Chapter 615: Is the Time Machine's Energy Source a God?
"Oh? Teleportation?"
Kenichi immediately became interested.
"Show me."
Although this so-called god could only use the ability three times a day, true teleportation still had considerable value.
There were techniques in the Shinobi World that could create similar effects.
The Body Flicker Technique, for example, had earned Shisui the title of Shisui of the Body Flicker.
But that was still fundamentally high-speed movement.
True teleportation was different.
True teleportation meant ignoring everything between the starting point and the destination and appearing directly somewhere else.
Kenichi stared at the strange god in front of him.
He had not expected one of these weakened deities to possess such an ability.
Still, he needed to verify it personally.
If it really was teleportation, then this god might actually prove useful.
Even if the ability could only be used three times per day, using those three opportunities at the right moment could still create serious trouble for Isshiki.
That was one of the reasons Kenichi had agreed to meet these gods in the first place.
He wanted to see whether any of them possessed abilities that could complicate Isshiki's life during the coming battle.
If they did, excellent.
If not...
Then these so-called gods really were rather disappointing.
The Teleportation God nodded.
Then he activated his ability.
Kenichi immediately focused his Rinnegan on him.
He wanted to determine whether the god was genuinely teleporting or merely moving at an extreme speed.
If it was true teleportation, the difference mattered greatly.
The next instant, the god disappeared.
Then he appeared on Kenichi's other side.
Kenichi's eyes narrowed.
Fast.
No.
Not merely fast.
Even with his Rinnegan active, Kenichi had detected no movement between the two positions.
More importantly, the god had not changed posture.
One moment, he had been standing in front of Kenichi.
The next...
He was simply standing somewhere else in exactly the same position.
"Interesting."
Kenichi's curiosity increased.
"Can you use it continuously?"
"Or is there a cooldown between uses?"
The ability looked simple.
But in the hands of powerful combatants, something like this could become extremely dangerous.
It reminded Kenichi somewhat of Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique.
The difference was that Flying Thunder God required a mark to be placed beforehand.
This ability apparently did not.
It was direct teleportation.
"I cannot use it continuously."
The Teleportation God answered honestly.
"There is an interval of approximately five breaths between each activation."
Kenichi raised an eyebrow.
Five breaths?
That was not bad at all.
Yes, the ability could only be used three times per day.
But a five-breath interval was short enough to be practical in battle.
If used properly, it could create a great deal of trouble for Isshiki and make Kenichi's battle against him much easier.
Kenichi nodded with satisfaction.
Of course, whether this teleportation could actually be granted to Kenichi himself still needed to be tested later.
He then turned toward the remaining gods.
"What about the rest of you?"
Their appearances were strange, but Kenichi no longer cared about that.
As long as their abilities were useful, their appearance was irrelevant.
Naturally, he did not expect any of them to possess overwhelming combat power.
If they had been truly powerful, the Otsutsuki Clan would never have reduced them to their current miserable state.
One of the gods immediately stepped forward.
"My ability allows a person to exceed their normal height limit."
Kenichi blinked.
"Generally, I can make someone around ten to twenty centimeters taller."
Kenichi immediately lost interest.
The ability was not completely useless.
For shinobi or ordinary people who were insecure about their height, it might be extremely attractive.
In a peaceful era, an ability that could increase someone's height by ten or twenty centimeters without pain would probably generate enormous wealth and faith.
Kenichi remembered plenty of people in his previous life who had been dissatisfied with their height.
Such a service would undoubtedly be popular.
But for the battle against Isshiki?
Completely useless.
The god noticed Kenichi's lack of interest and lowered his head dejectedly.
Even before the arrival of the Otsutsuki, his ability had never been particularly impressive.
Back when his followers still lived in tribes, he had mostly used his power to make warriors taller so they could fight more effectively.
Even then, he had never been a particularly famous god.
Another god stepped forward.
"I can randomly grant someone a special effect."
Kenichi looked toward him.
"Such as?"
"They may become smarter."
The god paused.
"Or stronger."
"Or perhaps... more foolish."
Kenichi frowned.
Random?
That immediately made the ability far less useful.
Making someone smarter was excellent.
Making them stronger could also be useful.
But if the result could just as easily make someone stupid or create some other unwanted effect, then relying on it was ridiculous.
Kenichi would not even dare use it against Isshiki.
What if the ability happened to strengthen Isshiki?
Or suddenly gave him greater insight?
Wouldn't that simply be helping the enemy?
Still...
There had to be some limitation.
Otherwise, an ability capable of randomly altering anyone would actually be quite dangerous.
"Can you use it on anyone?"
Kenichi asked.
The god immediately shook his head, looking ashamed.
"In the past, perhaps."
"But now, almost no one remembers me."
"So my current power can only affect ordinary people."
"I can make an ordinary person smarter, stronger, or grant some other effect."
"But it no longer works on shinobi."
Kenichi immediately lost the remainder of his interest.
In that case, the god was of no use for the upcoming battle.
Perhaps Kenichi could research whether increasing the god's number of believers would raise the upper limit of the ability.
But right now?
Useless.
Finally, Kenichi looked toward the last god.
By this point, he was no longer expecting much.
Oddly enough, this god looked the most ordinary of the group.
There was nothing monstrous or bizarre about him.
He was simply...
Plain.
"I do not possess any particularly impressive ability."
The god lowered his voice.
"I apologize, my lord."
"My power only makes someone appear ordinary in the eyes of other people."
"Someone affected by my ability becomes easy to overlook."
"They look like an ordinary person who naturally fades into the background."
Kenichi paused.
That ability...
Actually sounded interesting.
"Really?"
Kenichi studied him.
"Show me."
The god immediately activated his ability.
Kenichi stared at him.
At first, nothing seemed to happen.
That made Kenichi suspicious.
Then he realized the problem.
There were too few people around.
An ability that made someone inconspicuous would naturally be difficult to evaluate when only a handful of people were present.
Kenichi formed a hand seal.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Hundreds of Shadow Clones appeared around them.
Some retained Kenichi's appearance.
Others transformed themselves into unusual people, bizarre figures, or characters Kenichi remembered from anime in his previous life.
The area immediately became crowded.
Kenichi looked over everyone again.
The strange-looking gods naturally stood out.
But the ordinary-looking god...
Kenichi's gaze passed directly over him the first time.
He paused.
Then looked again.
Still nothing.
Only on the second or third careful sweep did he finally locate the god.
Kenichi's interest immediately rose.
"So that's how it works."
The ability itself did not directly make someone invisible.
It simply turned them into something resembling a background character.
At first glance, that sounded weak.
But Kenichi immediately saw its potential.
Used properly, this could become extremely effective.
The powers of these gods were not particularly strong.
But given their current weakened state, that was understandable.
If they had possessed truly overwhelming abilities, they would never have declined so badly.
Still...
Kenichi was satisfied.
At least two of them possessed abilities worth studying.
"You two stay."
Kenichi pointed toward the Teleportation God and the inconspicuous god.
Then he looked toward the others.
"As for the rest of you, leave your names behind."
"And draw portraits of yourselves."
"I'll help promote you later."
Kenichi spoke casually.
This was not his original timeline.
So he had no particular reservations about spreading the names of these gods.
In fact, he felt merely promoting them a little might not even be enough.
If not for the risk of disturbing the plan against Isshiki, Kenichi might have ordered the entire Shinobi World to chant their names every day.
He genuinely wanted to see how much stronger they would become if millions of people suddenly believed in them.
Unfortunately...
Isshiki was still watching the world from the shadows.
If such a bizarre religious movement suddenly spread everywhere, Isshiki might notice something was wrong.
So Kenichi reluctantly abandoned the idea of large-scale worship.
That did not mean he intended to give up entirely.
Small-scale testing should be safe enough.
At the very least, he wanted to determine whether increasing the faith directed toward the Teleportation God and the inconspicuous god would enhance their abilities.
Kenichi looked toward the two remaining gods.
"Can your abilities become stronger if more people know your names and worship you?"
Their eyes immediately lit up.
Neither of them was stupid.
They instantly realized what Kenichi intended to do.
He wanted to increase their number of believers.
The Teleportation God answered first.
"At my strongest, I could teleport twelve times per day."
Kenichi's eyes narrowed slightly.
"And?"
"I could also activate the ability three times consecutively without waiting."
Kenichi nodded.
That was considerably better.
Three consecutive teleportations?
Now the ability was becoming genuinely useful.
So these gods really could bestow strange abilities.
Their powers were simply limited by their current weakened state.
Then Kenichi looked toward the other god.
The ordinary-looking god lowered his head somewhat awkwardly.
"At my strongest..."
He hesitated.
"I could only make people appear even more ordinary."
Kenichi stared at him.
That was it?
The god looked increasingly embarrassed.
His ability had never been particularly spectacular.
It worked best in crowds.
But if an observer focused directly on the target and deliberately searched for them, the effect weakened considerably.
Kenichi nodded anyway.
Still worth testing.
For direct combat, the power seemed mediocre.
For ambushes?
Quite useful.
For example...
Kenichi could fill the battlefield with Shadow Clones.
Then he could hide his real body among them while using the inconspicuous ability.
If used correctly...
Isshiki might ignore the real Kenichi for the fraction of a second needed to land a decisive attack.
That alone gave the ability value.
Kenichi then thought of another question.
"Do you know any gods who have already died?"
The remaining gods looked toward him.
"What happens to beings like you after death?"
Helping them gain more worshippers would not be difficult.
So Kenichi's scientific curiosity naturally shifted toward their biological nature.
Or perhaps calling it biological was inaccurate.
His Rinnegan quietly activated.
He began analyzing the two gods in front of him.
The Teleportation God suddenly felt a chill crawl over his body.
But faced with Kenichi's question, he still answered respectfully.
"One of my companions died before."
"What happened?"
"He disappeared."
The god swallowed.
"His body turned into ash."
"Nothing remained."
Kenichi nodded.
That was slightly disappointing.
Still, he did not let either god leave.
His analysis continued.
Both gods were clearly afraid.
Neither dared to move.
They remained obediently in place while Kenichi's Rinnegan examined them.
After some time, the analysis finally ended.
Kenichi's expression changed.
"Interesting."
He stared at the two gods with genuine surprise.
Their composition was nothing like what he had expected.
They were not truly flesh-and-blood organisms.
They were closer to energy-based life-forms.
But that was not the most important discovery.
Something else caught Kenichi's attention.
Certain microscopic structures within their bodies...
They were remarkably similar to portions of the strange energy used by the time machine.
Kenichi's eyes slowly narrowed.
Could it be...
Was the time machine using the energy of beings like these as one of its power sources?
If that were true...
Then things had suddenly become much more interesting.
A smile gradually appeared on Kenichi's face.
If his theory was correct...
Then he might finally have found a path toward producing an effectively unlimited source of that energy.
And perhaps...
A way to keep making himself stronger.
....
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