Chapter 227: The Ninja World Version of the Trolley Problem
"No. My chakra feels the same as before. It hasn't been consumed." The test subject stared at his own hand in disbelief. He clearly had not expected that those strange eyes would stop draining him.
Kenichi's lips lifted slightly. So it really was as he thought. The reason the Sharingan could not be turned off was tied to those three nerves.
But even as the problem was solved, a new one surfaced immediately.
The Uchiha were not a large clan, and this specialized transplant required a one to one exchange. In other words, if you wanted someone outside the clan to gain the ability to switch the Sharingan on and off like an Uchiha, an Uchiha had to be sacrificed.
It was an equivalent exchange.
"Your experiment succeeded." Orochimaru also seemed to be in a good mood. He had not expected his disciple to find a solution to the Sharingan's inability to close so quickly.
And honestly, he had not expected the answer to be so straightforward. Three nerves, properly connected, and the problem was gone.
That made Orochimaru curious. What, exactly, were those peculiar nerves truly used for?
"It's not a complete success, Teacher." Kenichi shook his head. This method solved the issue in front of him, but the cost was obvious: one pair of Sharingan for one usable result, at a clean one to one loss ratio.
Of course, Kenichi had no illusions about how the Third Hokage and Danzo would view that drawback. Compared to the proud Uchiha clan, their own loyal subordinates would always matter more.
Trading a disobedient, potentially troublesome Uchiha for a trustworthy Sharingan user was not a hard decision.
For a clan they already feared, the life and death of one more Uchiha would never weigh heavily.
Kenichi remembered this clearly. The Third Hokage himself did not have much goodwill toward the Uchiha. Otherwise, when Danzo pushed the plan for the night of annihilation, the Third Hokage would not have remained silent.
Sometimes, for those at the center of power, silence was also a stance.
Just like back when Orochimaru and Kenichi performed experiments in Konoha. Even if the Third Hokage pretended not to see, he had to have known something.
"Are you talking about the loss?" Orochimaru's eyes flicked toward the Uchiha test subject still lying in a coma. His gaze was empty now, hollow. If the ordinary ninja's eyes were transplanted into him, he should be able to see again.
"Yes." Kenichi nodded. "The Uchiha's numbers are limited, and only awakened ninja are valuable."
The Uchiha seemed numerous at first glance, but compared to Konoha they were far smaller. And if you narrowed it further to only awakened Uchiha, the number of suitable "materials" shrank to something pitiful.
In that scenario, their future was easy to imagine.
Awakened Uchiha would have their eyes dug out.
Unawakened Uchiha would be raised like livestock, waiting to awaken, then waiting to be harvested.
If Danzo took control, Kenichi could already picture it. Danzo would wipe them out completely, kill every Uchiha, then cycle their eyes through his people, replacing them with the next set whenever someone died.
Yes. Danzo would absolutely do something like that.
And then, the Uchiha who had fled Konoha, the group led by Shisui, would become high value bounty targets. Bounty hunters would flood in. Ambitious ninja who wanted power would chase their trail.
After all, the Sharingan was an enormous advantage in combat.
What ninja would ever complain about being too strong?
"This is fate," Orochimaru said calmly. He saw further than most. He did not know anything about manga or the story of Naruto, but he understood Konoha's attitude toward the Uchiha.
Without a monster like Madara, the Uchiha's end was only a matter of time.
Kenichi fell silent, thinking.
Then, suddenly, an idea surfaced in his mind, sharp and cold. More unique, and far more cruel.
It was not much different from the trolley problem.
"Eyes are still eyes," Kenichi said, gaze drifting to the surgical tray. "Before the Uchiha awaken, their eyes are basically the same as ordinary eyes."
"If I transplant ordinary eyes into an Uchiha… and then use the same awakening method to stimulate the Sharingan again…"
"Wouldn't I be able to harvest a new pair of Sharingan?"
His voice remained even, but the implication was brutal.
"Then I could transplant that new pair into someone else, transplant another set of ordinary eyes back into the Uchiha, and repeat it."
"Endless production."
Kenichi looked at the unconscious Uchiha and the instruments laid out neatly before him.
The more he considered it, the more feasible it seemed.
"And if I build an automated ninjutsu assembly line," Kenichi continued, as if discussing a simple factory process, "couldn't I fully automate the production of Sharingan?"
"For those who want custom one tomoe, two tomoe, or three tomoe, we negotiate the price separately."
He nodded to himself. The concept was clean. Efficient. Terrifying.
The only real question was whether an Uchiha who had already awakened once could awaken again after being given ordinary eyes.
If that worked, then it would be… spectacular.
At that point, even the Uchiha's situation could improve, in a twisted way. They could hand over a dozen or twenty "materials" to Kenichi in exchange for protection for the entire clan.
The ninja world's version of the trolley problem.
Sacrifice a small number of lives and interests, or sacrifice an entire clan.
Cruel, but most leaders would choose the former without hesitation.
"I hope it doesn't succeed," Kenichi said with a faint smile. "Otherwise… it would be truly interesting."
If it succeeded, that would be ideal for him. The ninja world would become a place where everyone had "mystic eyes." Not Mangekyo, perhaps, but still powerful. Still useful.
And who knew what kind of new jutsu might be born from that?
With that thought, Kenichi turned back to the operating table and focused on transplanting the previous test subject's eyes into the Uchiha "material."
As for the test subject who had just gained the Sharingan, Kenichi did not plan to touch him for now. He still needed to observe for rejection symptoms.
If none appeared later, he could hand the subject to Orochimaru, who could then present him to Konoha as proof that the experiment had produced results.
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