Chapter 89: Taking Stock of the Harvest

"If you don't agree, I'll make things even worse for you," Shishou threatened.

"I-I agree, okay?" Anko replied weakly, her voice trembling. She was genuinely terrified of Shishou. After being tied up for the entire afternoon, she urgently needed to use the restroom. If Shishou continued to torment her, she would lose control.

Desperation drove her to agree to anything he demanded, hoping to find a chance to escape later. The original purpose of her visit to Shishou had long been forgotten. All she wanted was to escape his clutches.

"Good," Shishou said, indifferent to whether her surrender was genuine or not. Seeing her nod, he ceased his torment.

"Can you untie me now?" Anko looked up at him.

"Heh, Miss Anko, you better keep your word," Shishou warned, smiling. "If you try to escape and I catch you, there will be consequences."

Shishou untied the ropes, and Anko glared at him impatiently. The moment the ropes were off, she dashed to the restroom.

"Ha..." Shishou chuckled softly and walked away.

Later that evening, Shishou dined with Anko, Mikoto, and an ever-watchful Yugao Uzuki. After instructing Yugao to keep an eye on Anko, he returned to his home in the Hidden Leaf Village.

In the basement, Shishou retrieved Danzo's severed arm from a scroll. Carefully, he extracted the four Sharingan eyes, placing them in a specially prepared container, then stored it in another scroll. He also cut off a segment of Danzo's little finger, preserving it for future research.

Although Danzo's transplantation of Hashirama's cells, balanced by the Sharingan, was flawed, Shishou saw value in retaining samples for study.

Touching Danzo's severed arm, Shishou released his phosphorus bugs. They devoured and revitalized, increasing Shishou's chakra reserves by three units.

Shishou then transcribed Danzo's wind-style training methods onto a blank scroll, knowing these insights would be invaluable to ninja who used wind-style techniques. This was the reason Shishou had demanded Danzo's wind-style secrets.

After finishing his documentation, Shishou vanished.

Half an hour later, Shishou returned to the basement with a red lipstick mark on his face. He opened another blank scroll and began recording the method for breaking the Cursed Seal, intended for Anko. Now that she had agreed to join him, he could not allow her to remain tainted by Orochimaru's soul fragments.

As for the Heaven Curse Mark on Anko, Shishou planned to study it in depth once she settled down.

He took out the chakra metal he had purchased the day before and added it to his existing stock. "Just a bit more and I should have enough to forge a katana. I'll need to visit the Land of Iron when the time comes."

Placing the chakra metal back in the storage scroll, Shishou vanished once more.

He reappeared in a remote valley within the Land of Fire. Shishou summoned Baku, his immense summoning beast.

"Baku!" Baku roared as it emerged, spewing white gas from its long trunk, its size dwarfing even the largest centipedes and rivaling the Toads of Mount Myoboku.

"Listen, from now on, you need to practice not just inhaling, but exhaling as well," Shishou commanded. He didn't want Baku to be easily defeated by a single fireball jutsu.

"Woof!" Baku roared again, releasing a mist that smashed down towards Shishou.

Shishou leapt high, evading Baku's attack, and sneered. "So, you want to defy your master?"

Just as he expected, Baku attempted to resist. Shishou threw a shuriken precisely at Baku, knowing it wouldn't cause any physical harm but had another purpose. The shuriken hit Baku, and immediately, the phosphorus bugs started to proliferate from the point of contact.

Baku roared in agony, rolling on the ground to shake off the bugs, but they only spread faster. "Roar!"

"Do you understand now?" Shishou asked coldly. "If you defy me again, you'll be nothing but a meal for my bugs."

Baku's massive form quivered, and it nodded vigorously, submitting to Shishou's will. Shishou smiled and recalled his bugs, allowing Baku to recover.

Satisfied, Shishou had Baku practice its new technique by inhaling and exhaling, which involved capturing animals in the forest. Through this, Shishou discovered Baku's inhalation was a hunting technique, designed to draw prey into its mouth.

After treating Baku's injuries and allowing it to regain its strength, Shishou decided to end the training session. "Remember what I said," he told Baku before dispelling the summoning.

Shishou then used the Flying Thunder God technique to return to the Hidden Leaf Village. In his basement, he spent several hours practicing sensory techniques and the art of the Void Sword. Stretching and yawning, he finally headed to his bedroom. After washing up, he lay down on his bed, reflecting on the day's successful endeavors.

He closed his eyes, but only for a few minutes before they snapped open again. "With Anko's temperament, she'll likely try to escape tonight..."

With that, Shishou's figure disappeared from his bed, ready to intercept her.