Next Bonus, 100PS!!
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Deep within mist-wrapped Mount Myōboku.
Bits of wood and iron were scattered across the stone table. Gamamaru waddled over, belly sticking out, cradling a strange homemade device in his arms like it was the crown jewels.
"Teacher, this is my newest invention. A camera! It can freeze the scene in front of it forever and preserve a single moment!"
Manji looked at the crude little machine without the slightest surprise. He only smiled and waved him closer. "Let me try."
Manji took the camera without a second thought. His hands moved with the confidence that comes from experience, adjusting the angle and fiddling with the focus without any hesitation. There was a soft click, a flash of white, and a blurry photo slid out.
That was it—the first photograph in Shinobi history.
Gamamaru's eyes went wide. He froze, hands still in the air, caught between shock and confusion.
Wait a second...
Teacher had never seen a camera before. Shouldn't he be curious? Fumble a little? At least look surprised? But he moved like he'd done this a hundred times. If anything, he handled it better than Gamamaru did.
Gamamaru had wanted to show off and see Manji's jaw drop at his latest miracle. Instead, his hopes fell flat. Frustration bubbled up inside him.
"Teacher... why are you so good at using it?" Gamamaru could not help asking in a small voice.
It wasn't the first time, either. No matter what weird gadget Gamamaru built, Manji always acted like he'd seen it all before. Like nothing could ever catch him off guard.
Even Gamamaru was impressed by his own inventions. But Teacher? He looked like he'd seen them a thousand times already.
Manji just smiled, shaking his head to himself. 'Should I tell him that cameras were everywhere in my previous life?'
Manji dodged the question, waving it off. "No need to praise me."
Gamamaru's mouth tightened. He had been completely shut down, so he changed to a question he had been holding back for a long time. "Teacher, why have you always forbidden me from creating lethal weapons?"
Manji picked up the tea on the stone table, blew lightly across the steam, and shook his head. "The time hasn't come. When it does, I'll naturally have you begin."
Manji had his own ideas.
The current Shinobi world did not need large-scale destructive technology. His true target was the Ōtsutsuki Clan that would descend in the future.
He wanted Gamamaru to push technology forward, to find another way to break the limits of life itself.
Like Orochimaru would, generations later—using science to shatter bloodline limits and rewrite the rules of life and death.
Manji didn't need immortality; he already had it. What he did have was a mind full of knowledge from another world, just waiting to be used. Gamamaru was the one who could make it real.
"By the way, Gamamaru... Have you dreamed anything these past few days?" Manji set down his tea and asked in a calm tone.
"Eh..." Gamamaru nodded at once, eyes lighting up. "I did! All my scientific inspiration comes from dreams! Yesterday, I dreamed of a strange chart covered in writing and symbols. I still remember it clearly!"
"Then write it down. Let me see."
Manji took out paper and a brush, then pushed them across the table.
Gamamaru hunched over the table and started scribbling. Symbols and words lined up, neat and orderly, slowly taking shape as a real chart.
Halfway through, a sly idea crept into Gamamaru's mind.
Manji's eyes narrowed as he watched the paper.
There was no mistaking what was on the page.
The periodic table of elements.
So that's what this is... Manji's mouth twitched. He grumbled to himself, silent.
Fine. It checked out.
Back in his old world, Mendeleev dreamed up the periodic table. Gamamaru had prophetic dreams, so this wasn't out of left field.
But Gamamaru didn't know the first thing about chemistry, and here he was, dreaming up the whole periodic table from scratch.
If anything, Gamamaru was more like Ramanujan, simply dreaming up the answer with no steps in between.
If Manji hadn't already checked Gamamaru's soul and ruled out another transmigrator, he might have started to wonder.
Just then, Gamamaru suddenly clutched his head and let out a mournful groan. "Agh! I forgot! I was only missing the last one! Damn it!"
"Why... why can't I remember...?" Gamamaru muttered, sneaking glances at Manji out of the corner of his eye, plotting something.
Manji raised an eyebrow and saw through him in an instant.
The little guy was playing games.
Manji let it slide, watching Gamamaru with quiet amusement.
"I can't remember... why can't I remember it?! I'm only missing the last one!"
Gamamaru continued his performance.
When he opened his eyes again, he met Manji's half-smiling gaze.
The sage and the frog locked eyes. The room fell silent.
Manji spoke first, his smile full of meaning. "What, do you want me to fill in the final element for you?"
Dun, dun, dun!!
Gamamaru froze, heart skipping a beat.
He had been seen through.... From the moment he started writing, Gamamaru had caught something in Manji's eyes. Like he'd seen this chart before.
So he'd left out the last element on purpose. Just to see what Manji would do.
Gamamaru pursed his lips and said nothing.
After a moment, Manji smiled, picked up the brush, and filled in the last blank without missing a beat.
Gamamaru stared at the completed periodic table.
His eyes went even wider, disbelief written all over his face. Like he'd just seen a ghost.
"Teacher...???" Gamamaru's mouth worked, but nothing came out. All that was left was shock.
Manji's actions said it all.
He'd known this chart from the start. Every symbol. Even the last missing piece.
Why would Manji know these things?!
By any logic, that was impossible.
Unless this chart had existed before Gamamaru ever put brush to paper.
And Manji had seen it. No doubt about that!!
"Teacher, you're a God!" Gamamaru cried out, his round eyes full of worship and shock.
He opened his mouth again, still wanting to ask more. "But... why would you know...?"
Before he could finish, Manji gave a soft laugh and cut him off. "Heh. Enough, Gamamaru. Go do what you should be doing. I should leave."
A knowing smile played on Manji's lips.
Before Gamamaru could speak again, faint white mist rose around Manji. His figure faded inside it, then vanished without a trace.
"..." Gamamaru stared at the empty seat. The question died on his lips. All he could do was swallow his frustration and let the doubts pile up in his head.
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~ Every 100 PS => Bonus Chapter!
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