Chapter 379: Uranium Detection and Purification Device
"I wonder if my junior sister is still alive. Teacher hasn't lost his temper like that since he used that secret Ninjutsu."
Amamiya Kenichi sighed. Ever since his teacher used Living Corpse Reincarnation to take Yuuki's body, Kenichi had rarely seen him lose his temper.
The last time he had gotten that angry was probably because of Jiraiya.
But Jiraiya had truly courted death, so it was not difficult to understand why his teacher had exploded. The problem was that Jiraiya seemed to be marching farther and farther down that road. Not long ago, Kenichi had bought a collector's edition of The Story of Me and Orochi Hime That Had to Be Told.
The most outrageous part was that, along with the book's release, there was even a custom cup supposedly themed after "Orochi Hime."
Kenichi's expression had been incredibly complicated when he held it.
He truly could not imagine what Jiraiya had been thinking.
Before, Jiraiya had only been courting death through novels. Now, he had escalated things to this level. If his teacher found out, Jiraiya's life might genuinely become impossible to save.
And how brave was that publishing house?
They actually dared to produce something like this.
His teacher might not be able to do much to Jiraiya for the moment, but could he really do nothing to a publishing house? He could just summon Manda and smash the entire building flat.
Still, although Kenichi complained out loud, he had very consciously bought the collector's edition.
As for the cup, Kenichi naturally did not use it. Its design was, in a certain sense, extremely unfriendly to human hands.
After all, it had a snake-scale texture on the outside.
Kenichi truly did not know how to evaluate it. He knew that some people had very special tastes when it came to custom computer operating systems and themed merchandise, but this kind of artistry was far too avant-garde. At the very least, the current Kenichi could not appreciate it.
Just thinking about that strangely smooth snake-scale texture made his expression turn complicated.
It felt strange just holding it, let alone drinking from it.
Still, Jiraiya did have ideas. He had even thought of making cups. As expected, Jiraiya was truly one of Konoha's legendary trio of gambling, lust, and forbidden research.
"Is there any other information?" Kenichi put away his stray thoughts, pinched the bridge of his nose, and asked.
"There's no especially urgent intelligence. However, recently, there have been rumors in the Ninja World claiming that Uchiha Madara was sighted in the Land of Earth," Uchiha Shiori replied, shaking her head at first before remembering something and adding the report.
Kenichi raised an eyebrow.
Now that was interesting.
Ninety percent of the people in the Ninja World would scoff at this kind of information and assume it was some madman imitating the legendary ninja of the past.
But Kenichi knew this might actually be true.
After all, Uchiha Madara had been very capable of staying alive, and he had once possessed the Rinnegan. He had only died not that long ago. In a certain sense, Uchiha Madara could be considered a living fossil of the Ninja World.
"Pay close attention to any intelligence related to Uchiha Madara. Also…"
Kenichi stroked his chin.
Uchiha Madara was most likely in an Edo Tensei state right now. In one sense, that meant unlimited chakra, which made him extremely troublesome. Although Kenichi did not know what Obito wanted to do, he had no intention of letting Uchiha Obito have things too easy.
If Kenichi did not have so many matters on his plate right now, he would have personally gone to cause trouble for Obito.
But even if he had no time to act directly, there were still other ways to make life difficult for Uchiha Obito.
During this period, he would begin assembling the uranium detection device, then start mining uranium. After that, he would rely on the nuclear physics knowledge he had studied before to drag the Ninja World into a new era of nuclear deterrence.
Of course, the path from atomic weapons to hydrogen weapons was not simple.
But atomic weapons alone would be enough to give the people of the Ninja World an entirely new understanding of science.
"Issue a bounty request at the bounty station," Kenichi said with a smile, licking his lips.
That magical place, the bounty station, was quite useful.
Kenichi had previously exchanged Ao's head there for a considerable reward. It had been the kind without the Byakugan, but even so, he had received the money.
Those funds had not been used yet.
Kenichi could use that money to place a bounty related to Obito and create some trouble for him.
As for whether the bounty station would dare accept such a mission, Kenichi did not think it would be a problem. After all, the bounty station even dared to place a price on the head of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Finding someone suspected of being Uchiha Madara should be easy enough for them to accept.
"The mission is to place a bounty on all relevant clues about Uchiha Madara in the Land of Earth. Payment will depend on the authenticity of the clues. If someone can prove Uchiha Madara's identity, they will receive a major reward."
Kenichi paused, then took several scrolls out from his sealing scroll.
"Oh, and hand over these Ninjutsu as well. They can also serve as rewards."
In the Ninja World, what was most valuable?
And what was least valuable?
Undoubtedly, the answer was Ninjutsu.
High-level Ninjutsu were usually held by the Five Great Ninja Villages. It was basically impossible for ninja from smaller villages to learn those powerful techniques. This was intellectual property monopolized by the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Because of that, high-level Ninjutsu generally had a price but no market on the black market.
But why could one also say that high-level Ninjutsu were not very valuable?
Naturally, because once they leaked into the outside world, they would spread quickly.
Ninja were basically human copy machines. After seeing something once, they could remember most of it.
This was why the Five Great Ninja Villages maintained extremely strict control over high-level Ninjutsu, rarely allowing them to fall into outsiders' hands.
And one of the Ninjutsu Kenichi took out this time was an A-rank technique. It was also a Fire Release Ninjutsu from the Uchiha Clan.
Great Fire Annihilation.
"Understood, Lord Amamiya," Uchiha Shiori replied.
She showed no reaction to this.
She had already learned Great Fire Annihilation herself. Its power was indeed formidable, but it also demanded a high level of chakra control. It was not something anyone could learn casually.
"By the way, remember to tell them that the A-rank Ninjutsu can only be viewed after confirmed intelligence is provided. Otherwise, they can only see the name. The same applies to the other two lower-ranked Ninjutsu," Kenichi instructed.
He had never trusted something like human integrity, especially not the integrity of ninja.
That hellhole of a bounty station would do anything for money. If he handed over the Ninjutsu scrolls directly, they might secretly learn them internally first, and that would not do.
Money was irrelevant.
After all, the bounty station did not lack his small amount of money.
But Ninjutsu was different.
Uchiha Shiori nodded. After confirming that everything was in order, she hurriedly left.
She needed to arrange the mission at the bounty station now.
There was also a bounty station in the Land of Snow. It was the only one there, and it was the kind of place that rarely received visitors, but it was still much better than having to go elsewhere.
So Uchiha Shiori walked into the bounty station and posted the request.
"How much is this guy's head worth?"
At a bounty station in the Land of Earth, Kakuzu walked in carrying a black cloth bundle. He casually tossed it onto the counter.
Behind Kakuzu followed a masked man.
It was Tobi.
"Let me see. Chihaya Oto, Special Jonin from Sunagakure. The bounty amount is…"
The staff at the bounty station were already very familiar with this kind of scene. They quickly verified the authenticity of the head, then found the bounty amount and prepared to pay Kakuzu.
Inside the bounty station, several ninja were gathered and quietly talking.
This was a common sight in bounty stations, and Kakuzu was not surprised.
However, while waiting for his money, Kakuzu still listened in. Sometimes, interesting information could be picked up from the mouths of such people.
And sure enough, he heard a topic that caught his attention.
"That's an A-rank Ninjutsu! If I could learn it, wouldn't I make a fortune?" one ninja said with an envious expression.
"Stop dreaming. The condition for obtaining that A-rank Ninjutsu is finding the exact location and clues of Uchiha Madara, and you need proof. But even ordinary clues about Uchiha Madara can earn money. Tsk, tsk. Rich people really do think differently," a middle-aged ninja said, taking a sip of sake with a look of disdain.
Kakuzu became slightly interested.
Uchiha Madara?
He knew that name.
Recently, there had been rumors that Uchiha Madara had appeared in the Land of Earth. But what era was Uchiha Madara from? Kakuzu had once witnessed Uchiha Madara's Kamui, and Madara was a legendary ninja who had even fought the First Hokage.
However, Kakuzu was not interested in any of that.
The A-rank Ninjutsu and the money were the real points.
Under his mask, Tobi's mouth twitched.
What kind of lunatic had come up with this bounty?
A bounty related to Uchiha Madara?
Wasn't that just asking for trouble?
"What mission are they talking about?" Kakuzu asked the staff member who came to hand over his payment.
"Oh, that's a recently posted mission. It's a bounty for clues about Uchiha Madara in the Land of Earth. The highest reward is an A-rank Ninjutsu, but it requires conclusive evidence. Other clues about Uchiha Madara can also earn different amounts of money," the staff member explained casually.
Their bounty station naturally had specialized intelligence personnel responsible for confirming the authenticity of information.
That was why the bounty station had such a good reputation.
Others paid, and they did the work.
The Ninja World had always operated like that.
"What if I capture Uchiha Madara?" Kakuzu asked, licking his lips.
The surroundings fell silent for a moment.
Everyone looked at Kakuzu in surprise, but after seeing him, none of them had any intention of mocking him. After all, bounty stations were never short of madmen or powerful ninja.
Who knew which kind Kakuzu was?
If he turned out to be a powerful ninja, mocking him would only invite disaster.
"The employer said that if Uchiha Madara can be captured, the reward is one billion ryo," the staff member said without much concern.
He had answered this question many times already, and he knew that the person in front of him did have some strength.
Rumor had it that Kakuzu had once attacked the God of Shinobi and escaped unscathed.
"One billion?!"
Kakuzu suddenly stood up and slammed his hand on the table.
Tobi, standing beside him, was startled so badly that his whole body shivered.
One billion was not a small amount.
The price on Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, was also one billion. Although that was partly because Hiruzen was already old, Hiruzen was still a powerful living ninja. Whether Uchiha Madara was alive was still a question.
Tobi sighed.
He regretted it.
He should not have followed Kakuzu.
But there was nothing he could do. Since Orochimaru had not been accepting many missions from the organization recently, Nagato had assigned him to Kakuzu.
As a result, Kakuzu spent every day working to earn money.
Whenever Kakuzu attacked someone, he dragged Tobi along as well. Many times, Tobi could barely restrain the urge to tear off his Tobi disguise and kill Kakuzu on the spot.
This guy was truly annoying.
He even dragged Tobi along to work just to save money on airship fares.
Obito was close to breaking down inside.
"Senior Hoku, perhaps we should…" Obito began.
He naturally did not want to waste time here. He understood his own situation very well. The so-called Uchiha Madara was just a disguise he had been using.
The real Uchiha Madara was not ready to appear yet.
After all, even Obito felt faint fear toward the other party's strength. Unless absolutely necessary, Obito truly did not want to release his old ancestor.
If he followed Kakuzu to search, wouldn't that be a complete waste of time?
And Kakuzu's strength was fairly good. If he really found some clues…
"Don't worry. We won't waste time," Kakuzu said.
He already had his own idea.
The leader had said to take on more missions and earn more money, and Kakuzu liked that.
In his view, this mission was an opportunity to make a huge profit.
Obito rolled his eyes inwardly.
It seemed he still needed to find a way to get this over with.
He was not following Kakuzu just to search for himself.
He had to contact Black Zetsu.
"The materials are more or less ready now."
Kenichi looked at the warehouse in front of him, then took out the blueprints and counted the materials one by one.
The quantity was enough.
Now it was time to start making his uranium detection and purification device.
But having this alone was not enough.
Making nuclear weapons was not an easy task. Fortunately, he had many Shadow Clones. With their help, the process should be much faster, though he still did not know exactly how long it would take.
"I also need to test the effects of nuclear radiation on ninja."
Kenichi licked his lips.
Ninja were not ordinary people, after all. Their physical fitness was much stronger.
The last time Kenichi saw Hiruzen Sarutobi, the old Third Hokage still looked energetic, which had disappointed Kenichi slightly.
But he was not in a hurry.
Ninja were physically strong, but that did not mean they would not get sick.
Otherwise, how had Uchiha Itachi died?
It was clearly stated that he had an incurable illness and would definitely die. The only thing never specified was what kind of illness it was.
"Then I'll leave it to all of you."
Kenichi split off his Shadow Clones.
The assembly of the device would also require their help.
.....
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