Chapitre 3: 3. Ultear

The next day, just as Alex thought, they started experimenting on Ultear. He doesn't remember what kind of experiment they do to her, but it won't be pleasant at all.

Though it doesn't seem to be as painful as his experiment. At least they don't attack her with powerful magic spells and physical attacks like him.

But now, things have changed for him too. Shukaku has taught him a lot about his power and abilities. It surely will be difficult to use what Shukaku taught immediately, but now he knows what to do.

As usual, the researchers inject Ethernano into Alex's body through the tubes on the walls to trigger his transformation.

Usually, Alex would do nothing because he couldn't do anything anyway. But today is different.

Now, he is trying to feel and control the Ethernano they inject into his body. He always feels the Ethernano moves in his body when they inject it to him, but he never tries to do anything to it before.

If he wants to escape, then he needs to be stronger. That's why he will use what they give him to destroy them instead.

Alex tries to control the Ethernano that enters his body. He is trying to suppress it and prevent himself from being forced to transform.

Even after the usual amount of Ethernano is injected into his body, only Alex's eyes are transforming into Shukaku's eyes, while his body doesn't change.

The researchers are surprised, but they look very pleasant seeing a change in their test subject. Now they have more data and will be able to do more tests on him.

They inject more Ethernano into Alex's body until he finally can't hold it and is forced to transform. But again, he surprises the researchers.

His personality usually changes into that of a beast when he transforms. He would roar angrily and try to attack them even though he is chained very strongly.

But now, his eyes are clear and he seems to be sane. Alex is now in control of himself even after transforming because Shukaku doesn't take over his mind.

Shukaku said that he needed to take over Alex's mind before whenever he transformed because Alex could go crazy. After all, they are torturing him when he transforms, and there's no way a small kid like him could bear it for 2 years.

Alex is very thankful that this Shukaku is the Shukaku that has changed his view towards humans thanks to Naruto's Talk no Jutsu.

Them being on the same boat also helps, but it would be difficult if this Shukaku is the violent one that appeared when Naruto was still a kid.

Anyway, the researchers seem to be happy seeing the changes of one of their most valuable test subjects because this means they can do more experiments on him.

They quickly move to the next stage, attacking the transformed Alex with magic spells and physical attacks. His changes make them curious whether he will show another change or not now.

Of course, with Alex being in control of his own body instead of Shukaku, his reactions to the attacks will be different.

As usual, he tries to defend himself from the attacks by dodging or blocking them. But his movements are clumsier than usual today and he gets hit more.

It's because he doesn't have any fighting experience except some school fights that weren't that serious. That's why unlike Shukaku, he doesn't know how to react to these attacks correctly.

Furthermore, Shukaku also has a great instinct as a Legendary Beast that has lived for hundreds of years. So even with all the restrictions, he could react properly, unlike Alex.

Still, the researchers are elated to see yet another change even though it's more of a downgrade. But they can guess that it's because Alex still has control over his body that his reactions to the attacks are not good.

"It must be because he needs to think first before moving, just like normal humans."

"Yeah, previously he only moved with instinct, just like a beast."

"Is it a good thing though?"

"Of course, it is. If he can control his Beast Soul, we can make him show more of the beast's abilities. His reactions to these attacks are not that important because we aren't training him."

"Right. These attacks are just tests to see his reactions and how the beast's body responds to attacks. Hehe, the team leader will be happy with this."

These scums really don't have a shred of pity even toward children. Alex swears he will give them painful death when he has enough power to crush them all.

Today's experiment lasts longer because Alex is holding on longer than usual even though he can't react properly to the attacks.

It's very painful, but he holds on because Shukaku tells him it's a good chance to gain more control over his transformed state. He also can train himself to react to attacks, so it's like a battle training.

Ultear returns to her room before Alex's experiment is over. So she sees Alex's beast form and sees how they torture him with powerful attacks that would have killed most people.

"A-Alex, are you okay?"

After the researchers left and Alex returned to normal, Ultear finally can ask him. Alex just lies on the floor because he doesn't have energy left to even sit.

"Not really. They are more intense today. Probably because they see my magic improved. I will be fine after sleeping as usual."

Just like real Jinchuuriki, Alex's body will recover from most damages just by resting. Shukaku won't take over his body to kill humans now anyway, unlike when he was still in Gaara's body, so Alex can just sleep comfortably.

"How about you? Are you alright?"

"It was painful, but not as painful as what they did to you."

"Endure it. I promise I will get all of us out of this cursed place."

Ultear nods even though she doesn't seem too positive about it. But she remains hopeful because she really wants to go back to her mom again.

Since that day, the experiments on Alex's are getting more and more intense. His improvement makes them want to test more things on him.

Alex's control over Shukaku's power is getting better every day. His improvements also help Shukaku recover the abilities that were sealed before.

Shukaku's true power was sealed and he could only use some of his abilities. If he had his full power, then he would have destroyed this place to escape already.

"Kid, don't reveal our full power until we have enough power to obliterate this place. Just show them minor improvements so they will keep you alive at least."

If the researchers don't find him useful again as a test subject, then they will just kill him, that's why Shukaku says that.

"I know. We need to fool them so they won't expect us to attack. How much power have you recovered?"

"Almost half of my full power. They increase the Ethernano they inject into your body, so I can recover faster now."

Shukaku has adapted with this world's source of power, Ethernano. He said that it's actually similar to the Naruto world's chakra. It's just that the method to use them is different.

This world uses magic circles while the Naruto world uses seals. Though those with very high masteries over their abilities sometimes don't need either magic circles or seals.

Thanks to Alex's returned memories, Shukaku can focus on adapting to this world's power and he can recover faster as he doesn't need to protect Alex as much as before.

Alex keeps enduring the extremely painful experiment while trying to improve himself every day. He also keeps motivating Ultear so she won't lose hope. Though it's also to keep motivating himself.

Ultear also helps Alex gather information outside of the isolated rooms. After all, while his experiments are done inside his room, Ultear is always taken somewhere else, so he doesn't know anything that happens outside of his room and can only ask Ultear to help him with it.

Though Ultear also can't gather too much information because what she sees is very limited. But at least she knows the way out of the prison rooms.

There are other prisons other than theirs. Their rooms are actually located quite deep because their powers are deemed dangerous and can endanger other subjects, so they are put quite far.

Just knowing the way out of this prison is great enough for their escape plan. That's why Alex is very thankful to Ultear.

Then, around 3 months after his memories returned, Alex is finally ready to get out of this place. He is ready to run amok and destroy the ones who have tortured him for 2 years.