Haru swept his gaze over Tobirama with naked greed, like an old farmer looking at crops nearly ready for harvest.
In this ninja world, what was the most valuable thing?
Talent, of course.
Why could Tsunade owe so much money and still live carefree?
Because she held the core technology: unbelievably powerful medical ninjutsu.
Every bit of debt she owed, her creditors would never press too hard for, because who among them didn't have a critically ill patient somewhere? As long as Tsunade was around, it was like having an extra life.
The wealthy backers behind those gambling houses probably wished Tsunade would owe even more. The more she owed, the more favors they could squeeze out of her.
As for the debt itself, at worst they just had to stretch out the repayment period. Tsunade would pay it back sooner or later. Their lives, on the other hand, only came once.
The Tobirama in front of him was even more valuable than Tsunade. So many of the great forbidden techniques known throughout the ninja world had come from his hands.
The Fourth Hokage's signature technique, Flying Thunder God.
The Reanimation Jutsu that ignited the Fourth Great Ninja War.
And Naruto Uzumaki's Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Besides, Tobirama's actual main job had always been being Hokage. All those forbidden techniques had been things he invented in his spare time.
Haru was determined to keep Tobirama locked up in a secret chamber on the Uchiha clan grounds and make him do research every single day.
"What are you trying to do?!"
Feeling Haru's burning gaze, Tobirama instinctively sensed a wave of malice. It felt as if Haru wanted to do something very unpleasant to him.
"What am I trying to do?"
"Tobirama-sama, right now you're my prisoner. Control of your body is firmly in my hands, so naturally I can do whatever I want."
"Hehehe..."
Haru revealed the smile of a complete creep.
"I warn you, don't try anything funny!"
Tobirama was starting to panic a little. This kind of scene felt strangely familiar. Back when he used prisoners as research materials, he seemed to remember them saying much the same thing.
But what did Haru know about research?
The Uchiha clan had always put all their talent points into combat!
"Tobirama-sama, you may as well just give in."
"After all, everything I'm doing is for Konoha."
"Stop saying such weird things. If you want me to do something, just say it directly!"
Tobirama really could not stand the bizarre, wolfish lines coming out of Haru's mouth and told him to get to the point.
"Naturally, I want you to work for me and devote all your energy to research."
"Honestly, Tobirama-sama, every day you spent sitting in the Hokage's seat was a waste of your life. A talent like yours should have been doing research every single day. Otherwise, it's practically a loss for the entire ninja world!"
Haru praised Tobirama's scientific ability to the skies. Making Tobirama serve as Hokage had been a waste of time, practically a loss to the whole ninja world.
If Tobirama had only spent a little bit of time and energy improving productivity instead, then things like steel, grain, electricity, and similar technology trees would probably already have been maxed out.
A man who could invent a miracle-level jutsu like Reanimation Jutsu would find those things child's play.
"Do you really think that?"
Tobirama's eyes lit up. Haru's completely undisguised words of praise made Tobirama's vanity surge.
He almost felt a sense of meeting a kindred spirit.
That evil little Uchiha brat in front of him suddenly did not seem quite so detestable. At least Haru had noticed the thing Tobirama was most proud of.
What a pity. The person in the world who appreciated his research most was actually an evil brat from the Uchiha clan. The Senju clan only ever expected him to strengthen the family and cared about nothing but the seat of Third Hokage.
Even his elder brother had always advised him to stop doing those strange experiments and put more energy into building Konoha instead.
Every time he invented a powerful forbidden technique, his elder brother's first question was always whether it was Water Release. If it wasn't, then Hashirama would immediately write it into the Scroll of Seals and forbid its spread.
His excuse was always that such forbidden techniques were too destructive, too harmful to heaven's order, and that teaching them to Konoha's ninja would bring nothing but harm.
Utterly unreasonable.
"Of course. Tobirama-sama, you're the number one scientist in the ninja world!"
"Especially the jutsu you invented to deal with the Uchiha clan. Every one of them drove the Uchiha closer to a dead end."
"The Uchiha clan's Sharingan has terrifying perception and genjutsu ability, so you invented Bringer-of-Darkness Technique."
"The Sharingan can see through clone techniques, so you invented the Shadow Clone."
"Once the Mangekyo Sharingan awakens, it can summon Susanoo, so you invented Reanimation Jutsu and Tandem Paper Bombs to fight a war of attrition!"
"With your unmatched research ability, every time Uchiha power rose, you could calmly improve your own research progress to match it. In this ninja world, who could possibly be your opponent?"
Haru decided to prove his point with concrete examples.
After reading through the Scroll of Seals, he had discovered that Tobirama had constantly updated and refined his research. At every stage of Uchiha development, Tobirama had invented corresponding jutsu specifically to counter the Uchiha's strengths.
When it came to dealing with the Uchiha, no one in the entire ninja world was more professional than Tobirama.
It was just that this professionalism was deeply unsettling to Haru as an Uchiha.
In the future, Tobirama would definitely need to switch specialties.
"..."
The bit of goodwill Tobirama had just developed toward Haru vanished instantly. Mixed into all that praise was a layer of mockery, and Tobirama could no longer tell whether Haru was complimenting him or taking the chance to sneer at him.
"Hmph. I'll take it as praise."
Tobirama snorted coldly and began calculating inwardly.
If all Haru wanted was for him to cooperate on research, then perhaps there was room for cooperation.
If the so-called wager Haru spoke of only meant occasionally reanimating Tobirama to show him Konoha under his rule, then Tobirama's plan to escape would probably remain endlessly far off.
But if he were kept around continuously to help Haru with research, then he could remain in the world of the living in reanimated form. And as long as he remained here, he would definitely have a chance to escape someday.
Besides, in the end, all of his research would still be used by Haru to strengthen Konoha's power. No matter how you looked at it, cooperating with Haru was a稳赚不亏 arrangement.
There were still so many experiments he had not completed in life.
He truly missed the days at the lab bench.
In the past, either he was too poor to fund experiments, or he was too busy handling Konoha's affairs to make time for them.
Pure, rational research was much more interesting than all the killing and fighting. He could treat this as a kind of vacation for himself.
Still, he could not agree too easily to work for this evil Uchiha brat.
He had to negotiate terms. He was not going to work for free.
"So what you're saying is that you want me to do research for you?"
"Let me make one thing clear. I am the Second Hokage. I invented countless jutsu in my lifetime. And on top of that, you usurped Konoha's Hokage seat. The two of us are sworn enemies."
"So if you want me to work for you, my price is very high."
(End of Chapter)
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