. Their physical wounds had healed; even those with brain injuries had mostly recovered, thanks to the transformative powers of the Munch-Munch Fruit, though psychological scars likely remained.

For those with permanent disabilities caused by the experiments, Shin used the limbs of the Kumo guards to restore their bodies to full health.

As for the Kumo guards, they were reduced to shriveled corpses. This time, Shin showed no mercy.

Sarah's face turned slightly pale, her lips pursed tightly. She had done plenty of missions with Shin and was no longer the naive girl who had never seen combat. But the scenes of tortured captives she witnessed today were entirely different from the aftermath of any battlefield.

The excessive human cruelty in the experiments filled Sarah with disgust.

Hinata, a rare bearer of the Byakugan, was held in a cell at the bottom of the underground base.

Shin descended further, rescuing almost every experimental subject in the base and healing their injuries as he went.

Rather than escaping, those whom Shin had healed followed behind him, knowing that escape from Kumo was futile on their own. Instead, they pinned their hopes on Shin, the intruder and their savior.

When he reached the bottom floor, dozens of freed prisoners trailed behind him.

In a dark cell, a small figure was curled up, trembling at the sound of approaching footsteps.

Shin approached the cell, frowning as he opened the door and stepped inside.

"W-Who...?" whimpered the small figure, hugging herself tightly. Shin noticed many pinpricks marking her arm.

"Hinata?" he asked softly. The little girl lifted her head, her face lighting up with a mix of fear and hope.

Since arriving here, Hinata hadn't heard her name. The Kumo ninjas referred to her only as "the Byakugan subject," stripping her of any identity.

Seeing her face, Shin felt a surge of fury. Her delicate features were marred by dark, empty eye sockets—her Byakugan had been taken.

Faint streaks of blood-stained tears lined her cheeks.

Sarah covered her mouth, struggling not to cry out. Even with all the cruelty she had witnessed, nothing compared to seeing a young child so brutally treated.

"Who...who are you?" Hinata asked, her voice trembling with both excitement and fear.

"It's alright. We're here to save you." Shin gently stroked her head, though a cold, murderous intent flickered in his eyes.

This is what it means to be a ninja, to live in a ninja village, he thought bitterly. The manga might show Kumo's unity and the Raikage's strength, but they don't reveal the atrocities committed in their name.

Hinata's story highlighted Konoha's vulnerability. The attempted abduction of Uzumaki Kushina had seemed romantic, a story of Minato's devotion. But if Kumo had succeeded in taking Hinata or Kushina, the reality would be far bleaker.

The sight of this three-year-old's suffering was the real answer to the horrors hidden within these acts.

Reflecting further, even Konoha itself was not immune to Kumo's harassment. The impact on small villages and families was even more severe, as any unique trait caught Kumo's eye with deadly consequences.

"These bastards... they even harm children!" Sarah, who had regained her composure, gritted her teeth in rare anger.

'This kind of organized cruelty truly chills the soul,' Shin thought. 'In the name of Konoha or Kumo, how many erased their conscience, becoming merciless executioners?'

Shin recalled Orochimaru's experimental notes, noting with irony that the most savage period of Orochimaru's research wasn't after he defected but when he worked within Konoha.

At that time, experiments were done in Konoha's name, with countless civilians and newborns used as test subjects. For instance, the Wood Release trials alone claimed the lives of dozens of infants.

After defecting, Orochimaru's research remained cruel, but his subjects became mostly rebels, robbers, or mercenaries. He rarely, if ever, used children.

While part of this change could be due to the difficulty of avoiding Konoha's watchful eye, Orochimaru himself held specific beliefs. He had once told Shin that children, with their potential and flexibility, represented limitless possibilities. To use such potential in experiments was a massive waste.

Though Orochimaru's words lacked warmth, they were still far more humane than the depravity in these ninja villages.

A dark mist enveloped Shin's hand as he placed Hinata into his dark dimension. His face grew colder.

With his dark dimension now merged with the transformation abilities of his Munch-Munch fruit, Shin could scan Hinata's body immediately.

The cerebrospinal fluid and blood had been drawn in excessive amounts, and a part of her liver had been removed.

Hinata likely survived because Kumo planned to use her as a breeding source for the Byakugan.

"Good! This is good! This way, I won't feel remorse for what comes next!"

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