Chapter 61: Cognitive Bias and Permission
"Are you doing an experiment?"
The familiar voice startled Kenichi so badly that his body reacted before his brain did. He used a teleportation technique to flash forward and ended up bumping into the table with a dull thud.
He spun around. The test base, which had been empty a moment ago, now had one more person.
His teacher, Orochimaru.
Orochimaru stood with his arms crossed, staring at him with a strange expression. Kenichi's scalp tightened instantly. He knew exactly why his teacher had come. The previous laboratory was gone, and there was no way Orochimaru would miss that kind of "minor remodeling."
"Teacher… there was a problem with the lab earlier," Kenichi said quickly. "I blew it up during an experiment."
He chose honesty without hesitation. Orochimaru had too many ways to investigate, and Kenichi had no interest in building a lie that needed a whole village worth of lies to keep standing. One wrong step and the story would mutate into something far worse.
"Alright. I understand." Orochimaru's expression remained calm, without a trace of anger.
Kenichi almost sighed out loud in relief.
"There was nothing truly valuable in that lab anyway," Orochimaru continued, voice steady. "What were you writing just now? I saw explosives." His gaze sharpened with interest as it settled on the notes and materials.
Orochimaru knew his disciple had unusual instincts when it came to science. That was precisely why he walked over when he saw Kenichi writing.
But after a glance, he had to admit he did not understand it at all. Not because he could not comprehend explosives, but because he could not follow the direction of Kenichi's thinking.
"Yes, teacher," Kenichi said honestly. "I developed it myself. I'm testing it right now."
Kenichi's mouth moved faster than his thoughts, and his inner voice immediately complained anyway.
My teacher must have studied in Gotham City. Otherwise, why does he love appearing behind people without a sound?
It did not help that Kenichi had been so focused on calculations that his awareness of the outside world might as well have been sealed in a scroll.
"We should be more careful next time," Kenichi thought, forcing himself to refocus. "It would be ridiculous if someone crept up behind us and stabbed us to death."
His mind flashed to Uchiha Madara, undone by Black Zetsu in that absurd, heart piercing betrayal.
"Tell me about it," Orochimaru replied, neither confirming nor denying anything.
When Orochimaru returned and found the lab destroyed, fury had surged up immediately. But after tracking down his disciple, curiosity pressed down on that anger like a cold hand.
So he decided to watch first. He wanted to see what kind of strange idea Kenichi was chasing before deciding whether to explode.
As for gunpowder, Orochimaru was familiar with it. Some mining companies used explosives to blast through rock. It was dangerous, and shinobi rarely carried it.
More importantly, the power of ordinary explosives was only so so. A high level ninjutsu could surpass it easily. Orochimaru did not understand why Kenichi was investing time in this direction.
Kenichi could only explain it in broad terms. Thermobaric bombs did not exist in this world, and even describing them felt like trying to explain a thunderstorm to a frog in a well.
So he settled for a practical story. He said he had seen similar effects during a previous mission and wanted to study whether he could increase the power of explosives and apply them elsewhere.
"Your idea is not bad," Orochimaru said after listening. "The owner of Konoha Mining Company once researched something similar."
He did not sound particularly interested. To him, studying ninjutsu was still more efficient than studying explosives. Fire Release alone could achieve destructive effects beyond what most explosive mixtures could manage.
Still, it was rare for Kenichi to be this invested in something. Orochimaru chose not to pour cold water on his enthusiasm. Instead, he shared what he knew, hoping Kenichi would avoid unnecessary detours.
Kenichi listened with full attention. If there were prior records of these experiments, that was priceless. Old notes and earlier trials could save future researchers years of wasted effort.
"Explosives are relatively stable," Orochimaru explained carefully, "but when chakra is fused into them, the reaction becomes unstable. In most cases, the chakra collapses into a simple fire attribute effect, and the original structure fails."
Kenichi could not help glancing at Orochimaru again.
Did his teacher research this personally? Otherwise, how could he speak with that level of detail?
At the same time, Kenichi noticed the mismatch. Orochimaru said chakra fusion should become ineffective and flatten into fire attribute behavior. But Kenichi's own attempt caused a violent reaction instead.
Why the difference?
Was it because the thermobaric mixture he used had different properties from whatever Konoha Mining Company experimented with? Kenichi felt that was highly likely.
The ninja world clearly did not focus on this field. It was only because Deidara had a special ability that the world witnessed "the art of explosions" at all.
And Deidara's explosions were not something others could replicate. Other shinobi could hardly learn it, and compared to weapons from Kenichi's previous life, the yield and scale were still limited.
There were points worth noting in terms of operability and portability with explosive clay, though.
"By the way," Orochimaru said, shifting to the practical issue, "now that I'm back, how is the fundraising going?"
Kenichi immediately pulled out the money he had obtained from Gato and placed it down without hesitation. He was not holding back. After all, he had already blown up a lab. The fact that his teacher had not demanded compensation on the spot was already a miracle.
If this happened in his previous life, he might have lost his entire life savings.
Orochimaru scanned it briefly. "Over one hundred twenty million. Acceptable. A little low for two people, but I also acquired some from a wealthy businessman on my way back."
He tossed out a scroll.
It contained money as well, a full fifty million taels. It was a large amount, and at the very least, it should be enough to satisfy Akatsuki's mission.
Kenichi remained calm. He already knew this was not uncommon. Sometimes ninja villages sent shinobi to rob wealthy people in other countries.
As long as it was not too outrageous, the five great villages tacitly accepted it.
After all, once those rich people were robbed, they would seek protection from shinobi. Then villages could charge for security. Meanwhile, a portion of whatever was stolen could be "confiscated" on arrival.
It had a very British royal charter pirate feel to it.
Kenichi watched as Orochimaru stored the money into a sealing scroll. And in that moment, a bold idea rose inside him, reckless and tempting.
He knew it was dangerous.
But he still could not resist.
This was how scientific theories were verified.
So Kenichi lifted his hand and slowly reached toward Orochimaru's head.
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