Iroh had found himself feeling revitalized at the curiosity expressed by the newcomer to the lab. He even found himself discussing details of his past with the woman, in concert with her own voiced experiences. Mentioning how he had even worked within a Carmot imbuing line in Soons Haven. Having needed a firsthand understanding of the process. Noting that his own proficiency had been water nature. How he had been surprised by it's potential, even mentioning his frustrations at the lack of the substance to work with. That the samples he'd managed to acquire weren't sufficient in quantity to adequately conduct the research he wanted. Having to instead focus on aspects he knew they already could be applied to rather then using the resource to attempt to devise other uses.
Having not objected to the decontamination process. Michi's opportunity to discover more about this facility would increase. For if she had objected they would have had to use the maintenance tunnels. A suitable means, but one that would not allow Iroh to show off his work. Something he was looking forward to doing, after all his research was nearly complete. What harm could come from a quick explanation of his work, he had no doubt that someone such as her would find interest in it. He was eager to hear what thoughts she might have on his work. Perhaps more importantly he wanted to distract himself from that nagging feeling in the back of his mind.
Being outside the room he saw none of the features that may have hinted at Michi's former life. Nor did he know that within her decontamination stall Michi was learning an incredible discovery. One that may have been difficult for the Oracle to accept. After all she had met the Head of this Miroku Clan many years ago. He was to take inspiration from her own words, a thug guided by his own hubris. When he had coerced her to accompany him & his street urchin of a ward for a meal. It would have no doubt been the last thing from her mind that the man sitting opposite her had or would gain the resources & influence to accomplish such a feat. Let alone more then once & on who knew how large of a scale.
After all it had been for that reason she had called on him to abduct the one dearest to her. Had she known the forces at his disposal perhaps she would have hesitated. Fortunately the Head of the Miroku had found himself on the receiving end of an act of patricide, instead of being able to play his part he had been forced to regenerate. Then again she had only discovered the lab, seen the work they conducted within these walls. Nor did she know of his suspected role in the attacks against multiple nations. No by all accounts he should've been no more then an upstart, continuously clawing for whatever power he could gain in the bowels of Sunagakure. He wasn't the type of individual who possessed the patience for such endeavors, the focus needed...was he? An irrelevant half-breed having a tantrum at the world, that was what many who failed to truly see him perceived him as. But like so many before her the Oracle had failed to truly see the Sage for what he was. In turn she had deemed him irrelevant & without the need for a further thought. An underestimation that had been made by many in his time, often placing him in a position to accomplish his goals unhindered by the troubles of authority.
Then again perhaps it was his numerous deals that truly afforded him such sanctuary. Even the great Robokage had dealt with him, even the prideful Storm Lord who considered him beneath themselves. They too had come to him for his aid, from the highest ranks of society. To the lowest of street urchins, there wasn't a facet of society that hadn't relied on his services or in some case the Sage personally. For those who had kept their ear close to the pulse of the Underground, would have heard about him whether they knew it or not. The Demon of Mist, Fate, The Immortal Trickster all monikers he had used while conducting various business. Even using an alias & identity he had acquired from a crippled veteran. An individual who was all to happy to exchange their identity for the ability to be able to fight again & once more have purpose.
So naturally upon this discovery our Oracle friends mind drifted. Not to projects that would be fitting for such a facility, but instead one that produced concoctions & potions. An understandable assumption given her lack of information in this situation, place & the people running it. This situation was certainly not a circumstance she would have foreseen herself in. Naturally this line of thinking was followed by another rational though, run. An instinct most individuals would have let drive them & their actions. For a being like Michi, a hybrid shinobi. Iroh would be little more then a speedbump in her path so to speak, as complex as the locks were. Using an approximation of the time spent during their entry, along with a series of trial & error with chakra pulses cracked the lock pattern. Unfortunately that would take time, would it be a risk she would take? Especially so early into her discovery, after all an Oracles purpose was to document such things.
There would be no objection from Iroh when Michi emerged from the locker area with her satchel slung over her shoulders. After all it was a Messenger satchel, for all he knew she had items relevant to her work or for Hirogata. Someone seemed different about the woman, hhe just couldn't put his finger on it. Oh of course that's what it had to be, she was nervous. They were about to meet the boss, then again maybe she had heard rumors about them. After all he'd heard some of the things whispered about his Lord. One could only imagine the rumors that mmust be associated with those of them who served & lived under him. The pause between her response to his statement fortunately for her sake, this was interpreted as anxiety & confirmed his earlier thoughts.
They entered through the security port & as it slid shut behind them the access card would whip back to Iroh's waist. Perhaps if the Oracle was careful enough she could swipe the card from Iroh without his noticing & potentially buy herself a swifter exit/while delaying his pursuit. Then again if he truly decided to try & stop her...well he just might find himself on the unique position to experience how a Hybrid feeds or what it feels like to have his body broken against a wall. Depending on the urgency she felt in the situation, fortunately for our young scientist it would seem such thoughts where beyond Michi. At least in this moment, but if her feelings of desperation & being trapped grew. Well who knew what she might be driven to do.
When she stated she was excited to see his lab the young mans eyes beamed with excitement. Too enthused by the prospect of showing off his project to someone that would truly appreciate the difficulty such a feat would have required. While suspecting her curiosity would be sufficient enough to distract from the subject he had that allowed him this unique chance to demonstrate the final product. No doubt today would be a day to remember for the two, if they survived what the day had installed for them. They would pass various doors on their way through this corridor. Some clearly with variances that impled they were designed to withstand certain impacts, force or to even contain
something within.
Some of these were designed in a manner that allowed one to inspect through the door or a monitor window. From these doors that allowed for an unobstructed view, Michi would be able to catch a glance at some intersting sights. Some simply contained various beakers, distilling or refining some unknown chemical or enzyme. Indistinguishable from the small glance that was available. Another would reveal an individual that was strapped to a surgical table was a sedated individual. They were being subjected to Intravenous Therapy in an effort to alter their genes. Over a series of rooms she would be able to glimpse various stages of progressed subjects. The later stages looking little more then bastardized swarm-like abominations. Although these 'creatures' for they could no longer be called human.
These poor souls were being altered irreperably in an effort to create various levels of enhanced soldiers/beings. Just one of their efforts to enhance individuals & create new tools of warfare. Further down there would be a room that had various glyphs, seals & formula's scarwled about it. A visible bench within the room had all manner of material. Unique components collected in an effort to further refine the Homunculus process created & used by Miroku Akkuma to create Ryujin Akira. Lastly they would get to a hermetically sealed door, swiping his card against it the door would open.
Inside would initially appear to be a rather ordinary lab, when compared to some of those they had just passed. A couple work benches, computer, cabinets & variety of peculiar crystal-like objects litering one of the desks. Each sat atop their own tray & beside them were a series of tools that Iroh used to handle the samples. Curious, they were no gems or material that was local to the landscape. Walking over to the bench the young scientist would gesture at the crystals as he placed on a pair of gloves. "
I call it Creeping Crystal." as he began to talk he would use the tools to hold one of the gems in place as he broke of a small portion off. "
I collaborated closely with Lord Akkuma to create this."
Carefully he would take the smaller portion over to a cage situated on the corner of the table. Inside it was a small mouse, he would drop the substance inside. Eagerly the mouse would run up to the crystal & begin gnawing on it. Iroh would begin to explain more about Creeping Crystal. The difficulties he'd faced in stabilizing it, ensuring it didn't continue to grow exponentially draining it's subject. How it had been a grueling process to synthetically create the compound, in a manner so that it could be programmed to react to specific enzymes produced by Akkuma. Going on to mention with eagerness how it was his belief, that with further refinement they could more efficiently control the duration or life cycle of the Creeping Crystal organism.
While the young scientist spoke the mouse in the cage, would begin to become encompassed by the Creeping Crystal. Rapidly at first until it slowed to an impercetible growth. Iroh would go on to voice how frustrating the process of taking the product from parasitic to symbiotic in terms of effects had been. Rather then consuming it's subjects chakra at a rate that inevetably resulted in death from exertion/chakra drain fatigue. How happy he'd been when the breakthrough happened that he had cried. Lastly he would finish with these words. "
It can even successfully contain & metabolize a subject such as a trained shinobi, would you care to see the specimen for yourself?" It was one thing to achieve this for a mouse, but a shinobi? Their chakra levels would surely vary too much, with the lack of consistency how did they account for variances in strength to escape or how long the Creeping Crystal would be able to systain itself of it's source/host. Perhaps that was why Iroh had encountered such difficulty in his work.
One thing was for certain, if Michi had been surprised by what she had learned so far. Then she was in for a true shock, the surprises of the day had just gotten started. She had found herself in a veritable treasure trove of unknowns & potential knowledge. But more importantly how far down the rabbit hole that was the Miroku would she go?
[OOC: Sorry on the delay ninja.]
[
The Creeping Crystal - (Reference image, think a chakra based version of the linked mineral.) Grows rapidly upon contact with biological material, rapidly grows when exposed to chakra. Encasing the victim in a stasis-like state, the crystal both trapping & yet preserving it's victim as a source of sustenance for the mineral. Surprisingly the crystal is not unlike some sweetened candies in taste & although ingestion is ill-advised as it will result in a cocoon-like encasing forming over the victim. Ingestion of the substance results in a chemical reaction that causes the subjects skin to behig secreting an enzyme filled sweat, that will eventually solidify into the Creeping Crystal. This process can be reversed with an antidote that Akkuma created that stops the enzyme production. In some instances after a significant amount of time the subject is released by itseelf, although the life cycle of Creeping Crystal can fluctuate greatly depending on the subject & is still in it's developmental stages.]