Chapter 260: Gene Programming Ninjutsu Version 2.0
"The Uchiha clan of Konoha rebelled?"
When Kenichi returned, his teacher glanced at him with clear interest while still studying something in his hands. Kenichi briefly reported everything that had happened in Konoha, from the outbreak of fighting to Fugaku's desperate stand.
The rebellion caused a huge commotion inside the village, but that was all it became. The strongest combatant, Fugaku, had been held down by the Third Hokage and Danzo, so Konoha did not suffer catastrophic damage.
Still, the details had not spread yet.
Kenichi had only needed a single day to return to the Land of Rice Fields. That was nowhere near enough time for intelligence brokers to circulate the full story across the ninja world.
Of course, the incident could not truly be kept secret. A village as large as Konoha was guaranteed to have spies buried inside it. The only question was how Konoha would choose to explain what happened.
No matter what story they sold, Fugaku's fate would not be good.
"This is interesting," Orochimaru said, shaking his head lightly. "I never expected those Uchiha, who moved like lambs for so long, to flip the table so directly."
As he spoke, he casually tossed a scroll toward Kenichi.
Kenichi caught it on instinct, then froze when he saw the label.
Gene Programming Ninjutsu 2.0.
He lifted his head slowly and stared at Orochimaru, who was still calmly focused on whatever he was tinkering with.
A gift?
Kenichi understood immediately, and the realization made his expression turn strange. This was not just valuable, it was ridiculous.
Kenichi had studied gene programming himself. Precisely because he had studied it, he knew how terrifying the difficulty was, especially when the target was an adult.
Even in his previous life, solving that problem would have been worthy of a Nobel Prize.
An adult body contained an absurd number of cells. Programming an adult's genes meant rewriting cells across the entire body. The difficulty was obvious.
Yet his teacher had improved it anyway.
More than that, Kenichi clearly remembered that Orochimaru had not been researching gene programming improvements before. How had this suddenly appeared?
It had not even been two full months. Barely a month and a half.
That efficiency was almost insulting.
"As for that," Orochimaru said, as if he could read Kenichi's shock, "I had a conversation with Amado earlier. He has research in this area as well."
Kenichi nodded in understanding.
If it was Amado, it made sense. The man's work with cloning technology was deep enough that gene research would naturally overlap.
"Then, Sensei," Kenichi asked, curiosity taking over, "what's the success rate now?"
If the success rate was high enough, he could try something ambitious. He could attempt to give an experimental subject genes close to Sasuke's, then see if emotional stimulation could push the Sharingan toward the Mangekyo.
And if that worked, Kenichi had an even more dangerous thought.
He could program his own genes, force a change at the level of life itself, and aim for traits closer to the Ōtsutsuki clan.
As for whether there were genes beyond the Ōtsutsuki, that was something to consider only after leaving this planet.
Orochimaru answered without hesitation.
"I ran a test. Out of ten subjects, two survived."
Kenichi's mouth twitched.
Twenty percent.
It was higher than before, but it was still so low that Kenichi would not dare use it on himself.
Even so, pushing the success rate to this level in under two months was still terrifying.
It clearly needed further refinement.
Kenichi leaned closer, wanting to see what Orochimaru had been looking at. Only then did he notice a monitor like display.
Inside the image was a familiar figure.
Hidan.
His head was submerged in nutrient solution. His body had been carefully preserved nearby.
The only problem was that his torso was missing.
"Sensei," Kenichi asked, genuinely puzzled, "where's Hidan's torso?"
Before, Hidan had been separated into multiple pieces and stored individually. Now the torso was gone.
"Amado was curious about his immortality," Orochimaru said calmly. "He took a portion for research."
Kenichi understood immediately.
Hidan's body was indeed unique. It simply would not die, as long as it was not subjected to a certain kind of destruction.
And then Kenichi's eyes narrowed.
A thought hit him hard.
If Hidan's body carried that kind of abnormal persistence, could he use Hidan as a buffer for gene programming? Could he test modifications through Hidan first, then use the results to improve the technique?
Kenichi did not know whether Hidan would undergo special mutations after gene programming. He was not certain how that immortality interacted with altered genetics.
But overall, it was worth trying.
After discussing it with Orochimaru, Kenichi left the laboratory with Hidan's right hand. He planned to return to his own workspace and verify the idea personally.
He had not walked far when something crawled past him in the surrounding woods.
Kenichi stopped.
"What is that?"
He stared toward the treeline with a wary expression. A moment later, the thing crawled out again and planted itself directly in front of him.
A white scorpion.
No, not just a scorpion.
It was enormous. Its claws were as large as Kenichi's body, and its tail stinger looked sharp enough to punch through stone.
Even stranger, it did not look like a natural creature. Metallic weld marks were visible all over it, crude and obvious, as if someone had stitched steel into flesh without bothering to hide the seams.
Then the scorpion lifted one claw and waved enthusiastically.
"Eh? Amemiya senpai?!"
Kenichi's eyelid twitched.
That voice was familiar.
He stared at the massive scorpion, then slowly spoke a name that sounded like a question.
"Deidara?"
He recognized that tone. Besides Deidara, there was no one who insisted on calling him senpai like that.
But then another thought followed right behind it.
What was this giant scorpion supposed to be?
Did Deidara build it himself?
That did not feel right. That unlucky kid loved explosions more than breathing.
Kenichi silently took a step back.
Yes.
How could he forget?
Deidara's favorite art was the art of explosion.
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Germany: The Thousand Year Empire
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