Chapter 301: A Strange Conflict Arises
"Mangekyo Sharingan..." Amamiya Kenichi murmured as he looked at the test subject before him in the long-unused laboratory. "Now that the three tomoe Sharingan experiment is complete, the only thing left is the Mangekyo Sharingan experiment."
Ever since he had dealt with the Mizukage issue in the Hidden Mist Village and severed one of Obito's arms, Amamiya Kenichi had begun thinking about ways to further increase his own strength.
The most direct method at the moment was naturally to improve his ocular power.
As long as he could evolve his three tomoe Sharingan into the Mangekyo Sharingan, he would be able to start carrying out his plans while also removing the obstacles in his path.
Obito and Black Zetsu were both obstacles.
Both were dangerous, especially Black Zetsu. That half-finished product born from Ōtsutsuki Kaguya only ever thought about causing trouble and finding a way to rescue his mother.
Strictly speaking, that in itself was not a problem. Amamiya Kenichi could even understand it. The real issue was that Black Zetsu stood in his way. Unless Amamiya Kenichi found another means of releasing Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, the two of them were destined to be absolute enemies, with no room for reconciliation.
"Still, even if I have some ideas, the biggest problem is Kaguya herself..." Amamiya Kenichi rubbed his eyes, easing the strain from earlier.
Unless one possessed overwhelming power capable of suppressing Ōtsutsuki Kaguya head-on, releasing her would be utterly impossible. And even if she were released, that would only create an even bigger problem.
After all, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya was a woman with strong will and autonomy, not some puppet that could be casually controlled.
Of course, Amamiya Kenichi had entertained some fairly outrageous thoughts before. For example, after being alone for so many years, wouldn't Kaguya have built up certain urges? If he could conquer her physically and make her his woman, wouldn't that make him the father of the Sage of Six Paths... and of Black Zetsu too?
That line of thinking actually had some basis to it.
After all, when faced with Naruto's Reverse Harem Jutsu, Kaguya had clearly frozen for a moment. That alone suggested that something had stirred in her heart, even if it might simply have been bewilderment at such a bizarre technique.
Still, those thoughts were better left to imagination.
Because even if he wanted to conquer Kaguya physically, he would first need the power to pin her down.
And that kind of plot only really worked in hentai.
"So Black Zetsu has to die." Amamiya Kenichi patted the experimental subject in front of him.
The subject slowly opened his eyes, and at that moment, Amamiya Kenichi clearly saw the three tomoe Sharingan in them.
The experiment had succeeded.
[...Through mental stimulation, it is possible to successfully induce the subject's Sharingan to evolve. It has currently reached the three tomoe stage. The next step is to test the Mangekyo Sharingan.]
Amamiya Kenichi looked at the dazed subject and calmly recorded the results in his notebook.
Just as he had expected, the evolution of the Sharingan really was tied to intense emotional stimulation. Once a Uchiha received sufficiently powerful emotional shock, a very special fluid would be secreted in the brain.
And that fluid came from the amygdala.
Still, he had no intention of proceeding with the Mangekyo Sharingan experiment yet, because that experiment was extremely dangerous.
Not dangerous for the test subject.
Dangerous for him.
After all, the awakening of the Mangekyo Sharingan depended entirely on the user's thoughts at the time of awakening. What if the subject awakened some troublesome ocular ability and immediately slipped free of his control?
Wouldn't that just be asking for trouble?
Because of that, Amamiya Kenichi had no intention of carelessly stimulating the Mangekyo in his experimental subjects. He needed to place them fully under control first. Only then could he begin with confidence.
"You're awake?" Amamiya Kenichi asked as the subject touched his own eyes, clearly sensing something had changed. "How do you feel?"
The subject did not answer at once. Instead, he suddenly turned and looked at Amamiya Kenichi, the three tomoe in his eyes spinning rapidly.
Amamiya Kenichi let out a cold laugh.
At the same time, the three tomoe in his own eyes began spinning as well, easily neutralizing the other's genjutsu. In the next instant, he took control of the subject completely.
This subject was the ninja he had brought back after dealing with Kurenai earlier.
Yayoi Yumi.
Still, the fact that Yumi had tried to attack him was entirely within Amamiya Kenichi's expectations. After all, after Yumi awakened the one tomoe and two tomoe stages, Amamiya Kenichi had already taught him some basic methods of using the Sharingan, just to test whether the eyes functioned normally.
He simply had not expected this idiot to immediately try using it against him.
But that was fine.
Amamiya Kenichi was willing to forgive him, because this was still a valuable test subject.
Yayoi Yumi, who had now successfully awakened the three tomoe Sharingan, was exactly the sort of subject Kenichi needed for the parasite experiments involving the mother worm.
The other test subject, who had only reached the two tomoe stage, also needed to be implanted with parasites so he could observe whether the parasites would remain stable even as the Sharingan evolved further.
Compared to killing him outright, Amamiya Kenichi felt that forcing someone to serve him loyally while remaining unwilling inside was a far more effective form of torment.
Besides, as the first successful subject to awaken the three tomoe Sharingan, Yayoi Yumi still had great value. Amamiya Kenichi needed him to observe whether any side effects or flaws would appear so he could refine the protocol further.
Naturally, that meant he would not kill him so casually.
"Then the next step is the Land of Snow." Amamiya Kenichi licked his lips. "Judging by the mother worm's breeding cycle, there should be enough time by now for it to produce the next generation of parasites."
With that, he locked Yayoi Yumi back in the cave and left.
Before departing, however, he still needed to make some preparations.
As soon as he stepped out of the laboratory, intending to find his teacher, Amamiya Kenichi caught sight of a familiar figure in the distance.
It was a female ninja, leaning against the trunk of a tree on a branch, quietly gazing into the distance. The breeze stirred her beautiful hair.
"Hm? Anko?" Amamiya Kenichi blinked in surprise.
Wasn't that his bold and spirited junior, Anko Mitarashi?
Still, Anko looked a little different now.
She seemed... more mature.
"Oh, Senior Amamiya." Anko had also heard his voice. She turned around and flashed him a bright, pure smile.
"Done with your mission?" Amamiya Kenichi raised an eyebrow.
It was rare to see Anko here. In fact, ever since his teacher had assigned her to long-term missions, he had hardly seen her at all.
"Yes, Senior. I came back today for a physical examination under Sensei's orders," Anko said with a grin.
When she smiled, she still looked exactly the same as before. She was completely unlike the quietly melancholic female ninja he had just seen a moment ago.
Amamiya Kenichi chuckled and casually ruffled her hair.
This girl had been out for a long time, and thinking about it carefully, he really had not paid much attention to his junior recently.
That thought made him pause.
He immediately thought of the things he was currently researching: gene programming and Sharingan stimulation.
Although the process was painful, the final result was still the three tomoe Sharingan, and more importantly, one that could be activated and deactivated freely. That was a massive enhancement to any ninja's combat power.
Eyes were one of the most absurdly powerful things in Naruto.
Otherwise, why would people joke that the series was really a "Legend of Eyes"?
It was because those eyes were just too outrageous.
Even someone as powerful as Naruto at the end of the story would not have been able to handle Ōtsutsuki Kaguya alone. Without Obito's eyes, even moving between dimensions to attack her would have been a nightmare.
Not to mention the absurd abilities of the Mangekyo Sharingan and the Rinnegan.
It could be said that even an ordinary jōnin, if given those eyes, could unleash terrifying power.
"Did you run into any trouble on your mission?" Amamiya Kenichi asked.
Although he already had an idea, Anko was still his junior, so he wanted to be careful.
"Eh? No." Anko paused, then smiled and shook her head. "Sensei only gave me missions within my ability."
Amamiya Kenichi said nothing. Instead, he took out a scroll and tossed it to her.
Anko caught it blankly, clearly not knowing what was inside.
"This sealing scroll contains an average-strength jōnin," Amamiya Kenichi said. "If you run into a troublesome enemy, release him and stick a kunai into his head."
Inside the scroll was Ao.
Or rather, half-finished Ao.
He could be summoned out at any time to fight. Though he no longer had the Byakugan, his own ability was still decent. Otherwise, he would never have been able to stay by Mei Terumi's side.
"Edo Tensei?" Anko blinked, then smiled warmly. "I understand. Thank you, Senior."
Amamiya Kenichi glanced at her.
For some reason, he always felt that Anko seemed to be hiding something in her heart, but if she did not want to say it, he could hardly force the issue.
So he could only leave it there for now.
Before going, however, he still told her to come find him more often once some time had passed.
As long as Yayoi Yumi's body showed no abnormalities, then this line of experimentation could be carried out on Anko as well.
At the same time, Amamiya Kenichi planned to use this period to conduct more repeated trials, test the failure rate thoroughly, and eliminate as many risks as possible before involving his junior.
"..." Anko silently watched his retreating figure, then looked down at the scroll in her hand.
Her slender fingers tightened around it, then slowly loosened again, leaving only a heavy silence.
Meanwhile, when Amamiya Kenichi stepped naturally into his teacher's laboratory, he immediately sensed that something was off.
"Teacher, you seem to be in a bad mood." He blinked, then smiled when he saw Orochimaru sweeping the floor with a broom while wearing a cold expression.
"You two have grown up and no longer listen to your teacher."
Orochimaru's voice was icy, like a cutting wind that made one shiver.
Amamiya Kenichi raised an eyebrow.
He had been in the lab the whole time and definitely had not offended his teacher. If that was the case, then this had to be about Anko.
That immediately reminded him of Anko's strange mood earlier.
No wonder.
His teacher and junior had actually fallen out.
"What happened with Anko?" Amamiya Kenichi asked curiously.
He understood his teacher very well. Although Orochimaru was clearly furious right now, this was still a state where conversation was possible.
The truly dangerous time was when Orochimaru smiled while speaking in an emotionless voice.
"She wants to return to Konoha."
Orochimaru's expression darkened further as he swept up the scattered glass shards on the floor.
Amamiya Kenichi froze.
Honestly, he had considered many possibilities, but he never imagined it would be this.
Anko Mitarashi wanted to go back to Konoha?
She had already defected and left the village with them, and now she was one of Konoha's rogue ninja. Why would she suddenly want to return?
"Ah... this..." Amamiya Kenichi suddenly did not know what to say.
No wonder his teacher and Anko were both in this state.
Frankly speaking, he really did admire Anko.
For her to survive such a thing at all was already a miracle.
It seemed his teacher's temper had genuinely improved a great deal lately.
"Your junior said she wants to return to Konoha and contribute to peace in the ninja world. I have no idea what she's been taking." Orochimaru spoke with a dark expression, still sweeping the floor.
Amamiya Kenichi looked more closely.
His teacher was clearly venting anger through cleaning.
Otherwise, how could ordinary glass shards have already been ground into powder just from being swept by a broom?
To achieve something like that with nothing but a broom showed just how furious Orochimaru really was.
"You're right, Teacher," Amamiya Kenichi said with a nod. "Anko's thinking is definitely strange."
Could this be Obito's doing?
That possibility suddenly rose in his mind.
After hesitating for a moment, Amamiya Kenichi decided to go find Anko and check her directly with the Byakugan to see whether she had been placed under some form of control.
When it came to observing abnormalities like that, the Byakugan had an overwhelming advantage.
The Sharingan was not nearly as convenient, while the Byakugan could see everything far more clearly.
.....
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