Kakashi Hatake POV
Shisui and I helped Amaya to her feet once she'd finished treating her injuries. The redhead hadn't healed them completely, as that would use up a large amount of chakra something that could put her in a tough spot if she needed it to react to a future trap.
We quickly returned to our original formation and moved down the only corridor available. The place was less lit than before, which put me even more on edge.
We passed through a section of the corridor plunged in near darkness, and when we reached the light again, Amaya stopped, making all of us halt too. She turned and looked back the way we had come.
– Heard something? – I asked, since I was closest to her.
– No, the opposite – She looked at me – There's no sound at all besides us.
I quickly scanned our surroundings. The redhead was right; it was strange. We were in a lab that, even after years of disuse, was still functional. The fact that this area showed no signs of working wasn't right.
– Use light sticks, check for any flaws in the walls – Amaya instructed us, already searching her own belt pouch for a stick.
– A hidden room? – The weasel-faced guy asked, and the redhead nodded.
– Definitely – She bent the glow stick in her hands, making it light up.
– How can you be so sure? – Koji questioned, and Amaya looked at him.
– I remember this place – She said calmly – They always brought us here.
I pondered for a moment. By "us," she means herself and the other children from this lab, I thought. And if they were always brought here, that can only mean this place is... The testing lab, where they studied their bodies and tortured them.
I looked at the redhead and saw a more serious expression on her face, different from before when she was more composed. We're getting closer and closer to her deepest fears here..., I considered.
I moved closer to her and hesitated for a moment before lightly resting my hand on her shoulder, making the Uzumaki turn her eyes to me.
– If you need to take a break, we'll understand – I said softly, so only she could hear.
– I'm fine... – The redhead replied in the same tone.
– Don't push yourself too hard – I reinforced – Physically or mentally.
Before I could remove my hand from her shoulder to step back, Amaya held it, making me look at her again.
– Thank you... – She thanked me with a weak smile.
Third Person POV
It wasn't too hard to find a slight flaw in one of the walls and activate the device behind it to reveal a large room. When the door opened, a gust of icy air hit them. The temperature there was much lower than the rest of the place.
Both Shisui and Kakashi were slightly bothered by the excessive cold, although the Hatake preferred colder temperatures. Amaya and the fake Anbu, however, were familiar with it, both from the time they had spent there years ago and their preference for low temperatures.
– We can drop the formation in here – The Uzumaki informed them – There are no traps – Everyone nodded.
They spread out around the room, except for the redhead, who stood still near the entrance, looking at the place for a few moments. She was trying not to lose her composure there.
This was the lab where all the pain tolerance tests, intellectual capacity tests, neuronal stimulation, cognitive tests, and medication trials were conducted. After the tanks from the previous floor, this place represented another 30% of what she had suffered, and still suffered from.
The fake Anbu was away from the girl, but he still watched her out of the corner of his eye, studying every facial and physical reaction she showed. He knew there was important information about the experiments in that room, but nothing that could compromise him, so he didn't pay much attention to what the other two boys were looking at.
The first thing that caught Shisui's attention were the photos hanging on one of the lit screens on the left wall. Various photographs of what seemed to be a person's development.
A single notation was present on all of them, in the top right corner: "122". The Uchiha ran his eyes over the various photos, seeing that with each one, that being had grown a little more.
When he got closer to the final ones, a feeling of unease hit him as he realized who it was: His sister. This is the entire visual record of her development..., he concluded.
One photo, from when the girl must have been about three years old, was one of the few where her face was marked by bruises. Shisui took it in his hands, looking at the notes on the back:
"Day 1368
Subject 122 was tested beyond the pain limits the others reached. Her resistance is, indeed, disproportionate to the others.
Collect her genetic material again to try and find the definitive origin for such resistance (due only to Uzumaki clan genes or some other flaw?)."
The boy had to clench his free hand tightly to avoid destroying that photo and its inhumane notes. What kind of monster does something like this, and so calmly?!, he questioned internally, clenching his jaw. How can...?!
He only snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a hand gently rest on his shoulder and looked up to see the same pair of green eyes from the photo in front of him.
Amaya extended her hand to her brother, and he looked at it, then back at the redhead. He sighed heavily and handed her the photo he was holding.
– Seems that was my designation – She commented calmly, but her tone was pained – 122...
– Would that have any connection to the number of children they created here or something else? – The Uchiha asked, trying to return to a state of calm amidst everything around him.
– It's the number of children – Kakashi stated, making the siblings turn their attention to him – Apparently, you were the last one created – The Hatake looked at her.
Amaya and Shisui approached the platinum-haired boy to see what he had found. It was data about the experimental procedure developed in that lab, involving the incubation and genetic material of the beings created there.
He handed a few sheets to both of them. There were many notes about various things. Some made sense, others seemed written in a completely different language, so scientifically dense they were.
What the Hatake was reading discussed the general notes on the incubation and post-maturation of the people created in that lab:
"Experimental Procedures (general notes)
– Incubation
A large portion of the test subjects resulted in premature death (they didn't even complete nine months). A small portion showed chances of development for the study's objective (26% successful, being 31 descendants of the selected clans), while 74% showed multiple flaws in their composition or even in their development outside incubation (a total of 91).
It is also important to note that most test subjects show high susceptibility to diseases, of the most varied kinds.
– Post-maturation
Various experiments needed to be conducted, among them: Pain limit, neuronal stimulation, brain information addition, survival fights and reaction*, level of concentration in combat, and natural (genetic) affinities.
Involved in the factor to aid the awakening of the sharingan among bearers of the Uchiha clan genes."
He stopped reading and closed his eyes for a moment. This was inconceivable; not even the Hatake could remain completely calm in the face of all this. Anger resonated within him, just as it had with Shisui earlier.
– I think these files are the specific ones for this... – The redhead commented, flipping through the papers in her hands and picking out a specific one – This one is... – Her speech faltered for a moment – Mine.
"Experimental Procedures (specific – 122)
– Incubation
Her incubation period began on July 28th and extended until April 26th, totaling 273 days. Went through the period without presenting many variables. Her development showed the most stable course among the tests.
Belongs to the 26% that showed chances of developing for the study's objective. The only test subject who showed elevated resistance to the diseases she was subjected to. With a highly resistant immune system*.
Could this be a characteristic stemming from the longevity of the Uzumaki clan members?
– Post-maturation
• Pain tolerance = abnormal (elevated);
• Neuronal stimulation = standard;
• Memory = elevated;
• Level of concentration/focus = elevated;
• Genetic affinity = no manifestations;
• Skills = Kenjutsu, taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu (resistance; no usage manifestation);
• Combat = With the exception of the first test, displays a cold and concentrated behavior, evaluating and eliminating her opponents quickly (regardless of the degree of power and age difference between them)."
The Uzumaki stopped reading the papers in her hands. The feeling of nausea was about to rise up her throat, and she had to take a deep breath with all of that.
Everything she had ever considered herself to be was described there: An aberration, created just to be a lab toy. An inhuman monster. A killer.
She took a deep breath once, twice, three times... And felt hands resting on hers, from her two safe harbors there: Shisui and Kakashi.
She nodded weakly, as if thanking them both for being there. And they both understood without even exchanging a word.
The fake Anbu enjoyed the scene from a little further away. But he was still curious to see how far the girl's self-control could go.
– There's one more note about subject 122 – He announced calmly, trying to keep the scorn out of his voice.
– We can leave that to evaluate back in the village – Shisui suggested, but Amaya refused.
– No, it's better we know now so that whatever we find next makes some sense – She sighed softly – What is this note about? – The redhead asked and stared at the man, who smiled sadistically under his mask, promptly reading.
"Medication (observations)
– Diet
Diminished need for nutritional replenishment; no manifested allergies.
– Resistances
Long-term loss of sleep drug duration. Diminished reactions to most medications."
– Kami-sama... – The fake Anbu feigned surprise in his voice – A living being like this, it almost seems like...
– A monster – Amaya said, exactly what the man expected.
– You know that's not true – The Uchiha contested the redhead, whose gaze was a bit vacant, though she nodded weakly at her brother.
The Hatake shot a look at the fake Anbu that, to a normal person, would have made all their senses scream "danger" from the fury emanating from the boy's eyes. But for the man there, it made the situation even more delicious.
Seeing the two boys boiling with rage and their experiment resenting everything that had been done to her, acting like a living being... That was priceless to him.
But he knew he hadn't yet reached the girl's sensitive point. He knew her and knew he had to break her first for the finalization of his plans to proceed perfectly.
Both Orochimaru and Danzou had gathered whatever information they could about the girl in the years following the Chunnin Exams, when they discovered she was alive and walking freely through the village.
And they knew about the strength of her will, as well as her determination in combat. Any order given to her, or mission, was carried out with caution, success, and the most precise execution.
She could be defined as the perfect soldier.
And she was a study material that couldn't be wasted, especially when she had reappeared before her creators even better than the last time they had seen her.
– Perhaps it's best we move on – The fake Anbu suggested in his calm tone – I believe we have all the necessary information from this part of the lab – The Uzumaki agreed.
– You're right – She sighed weakly – Give me all the documents you collected so we can take them – They nodded.
Amaya took a medium-sized scroll, spreading it out on the floor of the room. The boys handed the redhead what they had read with her earlier, and she placed them on the scroll.
The fake Anbu approached with the documents he had and handed them to the girl. If he hadn't been wearing the mask, his disguise would probably have been ruined long ago by the lecherous smile on his face.
When the redhead took the pages extended by the Anbu, a strange sensation ran through her body from head to toe.
There were three things the Uzumaki trusted faithfully: Her family, her friends, and her intuition.
And at that moment, the last one was warning her that something was wrong. But the question was: What exactly?
The girl raised her eyes to the man in front of her, trying to find some reason to think it was because of him, but found none. His behavior hadn't been, in general, suspicious up to that point.
When she tried to force her vision to see the expression in the man's eyes under his mask, he dropped the papers, leaving them with the redhead and putting a slight distance between them.
The girl found that odd, because it even seemed like he had understood what she was trying to do at that moment. Or it might just be me jumping to conclusions..., she pondered in the end.
Amaya dropped the last pages given by the Anbu onto the others and raised her right hand with a half-ram seal, sealing all the documents they had obtained in that room so she could later take them to Konoha for a thorough analysis.
– Let's keep moving – The redhead announced, and everyone nodded.