Chapter 311: Eight Thousand Spears
"All cleaned up?" Amamiya Kenichi rested his chin on one hand and looked at Uchiha Hikari with a faint smile.
As expected, the girl looked even cuter after washing up, and there was indeed something about her that reminded him of Sasuke.
That was not to say she looked exactly like Sasuke. It was more that some of Uchiha Hikari's little expressions and gestures felt very similar to the future Sasuke in his memory.
The current Sasuke, after all, was still just a stubborn little brat, probably clinging to his mother's side.
"Amamiya... Big Brother..." Uchiha Hikari lowered her head shyly and fiddled with the hem of her clothes. Amamiya Kenichi had bought this outfit for her. It was very pretty. She had only glanced at it once, and Big Brother Amamiya had bought it for her immediately.
That deeply moved Uchiha Hikari, who had not been treated kindly since her parents died. Because of that, a faint sense of dependence had quietly begun to grow in her heart.
"Let's go." Amamiya Kenichi smiled and said nothing more, simply leading Uchiha Hikari onto the airship before taking off.
He had no intention of bringing Uchiha Hikari along to stir up trouble. Although she possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, after spending some time with her, he had already realized that the girl currently lacked any serious combat experience.
To put it simply, it was like giving a child a sophisticated laser weapon. No matter how powerful the weapon was, if the child did not know how to use it, the shot would still end up flying into the sky, posing no threat at all.
In that case, forget a laser weapon, even a nuclear bomb would be useless. It would only result in mutual destruction.
So Amamiya Kenichi planned to settle Uchiha Hikari somewhere safe first and then go off to cause trouble himself. That way, if anything unexpected happened, he could escape without having to worry about anyone else.
"Hikari, what I'm about to do carries some danger. So I plan to leave you at my place for now. I'll come back for you once I'm done. How does that sound?" Amamiya Kenichi looked at Hikari and asked.
Normally, he would not bother explaining something like this. There would be no need. But Uchiha Hikari was different.
By now, Amamiya Kenichi had already gained a basic understanding of the girl. Her personality was rather fragile and overly sensitive.
To put it more simply, Uchiha Hikari was the type to overthink everything.
So if he failed to explain himself, Amamiya Kenichi genuinely worried she might misunderstand and do something extreme, which would be a huge problem.
"!" Sure enough, the moment Uchiha Hikari heard those words, a look of panic flashed across her face, followed quickly by anxiety and worry.
"Big Brother Amamiya, I can help too! I... I can share my chakra with other people! I can even do it from far away! And... and I can use many powerful jutsu!" Uchiha Hikari looked at Amamiya Kenichi with tears in her eyes.
Amamiya Kenichi was stunned for a moment.
This girl's ability was actually that strange?
She could transfer chakra to others?
Uchiha Hikari was also very nervous. Her abilities had been the reason she suffered so much at the hands of her own clan in the first place, so even speaking about them made her uneasy.
But since Big Brother Amamiya was so kind, he surely would not...
"No need, Hikari. At your age, all you need to do is focus on training." Amamiya Kenichi smiled.
Although the girl had the Mangekyo Sharingan, asking her to help deal with A and Killer Bee right now was still unrealistic. However, if what she said was true, then Uchiha Hikari's ability was absurdly useful. She was basically a mobile chakra battery, and one with wireless transmission at that.
As everyone knew, chakra was the core of every ninja battle.
Even Guy's Eight Gates style, although it appeared to rely purely on taijutsu, was still ultimately tied to chakra. A ninja's vital signs themselves also relied on chakra to continue functioning.
That alone was enough to prove how important chakra was to ninja.
If a ninja failed to leave enough chakra to sustain their body, they could die on the spot. In other words, if a ninja released all their chakra in battle, that basically meant they were prepared to die.
But not every ninja in the world was a monster with infinite chakra reserves.
Take the Shadow Clone Jutsu, for example. Why did fewer people use it if it was so useful? Because most people simply did not have enough chakra.
A genius like Kakashi, for all his talent and strength, had such poor chakra reserves that people joked about him having none at all. Naruto, on the other hand, was practically a chakra monster.
But what if Kakashi had Hikari backing him? What if Hikari could channel her chakra into Kakashi? And what if Hikari's own chakra reserves were enormous, perhaps even nearly bottomless?
Would that not give Kakashi the ability to fully display his talent?
"Amamiya... Big Brother, I don't want to leave you..." Uchiha Hikari looked at him pleadingly.
Just as she had hoped, Big Brother Amamiya truly had no intention of exploiting her abilities. He was still just as kind to her as before.
But precisely because of that, Uchiha Hikari did not want to be separated from him.
"I'm going to do something important, Hikari. You need to behave, and use this time to get stronger. That way, you can help me later." Amamiya Kenichi smiled.
Her chakra transfer ability was certainly useful, but it was not something he urgently needed at the moment.
Ever since Amamiya Kenichi successfully obtained the Sage Body of the First Hokage through his research, he had stopped worrying about chakra reserves.
In fact, because he did not want to waste his cheat, he had already started a new research topic.
Current Research Goal: Wood Release
Research Progress: 67.99% [Research speed increased due to gene research]
Yes, Amamiya Kenichi intended to master Wood Release.
And as for Wood Release, he already had his own ideas. He felt that his overall theory was actually correct.
Long ago, before the world had ninja or even understood chakra, the Otsutsuki Clan traveled through the universe and, by some method, discovered that this world was suitable for planting the Divine Tree and harvesting chakra. That was why they came.
What followed was the story of Otsutsuki Kaguya's betrayal, the fruit of the Divine Tree, the birth of the Sage of Six Paths and his brother, and then Kaguya being sealed away.
After that, the Sage of Six Paths established Ninshu, and ninja became the main force of this world.
If one traced it all the way back to the beginning, then the so called ninja and bloodline limits were, in essence, just genetic traits derived from the Otsutsuki Clan. Amamiya Kenichi even suspected that the Sage of Six Paths had used some sort of genetic programming.
That would explain why the people of this world were divided into two broad groups: ordinary people and ninja.
Ordinary people were the most common inhabitants of the world, with no special power, essentially just like the humans of his previous life.
Ninja, on the other hand, were superhuman individuals who inherited part of the Otsutsuki Clan's genes and could use chakra.
Those who inherited more of the Sage of Six Paths' lineage and Otsutsuki genes developed into the great clans of the world, such as Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.
Those whose genes were not as pure, but still carried fragments of that bloodline, or who underwent some kind of ancestral reversion, awakened what were known as Bloodline Limits.
That also explained why some people awakened bloodline abilities while others never could. At the root of it all, it was a matter of genes.
And the closer someone's genes were to the Otsutsuki Clan, the higher their ceiling would be.
Why were Naruto and Sasuke so powerful?
Of course, effort played a role, but potential mattered too. Naruto and Sasuke were the reincarnations of the Sage's sons, which meant their genetic information was closer to that of the Otsutsuki Clan.
That gave them much greater potential, enough for Sasuke to eventually awaken the Rinnegan.
The so called condition for the Rinnegan was probably just a certain degree of ancestral gene reactivation.
There was proof of that. Among the Uchiha, only Madara and Sasuke had successfully awakened the Rinnegan, and both were reincarnations of the Sage's sons.
Because of that, Amamiya Kenichi believed his theory was highly likely to be correct.
And if his research continued based on this line of thought, then as long as he could replicate all of the First Hokage's genes and program them successfully, anyone should be able to use Wood Release.
That was also why Yamato could use it.
Of course, being able to use Wood Release and reaching the First Hokage's monstrous level of Wood Release were two entirely different things.
That part probably involved talent, personality, effort, and many other factors.
In that regard, even the current Amamiya Kenichi could not fully explain it. The brain, after all, was still far too mysterious.
To truly understand it further, he might one day need to go to the Otsutsuki homeworld.
"But maybe it's also because my gene research has progressed that the Wood Release project sped up too?" Amamiya Kenichi scratched his head.
Honestly, he felt he did not even need his cheat for it.
He only needed to analyze the First Hokage's cells, identify what made them different from ordinary people, and then keep experimenting. With enough attempts, isolating the specific genes behind Wood Release should not be impossible.
Still, it would be a waste not to use the cheat.
And right now, he had no leads in his energy shield research. Since the cheat required a research direction anyway, and one tied to a test subject, he might as well continue focusing on Wood Release for now.
Besides, with Wood Release, his strength would continue to rise, and once he awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, progressing toward the Rinnegan would not be a problem either.
"But maybe it's also because my gene research has progressed that the Wood Release project sped up too?" Amamiya Kenichi scratched his head.
Honestly, he felt he did not even need his cheat for it.
He only needed to analyze the First Hokage's cells, identify what made them different from ordinary people, and then keep experimenting. With enough attempts, isolating the specific genes behind Wood Release should not be impossible.
Still, it would be a waste not to use the cheat.
And right now, he had no leads in his energy shield research. Since the cheat required a research direction anyway, and one tied to a test subject, he might as well continue focusing on Wood Release for now.
Besides, with Wood Release, his strength would continue to rise, and once he awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, progressing toward the Rinnegan would not be a problem either.
"Big Brother Amamiya, is that the Land of Snow below us?" At that moment, Amamiya Kenichi was still piloting the airship. After much coaxing, he had finally convinced Uchiha Hikari to wait somewhere else for him.
But where exactly to settle her remained a headache.
Put her in the lab?
No. Uchiha Hikari had already told him that she had been treated as an experimental subject before. Taking her to a laboratory might trigger traumatic memories, and that would only create more trouble.
His teacher's place was also out of the question. First, Orochimaru was not here, and second, that place was just another lab.
Sasori and Deidara?
Also unsuitable. Those two were still busy with Unit One, and Hikari did not fit into that environment either.
Shisui, on the other hand, would have been a good choice. He was gentle, he treated clan members well, and with Uchiha Mikoto around, Hikari would likely receive excellent care.
But Amamiya Kenichi could tell that she seemed to harbor some hostility toward the Uchiha Clan. It was subtle, and she did not show it clearly in front of him, but Amamiya Kenichi was a seasoned actor. He could read it.
That ruled Shisui out too.
So in the end, he chose the Land of Snow.
With Uchiha Shiori and Kazahana Koyuki there, Hikari would have people to take care of her. The laboratory was also well hidden, making it unlikely she would accidentally stumble upon it, and Amamiya Kenichi could instruct Uchiha Shiori beforehand.
More importantly, the Land of Snow was remote enough that even Hidden Mist had no interest in it. That made it one of the safest places possible for Uchiha Hikari.
"Mm. A land covered in snow all year round. The trains here are pretty interesting." Amamiya Kenichi chuckled and ruffled Hikari's head. Uchiha Hikari narrowed her eyes happily.
Traveling from the Land of Lightning to the Land of Snow took more than a day, even by airship. During that time, Hikari's guard gradually lowered, and her trust in Amamiya Kenichi deepened even more.
It was also during that time that he learned about her special ability.
A miraculous power called Eight Thousand Spears.
As long as a mark was placed on a target, she could connect to that person's mind and chakra, control them, and even transfer chakra to herself or to others across great distances.
It was absurdly powerful.
"Snow..." Uchiha Hikari stared blankly outside. It had been such a long time since she had seen snow.
Amamiya Kenichi said nothing more. After ruffling her hair one last time, he led her down.
In the capital of the Land of Snow, he met up with Uchiha Shiori and Kazahana Koyuki. After briefly introducing them to Hikari, he prepared to leave.
Although Kazahana Koyuki was clearly a little jealous of how warmly Amamiya Kenichi treated Uchiha Hikari, because of Amamiya Kenichi's status, she would still carry out his orders properly. As for Uchiha Shiori, there was even less reason to worry.
That woman had always been extremely sensible, and now that she had been implanted with parasites, Amamiya Kenichi trusted her much more than before. There was no need to worry about any sudden betrayal.
Although Uchiha Hikari was somewhat reluctant to see him go, she remained obedient and well behaved. There was no tearful clinging or dramatic scene of separation, which made leaving much easier for him.
"This little girl is pretty interesting. And her talent is high too." Amamiya Kenichi scratched his head.
What everyone said was true. Once you found someone talented, it really did make you want to be a teacher.
At this point, he genuinely felt like taking in a disciple.
But if he was going to take one...
Shouldn't the first one still be Naruto?
.....
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