Chapter 8: New Research Subject, The Three Tomoe Sharingan
"How is the experiment going?"
Kenichi, who was fully focused on recording the data, heard Orochimaru's voice behind him.
He did not even turn around. By now, he was used to this. His teacher always moved like a ghost, appearing right at his back without making a sound.
"Two died, but that also makes the data more accurate. Rejection does exist, and…"
Kenichi glanced at the stretch of black cloth beside him. Under it were two motionless test subjects who no longer had any vital signs.
They were not from Konoha. They were captives taken from the Land of Wind.
The war was technically over, but border skirmishes and heightened patrols would go on for quite some time. For now, test subjects were still relatively easy to obtain. If they waited too long, that would no longer be the case.
"Additionally, I discovered that the First Hokage's cells are extremely active and highly invasive."
Kenichi handed his written report to Orochimaru.
Even a tiny injection of those cells posed a threat to normal tissue. Their mad rate of expansion reminded Kenichi of cancer cells.
The two were very similar: both divided at an abnormally fast pace and could easily become fatal to the host. If the affected tissue was not removed in time, death was almost guaranteed.
That thought gave Kenichi a strange idea.
Could he develop a ninjutsu that stimulated the proliferation of cancer cells in a target's body, forcing them into late stage cancer in a very short period of time?
Cancer cells could appear in any normal person. Most of the time, the body's own defenses removed them. Those that slipped through the cracks grew into full blown cancer.
"Does cancer even exist in the ninja world?" Kenichi found himself suddenly curious.
"Send the one missing a hand to Laboratory Three."
Orochimaru gave the data a brief look. It was similar to his previous experiments, but Kenichi's method allowed their test subjects to endure for longer.
That was perfect. It meant he could conduct multiple experiments in parallel.
"Understood, teacher."
Kenichi did not think too much about the order. Lab Three was focused on Sharingan research.
His teacher was very interested in turning ordinary people into fake Uchiha. The problem was that, with the war over, Uchiha corpses had become harder to come by.
But with Danzo around, that obstacle was not exactly insurmountable.
"I remember you seemed quite interested in illusions."
Orochimaru glanced at him and casually tossed over a scroll.
Kenichi caught it and unrolled it, more out of habit than expectation. The moment his eyes swept over the text, he immediately recognized the technique.
Temple of Nirvana Technique.
It was a wide range genjutsu that had appeared during the Chunin Exams. More importantly, it was classified as an A rank illusion.
"Thank you, teacher."
Kenichi broke into a genuine childlike smile. To be fair, he was still technically a child.
Temple of Nirvana Technique was an area of effect genjutsu that required both a large chakra reserve and very fine chakra control. Back when Kenichi was only at genin level, he simply did not meet the requirements to train it.
Now that he had the potential to break through to chunin, Orochimaru had no reason to be stingy with rewards.
"Genjutsu can help you defeat stronger opponents, but it is ultimately only a supplementary tool. You must not neglect your ninjutsu training."
Orochimaru's reminder was calm, but serious.
For all his cruelty, he really did put effort into teaching his disciples. Kenichi adopted a properly humble expression and nodded.
"What did Minato say to you yesterday?"
After finishing the matter of the scroll, Orochimaru asked the question almost as an afterthought.
Kenichi found this a little strange.
Orochimaru had always known of Minato's existence, but he had never shown much interest in him. Why bring him up now?
"Jonin Minato said…"
Despite his doubts, Kenichi still recounted everything that had happened yesterday in detail.
Once he finished, Orochimaru let out a soft laugh.
"Such boring emotions. No wonder he is Jiraiya's idiotic disciple. He is just as boring as his master."
Orochimaru snorted lightly.
Kenichi kept his thoughts to himself. His teacher did not get along well with Jiraiya or Tsunade, though they would still exchange a greeting when they crossed paths.
"The Hatake family's swordsmanship is quite good. His father was once known as Konoha's White Fang. It is not a bad thing for you to get along with him."
That was Orochimaru's simple conclusion.
He did not think much of Jiraiya, but he acknowledged the Hatake clan's strength. Sadly, no matter how strong someone was, there was no guarantee they would die well. Konoha's White Fang had still been pushed to his death thanks to Danzo's schemes.
Kenichi nodded.
This was perfect. On one hand, he could establish a connection with Minato. On the other, he did not have to worry about Orochimaru disapproving.
Orochimaru was a very peculiar leader.
Kenichi felt that his teacher still had traces of humanity left in him. The best proof was that Orochimaru actually allowed his subordinates to rest once experiments were finished.
"If this were my old company, I would have to do other people's work after finishing my own. Forget getting off early."
Kenichi stretched lazily, enjoying the feeling of sunlight warming his skin.
Sometimes he felt that if his previous boss had been replaced by Orochimaru, that company might actually have grown bigger and stronger instead of rotting from the inside.
With that thought, Kenichi called up his research panel and checked his current project.
After finishing his study on the First Hokage's physique yesterday, he had immediately moved on to his next target. After some thought, he decided to research the Sharingan.
He had considered the Byakugan, but its physical traits were too obvious, and the Hyuga clan had a very different status compared to the Uchiha.
Besides, the Uchiha clan would one day be wiped out, while the Hyuga would continue on as they always had.
[Current research subject: Three tomoe Sharingan]
Research progress: 0.12%
"The progress isn't that slow, but why is it only three tomoe? I thought it might jump straight to Mangekyo. Does that mean this eye's potential only goes up to three tomoe?"
Kenichi rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Still, being able to directly obtain a fully developed three tomoe Sharingan was nothing to complain about.
As he walked, he glanced over at several proud Uchiha on patrol. They were part of the Konoha Police Force. The one leading them had only awakened a single tomoe in his eye.
"Tsk. The higher ups in Konoha are really something. They stuck them with such an annoying position, and the Uchiha still carry themselves like this."
Kenichi clicked his tongue.
The Uchiha clan had a bad reputation in the village. They were widely seen as arrogant, conceited, and dismissive of others.
From Kenichi's perspective, their assigned role in the Police Force had definitely fueled some of that image. But he also knew that many villagers and ordinary genin secretly referred to them by a nasty nickname: "black dogs."
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