Chapter 420: Obito, You Brought This Upon Yourself!
[Research Log: After studying the Nano disease, it can currently be confirmed that the Nano virus is transmitted through bodily fluids and fecal-oral routes. The only mitigating factor is that it cannot be transmitted through the air.]
"It can't be transmitted through the air... Can this be changed through genetic programming? But that would be far too difficult."
Kenichi's Shadow Clone sat on a laboratory chair, deeply engrossed in the documents in his hand.
The core question was, how exactly was a virus's ability to be airborne determined? Which specific genes dictated it? Moreover, viruses and bacteria possessed relatively simple DNA structures. Would his genetic modifications inadvertently create a completely different, uncontrollable new strain? These were all critical issues that required careful consideration.
After an entire night of intensive research, Kenichi now had a much better understanding of the Nano disease. This plague was indeed horrifyingly absolute; once a person was infected, it was basically incurable, and traditional medical treatment methods were utterly ineffective.
However, Kenichi could not yet definitively determine whether the Nano disease was caused by a virus or a bacterium.
Strangely enough, he had found absolutely no trace of any suspicious pathogens within the patient's body.
"Logically speaking, if it causes rapid organ failure and even leads to severe blood thickening, then its presence should be easily detected in the bloodstream. But currently, the lab results show nothing," Kenichi's Shadow Clone sighed, rubbing his temples. He was the one responsible for handling this specific branch of the Nano disease research.
As for the main body's extreme caution regarding this matter, the Shadow Clone understood completely. After all, if the main body ever became infected, it would be an incredibly troublesome situation. Although the power of shinobi in this world was astonishing, they were far from completely invincible.
Didn't Itachi, that unlucky prodigy, suffer from a terminal illness? It eventually killed him, so Kenichi knew he needed to be exceptionally careful.
[Laboratory Analysis: After thoroughly examining the patient's blood, no suspicious viruses or bacteria were found. However, red blood cells and other common blood cells showed signs of severe coagulation. It is initially suspected that this disease triggers an aggressive cellular coagulation response.]
[Pathology Report: Lung and brain tissue sections were subsequently examined, but no structural abnormalities were found. However, a massive number of cells across all samples showed signs of coagulation and necrosis.]
[Conclusion: This effect is completely opposite to certain snake venoms that cause blood anticoagulation. This disease causes multiple cell types to coagulate and die rapidly, yet no existing pathogen can be isolated within them.]
The Shadow Clone pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Konoha Hospital could only facilitate basic experiments with its current equipment. To go any further, he would need to take the biological samples back to the Land of Snow's specialized laboratory for advanced experimentation.
"That's about all I can do here. Now I just need to deliver the remains of these deceased patients to the main body, and then I can make my exit."
The Shadow Clone stood up. Although Tsunade and Jiraiya had not yet returned to Konoha, staying in the village any longer would eventually lead to him being cornered by the two Legendary Sannin.
He was merely a Shadow Clone, so being surrounded and intercepted by enemy forces wasn't a big deal; he could just dispel himself, leaving Jiraiya and Tsunade with nothing to catch. However, these patients who had died from the Nano disease were incredibly valuable experimental materials. If he lost them, Kenichi would have to go out into the world and find entirely new test subjects.
To be absolutely safe, he extracted several vials of coagulated blood and various tissue samples from the Nano patients before hastily slipping out of Konoha Hospital, taking the corpses of a few unlucky individuals along with him.
Shortly after Kenichi's Shadow Clone left the perimeter of Konoha, small black dots slowly materialized in the distant sky, flying toward the village.
Tsunade and Jiraiya had finally returned.
---
"Sasori, is your... Unit-01 finished?"
Kenichi stared at the giant mechanical creation looming in front of him, then glanced at Sasori, who stood proudly to the side.
"Hmm? How is it? Isn't it excellent?" Sasori smiled with genuine satisfaction, patting the massive foot of the construct beside him. Due to his short stature, he could only reach its toes.
Kenichi's mouth twitched slightly. He looked up at the colossal machine. Its body was incredibly tall and large, giving it a somewhat clumsy appearance. However, the steel plates lining its chassis felt incredibly thick, a design choice that certainly maximized its defensive capabilities.
But why did he always feel like Sasori had climbed the completely wrong technology tree?
"I just feel like... it's right, but also completely wrong?" Kenichi rubbed his temples, a headache brewing. He had originally thought Unit-01 would look like the mechs from his past memories, or perhaps something sleek like a Unicorn Gundam. What Sasori had actually built, however, was hard to describe politely.
It was a super-large robot, and the materials used in its construction were undeniably solid. Kenichi had just tried pressing a standard Rasengan directly onto its thick metal plating, and the jutsu couldn't even breach its outer defense. One could easily imagine how astonishing its overall durability was.
Although it was just a very ordinary Rasengan, normal metal would have been completely pulverized by the impact.
However, precisely because the armor plating was so excessively solid, the entire robot looked incredibly bulky.
"Did you ever consider making it a bit more aesthetically pleasing?" Kenichi asked, staring at the machine. Its appearance was truly indescribable. Although Kenichi wasn't one to judge purely by looks, this was the first time he had ever seen a mech constructed to be so profoundly ugly.
If he had to describe it, it looked like a magnified, even uglier version of the Iron Monger armor.
"Hmm? I did consider aesthetics, but making the frame too streamlined or elegant isn't conducive to deflecting heavy Ninjutsu attacks." Sasori scratched his head. He also secretly felt that his Unit-01 looked a bit visually crude, but he had prioritized sheer practicality above all else during the engineering phase.
"What a pity," Kenichi sighed. He understood that aesthetics and practicality often clashed, especially since their current technological development hadn't fully caught up to his vision. If they could manufacture high-strength, lightweight alloys that achieved the same defensive output with less mass, then they could finally afford to care about looks.
"If this thing could be redesigned to look like an Imperial Knight, that would be truly amazing." Kenichi stared at the mechanical giant. Despite his criticisms, he still felt a strong urge to pilot it. After all, it was a giant mech!
What man could honestly say no to a giant robot?
"There will be plenty of opportunities to improve its design in the future." Sasori gazed at the work in front of him, which embodied his absolute highest engineering efforts, his eyes turning somewhat dazed.
From the initial blueprint to the final weld, he didn't even know how much money or effort this Unit-01 had cost him. Virtually all of his personal funds had been poured directly into its development. Even for someone of Sasori's status, purchasing such rare, expensive metals and specialized materials had become difficult to sustain.
Because of this, he had been forced to take Deidara out on multiple mercenary missions just to earn enough funds to keep building this massive machine. Now, this construct stood as the absolute pinnacle of his artistic achievement.
As a result, he currently didn't have a single coin left to buy other supplies and was already worrying about whether he needed to go out and take on more contracts to replenish his wallet.
"Where's Deidara?" Kenichi asked casually. He had traveled to this experimental base to collect the biological samples from his clone and to check on Sasori and Deidara's progress. He fully planned to include his two companions in his upcoming strategic campaign.
Both Sasori and Deidara were exceptionally capable shinobi, and most importantly, they possessed unparalleled talent in their respective fields. In fact, Sasori was an absolutely essential piece for the next phase of Kenichi's grand plan.
"Deidara? That brat is still out in the wasteland experimenting with his new strategic bomber," Sasori pouted, gesturing toward the sky. Kenichi looked up but saw nothing in the vast expanse above. However, from the sound of it, Deidara had invented a clay creation capable of sustained flight and high-altitude carpet bombing. That sounded quite promising.
"Sasori, do you remember the dream I shared with you before?" Kenichi turned to look at his companion. After defecting from his original home alongside his master, Sasori had become Kenichi's very first true friend, and he valued that bond immensely.
He hadn't officially brought Sasori into the core of his operations earlier because the puppeteer hadn't finished his masterpiece. But now that Sasori possessed this giant Unit-01, he finally had the necessary firepower to protect himself on a changing battlefield, allowing Kenichi to confidently bring his friend out into the open.
Sasori was stunned for a moment, and then a sincere, eager smile broke across his face.
"Of course I remember. Is your grand plan finally ready to begin?" Sasori looked at Kenichi excitedly. He remembered every detail of what Kenichi had proposed back then—a plan that sounded completely insane to the average shinobi.
"Yes, the first gears have already started turning. You already know about the fall of Kirigakure, right?" Kenichi nodded. Sasori looked at Kenichi with a flash of surprise, followed by a look of sudden realization. He was indeed well aware of that news.
After all, the total destruction of Kirigakure in the Land of Water was far too shocking for the other shinobi nations to fully cover up. Now, the entire shinobi world was in an uproar, discussing the event incessantly.
"You were the one who did it..." Sasori licked his lips excitedly. He had spent weeks wondering what shadowy force could have pulled off such a feat, assuming the world was simply plunging into chaos on its own. He never expected the mastermind to be sitting right in front of him.
Then again, considering it was Kenichi, achieving such a catastrophic level of destruction wasn't entirely surprising.
"Yes, I engineered it. But Sasori, I need your specific expertise to help me with something right now." Kenichi smiled, a dark, sinister glint appearing in his eyes.
That damned Obito. That absolute dog of a shinobi. Instead of staying hidden in his miserable gutter, plotting his dirty little schemes and obsessing over his dead goddess, he actually dared to come out and interfere with Kenichi's operations?
If Kenichi could simply swallow that kind of insult, he wouldn't be Kenichi.
Although he still didn't have a clear method to pin down Black Zetsu or Obito's slippery movements, Kenichi had his own unique philosophy regarding retaliation. Who ever said revenge had to inflict immediate physical harm? Psychological warfare was clearly far more devastating!
It was like having a bitter grudge against someone; if you simply rushed forward to angrily beat them up in public, all you would achieve was a swift arrest. If your enemy was clever, they could just sit back, play the victim, and force you to pay heavy financial compensation, leaving you bursting with absolute frustration.
But if you silently endured the slight, meticulously improved yourself, built up an flawless physical appearance, and then actively seduced away everything they held dear, you could leave your enemy utterly broken, furious, and miserable. That was true vengeance.
"What do you need me to make?" Sasori asked, looking at his friend with a hint of confusion. However, he didn't mind helping at all; they were old comrades, so he would assist regardless of the request.
"It's quite simple, really. I know you are the undisputed master of puppet craftsmanship. I want to know if you can construct a human puppet that replicates the exact tactile feel of a real human body." Kenichi rubbed his hands together, a wicked grin spreading across his face.
"That is incredibly easy to do, but a puppet designed with those specifications wouldn't possess any practical combat capabilities," Sasori replied without the slightest hesitation. A request like that was absolute child's play for Sasori of the Red Sand. Even ordinary puppet makers in Sunagakure could manage basic biological replication if pushed.
Kenichi quickly waved his hand, clarifying that combat capability was completely unnecessary. What kind of joke was that? Was he designing this puppet to fight on the front lines?
Well... in a highly specific sense, it was indeed meant for 'combat,' but the battlefield was entirely different.
"I need a female puppet modeled precisely after this specific girl. I need the anatomical details perfected to the absolute highest degree, ensuring that every single customer who purchases one is completely satisfied. Can you handle that?" Kenichi pulled out a detailed photograph and handed it over.
It was a picture of Rin Nohara.
"This is entirely feasible..." Sasori looked at his friend with an increasingly bizarre expression. Kenichi was immensely powerful; logically speaking, if he had those kinds of personal desires, couldn't he easily obtain any woman he wanted? He certainly didn't seem like the type to lack options.
"Perfect, that works beautifully. And as for the explicit structural details, I want them to be as hyper-realistic as humanly possible. I'm sure you take my meaning." Kenichi rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
That miserable Obito... didn't he betray his own master, his village, and the entire world all for the sake of one girl?
If Kenichi simply desecrated Rin's actual grave, Obito would just fly into a murderous rage and try to kill him. But if Kenichi mass-produced a life-sized, anatomically perfect pleasure doll of his precious goddess and distributed it commercially throughout the entire shinobi world... wouldn't Obito be so overwhelmingly consumed by pure, unadulterated fury that he might actually drop dead on the spot?
It was almost a pity, really. The Mangekyo Sharingan was an eye awakened through the absolute peak of negative emotional despair. If Kenichi pushed this scheme far enough, it wouldn't be completely impossible to force Obito's intense agony to evolve his eyes straight into the Rinnegan.
After all, breaking the psychological stability of the 'Shinobi World's Most Infatuated Simp' was incredibly easy. Kenichi knew a vast array of effective psychological tactics to maximize that torment.
"I understand the parameters. Do you require the inclusion of an artificial hymen structure?" Sasori asked entirely casually, his tone clinical. As a master puppeteer who had personally dissected countless human bodies over his career, his medical understanding of human anatomy was absolute, even if he didn't care for human flesh himself.
"Of course! Preferably the specific kind that triggers an engineered vocal mechanism to make the puppet cry out when it breaks." Kenichi patted his old friend heavily on the shoulder. As expected of Sasori, he caught on to the requirements immediately.
"This girl... is she some sort of mortal enemy of yours?" Sasori couldn't help but ask, staring at the photo. He had no recollection of ever seeing this particular kunoichi in any bingo book.
"No, she isn't my enemy. She happens to be the dead lover of one of my most irritating adversaries. He is completely, pathologically infatuated with this woman, even though she has been rotting in the ground for years," Kenichi sneered coldly.
But as the thought lingered, a brilliant, even more twisted idea suddenly sparked in Kenichi's mind. Rin Nohara was dead, yes... but he currently possessed the absolute mastery of the Outer Path's Samsara of Heavenly Life Jutsu!
If he actually resurrected the real Rin right in front of Obito's eyes, and then...
"Now that... that would probably cause Obito's mind to completely snap, wouldn't it?" Kenichi mused to himself, a dark chuckle echoing in the laboratory.
.....
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