Chapter 346: Naruto's Body is Probably Made of Iron, and So is His Spirit
"Oh, right. There's also the meeting with Nagato. And in a few days, I'll have to use Edo Tensei on Amado again." Kenichi let out a long sigh. Everything was piling up on top of everything else.
"And I still need to test whether a ninja under parasite control can use the One's Own Life Reincarnation as well." He rubbed his temples. Thankfully, this round of experiments was almost over. Once it was done, he could free up more Shadow Clones to help handle the rest.
Still, Kenichi had some doubts about the One's Own Life Reincarnation.
Frankly speaking, it was an extremely powerful jutsu, yet very few people in the Hidden Sand used it. In the anime, it only appeared once, when Chiyo revived Gaara, and then it was never seen again.
But was that realistic?
Not at all. If anything, it felt like a fantasy, something closer to a utopia.
Although the One's Own Life Reincarnation required one life in exchange for another, Kenichi honestly did not believe that limitation would stop the countless people in this world who were desperate to bring back someone they loved. There were simply too many ways around it.
For example, one could use genjutsu. Or the simplest method of all: coercion. Threaten a person's family and force them to cast the technique. Or have old, dying ninja use it to bring back exceptionally gifted young prodigies.
There were countless ways to force someone to use it.
And the One's Own Life Reincarnation did not require willing cooperation from the caster.
"So many possible uses, yet it only showed up once in the anime. Either the entire ninja world is full of saints with absurdly high moral standards, or the author just never bothered drawing it that way." Kenichi sneered inwardly as he watched the test subjects struggle in agony, then gradually calm down.
Expect everyone in the ninja world to be a good person?
Ridiculous.
Even in a small company, people schemed against each other openly and behind the scenes. How could anyone expect the entire ninja world to be made up of kindhearted people? If that were true, then the previous ninja wars would never have happened in the first place.
So, in Kenichi's eyes, the most likely explanation was simple. The author just had no intention of exploring it further. Later on, the Rinne Rebirth was introduced, and compared to a technique that could only revive one person, a jutsu that could revive many at once was naturally more impressive.
"Still, Rinne Rebirth requires the Rinnegan, immense strength, and a sacrifice. But the One's Own Life Reincarnation... that one's a lot cheaper." Kenichi stroked his chin. "It's basically the youth version of Rinne Rebirth."
At that moment, the experiment finally came to an end.
All the Shadow Clones looked visibly relieved. Once the cleaners finished tidying up, Kenichi found a bed, dropped onto it, and dispelled the clones.
Even before doing so, he had already entered Sage Mode. Even with that, though, the sudden flood of exhaustion nearly made him feel like dying would be easier.
It was like staying awake for five or six days straight, then running ten kilometers, and immediately afterward stuffing yourself with food until you wanted to throw up.
"Hiss..." Kenichi did not even have the strength to curse. The Shadow Clone technique really was a divine skill, but its side effects were just as monstrous.
All the fatigue, all the strain, all the memories from those days of nonstop experimentation crashed back into him at once. At that moment, Kenichi truly felt as though death might be a relief. And that was with Sage Mode already helping him endure it.
No wonder his teacher had once warned him not to keep too many Shadow Clones active for too long, or someone could literally work themselves to death. Right now, Kenichi felt exactly that miserable. Even dying sounded easier than his current state.
After quite a while, he finally managed to let out a shaky breath.
That only made him even more curious. How exactly had Naruto stayed so composed after dispelling so many Shadow Clones, especially when those clones had all been fighting, taking hits, and exhausting themselves?
It was honestly incredible.
"If only I had something that could block the fatigue feedback from Shadow Clones..." Kenichi gave a bitter smile. "Then I really would become a god."
Still, he forced himself up from the bed. He had recovered a little.
Now it was time to deal with the next batch of problems. After this experience, however, he made a firm decision. In future experiments, if he used Shadow Clones for long term work, he would have to dispel them every day or two. Letting them accumulate too much fatigue at once was asking for disaster.
This time, he had only pushed it this far because he wanted to finish the genetic programming modifications and Sharingan development in a single stretch.
When he stepped out of the room, he ran into Shiori hurrying through the Snow capital's palace.
"Shiori, how is Teacher doing?" Kenichi called out.
Only then did he notice that she was carrying several document bags stuffed with who knew what.
"Lord Kenichi." Shiori stopped at once.
He liked Shiori's sharpness most of all.
"Lord Kenichi, Lord Orochimaru is currently conducting experiments," Shiori said respectfully. "He told me that if you asked after him, I should tell you not to look for him for the time being. Also, he repaired this and asked me to give it to you."
She handed him something.
Kenichi recognized it instantly. It was his phone, repaired by his teacher.
"Understood." Kenichi pocketed it.
At present, this thing could only make calls and was closer to a walkie talkie than a true phone, but by the standards of the current ninja world, it was already impressive enough.
Originally, he had intended to ask Shiori to collect some materials for him, but seeing how busy she was, he let it go and went to find Koyuki instead.
"I still need to solve the communication problem with Koyuki," Kenichi muttered to himself. "She can directly control her offspring, but I can't..."
After finding her, he assigned her the task of collecting materials before leaving again. He intended to use those materials to build uranium detection and extraction devices. Once those were finished, he could begin searching the ninja world for uranium ore deposits.
Then he abruptly thought of something.
"Wait... where is my junior sister?"
Kenichi stopped in place.
Anko was nowhere to be seen, and his teacher had not mentioned her either. More importantly, he had not seen her at the laboratory in the Land of Rice Fields.
So where had she gone?
His teacher had not killed her, had he?
.....
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