Chapter 105: Even if the Soul Is Changed, the Effects on the Body Still Exist
"Then I'll trouble you to take a look first," Kenichi said, rubbing his temples. Since Wood Release could not help crops grow faster, he could only move forward one step at a time on his own.
"Yes. Leave it to us," the other Kenichis said as they nodded.
They understood their assignment. Thankfully, this kind of research did not consume much chakra, so it could be maintained for a long time. As long as the main body did not get dragged into a fight, there was basically no risk of the clones collapsing.
Besides, Kenichi had the First Hokage's Sage Body. The chakra inside him was enormous, more than enough to sustain the cost.
"Failed?" Orochimaru muttered.
When he pushed open the door, he saw Orochimaru calmly drinking tea, sitting in a posture that felt strangely distinct.
Even with the soul unchanged, the body still shaped habits. This body looked more delicate and reserved, and Orochimaru seemed to have subconsciously adjusted to it.
"Yes," Kenichi said, nodding. "Wood Release can't force crops to sprout and grow."
He still could not understand the First Hokage's Wood Release either. It looked like a bloodline limit, yet it also did not. At the very least, no one in Konoha's Senju clan had awakened Wood Release, and Kenichi had tested himself. He simply could not do it.
"That's normal," Orochimaru said with a faint smile. "If Wood Release could do that, it would have been recorded in history."
Or rather, if Wood Release really could make crops grow at will, far more people in the ninja world would be obsessed with researching it. No one ever thought they had too much food. The more food there was, the more ninjas a village could support.
If Wood Release had that ability, it could decide a village's rise and fall.
"The road ahead really is long," Kenichi sighed. But he was mentally prepared.
In his previous life, one of his friends studied mechanical engineering. Hand making parts, running tests, watching metal fatigue again and again, it was brutal.
Scientific research was often about creating something out of nothing. If progress came too fast, either the person was a genius, or they had a cheat like Kenichi did.
Without the cheat that handed him blueprints, he had no idea how long it would have taken him to develop thermobaric weapons from scratch.
"By the way, Teacher," Kenichi said, suddenly remembering something important, something he had put off for more than a year. "Could you help me set up a laboratory?"
"Oh?" Orochimaru looked at him with interest. "How much are you planning to offer?"
He clearly assumed Kenichi had made a lot of money and would not be as stingy as before.
"I'll keep one hundred million ryo for materials," Kenichi said, pulling out his savings. "Everything else goes into the lab."
Orochimaru accepted the money. It was a considerable sum, enough for a decent setup, but he still wanted to talk it through properly so Kenichi would not suspect him of skimming anything.
"Then let's discuss the configuration carefully."
Kenichi did not refuse. He already had a plan.
First, the lab needed to be large. He could create multiple clones of himself to help with research, so space mattered.
Right now, his main research areas were genes and thermobaric weapons. That meant the instruments and tools should focus on those two directions.
After they finished discussing it, Orochimaru added something else. He had already found a construction team, all hired through the black market.
Once the laboratory construction was completed, those workers would be handed over to Kenichi to deal with.
They could become consumables, sacrifices, or simply be killed.
Kenichi did not ask why Orochimaru did not use ninjas with face changing techniques instead. Anyone capable of that sort of work was a ninja with real strength, and ninjas were expensive. Ordinary people could not afford them.
Common construction workers were far cheaper. The construction company did not care who the client was. The client did not have to worry about the location being leaked. Two birds with one stone.
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Teacher," Kenichi said with a smile.
He wanted to return to his work as soon as possible. He needed to study the fusion of chakra and thermobaric explosives. That step was extremely dangerous, but if he solved it, the improvement would be enormous.
Just as Kenichi turned to leave, Orochimaru spoke again.
"Kenichi… have you ever thought about becoming a village's Kage?"
Kenichi paused and looked back.
Orochimaru's expression was calm, but his gaze felt faintly unsettling. With Yuki's face, he looked deceptively harmless, which only made those eyes stand out more.
"No," Kenichi said without hesitation. "Being a Kage is a pile of trouble. Too much messy work. It would get in the way of my research."
He curled his lip.
A Kage? Even a dog would not want that job.
Look at the Fourth Hokage. Look at Naruto later on. Always busy, always dealing with problems, always exhausted.
Kenichi had no intention of making his life harder for a title. What was the point? So someone could call him Hokage sama?
Status came from strength.
Once his identity was exposed, even if he was not a Kage, people would still call him the Heavenly Demon and treat him with caution.
Besides, what was the use of being a Kage if you still had to deal with clan politics and pressure like the Uchiha? He would rather spend his time doing what he liked, or go play around with Mei Terumi.
"You brat," Orochimaru said, shaking his head, amused and exasperated at the same time.
Most ninjas dreamed of becoming Kage, of holding power over a village and deciding life and death.
But Kenichi did not walk the normal path. He had no hunger for authority. He only wanted research.
And honestly, that suited Orochimaru's taste.
The Fourth Hokage incident had left Orochimaru agitated, but looking at his disciple now, someone who had none of the lofty ambitions others loved to preach, he felt things might not be as bad as he had feared.
At least, it meant they could focus on research.
"Go," Orochimaru said, waving a hand. "I'll call you when the lab is ready."
Kenichi returned to his own workspace with a smile and threw himself into the busy work of mixing thermobaric explosives.
Orochimaru remained seated, thoughtful, sipping hot tea. The warmth eased the pain in his stomach.
He exhaled softly.
"This body is a perfect match for my soul," he murmured, "but it's still inconvenient in the end."
He knew exactly what was happening, yet he still wanted to experience it firsthand. In the future, who knew what kind of jutsu might be developed specifically to target female bodies?
He did not want to be caught off guard later.
This kind of pain was something most ninjas could endure. Still, he dealt with it, and the discomfort vanished almost instantly.
Just then, a voice reached him.
"Kū, you can come to Amegakure to research that now," Nagato said.
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