Chapter 290: War Is One of the Driving Forces of Human Progress
"What exactly is Obito thinking?"
This was the question that had been troubling Kenichi the most lately. Even after thinking it over carefully, he still could not understand why Obito wanted him to personally take on this mission.
Still, Kenichi was not too bothered by it. If Obito wanted him to carry out the mission, then so be it. He would just adapt to whatever came.
Of course, he was not foolish enough to go in without any preparation, especially when he was certain Obito had ulterior motives.
So, making preparations was naturally necessary.
The first thing to prepare was the most powerful weapon Kenichi currently possessed. Its destructive power could even be pushed further now that he had mastered the fusion of chakra and explosives, allowing him to create even stronger thermobaric bombs.
If he were not worried about blowing up the lab during testing, and if he did not still need to verify whether multiple chakra natures could be fused into a single explosive, he would have directly integrated every chakra nature transformation into one.
At that point, he would have created some unknown type of chakra thermobaric bomb.
So, for the sake of convenience on this mission, Kenichi chose the God-Slaying Bomb, the version that had already proven effective and had been strengthened with Fire Release chakra.
"The thermobaric bomb is absurdly powerful, but it won't help much if I'm standing in the middle of the blast. Two should be enough. As for Obito..." Kenichi rubbed his chin.
He had other ways to deal with Obito, and Edo Tensei existed for exactly this sort of situation.
After all, against an opponent who might close the distance or against someone he could not safely bombard from afar, Edo Tensei was far more cost-effective than a thermobaric bomb.
"My teacher is still too conservative. If I were facing Hiruzen Sarutobi, besides the First and Second Hokage, I'd also summon Biwako and hit him with a double blow to his spirit and mind." Kenichi licked his lips.
His teacher was still too conventional. He had not considered using Hiruzen's beloved against him.
Granted, with Hiruzen's temperament, it probably would not have had much effect. But Kenichi was sure the old man would be stunned for at least a moment upon seeing her, and that brief hesitation would be enough for him to do many things.
"It's just that Obito seems very cautious about using Kamui..." Kenichi scratched his head.
From what he had seen before, Obito had looked completely normal and had shown no obvious sign of being especially wary of him.
If Obito had once been hit by a God-Slaying Bomb, then some suspicion would have been natural, since that attack method was identical to his own, though it could not be ruled out that someone else with a bloodline ability like Explosion Release had done it.
What Kenichi did not understand was why Obito had not used Kamui recently. If Obito refused to use it on his own, then Kenichi would simply force him to. Once Obito used Kamui, Kenichi could judge the result himself.
He was still waiting for Obito to trigger that thermobaric bomb.
Unfortunately, he still could not confirm whether Obito had done so, because the Mangekyo Sharingan containing Kamui was still soaking in a test tube.
"Obito, Obito... if you don't make trouble, then fine. But if you do, I'll have no choice but to deal with you first..." Kenichi took out a test tube with the name of a female ninja written on it.
Rin Nohara.
He had dug her up from Konoha's public cemetery.
It was admittedly an unethical thing to do, but Kenichi felt that Obito was the greatest obstacle in his way.
Because of that, preparing tissue from Rin Nohara had become very necessary. There was no question that Rin was one of the most effective weapons he could use against Obito.
Originally, he had only taken the material for research and as a precaution, but he had not expected it to become useful so soon.
As for Black Zetsu, while his abilities were somewhat strange, he was still nowhere near as troublesome as Obito or Madara. He relied more on sneak attacks, and in the original story, Black Zetsu had never displayed much combat strength at all.
His success against Madara had only come because Madara trusted him completely. In that situation, a sneak attack naturally worked. Otherwise, Black Zetsu would never have succeeded.
Of course, bringing Rin back with Edo Tensei and using her against Obito would create a troublesome problem. His knowledge of Obito's identity would essentially be exposed.
Obito would absolutely wonder why Rin had been brought out.
After all, Rin Nohara was not some especially famous figure in Konoha's history, nor was she particularly strong. What possible reason would there be to use Edo Tensei on her?
Naturally, the only explanation would be that he knew Obito's identity and had specifically brought Rin out to target him.
And while Rin would absolutely throw Obito off balance, it would also guarantee his fury afterward. Tampering with someone's most cherished memory was more than enough to enrage them.
So, if Kenichi wanted to avoid falling out with Obito completely right now, then the best method would be to first hit him with a large scale ninjutsu and disrupt his mental state that way.
Almost immediately, Kenichi thought of the necromancy ninjutsu he had experimented with before. Its effectiveness was inferior to Edo Tensei, but its advantage was its wide range.
He could just activate it in the cemetery.
Then Rin Nohara would crawl right out of her grave.
Happy, Obito?
Whether Obito would be happy or not, Kenichi himself found the thought quite amusing.
After making the basic preparations, Kenichi left the laboratory with his things. Everything he needed was ready. There was nothing else to prepare.
God-Slaying Bombs for Konoha, plus an improved version kept in reserve.
Then there were the Edo Tensei materials. Once he reached Konoha, he would simply prepare sacrifices in advance. When the time came, he could summon them just like Orochimaru.
"Kenichi, you..." Just as he stepped out of the lab, Kenichi saw Sasori standing there, looking somewhat excited.
But the moment Sasori saw what Kenichi was wearing, he paused. He quickly realized Kenichi seemed to be going out on a mission.
Otherwise, there was no reason for him to be wearing the Akatsuki robe, an outfit Sasori himself felt he had not worn in quite some time.
"Sasori, I'm going on a mission. Want to come?" Kenichi asked.
Only then did it occur to him that Nagato had not assigned anyone to accompany him when he gave him the mission.
Was the man really that trusting?
Normally, Akatsuki dispatched members in pairs on missions so they could monitor one another. Previously, when Kenichi had gone out as Heavenly Demon, Sasori had always accompanied him.
"I... I'd really like to go, but my Unit One is at a critical point right now..." Sasori seemed a little conflicted. He truly did want to go on the mission with Kenichi, but Unit One had reached a crucial stage.
"Huh? Amamiya-senpai is going on a mission? Will there be explosions?!" Deidara suddenly chimed in, looking at Kenichi with open admiration.
Kenichi gave a helpless smile, but still nodded.
Deidara really was his little fanboy. He idolized him so much that he even worked for Sasori without pay, and Sasori had never once thought about paying him. At present, Deidara was still living off the money he had brought with him from Iwagakure.
Kenichi felt he really could not keep treating Deidara like free labor forever.
So he understood exactly what the boy meant.
Taking Deidara along was not impossible, though Deidara would probably have to stay aboard the airship. The battle below would be too dangerous for him at his current level.
"Do you want to come with me?" Kenichi glanced at Deidara. The words Take me with you were practically written all over his face.
"Yes, yes! I want to learn art from Amamiya-senpai!" Deidara said excitedly, nearly bouncing on the spot. Going on a mission with Amamiya-senpai would be incredible.
Kenichi scratched his head, then nodded. Since Sasori had something to do, he would take Deidara instead.
"I'll go too."
Sasori, who had been standing there watching, suddenly spoke.
Kenichi looked at him in surprise. Sasori had just said he was busy, yet now he apparently had time. Still, it did not matter. If Sasori wanted to go, then so much the better.
"This time we're heading to Konoha. Are you bringing Unit One?" Kenichi glanced outside, unable to see it anywhere. He did not know where Sasori kept that thing.
Sasori thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Let's test it. I also want to see how Unit One performs in actual combat," Sasori said confidently.
Kenichi nearly burst out laughing.
Konoha really had terrible luck. It rarely encountered anything ordinary, but it always seemed to run into disasters like this.
The thought of a group of ninja suddenly facing a Gundam-like Unit One and the thermobaric bombs he intended to drop made Kenichi feel that the whole visual style was completely off.
Anyone who did not know better would think they had wandered into some bizarre crossover like Naruto vs EVA.
"Do either of you need to prepare anything?" Kenichi asked.
Sasori already knew how he traveled, and since he did not seem concerned about transporting Unit One, it was likely that the machine could be summoned with Summoning Jutsu.
Summoning Jutsu really was a wonderfully convenient thing.
"No. I don't need to prepare anything. To be honest, I was planning to drag you out today anyway so we could test Unit One and the War Scorpion in real combat." Sasori shook his head.
He had actually been intending to pull Kenichi, who rarely ever left the lab, outside today.
Unexpectedly, the mission ended up saving him the trouble.
Hearing that, Kenichi said nothing more. He simply took Sasori and Deidara aboard the airship, and soon the craft vanished into the sky above the hidden experimental base in the Land of Rice Fields.
"Your disciple is going on a mission. Aren't you going out to see him off?" Hiruko, wrapped in bandages, looked up at the departing airship with a trace of awe in his eyes.
Although it was not the first time he had seen Kenichi's flying transport, he was still deeply impressed. He had never imagined that besides that old man from Iwagakure, anyone else in the ninja world could fly, much less fly that high.
"He's not some flower raised in a greenhouse." Orochimaru stood to the side with his arms folded, watching the disappearing airship in silence.
Hiruko glanced at his old friend.
"Orochimaru, you really aren't the same as before," Hiruko sighed. He truly felt the difference.
"...I have always been myself." Orochimaru was silent for a moment, then turned and walked back into the laboratory. He intended to continue his work on the telephone. Perhaps one day he could install one directly on Kenichi's airship.
"No, what the hell is this?" Kenichi stared blankly at the dark shadows below, utterly confused.
He had arrived near Konoha, but what baffled him was what he saw in the sky above it.
There were many strange black shapes floating overhead.
Using his Sharingan, he looked closer and discovered that they were bizarre objects that resembled his own airship in some ways, and there seemed to be people on them as well.
"It looks like your airship, but the appearance is different, and the way it flies isn't..." Sasori glanced down and answered Kenichi's question.
But before he could finish, a Great Fireball Technique came flying in from outside.
Only then did Kenichi realize that one of those things ahead was actually a hot air balloon, with people riding beneath it. And the Great Fireball had just been launched by one of them.
"...I suddenly believe that war is one of the driving forces behind human progress." Kenichi's mouth twitched.
Yes, he had used an airship to take the Uchiha clan away right in front of Konoha before.
But he truly had not expected Konoha to copy the concept this quickly.
Then again, the village did have the Sharingan...
Ah, right. They really did have the Sharingan.
Then fine.
"Whew. So you can copy hot air balloons. But what about fighter jets?" Kenichi scratched his head. "Looks like I really need to start climbing the tech tree."
.....
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