"Client?"
So, he was a "businessman." That would explain the presence of unfamiliar shinobi coming and going around here.
But in this chaotic era, any "businessman" hiding in a remote corner of the ninja world inevitably gives off a shady vibe.
Most likely, the business being conducted here isn't exactly aboveboard.
"What can I get from you?" Yujin asked curiously.
"My clients can be broadly divided into sellers and buyers."
"Could you elaborate?"
"If you're a seller, I generally only deal in human trafficking… My research requires the assistance of many shinobi.
With the current chaos in the ninja world, most defeated shinobi are simply executed. Such a waste—after all, shinobi are valuable resources.
So, to make full use of them, you could hand over any captured shinobi from the battlefield to me. I'll offer a fair price."
Vocal, this guy was actually dealing in the black slave trade. And to Yujin's surprise… it was actually good news.
Yujin clenched his fists slightly in secret. Whatever this man's reasons were for trafficking ninja slaves, the fact that he was in this kind of business made one thing clear: the distress signal from his clansmen must have originated from here.
It was highly likely his people were being held in this very place. He'd come to the right location.
Only a slaver would be holding a variety of people captive. For Yujin, that was good news.
"That does sound like a lucrative business. Unfortunately, I didn't know about it in advance, so I don't have your kind of merchandise on hand," Yujin replied.
"Oh, so those two shinobi are dead. What a pity," the voice said.
So he had noticed the battle in the swamp.
Yujin thought to himself, Would you believe me if I said those two didn't die directly by my hand?
"And what if I'm a buyer? What could I get from you?"
"Items that can rapidly enhance a shinobi's combat power—for example, secret elixirs that temporarily and quickly boost chakra, or massive, absolutely loyal summoning beasts."
Absolutely loyal? Yujin recalled the poor sap who'd just been bitten to death by his own summoning beast.
"Can I take a look at the summoning beasts? That's an area I'm quite interested in."
"Of course. As long as one abides by the principle of fair trade, anyone can be my client... Please, come inside. The merchandise is further in."
As the voice finished speaking, a corner of the courtyard suddenly collapsed, revealing a downward-sloping staircase.
Yujin hesitated for a moment, then stepped toward it.
As he descended the dark stairs, his alertness heightened. The right arm hidden under his clothes began to turn pale.
He had no choice—this kind of underground space screamed trap. He had to be ready to bolt at any moment.
And just as Yujin began partially transforming into White Zetsu form, his vision suddenly changed!
After descending a certain distance, what he had initially seen as ordinary underground architecture now transformed into rows of iron cages.
The cages lined both sides of the passage—one side holding shackled shinobi, and the other filled with strange, ferocious beasts.
Genjutsu? When did I get caught in a genjutsu?
The sudden shift in what he saw made it clear—he'd been under a genjutsu the whole time. But the problem was, he had no clue when it had taken effect. Not even a hint.
More curiously, why did the illusion lift only after he initiated partial White Zetsu transformation?
Could it be that the White Zetsu body allowed his chakra to resume normal flow?
Now wasn't the time to think too deeply about it. Yujin feigned ignorance and continued walking deeper down the corridor.
At the end of the path was a room with its door wide open.
Yujin tried reversing his White Zetsu transformation and saw a finely built chamber. Inside, directly opposite the entrance, sat a cloaked figure behind a long table—face obscured. It looked like a place meant for conducting business.
But when Yujin resumed his White Zetsu form, the "room" morphed into a cage filled with all kinds of torture devices.
He examined the cage carefully, then, without much hesitation, boldly stepped inside.
"Welcome, my client. Please allow me to introduce myself—my name is Tushi, and I am passionate about cultivating summoning beasts."
Once he entered, the same voice echoed through the hollow chamber.
Cultivating? More like "assembling" summoning beasts.
Before Yujin could react, the cage door slammed shut behind him.
Now that he was a rat in a trap, the man hiding in the shadows dropped all pretenses. Sinister laughter echoed through the underground space.
"You'll make excellent research material."
"Not long ago, someone slipped out a distress signal while I wasn't looking. I had complete faith in my cages, thought it must have been my imagination. Who would've guessed someone would walk right in…"
"Don't worry. I'll extract your brain and heart, then replace them with the organs of the finest beast I can find. You won't die—you'll just start a fresh new kind of life…"
Small talk? Hardly. This guy was stalling for time.
Yujin could feel some force draining his chakra. He instinctively glanced toward the wall behind the iron cage.
Earth Style?
He pondered for a second, then said, "I seem to recall an Earth Release jutsu that absorbs an enemy's chakra… What was it again? Earth Prison Dome of Magnificent Nothingness?"
The arrogant voice cut off abruptly. Then it turned frantic: "How do you know about my secret technique?!"
As if Yujin owed him an explanation. He chuckled and replied:
"Your attitude's unacceptable. As a researcher, you should remain calm and rational no matter the circumstances."
Celebrating too early, huh? Rookie mistake.
"You're trapped. Once your chakra is drained dry, you'll—"
Before he could finish his threat, Yujin extended a ghastly white hand and placed it against the stone wall.
The surrounding chakra immediately reversed flow. In the blink of an eye, Yujin went from "net loss" to "net gain."
He completely drained the chakra from the walls of the Earth Prison. Without the chakra to sustain it, the walls crumbled instantly.
And a deeper, more concealed room was revealed.
"Found you. You sure hid well."
Just as Yujin had suspected, someone who resorted to tricks and traps to lure him in likely didn't have much strength in a direct fight.
To be fair, chakra absorption was a dangerous trump card. But unfortunately for Tushi, he'd run into someone who could absorb even more.
Anyone else might've died in that cage.
In the ninja world, chakra-absorbing techniques weren't common, but they weren't unheard of either. If someone relied solely on that trick, thinking it made them invincible, they were bound to fall eventually.
Tushi had made a classic mistake: overreliance on experience.
"You can see me? No—when did you break the genjutsu?!"
"I was just about to ask when I even fell under genjutsu in the first place."
Yujin formed hand signs—Water Style: Severing Wave.
The iron bars that had held him shattered effortlessly into pieces. Seeing this, Tushi immediately tried to flee.
Run?
Yujin launched a second jutsu—Water Style: Surging Wave.
In the confined underground chamber, the water surged like a breached dam, instantly flooding the narrow "rat's nest."
In an open space, such a jutsu wouldn't be that dangerous. A skilled shinobi could evade or defend against it.
But in a tight underground space, most people would be helpless against this kind of flood. Tushi had no room to maneuver, no way to escape the range of Yujin's water-style onslaught.
Yujin used the Mayfly Technique, merging his body with the surrounding rock, and zipped forward with incredible speed.
In an instant, he reached Tushi's side and, with a sharp motion, slammed his pale palm into the drowning man's neck. A crisp crack echoed as Tushi's cervical spine twisted violently.
Already choking on water, the blow knocked him clean out.
"Seriously… that fragile?"
Yujin hadn't expected the guy to be this weak.
With that kind of endurance, you dare call yourself a "researcher"?
In the ninja world, any real inventor needs at least Kage-level strength.