Chapter 5: Kenichi Amamiya's Research
"Oh no, I just realized I forgot something. Kenichi, could you help me walk Kakashi home?"
Watching Kushina's exaggerated acting, Kenichi Amamiya took a deep breath.
Why am I regretting my decision more and more?
"Of course, Kushina neechan."
He agreed reluctantly.
He had been about to call her "aunt," but the murderous aura radiating from Kushina, along with Minato's frantic shake of the head behind her, made him immediately change course.
So "older sister" it was.
Kenichi suddenly felt a wave of sympathy for Minato, silently wondering what the future Fourth Hokage's status at home would be like.
"Then I will leave it to you."
Kushina flashed him a bright smile, then grabbed Minato and dragged him away. As they left, Minato glanced back, winked at Kenichi, and gave him a thumbs up.
Kenichi had no words.
Minato and Kushina's intentions were obvious. To put it bluntly, they wanted him to get along with Kakashi and become his friend.
He snuck a look at Kakashi, who still wore that same expressionless face. The moment Minato turned away, Kakashi simply turned as well and walked off without so much as a polite goodbye.
Kids are really troublesome.
Kenichi pursed his lips but still followed behind.
He had given his word to Kushina, and for the sake of his long term plans, he had to take it seriously.
It was not as if he had any grand designs on Kakashi. As a naturally gifted ninja, Kakashi would have plenty of options and powerful backers of his own. If Kenichi had to say there was anything he wanted from him, it would probably be his kenjutsu.
Kakashi's father had been terrifyingly strong, rumored to be even more powerful than the Sannin themselves. The Hatake clan's swordsmanship must have been incredible. It was just that Kakashi never really showcased that talent later on.
Even so, Kenichi understood the danger of trying to master too many things at once. On top of that, he was not exactly a genius ninja.
If you ignored the fact that he was Orochimaru's disciple, Kenichi was just another ordinary genin in Konoha, the sort who would normally be thrown out as cannon fodder.
[Research progress: 99.99 percent.]
A translucent display only he could see hovered in front of his eyes, and Kenichi felt his mood lift.
He might be cannon fodder for now, but once that progress bar hit completion, he would obtain the key to rising above that fate.
"Hey, Kakashi, I heard you are already a jonin?"
Kenichi broke the silence that had hung between them the entire way.
Kakashi clearly heard him, but he did not turn around, did not stop walking, and did not respond. He just kept moving at his own pace, calm and slow.
Kenichi curled his lip.
This Kakashi was nothing like the future version who would bury his nose in Icha Icha Paradise. Right now, he was more like a walking corpse.
A corpse without a soul.
"Do you have nightmares?" Kenichi asked, amusement tugging at the corner of his mouth.
This time, Kakashi's steps paused for a moment. But he still did not answer, and after that slight hitch, he continued walking in silence.
Kenichi smiled inwardly.
Obito's death and the way Rin had died were wounds carved straight into Kakashi's heart. There was no way he did not have nightmares.
This kind of condition would be called a psychological disorder in Kenichi's previous life. He would have needed a psychiatrist.
Kenichi did not know much about formal mental health treatment, but he did know about illusions.
Why would a disciple of Orochimaru bother to learn genjutsu?
Naturally, for self preservation.
Orochimaru did not currently intend to use Kenichi as a vessel, since his research was not yet complete. Even so, Kenichi had worked hard to master some genjutsu for the sake of defending himself from Orochimaru if necessary.
In Kenichi's eyes, illusions were essentially a form of hypnosis, just much more direct and efficient. Used properly, they had the potential to act as a kind of mental therapy.
Unfortunately, he was still only a genin, and Kakashi possessed a Sharingan. Under those conditions, using genjutsu on him would not be easy.
So Kenichi reluctantly gave up on the idea of using illusions on Kakashi to create some embarrassing blackmail material and then extort him with it when he grew older.
After escorting Kakashi home, Kenichi left without saying much else.
Right now, Kakashi was little more than a block of wood. Kenichi did not have the habit of talking to blocks of wood.
Better to wait until Kakashi entered Anbu and let time treat his wounds.
When he got back, Kenichi threw himself down on his bed.
His house was not large. It was a small place Orochimaru had allocated to him.
Even so, it had everything he needed, including a refrigerator.
For reasons he still did not fully understand, the ninja world had refrigerators. Then again, science in this world was a mystery all on its own.
Kenichi was not in a hurry to sleep.
The research progress could reach one hundred percent at any moment. He was far too keyed up to rest, so he sat down in a chair and started playing with his collection instead.
Orochimaru was a surprisingly good boss. The fact that he paid Kenichi a salary, and a generous one at that, proved it. It was definitely better than those employers who only made empty promises.
Because of his special ability, Kenichi had begun consciously collecting odd things. Once he finished analyzing Hashirama's cells, he planned to use that foundation to analyze other samples.
"This piece of amber is pretty interesting."
He turned a chunk of amber over in his hand.
Inside was a strange insect he had never seen before. He had even asked members of the Aburame clan, Konoha's resident bug experts, but they had never seen this species either.
That answer had only made him more curious, so he bought it outright and added it to his collection.
Still, the item he valued most was something else entirely.
"I wonder how long you can last."
Kenichi opened the refrigerator, looked at the neatly arranged test tubes inside, and could not help but smile.
These were all samples he had asked Orochimaru to gather for him: the blood of the toads of Mount Myoboku, the blood of the snakes of Ryuchi Cave, and the secretions of the slugs from Shikkotsu Forest.
They were extremely important to him.
Orochimaru, on the other hand, did not care much. He had studied them himself and found nothing particularly useful, so he had simply passed them on to Kenichi.
After receiving them, Kenichi had done a bit of surface level research, then pretended to give up. In reality, he carefully preserved all three samples.
He wanted to see what sort of power the sages of the three great sacred lands possessed. Unfortunately, Orochimaru had only been able to obtain actual body tissue from the Slug Sage. As for the other two, he had not been able to secure anything more than fluids.
[Current research progress has been completed.]
[You have acquired the physique of Hashirama Senju.]
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