Chapter 569: What Exactly Determines Changes in the Soul?
Kenichi looked at Amado with a faint smile.
Resurrecting Amado's daughter was not difficult for him at all.
He had already resurrected Akebi once before.
Although Kenichi had now arrived in a different timeline, the basic procedure remained unchanged.
Amado, however, was visibly agitated.
He had sacrificed far too much and conducted countless experiments in the hope of resurrecting his daughter, yet even after all those years, he had never found a true method of bringing her back to life.
And now, after meeting Kenichi, he had seemingly obtained that method with almost absurd ease.
The resurrection was about to happen right in front of him.
That left Amado deeply unsettled.
The goal he had pursued for so long was suddenly within reach, and now that he was standing directly before it, he could not help feeling nervous, almost afraid to believe it was real.
Kenichi noticed his anxiety immediately.
After all, Amado had behaved similarly the previous time Kenichi resurrected Akebi.
"All right, Mr. Amado. Try not to be so nervous."
Kenichi sighed helplessly.
"The success rate of this technique is extremely high. Up to now, I've never failed."
He could only reassure Amado and try to calm him down.
Otherwise, Kenichi was genuinely worried that the man might become so overwhelmed that he caused problems before the procedure even began.
Hearing Kenichi's reassurance, Amado awkwardly nodded.
He took several deep breaths.
Only then did he barely manage to suppress the turmoil in his heart.
Kenichi turned toward the two genin standing nearby.
His Mangekyo Sharingan activated.
With practiced ease, he placed both of them under genjutsu.
Then the resurrection began.
First, Kenichi performed Edo Tensei.
After that, he combined the process with Kishō Tensei.
The entire procedure proceeded exactly as he expected.
Before long, Akebi was successfully resurrected.
"Akebi!"
Amado rushed forward and embraced his daughter.
He had personally watched her body change.
Her breathing slowly returned.
Warmth gradually spread through her body.
Little by little, she ceased resembling a corpse or artificial vessel and became a living person again.
At that point, Amado could no longer suppress his emotions.
Tears streamed down his face as he tightly held his daughter.
Kenichi stood quietly nearby.
He did not interrupt them.
He understood perfectly well that this step was essential if he wanted Amado to truly work for him without reservation.
As long as Kenichi succeeded in resurrecting Akebi, it no longer mattered what promises anyone else offered Amado.
From now on, Amado would only need to remember one thing.
Kenichi had actually done what everyone else could only promise.
"In that case..."
Kenichi glanced at the emotional father and daughter.
Today clearly was not an appropriate time to discuss further research on the time machine.
So he quietly left the laboratory and gave the two of them space to talk.
Then Kenichi headed toward the laboratory where Orochimaru was being held.
Orochimaru looked almost exactly the same as before.
The only obvious difference was the way he stared at Kenichi.
His gaze remained filled with fury and resentment.
Kenichi was not surprised.
This Orochimaru was not the same teacher Kenichi knew.
The Orochimaru from Kenichi's original world had changed considerably after spending years around him.
His obsession with becoming Hokage had long since faded, and he had never seriously pursued anything like the Konoha Crush.
The Orochimaru standing before him now was completely different.
This version was still filled with bitterness, anger, and obsession.
So as far as Kenichi was concerned, he could only be treated as an experimental subject.
"Teacher, you seem to have recovered quite well."
Kenichi smiled.
"Have you noticed any abnormalities in your body or mind? Tell me what you're experiencing so I can determine whether my technique produced the effect I wanted."
Orochimaru's expression darkened even further.
He had never imagined that one day he would become the experimental subject lying helplessly on someone else's operating table.
And worse, he was being manipulated by someone who insisted on calling him Teacher.
The humiliation was almost unbearable.
Orochimaru remained silent.
Kenichi immediately understood.
His teacher had absolutely no intention of cooperating.
That did not bother Kenichi.
He had never expected voluntary cooperation in the first place.
If Orochimaru refused to explain the results himself, Kenichi could simply examine them directly.
His eyes changed.
Kenichi once again activated the improved soul extraction technique.
"You bastard!"
Orochimaru roared.
A powerful force seized his soul.
He immediately tried to resist.
It accomplished nothing.
Once again, Orochimaru experienced the agonizing sensation of his soul being forcibly separated from his physical body.
The process resembled Living Corpse Reincarnation in certain ways, but there was also a fundamental difference.
When Orochimaru used Living Corpse Reincarnation, he actively transferred his soul into another body.
This time, however, he was being forcibly dragged out.
"The soul has recovered quite well, Teacher."
Kenichi carefully examined Orochimaru's spirit.
A trace of interest appeared in his eyes.
The section Kenichi had previously altered was already showing signs of healing.
However, that healing had produced some awkward consequences.
At the very least, in his current soul state, Orochimaru had completely lost one of the physical characteristics Kenichi had previously removed.
"Still, I can't say whether the experiment was truly successful."
Kenichi studied him thoughtfully.
"I may need to examine the soul of an ordinary woman for comparison. Only then can I determine exactly how the two states differ and continue refining your soul properly."
Kenichi smiled.
"What do you think, Teacher?"
Orochimaru's soul furiously mouthed a stream of curses.
Kenichi could not actually hear him.
But judging by the movements of his lips, Orochimaru was definitely saying some extremely unpleasant things.
Kenichi found the sight rather amusing.
Back in his original world, even when Orochimaru became furious, he had usually maintained the composure and dignity expected of a powerful shinobi.
This Orochimaru, however, looked almost helplessly enraged.
Apparently, Hiruzen choosing Minato as the Fourth Hokage instead of Orochimaru had truly damaged his teacher's state of mind.
Perhaps Kenichi's presence in his original world had unintentionally helped stabilize Orochimaru's mentality.
Without Kenichi around, this version of Orochimaru had gradually fallen deeper into obsession and paranoia.
Thinking about it made Kenichi sigh inwardly.
He genuinely had deep feelings for Orochimaru.
But he also understood Orochimaru's personality better than almost anyone.
That was precisely why releasing this version was impossible.
And letting Orochimaru participate freely in time machine research was even more dangerous.
The slightest accident involving that machine could permanently destroy Kenichi's chance of returning home.
He could not take such a risk.
"Teacher, calm down."
Kenichi studied Orochimaru's furious soul.
"You're sacrificing yourself for science."
"Given your personality, surely you wouldn't object to that."
"After all, this is all for the pursuit of truth."
Kenichi murmured the words almost casually.
His understanding of the soul had already advanced considerably.
With the research he had accumulated so far, developing specialized ninjutsu that directly targeted souls would probably not be especially difficult in the future.
Back in his previous life, the soul had been nothing more than an abstract and unprovable concept.
Here, however, chakra made direct observation and manipulation possible.
Kenichi had already begun exploring the soul as something that could genuinely be studied.
If he could fully understand its structure and principles, perhaps it would eventually trigger an entirely new technological revolution.
"..."
Orochimaru still refused to respond.
Kenichi had no interest in continuing the one-sided conversation.
He returned Orochimaru's soul to the body and left the laboratory.
His next goal was straightforward.
He needed an ordinary female ninja as a comparison subject.
Only then could he determine whether his theories about the soul were correct.
It did not take Kenichi long to find someone.
Soon afterward, he returned with a female ninja restrained beside him.
She had apparently come to participate in Konoha's Chunin Exams.
Kenichi had no idea which hidden village she belonged to.
He did not recognize the symbol on her forehead protector.
He did not particularly care either.
Kenichi secured her beside Orochimaru.
Then he activated his soul extraction technique again.
The woman's soul separated from her body.
Kenichi carefully examined it.
[The result is roughly consistent with expectations. Souls belonging to ninja of different sexes also display different physical characteristics.]
[Although Subject A had certain characteristics removed during the previous operation, the soul has not been completely transformed.]
[Achieving a complete transformation may require much finer manipulation.]
[The next step is to determine whether the soul possesses internal organs.]
Kenichi raised one hand.
Chakra gathered around his fingers and formed a scalpel.
Then, with careful precision, he cut open the abdomen of Subject B's soul.
What appeared inside surprised him.
Blue.
Nothing but blue spiritual energy.
There were no blood vessels.
No fat.
No internal organs.
The soul resembled an empty shell formed entirely from condensed blue energy.
[Dissection of Subject B reveals no internal organs within the soul structure.]
[Therefore, attempting to completely alter Subject A through conventional organ based reconstruction is unreliable.]
[This raises a new question. What exactly determines the sex characteristics of a soul?]
Kenichi fell into deep thought.
Previously, he had assumed that a soul might contain internal structures corresponding to those of a living body.
Apparently, that assumption had been wrong.
At least based on everything he could currently observe, souls did not possess organs in the conventional sense.
That created another problem.
If internal anatomy did not determine the soul's characteristics, then how was he supposed to completely alter his teacher's soul?
Kenichi became even more curious about something else.
How had the Sage of Six Paths caused the Orochimaru from his original world to gradually change?
Could it have been some application of Six Paths Power?
And ultimately, which side actually held greater influence?
Did the physical body gradually determine the condition of the soul?
Or did the soul, in turn, reshape the physical body?
That was another question worth investigating.
Kenichi's curiosity only deepened.
He now had far too many questions demanding answers.
To properly test this theory, Kenichi suspected he would need access to much earlier stages of human development.
Perhaps embryos.
Thinking about that, Kenichi left Subject B's soul suspended outside her body.
He wanted to observe what effects prolonged separation would have.
Then he temporarily left the laboratory.
Kenichi found a nearby town.
Using his ninjutsu, he carefully conducted further observations.
Eventually, he recorded another conclusion.
[Newly developing embryos already possess identifiable soul characteristics before corresponding physical sex characteristics have fully developed.]
Kenichi frowned.
That result made the problem even more troublesome.
Apparently, completely changing the sex characteristics of a soul was destined to be an extremely complicated matter.
In that case, the method he had been using on Orochimaru probably needed to be replaced with something else.
Psychological suggestion, perhaps.
Or some form of long-term mental influence.
Kenichi remembered what had happened with the Orochimaru from his own world.
Whatever the Sage of Six Paths had done, the change had not happened overnight.
It had apparently taken time.
A slow process of influence and adjustment had eventually caused Orochimaru's soul characteristics to change.
"This can go onto the future research list too."
Kenichi recorded the idea.
Then he glanced toward Konoha.
Judging by the time, the Forest of Death portion of the Chunin Exams should already have ended.
The tournament matches between the surviving genin were probably beginning.
Kenichi thought about Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata.
He trusted their talent.
He trusted their strength.
But this timeline had already changed repeatedly.
What if something unexpected had happened again?
Kenichi decided it would be better to personally return and check.
At least then he could relax.
As for Amado, Kenichi intended to leave him in the laboratory for now.
The man could spend some time with his newly resurrected daughter.
Once Kenichi returned, he planned to have a proper conversation with Amado about Isshiki.
The timeline might be different, but Isshiki unquestionably existed somewhere in this world.
And judging by the clues Kenichi had recovered, Isshiki had probably already made contact with Amado at some point.
Kenichi could not imagine Isshiki willingly overlooking someone as valuable as Amado.
Amado might not possess impressive combat strength.
But when it came to scientific research, his ability was unquestionably top tier.
Kenichi brought the turtle-shaped time machine with him and returned to Konoha.
The moment he approached the Chunin Exam venue, he heard excited shouting from inside.
"Go for it, big brother who controls sand!"
Kenichi's mouth twitched.
What kind of cheering was that?
Big brother who controls sand?
Shukaku?
Gaara?
More importantly, what exactly had Hiruzen been thinking?
Why had he allowed Gaara to continue participating in the Chunin Exams after everything that had happened with Sunagakure?
Kenichi was genuinely confused.
Still, he entered the arena.
The moment he saw the battlefield, he understood who the crowd had been shouting about.
Gaara was currently fighting Naruto.
Naruto stood opposite him, staring intently at his opponent.
The sand around Gaara churned violently.
"Good grief."
Kenichi raised an eyebrow.
"The moment I come back, I get Naruto versus Gaara."
His gaze shifted toward the spectator area.
Sasuke looked completely relaxed.
Hinata, meanwhile, was staring at Naruto with absolute concentration.
Hikari sat nearby yawning, clearly bored by the match unfolding before her.
Before Kenichi could continue watching, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him.
An Anbu ninja.
"Lord Kenichi."
The Anbu lowered his head respectfully.
"Lord Third Hokage requests your presence."
....
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