Chapter 208: So Ninjutsu is Another Form of Equivalent Exchange?
"But I really…" The daimyo looked troubled.
Kenichi scoffed. He didn't believe a word of it.
Just from the man's indulgent expression earlier, it was obvious the daimyo lived for luxury. Someone like that always had private reserves. How could he not?
Even if the Land of Bears wasn't large, it wasn't like the Land of Waves, a poor and backward country that could only survive on fishing. The capital of the Land of Bears was clearly far more extravagant than the capital of the Land of Waves. With a place like this, would the daimyo truly have no hidden assets?
"Oh, well," Kenichi said with a shrug, his tone full of regret. "Then we'll just kill part of them."
The moment those words landed, the daimyo's expression twisted with conflict.
Kenichi watched him closely. He knew he needed more leverage to force the daimyo to accept his terms. The only issue was that Kenichi hadn't gathered much information on this trip, so what leverage could he use?
It wasn't actually complicated.
The daimyo of the Land of Bears hated Hoshigakure so much that he had invited outside ninjas to erase it completely.
That alone said everything.
Not every small country could even afford to support a hidden village. Take the Land of Rice, where Kenichi's laboratory was located. Its so called "ninja village" was, in truth, closer to a slightly stronger local armed force.
Only after his teacher arrived did the daimyo of the Land of Rice, with that help, successfully establish Otogakure.
Still, a ninja village brought benefits to a country. Small missions didn't need to be outsourced. Some work could be handled internally. A village could also provide a degree of protection.
Of course, that protection didn't mean resisting foreign invasion. A small hidden village couldn't stand against an assault from the Five Great Nations. Right now, only the Land of Rain could manage something like that.
And even that relied on Akatsuki's presence within the Land of Rain. If the Five Great Nations truly united to crush them, even the current Akatsuki would likely be in a dangerous position.
But even a small hidden village could at least suppress bandits and mountain thieves within its borders.
Yet despite that, the daimyo of the Land of Bears still wanted to destroy Hoshigakure in his own country.
That could only mean one thing.
The village's existence had become unbearable to him.
"A dignified daimyo of the Land of Bears," Kenichi said, neither too light nor too heavy, "if you can't even control your own country, isn't that humiliating?"
The daimyo's conflicted expression deepened.
Kenichi raised an eyebrow.
So he had guessed correctly. This wasn't just dislike. It was fear.
Hoshigakure's existence had likely threatened his rule.
After all, if it didn't threaten his authority, he could endure it. But if it endangered his position, no daimyo would tolerate it.
"…I can add, at most, one hundred million ryo!" The daimyo slammed the table, the fat around his neck trembling.
"One hundred and twenty million ryo," Kenichi replied immediately, pushing the price higher without blinking.
The daimyo's face darkened again. He struggled internally for a long moment, then finally nodded with difficulty.
An additional one hundred and twenty million ryo was a good profit.
The difficulty was also higher.
He would be eliminating a hidden village, and judging by the daimyo's meaning, it had to be done with no survivors left alive.
But it didn't matter.
A small hidden village probably didn't even have a barrier.
If Kenichi pulled out the God Slaying Bomb he had prepared for Obito, it would be enough.
The thought lasted only a moment before Kenichi dismissed it.
It wasn't that it wouldn't work. The problem was the cost of making a thermobaric bomb. If he used it, his profit would shrink drastically.
He still had to calculate costs.
If he included the thermobaric bomb's cost, he would need to squeeze even more money out of this daimyo. And looking at him, Kenichi knew it would be extremely difficult to extract another coin.
So Kenichi didn't bother saying anything. He didn't lack other methods.
"Then, Lord Daimyo," Kenichi said as he stood, "prepare the money and wait for good news."
"Alright, I'll prepare it." The daimyo's smile became noticeably more sincere.
Seeing that, Kenichi didn't act arrogant. He exchanged a few more polite words, then left.
During the conversation, Kenichi had confirmed one key point.
What the daimyo wanted was for Hoshigakure to completely disappear.
That meant Kenichi needed to plan carefully.
"Senior… just the two of us against a ninja village…" Deidara asked with hesitation. "Can we really do it?"
After all, it was a hidden village.
Kenichi thought briefly. "At that time, you, Ao, ride my airship up and drop the cluster bombs. Actually, forget it. I'll take you up."
He had originally planned for Deidara to do it himself.
But Deidara hadn't done high altitude bombing yet, and his distance control might not be stable. If something went wrong, it would be troublesome.
It was simpler if Kenichi handled it.
After Deidara dropped the cluster bombs, they would jump down immediately. When they were close to the ground, Kenichi could use Wind Release to cushion the landing.
It wasn't much trouble.
"What a pity," Kenichi muttered, glancing at the sky. "It's a clear day."
Thunder Dragons, combined with Deidara's cluster bombs, should be enough to wipe out most of Hoshigakure's ninjas.
The issue was that Kenichi's fighting style felt a bit monotonous lately. He could try developing new techniques to deal with enemies, but what kind?
And right now, he might not have enough time to experiment properly.
"Hmm?" Kenichi's eyes narrowed slightly. "The chakra nature needed for Edo Tensei… what happens if I use Yin nature chakra with Edo Tensei?"
His curiosity flared.
He found the cemetery in the capital of the Land of Bears and tested it.
After he performed it, nothing happened.
Kenichi sighed.
So simply changing chakra nature to force a different result didn't work for Edo Tensei. Naruto's Rasengan really was more convenient in that regard.
Change the chakra nature, and you could create an entirely different Rasengan.
As they walked through the forest, Kenichi looked at Deidara. "If it were you, Deidara, how would you deal with a ninja village?"
He wanted to hear Deidara's thinking.
"Me?" Deidara considered, then answered honestly. "I'd probably make the biggest bomb possible and throw it down!"
Kenichi felt both amused and exasperated.
Typical Deidara.
Every solution came back to an explosion.
Kenichi did have ideas involving explosions, but another method surfaced in his mind, one that was far more unique.
Everyone knew the human body contained a massive amount of water. Roughly sixty to seventy percent of a normal body was water.
If Kenichi could develop a technique that instantly drained all water from enemies within a target area, it would be a terrifying weapon.
But the problem was obvious.
It was difficult.
Kenichi didn't even know where to start. There was a difference between knowing the body held water and instantly drying it out in one moment.
"Maybe I could use a hypertonic method and force body fluids to drain automatically," Kenichi muttered, scratching his head. "But that would be difficult too…"
Another idea followed.
What if he used Water Release to sense the water inside living bodies?
Then used that internal water as the medium for Water Release itself, extracting it directly from their bodies?
The question was simple.
Was it even feasible?
Kenichi didn't know.
But he decided to try.
There was no harm in testing. He just couldn't use humans as subjects, and the only person with him was Deidara.
So after a glance at Deidara, Kenichi casually caught a rabbit and held it in his hand.
"Senior Amemiya," Deidara asked, rubbing his arm, "are you going to eat dinner?"
He had just felt a vague discomfort, like someone was staring at him with malicious intent.
"No," Kenichi said, shaking his head. "I'm developing ninjutsu."
He focused on the rabbit.
How did ninjutsu work?
It was the mobilization of chakra, then transforming it into power, either inside the body or released outward. For example, some Water Release jinchuriki could use massive scale Water Release techniques even in places with no water.
But there was an important detail.
Water Release still had conditions. It benefited from external water sources. Otherwise, people wouldn't be shocked when they saw Kisame or the Second Hokage use large scale Water Release in areas without water, because that kind of feat clearly went beyond the norm.
So, in a sense, Kenichi felt that chakra based ninjutsu was also a form of equivalent exchange.
The quality of chakra was higher, so the energy it could exchange for was naturally higher as well. That also explained why chakra could create techniques that produced lakes.
Given that Water Release benefited from external water conditions, even if not absolutely required, and that sufficiently powerful ninjas could overcome the disadvantage…
Then a question naturally followed.
If external water could be mobilized, could the water inside living organisms be mobilized as well?
Kenichi's eyes narrowed slightly as he continued to study the rabbit, interest sharpening into focus.
.....
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