Chapter 163: A Sudden Mission from Pain? Head to the Land of Rivers!
Seeing Shiori still breathing, with a heartbeat to match, was enough to light a fire under Kenichi.
Encouraged, he immediately moved on to the second subject.
This time, there was no miracle.
The shinobi died on the spot, bleeding from all seven orifices in a grotesque, instant end. Kenichi could only sigh as he watched the body go still.
So the mortality rate really was that accurate.
What happened with Shiori was the real mystery. How did she survive something like that? If Kenichi had to name it, he would call it fate.
"This corpse is worth studying while it's still warm."
He dissected the dead Uchiha at once, and what he found inside was even worse than the outside suggested. The organs were in terrible condition. Some had already begun to dissolve. This body was beyond saving, even for Tsunade.
"And Shiori?" Kenichi's eyes narrowed. "What's different about her genetic sequence now? And did she awaken the Sharingan?"
He was itching to check, but Shiori was still far too weak. He shelved the idea.
If he got careless and killed her after she had survived the impossible, he would regret it so badly that even months later he would still wake up at night wanting to slam his own chest in despair.
When he dissected the brain, he originally planned to inspect the amygdala for any unique small lumps, but he quickly discovered there was nothing to examine.
The brain had already turned to water.
No lumps. No structure. Nothing.
Kenichi leaned back, thinking it through.
"To summarize, the current results suggest the Sharingan's evolution is definitely related to emotional stimulation. But whether it evolves at all might also be tied to gene sequence."
The problem was the sample size. Too few Uchiha. Too many unknowns.
Shiori's original genetic sample had not been meaningfully different from the others, and yet she had never awakened the Sharingan. That meant it was possible one of those small genetic differences was the key, the switch that decided whether an Uchiha could ever open their eyes.
Now that Shiori had assimilated Obito's genes, Kenichi could not predict what she would become later.
He could only take it one step at a time.
Shiori did not wake until seven days later.
During those seven days, Kenichi observed her constantly, recording every shift in her condition. Overall, her recovery developed in a normal direction. Beyond that, there were no obvious changes. She did not develop any masculine traits either, which suggested the extra genes Obito carried did not affect her in that way.
When her eyelids finally fluttered open, Kenichi was there.
"You're awake?" he asked, watching her closely. "Check your eyes. Did you open the Sharingan?"
Shiori was still Shiori, but there was confusion in her gaze, as if she could not fully trust her own senses.
"I think I activated it," she said quietly.
And then Kenichi saw it.
Two tomoe.
A double tomoe Sharingan formed in her eyes in one go.
Kenichi's pulse kicked.
Subject One had survived.
And after regaining consciousness, she had awakened the Sharingan, skipping straight to two tomoe. It was a massive breakthrough.
Kenichi made a calm note in his log.
Two tomoe Sharingan.
That alone supported his theory. Obito's genes had influenced Shiori, and the influence might even be positive.
But what exactly those extra genes were still needed research. More observation. More time.
For a moment, Kenichi even considered giving Shiori additional mental stimulation to push further, but the mortality rate tied to that approach was too high. He scrapped the thought immediately.
Not yet.
Until the follow up experiments were more stable, Shiori was not a disposable subject. She was an asset, and assets needed protection.
"All right," Kenichi said, setting down his pen. He looked at Shiori, who still seemed dazed by what she had become. "You're very lucky."
He decided to take her to his teacher.
Orochimaru would have more to say about this, and Obito's genetic analysis had depended on Orochimaru's help from the beginning.
So Kenichi brought Shiori to the lab where Orochimaru was still buried in research.
When Orochimaru turned around, Kenichi immediately noticed the dark circles beneath his eyes, sitting starkly on that delicate face.
It was obvious. Kenichi had been busy, but his teacher had likely been working without stopping. That was simply Orochimaru's nature. Once he entered research mode, time stopped existing.
"What's going on with this girl?" Orochimaru asked.
"Teacher," Kenichi said, keeping it concise, "she survived a genetic modification experiment. I want to test the genetic components in her blood."
Orochimaru's reaction was instant.
He almost rose from his chair, staring at Shiori like she was a rare treasure that had crawled out of a grave and decided to keep breathing out of spite.
Shiori looked slightly flustered under that gaze.
After studying her for a moment, Orochimaru took a syringe, spoke gently to her, and drew a small vial of blood with careful precision.
Kenichi's lips twitched.
The scene felt unreal.
Orochimaru was usually rough during experiments. He did not draw blood like this. He took what he needed and moved on.
But considering the technique's terrifying mortality rate, Kenichi forced himself to calm down.
After Orochimaru developed that ninjutsu, thousands of consumables had died in his hands. None had succeeded.
That was why Orochimaru rarely used it.
Now, a living subject had finally appeared. For Orochimaru's future research, this was priceless.
"Come with me for a checkup," Orochimaru said.
After drawing blood and beginning DNA separation, he led Shiori into another room for tests Kenichi had not performed. Kenichi stayed close, watching everything while his fingers brushed the ring on his hand.
It had just warmed.
Nagato wanted to see him.
But the timing was awful. Orochimaru was in the middle of examining Shiori, and Kenichi could not tell what the summons was about.
"Nothing unusual happened recently, did it?" Kenichi frowned, still touching the ring.
There were still a few days before the rice would be ripe. If this was about that, Nagato would have to wait.
Still, with Orochimaru occupied, Kenichi stepped outside the lab and focused his mental energy into the ring.
At once, he felt an opposing force latch onto him.
The next second, he was pulled into the space of the Illusionary Body Technique.
"Jade," Nagato said directly, "I have an urgent mission for you."
Kenichi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What is it?"
He disliked missions, but Nagato's tone was decisive. Refusing now would be asking for trouble.
"Two new members of the organization went missing while on a mission in the Land of Rivers," Nagato said. "Investigate."
Kenichi froze for a beat.
Missing contact?
The Land of Rivers was a small country. How did two Akatsuki members vanish there? Either the situation was strange, or those two were not strong enough to handle what they walked into.
Kenichi wanted to say this was more suitable work for Zetsu, but he also understood something simple.
If Nagato called him, Nagato had already decided.
So Kenichi accepted, his gaze drifting toward Nagato's Rinnegan.
He really wanted to study it.
His fingers almost itched for a blade, as if he could scrape a few shavings off those eyes and run the tests right there.
Nagato had no interest in small talk. The moment Kenichi accepted, the Illusionary Body Technique ended.
Back in reality, Kenichi exhaled.
"The Land of Rivers," he muttered. "How troublesome."
Another mission, right when the experiment had finally started showing results.
Still, he decided to wait a few days before leaving.
The rice would be ripe soon. He needed to see whether this research actually increased yield. If it did, it would be a major discovery.
A ten percent increase might sound small, but once the planting area expanded, it would become enormous.
At that moment, Orochimaru stepped out of the lab. Shiori was still inside being examined. Orochimaru had clearly noticed Kenichi's brief lapse earlier.
"Did Pain assign you a mission?" Orochimaru asked.
"Yeah," Kenichi said with a shrug. "Two members went missing in the Land of Rivers."
"The Land of Rivers is right below the Land of Rain," Orochimaru said, frowning slightly. "Why didn't Pain go personally?"
That could only mean Pain was busy with something and could not spare the time.
And since Pain was always disappearing with Konan, then Konan likely knew what was going on with the leader.
Orochimaru licked his lips. His tongue stretched far too long, and it looked genuinely unsettling.
Kenichi nodded. "It's not too far. We can pass through the Land of Fire."
The Land of Fire was surrounded by small countries. Passing through them was common.
As he spoke, Kenichi glanced at another project's progress report.
[Current research progress: 71%]
It still had a long way to go.
At this rate, by the time Naruto grew a bit more, the research would probably be completed.
And then Kenichi's plans could finally begin.
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