After finishing his arrangements, Senju Hikaru left the area quickly and began circling the perimeter around the laboratory.
To be honest, he still felt uneasy about doing something like this—especially the risk that the lizard might be discovered, and that he would be exposed as a result.
After all, Senju Hikaru was still somewhere aboveground in the area. He needed to put distance between himself and the site as fast as possible.
But he also understood that simply "running" carried danger too.
Root's nature was vicious. Even if they didn't catch anyone, even if all that remained was a lizard corpse in the facility, it would still be bad.
In Konoha, who among Root, ANBU, and the upper leadership didn't know Senju Hikaru had a giant lizard summon?
If a small lizard suddenly turned up inside a Root lab, thinking of him would be the most natural conclusion.
And even without "caught in the act," what was Root?
They wouldn't bother with reason or evidence. They would act.
And that kind of action was the most terrifying:
If you resist, you're finished—because if you're innocent, why would you resist?
If you don't resist, they can claim it was an "accident" and kill you without needing proof.
After that, they'd issue a regret-filled apology to ANBU packed with words like "unfortunate" and "mistake," find a scapegoat, and call it done.
Senju Hikaru didn't even doubt that the so-called "scapegoat" would be smoothly handled too.
But this time, his luck held.
Even on the day he left—while he continued circling at roughly a three-hundred-meter radius—he sensed that the small lizard had already left the world of the living.
During that whole period, Senju Hikaru kept his sensory ability active, locking onto everything nearby.
And he discovered nothing.
It eased his nerves… but he didn't dare truly relax, because the following days were the most dangerous, the most crucial.
For those days, he didn't even dare summon the lizard again.
Even at home, he stayed on edge, monitoring for any disturbance—any hint that something had changed.
It was too dangerous.
This operation was, without question, the most dangerous thing Senju Hikaru had ever done.
But he also knew: if it succeeded, the payoff would be beyond imagination.
When profit reaches 100%, people will trample every law. When profit reaches 300%, people will risk the gallows.
For Senju Hikaru, this was absolutely a "300% profit" gamble.
No matter how careful he was, he would still take the risk.
A week passed.
Nothing happened.
Only then did Senju Hikaru finally breathe out.
He knew he'd gambled correctly.
He still hadn't seen what the lizard had recorded or brought back—but whatever came out of that underground facility couldn't be worthless.
So, on a late night one week later, Senju Hikaru quietly summoned the small lizard again.
He'd been waiting so long he couldn't stand it anymore.
But then—
"What?" Senju Hikaru's face—normally warm by sheer habit—changed completely. "You didn't bring back anything?"
The lizard's answer was devastating.
It had been inside for more than half an hour… and found nothing?
"Hiss…" The lizard flicked its tongue, trying to explain.
"You're saying the underground facility is too big, and you couldn't locate where they store documents?" Senju Hikaru forced himself to calm down. "But you weren't exposed?"
"Hiss." The lizard nodded in an oddly human way, then continued with its strange vocalizations.
"Not exposed… but you followed the smell of blood and found something else?"
Senju Hikaru frowned.
"What exactly did you find? I don't want this to end in total failure."
"Hiss…"
Then the lizard's body flared with an unusual chakra.
It opened its mouth.
And a strange lump of meat—radiating a hard-to-describe aura—was spat out onto the floor.
"This is…?"
Senju Hikaru froze for a moment as he stared at the darkened chunk.
Then his expression shifted sharply.
He immediately spread his sensory ability outward, scanning the surroundings—while focusing even more intensely on the meat itself.
It wasn't large, and it had already dried out. That meant it had been sitting for some time.
Yet despite that… it still carried unbelievable cellular activity.
Something like that would be absurd to anyone else.
But to Senju Hikaru, it was simply pointing to one terrifyingly familiar possibility.
There was a man who, even after death, could still leave a body capable of this.
"This is… a piece of Senju Hashirama's flesh?" Senju Hikaru's eyes lit with excitement. "Even if it isn't, this is still the strongest proof I could ask for!"
Yes.
With this chunk of meat, Senju Hikaru now held his best trump card.
Whether it was truly Hashirama's flesh, or flesh derived from Hashirama's cells and grafted into someone else—either way, it was effective and fatal evidence.
With this card, Senju Hikaru could choose either path—follow Minato… or turn and attach himself to Hiruzen.
Either way, it was a weapon.
If he followed Minato, this card could force Hiruzen and his side to hesitate—to fear acting rashly.
Handled well, it could even pressure Hiruzen into abandoning Danzō and yielding major concessions.
If he followed Hiruzen instead, this card could let Senju Hikaru present himself as someone willing to "cut down his own clan for the greater good," displaying absolute loyalty in front of Hiruzen.
No matter how he used it, the reward wouldn't be small.
It wouldn't be low.
"But before that… I need to secure my footing on a bigger stage—and keep climbing."
The value of this trump card would only rise as Senju Hikaru's status rose.
If Senju Hikaru was only an ANBU squad leader, this card wouldn't protect him—it would be a death sentence.
Reality was cruel.
Senju Hikaru understood that.
Still—having this card in hand was priceless.
He forced himself to calm down, then turned to the small lizard.
"Thank you," he said quietly.
"Thank you for delivering me… such a gift…"
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