Chapter 58: Three Minutes of Silence for the Laboratory
Thick smoke rolled into the sky from the laboratory.
No, wait. That was not right.
It could not be called a laboratory anymore. It was a ruin. Kenichi stared at what was left and felt his emotions twist into a complicated knot. He genuinely had not expected things to end like this. Everything had been fine, and then, in the blink of an eye, the lab was simply gone.
"Was it because adding Lightning nature chakra affected the structural stability of the thermobaric explosive?" Kenichi let out a long sigh. A laboratory that large had vanished like it was nothing.
Earlier, he had prepared a batch of pressure stabilized explosives on his own. The test results were good, even reassuring. But after that success, a bold idea took root.
He wanted to integrate chakra into the explosive itself and see whether thermobaric explosives could be fused with chakra. If it worked, it might create something even more terrifying than a standard thermobaric bomb.
And in theory, explosives were stable. They were not supposed to detonate from a small bump or a minor drop. That was why Kenichi decided it was worth trying.
He even reduced the amount of thermobaric material to prevent problems.
Kenichi also happened to know Lightning Release, so he attempted to incorporate Lightning chakra. The result was immediate and violent. The originally stable mixture reacted like something had just been insulted on a molecular level.
If Kenichi had not reacted quickly, he probably would have been blown apart with the rest of the room. Even so, the laboratory was gone.
Worse, that smoke was impossible to hide. It would absolutely draw Konoha shinobi, which meant the situation was about to become far more troublesome. Kenichi had no choice but to abandon the site and relocate.
"I do not know if the money I earned will cover these losses," he muttered, staring at the enormous pit.
His teacher's laboratory certainly did not have insurance. And as far as Kenichi knew, the ninja world did not even have insurance companies. Hopefully Orochimaru would not force him to pay out of pocket.
Still, the attempt made Kenichi oddly satisfied. His idea had been correct. Chakra could be incorporated into thermobaric bombs. That meant he could try Fire nature chakra next time.
The version infused with Lightning chakra had undergone strange changes. Its power had increased drastically, and it even displayed an electrical reaction. Next time, he would need to find some consumables and run controlled experiments to see what it did to the human body.
But this laboratory was finished. The ground beneath it had collapsed after the blast, which meant anything stored inside was likely lost.
Fortunately, his teacher had taken some materials along before leaving. Otherwise, the losses would have been even more staggering.
Kenichi touched the sealing scroll at his waist. It contained what he had hastily gathered, including the Kaguya clan blood sample, but that needed to be handled quickly.
Anything biological would degrade if it stayed at room temperature. Temperature control was vital in any lab, especially one dealing with living material.
In proper laboratory work, culturing bacteria and extracting DNA both depended on strict temperature requirements. Even an increase as small as 0.1 degrees could kill certain cultures.
If the freezers in this lab had been destroyed or shut down, that alone would be a disaster. And if blood could not be kept frozen, its quality would degrade rapidly.
Fortunately, Kenichi knew the locations of two other laboratories. He chose the closer one and immediately moved.
Before leaving, he did not forget one final step.
He used the Dragon Fire Technique to set the remains on fire, raising the heat and ensuring everything burned completely. If any information survived, it would only create trouble later.
"The atmosphere in the Land of Fire has not felt right lately," Kenichi muttered as he pulled on a mask and moved through the forest in stealth.
He had just spotted shinobi running along the official road. There were not many, and the leader looked like only a chunin, which was unusual.
Their expressions were grim. The chunin in front looked especially tense, like he was carrying a weight he could not put down.
Kenichi had seen that kind of look before. War had followed soon after.
"Could it be war?" Kenichi rubbed his chin. The biggest crisis Konoha faced right now was not internal conflict. It was the threat of another village making a move.
"They are probably from Kumogakure."
He kept moving, fast and quiet, until he sensed someone ahead in the woods. Kenichi immediately slipped into cover.
A moment later, two shinobi emerged from the trees. Kenichi stiffened.
Was the Land of Fire really that small? He had barely returned and already ran into Kakashi and Guy.
Kakashi looked the same as ever. Even with Guy, the walking megaphone, beside him, Kakashi's eyes still carried that lifeless stillness.
His entire presence pushed people away, cold and distant. Yet it was obvious that aura had no effect on Guy at all.
"Kakashi, are we not going to the front lines? Kumogakure has started a war with us!" Guy was already wearing that familiar intensity. He still looked young, but the shadow of the future Might Guy was already there.
"This is a mission assigned by the Third Hokage," Kakashi replied flatly. His three tomoe Sharingan spun beneath his mask, calm and relentless.
Since the Fourth Hokage's sacrifice, Kakashi's life had been turbulent. Danzo had even once tried to pull him into Root, but the Third Hokage had refused.
Even so, Kenichi's defection had struck Kakashi hard.
After Obito and Rin died, Kakashi had kept everyone at a distance for a long time. He did not make friends. He barely let anyone close at all.
Kenichi had been the only exception during that period.
Kakashi had valued that friendship. Even on the night of the Nine Tails attack, he had briefly suspected Kenichi was involved, but he abandoned the thought. He told himself he had fainted and knew nothing.
And then Kenichi had returned the favor by rubbing salt into the wound and pouring alcohol over it.
That was why Kakashi was deeply invested in the mission to track down Orochimaru and Kenichi. The Third Hokage had seen through Kakashi's thoughts, so he placed Kakashi in charge of searching for Orochimaru's group.
But as the situation grew more urgent, Kakashi knew he would likely be transferred to the front line soon to face Kumogakure directly.
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