Konoha: I have a clone in One Piece.

Chapter 105 (previously Chapter 104): Suzuki Wants More Working People

"This fruit possesses magical powers!"

Each one represents an animal.

"Eating it can grant a person the strength of a ferocious beast, greatly improve their physical fitness, and allow them to consume energy to transform into the corresponding animal, possessing three states: human form, half-human half-beast form, and full-beast form."

"Just think of it as a special kind of bloodline limit."

After explaining the abilities of Devil Fruits, Suzuki assigned a simple task to the researchers:

"These fruits are now yours to study. You can experiment with them as you please, whether you cut them open or conduct live experiments."

"There's only one task: figure out its capabilities as quickly as possible!"

Upon hearing Suzuki's instructions, the researchers from the Sky Ninja Village immediately suppressed their curiosity and responded in unison.

"Yes, Lord Suzuki!!!"

Suzuki nodded calmly, hoping that these researchers could quickly become familiar with Devil Fruits and understand how they exist.

This way, once he obtains the Devil Fruit cloning technology, these researchers will be able to quickly and skillfully apply the cloning technology.

As for cultivating the Divine Tree, Suzuki didn't tell them about it because the meteorites and tailed beasts hadn't been collected yet.

Afterwards, he and Yakushi Nonou left the laboratory and headed to the waiting place for Kakuzu and Hiruko.

After Suzuki left, the researchers, unable to contain their curiosity, quickly gathered together and began to discuss the matter animatedly.

"Can this strangely shaped fruit really grant people power akin to a bloodline limit?"

"Since Suzuki-sama said so, it should be okay, right..."

"This is amazing! Gaining abilities just by eating it feels so much easier than training in ninjutsu!"

"Yes, it can also improve physical fitness!"

"Yes, I think that's the most worthwhile point to study! Maybe we can try to observe the cells of people who turned into animals after eating the fruit."

"Isn't this the area where you, Lord Shennong, excel the most?"

"Lord Suzuki said that after eating this fruit, one has to consume physical strength to transform into the corresponding animal. That's really unbelievable. It doesn't even consume chakra?"

"I find the three forms more intriguing. By the way, what does it mean to become half-human, half-beast? Like an anthropomorphic animal?"

"Perhaps like the Inuzuka clan of Konoha?"

"That's impossible! Didn't you hear what Lord Suzuki said? Each of these fruits corresponds to an animal. They're much more powerful than the Inuzuka family!"

"Then what kind of animal is this in my hand?"

"I don't know, I can't tell at all. Let's slice it up and observe it first, and then try a live experiment."

"Alright, alright, let's start the investigation!"

"good!!!"

Soon, as the laboratory director Shennong interrupted, the researchers stopped talking and quickly began slicing and studying several Devil Fruits.

……

Meanwhile, Yakushi Nonou had already brought Suzuki to the cabin door of the Ark Proverb.

Upon seeing his employer arrive, Kakuzu, whose mask revealed a pair of bright green eyes that resembled banknotes, seemed quite eager to report the completion of the mission to Suzuki:

"Lord Suzuki!"

"The mission target you mentioned, is it this guy?"

As he spoke, Kakuzu pointed to his right, where a white-haired man was tightly bound by ropes and curled up on the ground.

Suzuki looked down slightly in that direction and saw Hiruko lying on the ground with a bruised and swollen face, and even a trace of blood on her neck.

It's quite obvious that on the way back from escorting this Konoha rogue ninja, Kakuzu probably almost couldn't resist taking the mission target and exchanging him for the bounty.

Fortunately, the fact that they brought them back means that Kakuzu managed to hold back.

Thinking of this, Suzuki smiled gently and said:

"Yes, it's him."

"Kakuzu, you did a great job on this mission!"

However, upon hearing Suzuki's praise, Kakuzu didn't react much. Instead, a hint of regret flashed in his eyes as he asked:

"Lord Suzuki, if you ever run out of this guy, could I use it to exchange for a bounty?"

"His head is worth a lot of money."

"."

Suzuki couldn't help but smile.

It wouldn't matter if it were someone else, but Hiruko would still be very useful to him.

Fortunately, Suzuki had already made preparations.

He waved to the pharmacist, Nono, and soon the thoughtful secretary returned to the spaceship's vault and brought back a box.

Suzuki took the box and opened it immediately, revealing it stuffed full of banknotes:

"Kakuzu, Hiruko, I am still useful."

"Don't worry about that little bit of money, I've already prepared some rewards for you."

"There is one hundred million here."

"Here, take it!"

The box full of bright green silver notes immediately attracted Kakuzu's attention. His eyes lit up as he stared intently at the banknotes, like a vulture that had been starving for a long time seeing its prey.

"Lord Suzuki, please let me take on any more missions like this in the future!"

Kakuzu happily accepted the box and spoke sincerely to Suzuki.

"OK."

Suzuki smiled faintly, then ignored Kakuzu, who was engrossed in counting his money, and turned his gaze to Hiruko.

The white-haired man who is now curled up on the ground, firmly bound by ropes and sealing techniques, is the founder of the "Oni-Garra Technique".

The Demon Sparrow Technique can fuse the body of the ninja or summoned beast being combined with that of the caster, and can even fuse with bloodline limits. It was a ninjutsu conceived by Hiruko to make up for her innate deficiencies.

In the future, Hiruko even fused four bloodline limits using his self-created Oni-Garaku technique, reaching Kage-level strength at one point. However, he was tragically defeated by the protagonist Naruto when he attacked Kakashi in an attempt to obtain a fifth bloodline limit.

Suzuki sent Kakuzu to find Hiruko because he hoped that the founder of the Oni-Garaku technique could use his talents to work with Shinno, who would later create the Zero-Tails, to research Devil Fruits and the Divine Tree for him.

At this moment, Hiruko's face was filled with humiliation and resentment.

He couldn't accept the fact that he had been bought and sold!

He just wanted to investigate the news about bloodline limit ninjas in the Land of Wind, so how did he get arrested like this?

He could accept being captured, especially if it was someone from Konoha, since he was a rogue ninja of Konoha.

It's normal for someone from the Sand Village in the Land of Wind to be there, after all, he was going there to hunt down the Bloodstained Ninja from the Sand Village.

But what's going on with Kakuzu?

He looked like a bounty hunter ninja from the black market, but instead of killing him directly, he inexplicably beat him up and then kept sharpening his knife in the middle of the night to scare him.

Now they've sold him off like a commodity to someone else!

What does that mean?

Does this strange man think I'm only worth 100 million?

You really underestimate me!

Driven by his inner pride, Hiruko couldn't help but interrupt Kakuzu's money-counting antics:

"Hey! I used to be a Jonin of Konoha!"

"You're just selling me off like this? Isn't that incredibly insulting?"

"If you want money, I can give it to you! Just give me six months, and I can earn a hundred million and hand it over to you!"

"Let me go?"

"Tch~"

Kakuzu raised his head, glanced at Hiruko with disdain, and then continued to immerse himself in the pleasure of counting money.

"."

The humiliation and resentment on Beiruhu's face deepened.

However, since the seller and buyer can't reach an agreement, the only option is to have a proper talk with the buyer.

Hiruko looked at Suzuki, who was observing him with great interest.

He couldn't think of anything about himself that was worth buying or selling.

The strength of a Jonin?

Conducting human experiments?

It couldn't possibly be because of his fairly handsome face, could it?

Thinking about all this, Hiruko felt a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason.

Then, he carefully organized his words, trying to save his life:

"Hello, sir, what do you want to buy from me for?"

"I was a Jonin in Konoha before, and I also have a lot of research experience in ninjutsu development."

"If you want me to do things for you, you only need to untie the ropes and seals binding me. There's no need for all this trouble."

Hearing the servile tone of this Konoha rogue ninja, Suzuki stopped scrutinizing him and said with a smile:

"Really? Mr. Hiruko."

"If I untie the ropes and remove the sealing spell, you'll be willing to work for me?"

Hiru breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed they weren't going to kill him or do anything strange. He then immediately said with certainty:

"certainly!"

"I'm a ninja who keeps his promises!"

Suzuki smiled slightly, not caring whether Hiruko would keep her promise. In any case, the founder of the Oni-Garaku technique, who had been captured, couldn't possibly escape from him.

It would be better to beat up Hiruzen first before discussing his role as a subordinate; that might be more effective.

With that thought in mind, Suzuki slowly squatted down, preparing to help Hiruko untie the ropes and seal.

"..."

Hiruko was overjoyed to see that Suzuki actually believed him. However, as soon as the restraints were completely removed, the Konoha rogue ninja immediately changed his mind.

Hiruko pulled a kunai from his sleeve and quickly placed it on Suzuki's neck. After glancing around at his surroundings, he quickly focused his gaze on Kakuzu, the ninja who had easily crushed and captured him.

Hiruko was very wary of Kakuzu's strength, and he glared fiercely at Suzuki, threatening him:

"Don't move! Get that masked weirdo out of here!"

"..."

The nearby Pharmacist Nonou witnessed this scene and was speechless.

Kakuzu paused in counting the money, glanced up again, and was speechless.

You can't even beat me, so where do you get the nerve to take hostage the employer who beat me into submission?

Silly hat!

Soon after, Kakuzu stopped paying attention to the outside disturbances and continued to immerse himself in counting money.

"..."

Seeing that Kakuzu didn't react, Hiruko thought it might be because Suzuki hadn't spoken. He plunged a kunai into Suzuki's skin and said viciously:

"Hey! Get that ninja out of here!"

"..."

Suzuki was not surprised by Hiruko's resistance, but he thought Hiruko would try to escape instead of taking him hostage.

Suzuki seemed oblivious to the sharp kunai pressed against his neck, and calmly said:

"Mr. Hiruko, you have absolutely no credibility."

"I just let you go, and you can't wait to do this."

"only."

As he spoke, Suzuki walked straight forward. The kunai slashed across his neck but did not cause any wounds. This was due to the elemental transformation of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

"..."

"You might have misunderstood something."

Suzuki turned around and looked at the bewildered Hiruko, then raised his right leg and kicked her hard!

"boom!!!"

Hiruko was kicked hundreds of meters away until he crashed into the metal hull of the Ark Proverb, where he slowly slid down.

"Uh cough cough"

Hiruko felt the turmoil within his body and couldn't help but vomit several mouthfuls of blood, his heart filled with horror!

Wow, so strong!

So fast!

Is this some kind of bloodline limit? Or some kind of ninjutsu?

However, before Hiruko could even get up, Suzuki's figure disappeared from the cabin door and appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye.

"wait"

Without saying a word, Suzuki kicked Hiruko again, sending him flying back to the cabin door.

"Cough cough. Help!"

After being kicked just twice, blood kept gushing from Hiruko's mouth. He felt as if he was about to die and frantically begged for help from the people standing at the cabin door.

Suzuki slowly walked back, looked at Hiruko lying on the ground, her body completely broken and unable to move even her fingers, and calmly instructed Yakushi Nonou:

"Take him to Shennong for treatment."

"After he's cured, let him participate in the research. If he still doesn't listen or tries to escape, then let him become the subject of the research."

"yes!"

Yakushi Nonou bowed in reply, then carefully picked up Hiruko and carried her to the laboratory.

On the other side, Kakuzu was still diligently counting his money.

Seeing this, Suzuki had no intention of disturbing him and quickly returned to the observation room.

……

A week later, as soon as Beiliuhu was cured by Shennong, he obediently participated in the research.

Furthermore, according to the report from the pharmacist Nono, perhaps because the two of them have their own unique insights into human modification, Hiruko and Shennong seem to get along quite well during the treatment process.

Suzuki, however, no longer cared about these things.

He was thinking about where to find some qualified thugs and henchmen.

After all, it's impossible for him to do everything himself in the future, nor is it possible to entrust everything to Kakuzu alone.

Although Hiruko and Shennong were not weak, Suzuki felt that research should be their main focus, and they shouldn't be fighting, as they didn't have the talent for it.

Hanako and Yakushi Nonou are still growing, so it's unlikely they can offer much help in the short term.

However, whether it's seizing the tailed beast chakra in the upcoming Third Shinobi World War or harvesting Devil Fruit users in the future, a considerable number of people will be needed.

Moreover, their strength cannot be too weak; they must be at least a Jonin!

So, Suzuki sat at the table, looking at the rows of names, deep in thought.

(End of this chapter)