Revelations

The ragged convoy of students and shinobi had run into a road-block. At the end of the hall was a wall with a pipe built into the bottom, which the river of filth ran through. The only door was to the left and it opened to a staircase going down.

Naturally, no one was pleased with this development. Cell 13 wanted to find their lost teammate of course, but they understood that getting locked down in what was essentially enemy lines was really bad.

"Maybe the other direction had a door going up?" Kakashi thought.

"I can go search," Gai replied. "If there is, we can head that way instead."

"Thank you, Gai-san," Kakashi nodded and the Green Beast sped off faster than anyone except Kakashi or Sasuke could see, and Sasuke only saw a blur.

He was back almost as quickly. "That hallway's caved in too. I don't know if you want to risk an Earth release."

"Why not just use Earth-jutsu?" Naruto asked. "Moving rocks are what they're made for, right?"

"Yeah, but it could also cause a cave in Naruto-b…Naruto," Sakura started hotheaded but calmed down considerably at the end.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru rubbed his eyes. "She's loud but she's right. With how everything's been collapsing around us, we don't want to bury ourselves trying to move a couple boulders."

Naruto blinked and stuffed his hands in his pocket. "Oh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"So we're stuck down here," Ino asked with wide eyes, looking around rapidly as she broke out in a cold sweat. "That's bad. That's really bad."

"We're not stuck down here," Kakashi replied with a tone of finality. "There's more than one entrance into the sewer so we just need to find another one. If it means we need to go downward to go up later, then so be it. We just need to be extra careful."

"Agreed," Gai nodded. "We can set a formation for our teams around the students to guard them from fish-men."

"I can take the lead," Kakashi replied. "I think Hisako and Nichiren can take either side of the group."

"Lee can be with Hisako and Tenten with Nichiren," Gai said. "I'll take the rear with Neji."

"Sounds like a plan," Kakashi nodded. "Alright, you heard him. Students, gather together. Everyone take formation."

"Yosh! It's an excellent plan!" Lee said, taking a spot beside Hisako.

"It'll work," Nichiren took his glasses off and cleaned them off as Tenten stood by him.

The river splashed up and everyone got ready for combat once again, only for it to be one of Gai's turtles. "Gai-san, we've scoured every inch of the septic tank."

"Good, Momiji-san," Gai replied, his brow furrowing in concern. "I see that our Genin isn't with you."

"We were unable to find him," Momiji the turtle replied. "But we did find several clouds of blood and entrails floating down in the water, like they were tagged with explosive notes."

"That's Daisuke," Hisako nodded. "Making things explode is his default Taijutsu technique."

"So he got free," Nichiren breathed. "That's good."

"We can continue to search the sewers at your command, Gai-san," Momiji replied with a yawn.

"Have any turtles been sent back?" Gai asked, brow still furrowed.

"Ayumu was ambushed and sent back," Momiji answered. "We will not fall for their lures again."

"Then continue your search," Gai said with a winning smile. "And show them that your fires of youth still burn bright!"

"Our youth, sure," Momiji simply chuckled and went back into the water, speeding off with another great splash.

Everyone successfully backed away from the wave of sewage before they got splashed again. Then at Kakashi's order, they moved down the stairs and found themselves in a room. Bunk beds lined the walls with a door on the other side.

"What's a barracks doing this far down?" Shikamaru asked with a frown.

"I don't know," Kakashi replied. "Stay alert, everyone."

They slowly moved down the room, carefully eyeing the walls for anything that might jump out at them.

"So…can I ask you something?" Tenten asked Nichiren.

"Sure," He shrugged.

"Do all of your missions turn out like this?" Tenten frowned in deep concern.

"Nah," Nichiren answered. "This is…what, our third mission like this?"

"Yeah," Hisako nodded. "Out of dozens of D-ranks, we've only had a couple missions like this."

"It's still an unusually high number," Nichiren explained further. "…Kakashi-sensei, how many missions go like this for an average team?"

"For an average team, the answer is Zero," Kakashi answered from the front.

"Yeah so this probably won't happen to you guys again," Nichiren nodded with a small smile. "Or to anyone to makes it to Genin, for that matter."

"Yosh!" Lee said. "That you have done so many missions like this proves that you are all worthy Genin, befitting the status of Gai-sensei's rival!"

"Thanks Lee," Hisako smirked.

"Keep quiet for a second," Kakashi said as they approached the door. Kakashi carefully turned the nob and peered through it, jumping forward into the room. After a few tense moments, Kakashi came back. "Coast is clear."

It was a kitchen and dining area, though the tables and chairs were knocked to the ground. The refrigerator was filled with rotten, mossy foodstuffs. However, there was a water fountain built into the wall. Kakashi moved to it, pressed the button and found water springing from it. A few hand seals later, and he turned to the group. "The waters clean. Everyone, drink up. Yamanaka first, everyone else make a line."

Ino, who was starting to get paler as the journey got longer, came up and took several very long sips of water from the fountain, before stepping away and allowing the next in line, Sakura, take a turn. After she was done, Kiba and Akamaru came forward.

"I'll scout ahead," Gai said. "I'll return when I've found a reasonably safe route."

"Stay safe," Kakashi said.

"Yosh! I'll keep my fires of youth burning brightly!" Gai gave everyone a winning grin before disappearing for all but Sasuke, who only looked like a green blur through a door with nary a sound.

"Are you going to be okay, Ino-chan?" Sakura asked her friend.

"I hope so," Ino said, wiping her forehead with her arm-warmer. "…are you going to be okay, Sakura-chan?"

"I don't know," Sakura said, taking a deep breath. "I guess hope is all we can do, right?"

"This isn't really what you thought being a shinobi would be like, huh?" Hisako asked, coming up to the two girls.

"No," Sakura replied with a shake of her head. "No it wasn't…"

"What'd you think it was going to be like, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked with a curious look.

"Well…I thought it was going to be all 'infiltrating daimyo courts' and 'seducing hot Ouji-samas,'" Sakura confessed with a frown. "Not being dragged through the sewers by monsters."

"You get that idea from a book?" Hisako asked with a sad yet amused smile.

"…A couple," Sakura's head fell with a frown.

"I'm sorry," Hisako replied.

"Yeah, it's not like how writers tend to make it out," Tenten added with a pitying glance of her own. "I thought I was just going to be like Tsunade-hime right out of the gate…then I got my first D-rank painting a house."

"Painting a house?" Naruto balked. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope," Nichiren shook his head with a serious look on his face. "The point of being a Genin is to both get training from your jounin sensei and get used to doing missions for cash. Things like filing reports on your mission, getting pay vouchers, cashing those pay-vouchers…it's a crash course of the most mundane parts of being a Shinobi."

"Aw, man!" Kiba groused. "So we don't even get to the good stuff?"

"You're living 'the good stuff' right now," Hisako offered a wry reply. "How's it suit you?"

"Uh…well," Kiba started, before turning away with a grumble.

"Doing D-ranks missions build character," Lee said with enthusiasm. "That's what Gai-sensei said and it's true. Without them to stoke our fires of youth, we would never become the excellent shinobi we could be!"

Neji's eye twitched just slightly. "He's technically right. Without knowing how to work hard and train effectively, you don't obtain your potential, no matter how much or how little that potential might be. And if you don't train, you could get yourself or your teammates killed."

"I don't think I want to be a shinobi anymore," Sakura mumbled to herself.

"Don't think like that," Ino said with a frown. "If you're not around, who am I going to butt heads with?"

"This is serious," Sakura frowned. "I don't want to die and I don't want to cause someone else to die."

"She has a point," Sasuke grumbled from his spot by the wall. "People die and people kill each other all the time in the Shinobi world. If she doesn't think she can handle it, she should leave."

"Oh shut up, Sasuke," Naruto glared at him. "You're always such a broody kill-joy."

"It's a shinobi's fate to die," Neji interjected with folded arms. "Th-"

"Again with the fate talk!" Hisako groaned with her hands in her face.

"Regardless of your opinions on it, it's true," Neji glared at her. "Shinobi fight other shinobi and kill and die at the behest of the Hokage or their Village…or their clan with no thought as to whether it's 'fair' or 'just'…we have no choice in the matter. It's our fate."

"You are such a nihilist," Hisako breathed in irritation.

"The world is a nihilist," Neji retorted, still glaring.

"Can it, everyone," Kakashi finally interjected. "We can save the arguments for after we get to safety."

"Well it doesn't matter if the world's this super dark place or not!" Naruto declared hotly. "One day, I'm going to be Hokage and then I'll change everything!"

Groans and face palms went around the academy students, save for the ever stoic Sasuke, who simply raised an annoyed eyebrow.

"Enough, Uzumaki," Kakashi glared at him.

"Just you wait," Naruto said, pointing directly at the Jounin. "I'll become Hokage then everyone will have to treat me with respect and I can make things better!"

Kakashi started to bark another order, then he sighed. His Sensei's son was turning out to be just like his mother. And he had just disobeyed an order, which meant he was going to need to go the extra mile. "Okay, Hokage. Let me ask you a question."

"Go ahead," Naruto exclaimed loudly, folding his arms.

"You don't like Uchiha over there, right?" Kakashi asked, pointing to Sasuke.

"I…uh…" Naruto started, looking at Sakura who looked like she was about to throttle him. He took a breath and continued. "…I…no. I don't like him at all."

"Well, part of the job description for being Hokage is protecting the village with your life," Kakashi stated. "That means everyone who is a member of the village. Including Uchiha Sasuke."

"Okay, sure," Naruto said, shrugging. "Whatever, you had a point?"

"My point," Kakashi put just enough killing intent behind his words to give them the weight they needed. "Is that every Hokage besides the third has died in defense of this village. So my question is this; would you die to protect him?"

"Would I…" Naruto's eyes went wide, and his defiant look disappeared.

"Would you die to protect Uchiha Sasuke?" Kakashi asked again.

"I…uh…" Naruto started, before eventually falling silent.

"No?" Kakashi filled in the supposed answer. "Then you could never be Hokage – because you aren't willing to do everything in your power to protect every member of this village."

Naruto's shoulders sagged with a shocked look in his eyes.

"Um…Sensei?" Nichiren rose his hand.

"Yes, Nichiren-kun?" Kakashi asked.

"Gai-sensei has been gone for a long time," Nichiren replied. "Can we be sure this didn't turn out like Arai?"

"Who?" Shikamaru asked

"…no we can't," Kakashi replied. "Stay here, guard the students. I'll be back in 10 minutes. If I'm not, fortify this room and wait for help to arrive."

"Yes Sensei," Hisako nodded, gripping her kunai with white knuckles.

"Kuchiyose No Jutsu," Kakashi called out, slamming a bloodied hand down on the ground, causing a small, brown ninken to appear.

"Oh, geeze boss," The pug waved his paw in front of his nose. "What's with the stench?"

"Pakkun, we're in the sewers," Kakashi replied. "We're also behind enemy lines and we need to find Gai as fast as possible."

"Right!" Pakkun stood up on all four and lead the jounin through the exit.

"I'll lay a couple of exploding tags at the doors," Nichiren replied.

"I'll help," Tenten said, grabbing some tags of her own.

"I can lay out my bugs over the room," Shino offered. "Why? So they can swarm anything that enters the room and drain it of Chakra."

"Do it," Hisako nodded.

"Yosh! We'll set up another perimeter! Students, huddle together so we can protect you!" Lee proclaimed with his brows nettled in concentration. "We'll defeat these fish-men with the fires of our youth!"

The students were huddled together and Hinata, who had ended up on the other side of Sakura, looked at her with concern. "Sakura-chan…I don't think you should quit the academy."

"Why not?" Sakura asked her quietly. "There's no way I could be prepared for anything like this."

Hinata looked a little uneasy, but soldiered on. "You're one of the top Kunoichi in our class…you could be prepared and I think you should keep trying."

"But I wasn't prepared," Sakura groused.

Hinata gulped, pressing her fingers together. "Um…listen. When I was three…Cloud was in Konoha to discuss a peace treaty…we were at war at the time…and the ninja they sent attempted to kidnap me. My Father, being a very powerful shinobi, managed to stop them."

"Okay…" Sakura looked at her confused.

"If my Father hadn't trained really hard, if he gave up when things looked really, really bad, if he had stopped training or trying to become stronger, he might not have stopped the kidnapping and I wouldn't be here right now," Hinata explained, choosing to avoid the idea that Hiashi might've been replaced by his brother if he didn't train for the sake of the story. "If you give up, there might be someone else, someone you could've protected that dies because you weren't there."

"Someone else could do it," Sakura groaned. "Easily. Ino-chan could do it. You could do it."

"You could say that someone else could do it," Hinata allowed. "Someone else might do it…but sometimes there is no one else."

"Great. Thanks," Sakura slumped even more.

"I was just trying to help," Hinata frowned, looking at the ground.

Bits of the ceiling fell on the group and the piper burst open and a fish-person fell out, biting Hisako from head to torso and shaking her around like a dog does a chew-toy. Only then it's throat was slit and its guts fell out of its torso, with Hisako standing uninjured over it with an angry scowl on her face.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru whispered with shocked, wide eyes. "They're coming out of the walls."

Hiashi sneezed and carefully wiped his nose.

"Oh, your daughter must be talking you up," Tsume smirked.

"I'm sure," Hiashi responded stoically. "We must find them quickly."

Hiruzen pressed a loose brick on this dead end. As the wall slid out of the way, revealing the bloodied surgeons table, a knot formed in Hiruzen's stomach, threatening to turn into a bleeding ulcer with everything pointing in the one direction Hiruzen didn't want to go.

"This is one of Orochimaru's old labs, isn't it?" Shikaku asked as the same feeling that Hiruzen was feeling started to descend on the whole group.

"Indeed it is," Hiruzen confirmed. "If that traitor is somehow involved in this…Hiashi is correct. We need to move."

Hiruzen climbed into the pipe, following by Tsume and Shikaku, until the pipe that had been wrenched open suddenly came to a close, almost as if it had been hammered shut…by a cave-in.

"Hokage-sama," Hiashi called from outside the pipe. "I can see our Children – it appears they've been rescued by Cell 13 and Cell 9."

Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief, a sentiment shared by the rest of the clan heads, though Hiruzen also was wondering what Cell 9 was doing down here. "Is this pipe safe to clear without risk of another cave in?"

"I don't believe so, Hokage-sama," Hiashi replied as the three climbed out of the pipe. "There is another route we can ta…what? How?"

"What's wrong?" Tsume barked in anger.

"They've just disappeared," Hiashi frowned deeply. "They must be under attack. We need to hurry."

"What's our route?" The Hokage said in utmost seriousness.

"Down the hall, take a right and keep going. At the end of the hall, there's an entrance to another one of Orochimaru's labs that goes further down," Hiashi reported.

"Let's move," The Hokage ordered and they made a mad dash for the entrance Hiashi described.

Hiashi only took several moments before grabbing a lightbulb dangling from the ceiling and pulling down, causing the stone wall to slide away. Inside were numerous chemistry tables and stacks of paper, the contents of which were too degraded by time to be any sort of legible.

The group ran in and Kuromaru started growling.

"What is it?" Tsume asked. At the barked response, she frowned and sniffed the air. "We're not alone here."

"I don't see anything," Hiashi said automatically and a chill went up his spine as he realized what that meant. "I…there!"

From underneath the lab table, something surged up and leapt at Hiashi, a natural camouflage fading and revealing a fish-man, with red spines sticking out of its shoulders and back and thicker scales overall. Pinned beneath the monster's weight, Hiashi slammed three separate Jyuken strikes on its torso, shredding its heart and making it go limp. He shoved it off of him and rapidly stood up.

The walls started to open and more started to de-cloak in front of their eyes.

Orochimaru? Hiruzen said, preparing a lightning release jutsu. When I find you, I'm going to kill you.

"Well, at least we know Orochimaru is involved now," Shikaku quipped just before the battle began.

+300 EXP.

It's like a shooting gallery. The anglers just won't stop coming!

I'm actually having a lot of fun, here.

Another angler's head exploded at the end of my fist, bringing another one's miserable life to an end.

+50 EXP.

3,295 more to go.

See, this is what I was expecting when I set up my SPECIAL stats the way I did. Running around in dank, dark dungeons filled with acceptable targets chasing after a quest and awesome loot. This is what I want out of my life right now.

This…this is actually bliss. This is what I'm built for.

I couldn't really contain the manic giggles coming out of my mouth as I ran through the hallway. I tried to open the first door I came across and found it locked. Well, it's why they invented lock picks.

Snap.

Snap.

Snap.

I was at least happy it didn't simply not allow me to pick the lock just because my skill was low. It was just really tricky. Finally, though, it opened. Inside was just a closet with shelves on the sides and front. Inside one of the boxes were a couple kunai and shuriken and a blood pill. The rest just had useless scrap which I presumed I could craft, but since I haven't once come across a crafting menu and there was nothing in the book talking about crafting, I assumed I would have to make things the old fashioned way.

In a way, that was relieving. It meant that I had at least some ties to the laws of reality.

With the room looted, I slid down the hallway and found another door. This one opened and…huh, a barracks. Bunkbeds lined the room and were built into the center. This must've been Root's. I wonder where Root actually is. Actually, if the Hokage was investigating Root following the House incident, Danzo might have taken that as his que to keep his agents out of Konoha until everything blows over.

Which is pretty smart, not gonna lie.

I moved through the barracks when the sound of a tearing pipe to my left sent my fist between two bunks, splattering an angler's torso all over the wall.

Geeze, at this rate, our entire sewer system was going to need a complete reconstruction with how the pipes are being torn up. I wonder how the toilets upstairs are handling. If there's a couple pipes working at all the right places, there might still be flushing going on somewhere.

I dove over the center set of beds to land on an angler, sending it to the ground. A follow-up stomp made its head into paint on the floor. Then I got sent into a coughing fit, allowing another one to jump on me from behind and pin me to the floor. It had a hard time staying on me when I sent my elbow into its knee then a fist to its face as it screamed in pain.

Getting stabbed sucks.

+150 EXP.

So I walked through the barracks and came to another hall. Directly across from me was a door, which I was able to open no problem. It was just a closet, some cleaning supplies on the shelf, nothing interesting at all.

Perception Check Success: 8/8.

A loose brick, almost missed it but thankfully the game is on my side this time. I pressed it in and found, to my joy, another clinic, this one not having been stained with blood, so it obviously hadn't seen much use. On the back shelf…was a glowing, purple syringe.

Yes.

I walked over to it.

Permanent +1 Perception.

With a really wide grin, I stuffed it in my storage scroll and left. It made sense they'd all be in the sewers, after all. I mean, they would most likely be a part of the same experiment if they're a part of a set and Orochimaru had quite a while to work down here in the quiet.

There was nothing else in the room…except for a blood pill. Come on, no doctor's bags?

That complaint was punctuated by a perfectly timed coughing fit, leaving bloody chunks of phlegm on the ground. Oh, getting stabbed sucks. I'm totally buying something heavy to wear on my torso after this, it's almost gotten me killed.

Still though, I pressed on.

On the left, I found another locked door and immediately got to work.

The ceiling erupted right above my head and I slid out of the way, leaving my pick hanging on in the lock as I reversed my direction and plunged my foot in the things back.

+50 EXP.

Two more came down the hall and rather than slide down to them, I prepped a jutsu.

Sith Lightning.

Both found themselves stunned and baked underneath the onslaught of lightning and their twitching corpses collapsed to the ground. One of the tails wouldn't stop moving, causing me to laugh out loud as I got back to the lock pick.

+100 EXP.

Oh, it's like a giant weight off my shoulders. Right now, there was no social worries, no crushing teammates causing me to feel guilty, no distractions. Just me and a level full of EXP. The only way this could be any better was if I didn't need to pick the locks.

…wait a minute.

My fist went through the door and unlocked it from the other side, rendering the lock-picks unnecessary. Okay, it really doesn't get better than this.

I kicked the door open and found myself in another lab. This one was huge, with chemistry sets and lab equipment lining the walls. A series of glass vats were installed on the far right corner. Two of whom were still filled with failed experiments, looking like twisted amalgamations of fish and man – well, more so than the many targets that filled the sewers, and one that had broken out. On the far left was a tunnel that looked as if it had been dug out by hand. Also in the room…well.

"Oh, you're a big one, aren't you?" I said to the angler not twenty feet in front of me.

It was huge, at least twenty feet tall and its limbs were bulky enough to look like it was on some sort of steroid. Buffout, actually. Yeah, in my head, it's on Buffout until I find records otherwise. And Psycho, can't forget that.

It roared and charge-holy cow he's fast!

His clawed hand swiped where my head had been. I had ducked then circled him in and orbit before jumping on it with both feet charged with chakra.

Well, he didn't disintegrate, he actually was propelled forward and I was propelled backward.

-5 HP.

-5 HP.

I rolled over twice before standing.

He's tough too, and he proved it when he turned around and charged at me again. He launched at me with a bite, which I side-stepped just in time to land a punch to his eye, making him stumble two steps before he turned around to claw at me again. He eye had popped and was bleeding-OWOWOW!

-60 HP.

His claws raked right across my torso, sending me into a coughing fit and I slid forward to get away from him. Crap, crap, crap!

Perception Check Success: 8/6.

I slid to the right, successfully avoiding another swipe of the things claws. It picked up one of the desks, a chemistry set, and attempted to slam me with it. I slid backward and sent another torrent of lightning at it.

It twitched and cried out in pain, but it kept advancing toward me and I rapidly ran out of chakra. I ducked to avoid another swipe and dove between its legs, deftly avoiding its tail. About then my chakra came back and I jumped on its back to wail on it with punches.

Only two punches landed before the things torso finally exploded, leaving a severed arm and a giant corpse on the floor.

+100 EXP.

I took two blood pills to recover the HP I lost. That was disconcerting…I didn't expect to find something that could actually tank my punches. Should it feel bad that this was actually exciting as well as disconcerted? I mean, I was finally fulfilling the purpose of the build and doing what Bethesda protagonists are supposed to do – raid and plunder dungeons!

It might be bad. Especially since Sensei, Hisako and Nichiren were probably worried. I mean, not too worried, it is me after all, but worried. Plus Naruto and the rookie 9..and team 9 up there. They…okay, now I'm starting to feel bad.

I just need to find these syringes, then I can find them. I need this security. Just…it shouldn't take long.

I searched the lab. A couple blood pills, but no doctors bags or additional medical supplies. I had 10 luck, there had to be something.

Then…huh, this is interesting. I grabbed a binder off one of the tables, it filled with kanji going straight down with flawless penmanship. Some of Orochimaru's old research notes. Well…okay, maybe this'll help me later.

Project Sewer Monster, August 4th, It read. Shimura's organization found an infiltrator from Hidden Mist attempting to devise a path into Konoha through the sewers and gave him to me. I wish they were more careful with their interrogation, the specimen was damaged. His bloodline is interesting, though – he has gills on the side of his neck allowing him to breathe under water. I'd seen several like it, notably in Hoshigake Kisame but this was the most subdued – the least noticeable. I was told they only barely noticed it when they were interrogating him.

Regardless, the mission is simple – reverse engineer it and then engineer implantation for Root operatives. I can't wait to get started. The sheer utility of natural water-breathing is not to be underestimated. Once the procedure has been perfected and administered to myself, I'll give them a lesser version…one that allows me to usurp Shimura's troops from him.

Interesting. I didn't know that Orochimaru and Root had any form of partnership but this is certainly good to know. And if this got into the Hokage's hands, he'd have reason to kill Danzo. I consider this only a good thing. Anything else here?

Project Sewer Monster, August 11th, The next entry started. Someone's been tampering with the specimen. I left him to stew in the vat for a day and when I came back, the liquid in his vat had turned a sickly, glowing green and the specimen was growing and fast. It was absolutely fascinating to watch. His skull took on the form of a carnivorous fish with a glowing bulb drooping from his forehead and his hands and feet lengthened and grew claws and webbing between the digits.

The subject remains sedated and some of the green formula has been taken for study and it's perhaps the most complex mutagen that I've ever seen. I can't allow Shimura to find out about it. It would mean that he would gain an unacceptable advantage over me.

In the meantime, I'll need to re-evaluate the security measures in my labs. I can't have anyone coming in and messing with my specimens for a lark, even if they do hand me an incredible boon. I've dubbed the green liquid GM-01.

Glowing…green liquid?

That sounds familiar.

I do not like how it sounds familiar.

Project Sewer Monster, August 15th, I had turned the page. Progress on decoding GM-01 is non-existent. It's simply beyond my instruments ability to discern, which has many implications…both for what this means for the Prime Specimen and for the security of my lab. Someone…or something, had spiked this vat with the mutagen for unknown purposes. It didn't come from the Specimen himself, traces of the mutagen would have been present in his blood prior to being placed in the vat.

This isn't good. I'll need to relocate soon and sever ties with Shimura.

Attempts with other subjects using GM-01 and traditional methods of cloning additional sets of gills for transplant have both been unsuccessful. Sub-specimens were warped to non-functionality and had to be disposed of.

Glowing green, absurdly advanced mutagen that exaggerates physical characteristics and…this next entry is going to be about how the Prime Specimen escaped, isn't it?

Project Sewer Monster, August 16th, It started. The specimen outgrew his tank last night and broke out. He's dug a tunnel into a cave system which has apparently existed before Konoha existed. He's somewhere in the water, and I can't find him. I'll have to declare this lab quarantined…Sensei has been asking questions about some of the specimen's Shimura has procured from the populace of Konoha and he's getting ready for an investigation.

I need to finish a few of my smaller scale experiments and then relocate before Sensei discovers what I've done…he'd never approve. He's soft-hearted like that. I'll just have to check on the Prime Specimen when or if I return to Konoha.

…he did break out. Knew it.

But…wait…I know Green Liquid like that is from somewhere. I…oh my gosh.

The Prime Specimen was exposed to the FEV.

Forced Evolutionary Virus.

From Fallout.

But that's crazy! That's absolutely insane! But…I can't think of anything else it might be. Orochimaru couldn't make heads or tails of the mutagen. It glowed green and worked really fast. There's already precedence for things from Fallout arriving in the world, namely me and the hallucination from the House.

But then where'd all these fish-men come from? The FEV leaves you sterile and so he couldn't lay eggs or anything. Could he? No…but he could use a jutsu. Some advanced cloning jutsu – I'm not the only one that invents jutsu in the world, after all.

I…oh, boy. This is bad.

Really bad.

I've been fighting what was essentially feral ghouls on my way here. Then this one right here must've been a super-mutant. Which means…at the end of this, there's a Behemoth. I giant angler-fish-monster that would like nothing more than to eat everyone I care about alive.

I walked up to the tunnel and walked down inside, slowly. At the end…I came to the cave system. Roots from the trees above dangled down from the cavern roof, with numerous bugs and moss clinging and glowing with chakra, providing a light source. In the distance, I saw several anglers dive into the water below.

If there is a behemoth somewhere in there that's using jutsu, he's probably retained his mental faculties…which means he has to be put down before he kills everyone on the surface.

And I'm sure Gai and Kakashi can protect everyone even if it is something from an entirely different IP.

Right?