Chapter 431: This World Is Sick, So I Brought the Cure
"Pandora really is interesting."
Amamiya Kenichi could not help rubbing his temples as he looked at the experiment log in his hand.
The fungus he had named Pandora was the source of Nano Disease. Through his research, Kenichi had also discovered several interesting things, such as Pandora's peculiar method of transmission.
Logically speaking, most fungi spread through spores.
But clearly, Pandora did not follow the usual rules.
The spores of this thing only displayed extremely strong transmissibility after coming into contact with blood. Before that, they simply drifted with the wind, going wherever the air carried them. Even if they floated into someone's mouth, they would not cause an infection. Only when they touched blood would the spores become active.
This characteristic was somewhat strange, but Kenichi was already used to it.
Nature was full of wonders. He had seen even more amazing creatures before. For example, some people especially liked eating lobsters, and certain lobsters could essentially live for an extremely long time, almost theoretically immortal. Some jellyfish also possessed similar traits.
So it was very normal to encounter anything in nature.
Some animals and plants possessed almost magical characteristics. Because of that, it was not surprising that a fungus like Pandora required specific conditions to spread.
"However, this characteristic is a little troublesome. If it cannot be made airborne, then its effect is somewhat similar to a toxin, only more potent and far deadlier," Kenichi mused.
If it had to be transmitted through blood, Pandora's strategic value would be greatly reduced. Even so, it could still be used like poison, a toxin that killed once it entered through a wound.
The only difference was that this toxin acted more slowly, but once it took effect, it was far more lethal.
Based on the current cases, even jonin-level ninja who contracted Pandora were pushed to the brink of death, able only to lie in the hospital and wait for the end. If the infected person was a weaker chunin or genin, death would come even faster.
"From this perspective, if this thing cannot be improved, it can only be applied to weapons and used to attack enemies. If it is to become a large-scale weapon, it must be paired with something that can reliably create wounds."
Kenichi felt a headache coming on.
But there was no other way.
Pandora was the best sample he had ever seen.
Other diseases did not meet the conditions he wanted. Diseases that could kill within three days after onset basically did not exist in the ninja world.
The people of the ninja world were abnormal. Their physical fitness was simply too strong. It was truly not easy for conventional diseases to kill them.
Now, there seemed to be only two paths before Kenichi.
The first was to use Pandora as a weapon coating, with ninja needing only to draw blood in combat. In a sense, it would be somewhat similar to Hidan's fighting style.
The second was to modify Pandora itself.
But that was destined to be a long process. Although Pandora was only a tiny fungus, changing the way its spores spread would undoubtedly take a great deal of time.
"Leaving aside how to find the trait that allows spores to spread through the air, just cultivating Pandora itself is already a difficult problem."
Kenichi sighed.
The thought of cultivating bacteria and fungi gave him a headache.
It was well known that fungi and bacteria inside a laboratory and those outside a laboratory might as well be different species. Even the same fungus might die instantly if the lab temperature changed by a tiny amount.
But outside the laboratory, even inside a refrigerator, life could still find its own way.
Moreover, Pandora was highly lethal to animals and required blood as its nutrient source. Without blood, it entered a dormant state, and Kenichi did not know how long that state could last.
After all, some fungal spores could lie dormant for decades, or even longer.
There was also no Ninjutsu in the ninja world that could quickly make time pass, so Kenichi could only figure everything out himself.
"It's better to tackle both approaches at once."
In the end, Kenichi decided to pursue both directions simultaneously.
However, using Pandora spores as a weapon still required experimental verification. Fortunately, many rebels had appeared in the Land of Water during this period, giving Kenichi enough criminals to use.
When the time came, they could serve as experimental material, and afterward, they could also be recycled as containers for cultivating Pandora.
"Lord Amamiya."
Uchiha Shiori knocked on the door.
Kenichi raised an eyebrow when he heard her voice, but he still walked out.
Too many things had happened in the ninja world recently. That very morning, he had even learned from Shiori about "his own" attack on Konoha.
"What's wrong?" Kenichi asked.
He wondered whether Konoha had made some move.
"Lord Amamiya, Miss Konan, whom you mentioned earlier, has arrived at the border of the Land of Water," Shiori said respectfully.
Kenichi was stunned for a moment.
Konan?
Then he remembered what Nagato had said before.
"She came that quickly?" Kenichi was a little surprised.
He truly had not expected Konan to arrive so fast.
If Konan was here, did that mean Nagato was also coming?
That was truly interesting.
Thinking of Uchiha Obito, who might arrive with the Akatsuki's main force, Kenichi sneered.
That dog Obito must have seen Rin Nohara by now, right?
What would he think after seeing his goddess treated like that?
But presumably, such a blow was still not enough.
"Shiori, where is Rin Nohara? Has she discovered those things yet?" Kenichi asked.
Since the Akatsuki was coming, the second act prepared for Obito should also begin. At the very least, the actors needed to be in place.
"She has, Lord Amamiya. Miss Rin Nohara is currently becoming more and more curious about you," Shiori immediately answered.
More and more curious?
That was good news.
It meant she was starting to develop curiosity about him.
Kenichi felt that if one wanted to pursue a girl, making her curious was a very good start. If she felt nothing at all, then there would be no possibility from the beginning.
Still, it was a little slow.
Once that dog Obito arrived in the Land of Water, he might send Black Zetsu to gather intelligence. If Black Zetsu reported everything to Obito, how would Kenichi strike at that dog afterward?
It seemed he still needed to speed things up.
"Guide her subtly," Kenichi told Shiori.
Shiori immediately recorded it in her schedule.
After that, Kenichi left the laboratory.
He needed to go to the border and meet Konan.
He also needed to see when the Akatsuki would arrive.
The Land of Water was not very large. Or rather, the ninja world itself was not very large.
Traveling by airship, Kenichi quickly arrived at the location Shiori had mentioned and met Konan there.
Konan was still the same as before.
However, Kenichi noticed that when she looked at him, her gaze had softened slightly. Compared to how she looked at others, there was a little more warmth in her eyes.
That made Kenichi glance at Konan again.
Could it be that because he had formed a cooperative relationship with Nagato, Konan's impression of him had also improved?
Hmm.
If this were a dating game, he would probably see Konan's affection bar floating above her head right now.
If it were...
Ahem.
"Kenichi, I came to confirm the location of the organization's base," Konan said, glancing at Kenichi.
Looking at the somewhat unconventional man before her, a gentle warmth flickered in Konan's eyes.
Although this guy was a little unreliable, he had changed Nagato.
"All right, no problem. But when does the organization plan to move?" Kenichi rubbed his hands together with a chuckle.
Konan gracefully floated to his side.
Carried by the wind was a faint, pleasant fragrance from some unknown flower. It was subtle, but lovely.
Kenichi looked at Konan's delicate face and could not help becoming a little lost in thought.
He suddenly wondered what this world would be like without war.
Without war, without conflict, would Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato have become high school students?
Would they have worn school uniforms, laughed and played every day, argued over how to solve a problem, and discussed where to go after the final exams?
But now?
Konan, Nagato, and Yahiko had lived in fear since childhood until they met Jiraiya.
Even after becoming ninja, they could only struggle to survive in this painful world.
In the end, Yahiko died, and Nagato went mad.
It seemed only Konan had silently supported her two best friends all this time, with no special feelings between them.
"Jade, what's wrong?" Konan asked.
There was a trace of confusion in her indifferent eyes.
From just now, Kenichi had been staring blankly at her. Konan did not think he liked her. After all, she had not met him many times.
"Nothing. I just feel that the sooner the agreement between me and the leader comes to fruition, the better," Kenichi said with a smile.
He had been under some pressure during this period.
After all, he had done too many things, and countless people had died at his hands, or indirectly because of him.
Sometimes, Kenichi would also wonder whether the war he had brought to this world was destructive.
Would it also lead to the birth of more war orphans like Nagato and his friends?
But just now, looking at Konan's indifferent expression, Kenichi suddenly understood.
War had always existed.
If he acted like Naruto, the ninja world would only maintain peace for a very short time.
Unless the divisions between ninja villages were erased, unless the concept of ninja villages was eliminated, and unless everyone believed they belonged to one country, permanent peace would never come.
In that process, sacrifices were inevitable.
But there was no other way.
Changing the world was like this. Without bloodshed, it was impossible to overthrow the current terrible state of the ninja world.
Many people would secretly curse him and accuse him of being a villain, but Kenichi did not care.
He could not always be seen as a righteous figure.
What was honey to him could be poison to his enemies.
Were Nagato and Konan not the ones supporting him?
To them, he was the righteous one.
Once he unified the ninja world and brought peace, he would become Nagato's savior.
"...Hmm. I also want to see that day come," Konan said.
She froze for a moment, clearly not expecting Kenichi to say something like that.
Then she smiled.
It was a very gentle smile, and the warmth in her eyes as she looked at Kenichi deepened further.
For some reason, Konan felt as if she had seen Yahiko's shadow in Kenichi.
"Let's go. I'll take you to see the map of the Land of Water," Kenichi said with an easy smile.
It did not matter if others did not understand him.
He knew he was doing the right thing.
This damned world should enter a new stage.
As for the remnants of the old era, if they were willing to integrate, there would still be a place for them aboard the ship.
If not, they could only drown beneath the tide of the times.
—
"Amamiya Kenichi."
Rin Nohara sat on a chair.
The afternoon sunlight lazily spilled through the glass and fell over her, only to be broken apart by swaying leaves outside. The shifting light flickered uncertainly, like a young girl's wavering thoughts.
"What kind of person is he?"
Rin was a little curious.
She did not know much about the person who had resurrected her. She only knew that he was very powerful.
After all, resurrecting the dead was not something ordinary ninja could do.
But after reviving her, he had immediately sent her away.
His flustered eyes and complicated expression had left a deep impression on Rin.
That also made Rin somewhat curious about Kenichi.
However, it had only been a few days since she was resurrected, and she had only seen the person who revived her on the first day.
Now, she was gradually learning more about this resurrected world.
But what surprised her most was still Kenichi.
He seemed...
Rin gently bit her lower lip, holding something in her hand.
This was something she had accidentally found in a flowerbed outside the laboratory after she went back out of curiosity. She had been too embarrassed to go inside, so she had walked around the area instead.
It was a fragmented experiment log.
It recorded how much effort Kenichi had poured into resurrecting his beloved. The tone was almost frantic, and the emotions written between the lines seemed to soak through the paper.
During this period, she had also carefully asked about certain things.
Those pieces of information, along with the conversations she had overheard, were gradually pushing her toward an answer that made her heart uneasy.
The beloved person Amamiya Kenichi wanted to resurrect, the person he loved, seemed to be...
Could it be her?
A gentle breeze blew through the open window, ruffling Rin's hair and stirring the thoughts in her heart.
.....
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