Chapter 613: Shadow Clone: Can a God Bleed?
"Big Brother!"
Under Kenichi's instructions, Naruto soon came to find him.
"Naruto, come over here. Sit down and have some barbecue."
Kenichi smiled and pulled out the chair across from him.
Naruto immediately sat down, looking excited.
Come to think of it, ever since Kenichi had buried himself in experiments, the two of them had barely spent any time together.
Naruto genuinely missed the days when Kenichi had often stayed by his side.
To Naruto, the person who had accompanied him, helped him, and taken care of him all these years held an extraordinarily important place in his heart.
In some ways, Kenichi was even more important to him than his parents.
After all, Naruto understood that the happy family he had now only existed because of his big brother.
Every time he remembered that, Naruto felt his motivation surge.
Kenichi looked at him with a faint smile.
"Naruto, how have things been going with Hinata lately?"
Naruto froze.
Then, surprisingly, his face turned red.
He awkwardly fiddled with his chopsticks for a while before clearing his throat and seriously explaining how things had been progressing between him and Hinata.
Kenichi stared at him, slightly dumbfounded.
Why was Naruto explaining his relationship as though he were confessing to some crime?
"All right, all right."
Kenichi interrupted him.
"I didn't call you here just to ask about Hinata."
His expression became more serious.
"There's something important I need to discuss with you."
Kenichi planned to awaken the Rinnegan for Naruto.
However, unlike Sasuke's case, he was not completely confident that Naruto's experiment would succeed.
Naruto's biology was more complicated.
Kenichi did not know whether introducing Uchiha genetic material into Naruto's body would cause unexpected problems.
Thinking about that, Kenichi unconsciously touched his own eyes.
His Tenseigan experiment still had not produced any obvious changes.
Even now, his eyes looked almost exactly the same as before.
For a while, Kenichi had even wondered whether the experiment had failed entirely.
"Big Brother, just tell me."
Naruto's expression immediately became solemn.
"Whatever it is, I'll do it!"
His eyes were full of complete trust.
For the big brother who had cared for him and saved him, Naruto felt nothing but gratitude and respect.
Kenichi had even resurrected Minato and Kushina, allowing Naruto to finally stop living as an orphan without parents.
Because of that, Naruto had already decided something simple.
As long as his big brother asked it of him, he would do it.
Kenichi smiled and patted Naruto's head.
When watching the anime, Naruto had sometimes seemed dense and frustratingly stubborn.
It was especially difficult to understand how someone who had been rejected and despised since childhood had still managed not to fall into darkness.
But after actually living in this world and spending time with Naruto, Kenichi understood something.
Naruto's personality really was extraordinary.
He was the kind of person who made friendship feel warm and reassuring.
"Actually, it's nothing too complicated."
Kenichi placed a cooked piece of beef onto Naruto's plate, then set another slice of raw beef on the grill.
"You've seen Sasuke's new eyes, right?"
Naruto nodded.
"They're called the Rinnegan."
Kenichi smiled.
"And I want you to obtain a similar pair of eyes."
Around them, the villagers of Konoha continued chatting, laughing, and eating.
None of them knew that a war capable of changing the future of the entire Shinobi World was approaching.
That was normal.
Information concerning Isshiki remained highly classified.
Ordinary civilians had no reason to know about it.
In fact, even many jonin remained unaware of the full situation.
Only select shinobi acknowledged by Kenichi had been informed.
Guy was one of them.
After all, Guy possessed enough power to nearly kick the final battle of the original story to its conclusion.
The problem was the Eight Gates.
Once Guy opened the Gate of Death, his chances of dying were extraordinarily high.
Fortunately, with Kenichi around, death itself was no longer an absolute problem.
Even if Guy ended up crippled like he had in the original story, Kenichi could simply kill him and resurrect him afterward.
Naturally, a freshly resurrected body would not retain those shattered bones and permanent injuries.
On the surface, the Shinobi World was peaceful.
Underneath, however, countless preparations were already underway.
Elite shinobi from every major village had begun quietly gathering in Konoha.
Famous Kage from previous generations had also been resurrected through Edo Tensei under Kenichi's arrangements.
When the battle began, those immortal dead would serve as the vanguard.
Their purpose was simple.
Wear Isshiki down.
Force him to expend power.
And create more opportunities for the living generation to survive.
"Eh?"
Naruto stared blankly at Kenichi.
Of course he knew about Sasuke's Rinnegan.
After awakening those eyes, Sasuke's strength had increased considerably.
The strange abilities of the Rinnegan had already given Naruto more than a few headaches during sparring.
But Naruto also knew exactly how Sasuke had obtained them.
That knowledge prevented him from feeling too envious.
The terrified expression Sasuke had worn while describing the process was still fresh in Naruto's memory.
Sasuke had even told him with complete seriousness that he doubted he would ever experience pain worse than what he endured during the awakening process.
Compared with that pain, Sasuke had said, everything else felt insignificant.
"Big Brother..."
Naruto swallowed.
"So I'll need surgery too?"
Kenichi was not surprised.
Naturally, Sasuke had told Naruto what happened.
The friendship between Naruto and Sasuke remained strong in this timeline.
And with Orochimaru already dead, there was no longer any possibility of Sasuke defecting to him and Naruto spending years desperately trying to bring Sasuke back.
Kenichi nodded.
Then he quietly watched Naruto's reaction.
At first, Naruto looked visibly horrified.
Then the fear gradually faded.
Determination replaced it.
Finally, Naruto nodded firmly.
"Big Brother."
"As long as it can help you, I'll do it."
His voice was completely serious.
Kenichi nodded in approval.
Naruto was braver than he had expected.
Once someone truly understood how painful a procedure would be, hesitation was only natural.
And Naruto's situation was even more troublesome than Sasuke's.
Sasuke had only needed to evolve the eyes he already possessed.
Naruto would first need to obtain the Sharingan foundation.
Then Kenichi would have to integrate Uchiha genetic material into his body before attempting the Rinnegan transformation.
That meant multiple procedures.
And by the time all those procedures were completed...
The date of the war would likely have arrived.
Time was tight.
"Then eat more."
Kenichi patted Naruto's head again.
"It'll hurt, but someday you'll be proud that you made this decision."
Several years had passed.
Naruto had grown considerably.
Kenichi himself was older as well.
Looking at Naruto now, Kenichi could not help feeling somewhat emotional.
The tiny child from back then had already grown this much.
According to the original timeline, the story should soon have entered the Shippuden era.
Akatsuki would have begun moving openly.
But Kenichi's interference had completely changed that future.
Akatsuki now existed largely in name only.
On paper, the organization was still there.
In reality, it had essentially disbanded.
Most of its members had already joined Konoha's side and were preparing to contribute their strength against Isshiki.
Nagato had also obtained the Mangekyo Sharingan.
His overall combat power was no longer as overwhelming as his original Rinnegan-equipped self, but Kenichi had no intention of letting him resume Akatsuki's old activities anyway.
Akatsuki had already suffered enough.
Rather than drag Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko into another cycle of misery, Kenichi preferred to let the three of them enjoy the peace they had always wanted.
"Yeah!"
Naruto nodded vigorously.
Then he began eating at an absurd speed.
His expression was so determined that he looked less like someone enjoying barbecue and more like someone preparing to assassinate Qin Shi Huang.
Kenichi could only stare at him speechlessly.
The operation was not happening immediately.
The first stage involved genetic integration.
And with Kenichi's current technology, the risk of catastrophic genetic collapse was far lower than before.
The Toneri clones were proof.
Their genetic structures had remained stable throughout repeated experimentation.
Once Naruto finished eating, Kenichi brought him to the laboratory.
"Naruto, sit here for a while."
Kenichi smiled and rubbed his head.
"I need to check on one of my projects first."
Naruto nodded obediently.
Then he began curiously looking around.
This was his first time inside Kenichi's laboratory.
The place felt cold.
A little oppressive.
But otherwise, Naruto did not find anything particularly strange.
After waiting for a while, he yawned from boredom.
Then he rested his chin on one hand and casually formed a Rasengan in the other.
At this point, Naruto could already create a Rasengan one-handed.
Minato personally trained him almost every day.
With that level of instruction, it would have been strange if Naruto still needed a Shadow Clone to complete the technique.
Practicing the Rasengan like this had already become part of Naruto's daily routine.
Meanwhile, Kenichi had entered another section of the laboratory.
He wanted to check on the Toneri clones.
The sequencing and testing of Kaguya's genes had already continued for quite some time.
Kenichi wanted to know whether the experiments had produced anything useful.
If they had, perhaps those results could be applied against Isshiki.
Both Kaguya and Isshiki belonged to the Otsutsuki Clan.
Their genomes might share important similarities.
"How is the experiment progressing?"
Kenichi looked at the busy Shadow Clones working throughout the laboratory.
One of them glanced at him.
Then immediately dispelled itself.
The clone's memories flooded back into Kenichi's mind.
He paused.
Then nodded.
The sequencing work was nearly complete.
Unfortunately, there had not been many immediately useful discoveries.
Genes were troublesome things.
Even after identifying a particular genetic sequence, determining exactly how it manifested in a living organism could require extensive observation over time.
Still...
They had at least identified the functions of several sequences.
"So cracking the genome quickly really is impossible."
Kenichi pinched the bridge of his nose.
Genes were essentially biological spaghetti code.
Untangling them was extraordinarily difficult.
Fortunately, Kenichi still had time.
Once he returned to his original world, he could continue the research there.
But the thought of returning reminded him of another problem.
Isshiki.
In Kenichi's original timeline, he would still have to confront Isshiki directly.
His own strength had increased tremendously during his stay here.
Even so, Kenichi could not confidently say that he would defeat Isshiki.
But this battle still held enormous value.
At the very least, he would discover what abilities Isshiki possessed.
He could learn Isshiki's habits.
His techniques.
His responses under pressure.
His hidden trump cards.
All of that would become intelligence Kenichi could use once he returned to his own timeline.
In a sense, this world was giving him a chance to fight Isshiki once before the real battle awaiting him back home.
"We've prepared a lot."
One Shadow Clone suddenly looked over.
"But I still feel like it isn't enough."
He paused.
"Why don't we prepare a heavy artillery brigade?"
Kenichi froze.
A heavy artillery brigade?
He understood immediately what the clone meant.
Back in his original world, Kenichi had already developed several forms of modernized military equipment and organized specialized tactical units.
Against ordinary shinobi, those weapons were surprisingly effective.
The greatest advantage came during the first strike.
Once enemy shinobi understood what the weapons could do, hitting them a second time became considerably harder.
But Isshiki had never encountered anything like that.
That difference mattered.
"You have a point."
Kenichi nodded.
Then he formed a hand seal and created another Shadow Clone.
He had too many things to handle personally.
Naruto's genetic integration alone would require his attention.
So there was no reason Kenichi himself needed to oversee this additional project.
He gave the clone a simple instruction.
Prepare a heavy artillery brigade capable of injuring Isshiki.
Then Kenichi let the clone handle the rest.
...
The Shadow Clone stepped outside.
He quietly looked up at Konoha's sky.
His gaze gradually became cold.
"A heavy artillery brigade capable of injuring Isshiki..."
A dangerous thought surfaced in his mind.
"A god can bleed too, right?"
Right now, the entire Shinobi World was working toward a single objective.
Every major village.
Every available industrial resource.
Every capable researcher and craftsman.
All of it could be mobilized for the coming battle.
If that was the case...
The Shadow Clone turned toward the Hokage Building.
Soon, he entered Minato's office.
Minato was buried beneath an enormous amount of paperwork.
With war approaching, Konoha had countless matters that required the Hokage's attention.
But the moment Kenichi's Shadow Clone arrived, Minato still made time for him.
After all, at this point, whatever Kenichi wanted to discuss could easily be more important than almost anything else happening in the Shinobi World.
"Brother Minato."
The Shadow Clone looked directly at him.
"I need the resources of the entire Shinobi World to accomplish one thing."
There was a faint trace of madness in his eyes.
Minato failed to notice it.
Besides, this was still Kenichi's Shadow Clone.
Whatever he wanted to do had ultimately come from Kenichi.
And after Kenichi and Hagoromo had joined forces, there was practically no one left in the Shinobi World who could casually reject Kenichi's requests.
If Kenichi wanted something done...
Then they would do it.
"All right."
Minato put down the document in his hand.
"What do you need?"
The Shadow Clone began explaining his plan.
As he continued speaking, Minato's expression gradually changed.
Surprise appeared in his eyes.
Kenichi actually wanted to do something like this?
After listening to the entire proposal, Minato remained silent for several moments.
Finally, he nodded.
"All right. I understand."
"I'll contact the Kage of the other villages and coordinate the matter with them."
Then Minato hesitated.
"What about the Daimyo?"
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