Naruto: I'm really not an evil scientist!

Although Hiruko's offer wasn't particularly generous, it at least gave all the Konoha ninja a glimmer of hope.

Let them understand that even if they are wounded or killed on the battlefield, the village will not abandon their families.

The children will receive meticulous care in the orphanage, and the wives will have the opportunity to work in the factory.

This glimmer of hope, in the pitch-black ninja world, is like a faint light in the cold night—weak yet irresistible.

It should be noted that even powerful figures like Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were unable to protect their younger brothers, leading to their untimely deaths.

Now, Konoha's willingness to support families who lost their male members in the war is undoubtedly a shot in the arm for all Konoha people.

Having experienced many hardships, Granny Chiyo naturally understood the power of such emotions.

Not only that, Granny Chiyo also began to ponder the current situation and the condition of Sunagakure.

Could we replicate Konoha's model in Sunagakure?

Perhaps Konoha could move its factory to Sunagakure.

But he soon realized that this was not very feasible.

It's not that Sunagakure doesn't have the elderly, weak, sick, or disabled, nor that Sunagakure lacks the power to change the status quo; it's simply that Sunagakure's inherent conditions are too poor.

That place was practically a barren wasteland, with howling winds and flying sand and stones all day long.

Apart from that, Sunagakure has almost no other special products.

Perhaps the placer gold in the desert could be considered one, but the price of these items has been driven down to extremely low levels by several other countries.

Even if Sunagakure wanted to follow Konoha's path of commerce, its inherent conditions wouldn't allow it.

Putting aside everything else, the rampant sandstorms alone will cause the maintenance costs of infrastructure to skyrocket to an astonishing level.

Even if the Daimyo of the Land of Wind tightens his belt and manages to scrape together this money, for Sunagakure, it's like searching for water in a parched desert.

If you don't have it, you don't have it; no matter how hard you try to save money, it's useless.

It's not that Sunagakure doesn't want to change the status quo; it's just that they've lost the power to do so.

Konoha and the Land of Fire have a deep foundation, and no matter how many blows they suffer, they can rise again from the ruins.

Population, territory, genius ninjas, secret ninjutsu... Konoha is like a giant beast, pressing down on other countries and making them unable to breathe.

Even when it occasionally takes a nap, it is still unmatched by any other country.

If Sunagakure suffers a major blow, it may be forever lost and even squeezed out of the ranks of the Five Great Nations.

"There will always be a way. The children will surely find a way out for Sunagakure in the future."

Granny Chiyo muttered to herself, but when she thought of the current state of Sunagakure, her expression instantly dimmed.

The subtle changes in her expression were all observed by Temari, who was sitting in Maki's lap beside her.

The tiny temari ball stretches out its tender hand.

Chapter 57 Genetic Atavism

The little Temari held Chiyo's old hand tightly, as if she could pass on her strength to her.

Feeling the girl's care, Grandma Chiyo's wrinkles gradually smoothed out, and her eyes were filled with relief.

He kept repeating, "They're all good kids, they're all good kids, there's definitely hope for the future."

Kakashi, who was standing nearby, saw through their subtle interactions but remained silent.

He didn't harbor much hatred towards Sunagakure.

As for the current situation in Sunagakure, besides feeling miserable, he really couldn't think of much else.

After all, there are far more countries in this ninja world that have suffered far more than Sunagakure.

He had witnessed many tragedies in those small villages during his missions, and none of them were less tragic than the fate of Sunagakure.

Even though Sunagakure is in ruins, it's still a force to be reckoned with. It's one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, so things won't get too bad for it.

Before they knew it, the group had arrived at the foot of the Hokage Building.

Kakashi said, "I'll go report to the Hokage right away. Please wait a moment."

Before long, Granny Chiyo, along with Temari and Maki, met Minato Namikaze, with the Third Hokage accompanying them.

Everyone else, including Kakashi, left on their own, indicating that this was going to be a rather private meeting.

When Minato Namikaze saw Granny Chiyo approaching with Temari, he was somewhat puzzled, thinking to himself, "She must be here as the eldest daughter of the Fourth Kazekage, representing the Fourth Kazekage, right? Probably."

He didn't pay too much attention to it.

However, he still noticed that the little guy was indeed quite cute and very lovable, with naturally fair skin.

There's also an undeniable natural wildness about him, making him look quite different from the female ninjas of Konoha.

Minato Namikaze gently patted the little girl's head, then handed her a bottle of the high-end beverage sold at Hiruko's place, Hahaha, and told her to go play somewhere else.

After that, he began to have a formal discussion with Granny Chiyo.

This wasn't the first time Minato Namikaze had met Granny Chiyo; the two had even fought before.

Considering the average age of ninjas, Granny Chiyo was already quite old.

She wore a soft hat and a scarf around her neck, and her eyes were half-closed. At first glance, she looked no different from those kind old ladies.

But in reality, this old man still possesses boundless potential.

Even ten or twenty years from now, she will still be full of energy, and may even be able to save Gaara by exchanging her life for his in the future.

She is not an opponent who can be easily fooled.

The atmosphere of the meeting started off quite well, with the Third Hokage leading the charge. Both sides denounced Danzo together for a full half hour, after which the communication became much smoother.

During their conversation, they roughly understood each other's feelings.

Granny Chiyo does indeed intend to form an alliance with Konoha.

Although Iwagakure and Kumogakure could form an alliance, Sunagakure chose Konoha instead of Iwagakure and Kumogakure.

The choice made by Sunagakure was indeed somewhat unexpected, but Sunagakure's thoughts are not important; the key is to see what Sunagakure actually does.

Konoha would naturally not refuse such a rare ally, but Granny Chiyo stubbornly refused to take the initiative to propose an alliance.

The Third Hokage gave Minato Namikaze a wink, then started smoking on his own.

Minato Namikaze smiled gently, understanding perfectly.

After all, due to the circumstances, we still have to put on a good show, even if it's just going through the motions.

Rather than being forced to form an alliance with Konoha out of desperation, Sunagakure would prefer to be sincerely invited by Konoha.

After the Land of Wind cut off funding, the morale of Sunagakure Village had plummeted to rock bottom, and they desperately needed some good news to boost morale.

If we could form an alliance with Konoha, a powerful ally, it would definitely boost the morale of the entire Sunagakure village.

Minato Namikaze understood their feelings, but as Hokage, his primary concern was the interests of Konoha.

After a while, Minato Namikaze began to apply pressure, and the two sides went back and forth, probing each other, and the negotiations gradually got on track.

The negotiations then immediately moved into an in-depth phase.

Granny Chiyo stopped hiding her intentions and said frankly, "I'm not afraid to tell you now that Sunagakure is in a difficult situation right now. If Konoha could provide some assistance, that would be wonderful."

It was rather shameless to say that, but Granny Chiyo didn't care about losing face. She just hoped to get some aid from Konoha.

Given the size and resources of the Konoha clan, it's impossible that they wouldn't give anything at all.

Minato Namikaze felt that it was reasonable for Granny Chiyo to make such a request.

Konoha is indeed under great pressure from the alliance of several other major powers. If even one of their allies were to defect, it would be better to pay a price.

However, the question of how much to give became the focus of the negotiations, which immediately reached a stalemate.

After all, this is only the first day since we arrived, and negotiations can't be resolved all at once.

Afterwards, Granny Chiyo left with Temari and the other woman.

Before leaving, she asked Minato Namikaze, "Fourth Hokage, may I visit Hiruko?"

Minato Namikaze paused for a moment, then smiled and nodded, saying, "Of course, no problem."

After Granny Chiyo left, Konoha immediately held an emergency meeting to discuss how much benefit to give to Sunagakure, which was a big question.

Meanwhile, Hiruko was engrossed in one of the latest achievements that had just been developed in the laboratory.

He stared at the strange mass of flesh in the culture medium, his brow furrowing deeper as he carefully examined the samples.

Finally, he produced a flesh monster that he had created on a whim using the flesh and blood of the Kurama clan.

Beiliuhu was somewhat surprised by the result, and even overjoyed beyond words.

"So that's how it is," Hiruko muttered to herself.

It seems I made a big mistake.

Thinking this, Hiruko picked up a vial of silver reagent and examined it carefully.

Originally, he developed the drug based on a protease that activates cell totipotency, intending only to create a temporary, potent recovery agent.

It is not a potentially dangerous recovery agent made from interstitial cells, but an agent developed for therapeutic purposes.

In some ways, this is a remarkable thing.

This potion, in essence, should be called a panacea.

This drug can activate the potential hidden within cells.

As long as something is alive, it has a certain chance to revert to its ancestral form and gain the power of its ancestors.

However, it does have significant flaws in practical applications, but theoretically it can achieve regeneration from a drop of blood.

However, Hiruko had previously overlooked a crucial issue: the dominance and recessiveness of the genetic code in organisms.

Not all genes are dominant, and many traits can be masked by other traits throughout an organism's life.

These are things that our ancestors gradually evolved and eliminated; recessive genes are sometimes extremely important for organisms.

However, sometimes