Chapter 352: The Sage of Six Paths!
"Personally, I think the problem you mentioned can be solved," Amado said after looking into it for a while. He then proposed a new idea.
Kenichi instantly understood what Amado meant, and that made him look at the old scientist in surprise. Did this man really have such a deep grasp of ninjutsu?
A thought flashed through Kenichi's mind, but he failed to catch it. Instead, he began thinking about how this ninjutsu should actually be executed.
"That idea is interesting," Orochimaru said from the side as he took a sip of tea. "But this ninjutsu requires extremely high control over both Yin and Yang Release chakra, doesn't it?"
Amado glanced at Orochimaru and nodded.
"That's true," he said seriously. "But the gene programming ninjutsu you two developed earlier also relied heavily on precise chakra control."
Kenichi fell into deep thought, already constructing the framework of this unique ninjutsu in his mind.
Orochimaru stood beside him with his arms folded, watching Kenichi test the theory while continuing to discuss chakra control with Amado.
According to Amado, the core of this ninjutsu was to use Yin chakra to break apart the original gene chain, then use Yang chakra to preserve the overall stability of that chain, insert the target genes, and finally leave behind a small amount of Yang chakra to maintain the structure.
It would not need to last long. Even if the chakra dissipated later, it would not matter.
That explanation immediately reminded Kenichi of a bandage. A wound only needed the bandage until it stopped bleeding and healed. Once the body recovered, the bandage could be removed.
This ninjutsu seemed to work on the same principle. Yang chakra acted like a bandage, holding the gene chain together until the repair was complete. After that, it was no longer needed.
It was a good idea, but whether it would actually work still needed to be proven.
So Kenichi immediately took out two wheat seeds and began the experiment without delay. Orochimaru and Amado both stopped talking and watched in silence.
Yang chakra rotated in Kenichi's hand while Yin chakra swirled through his palm.
Orochimaru watched with growing interest. Without realizing it, Kenichi's control over chakra had become even more refined. The Yin and Yang chakra in his hands now carried a strange sense of harmony, as if they naturally obeyed him.
Amado also watched quietly. He said nothing, but it was obvious he had great confidence in the theory he had just proposed.
As Kenichi's chakra entered the wheat seed, all of his attention focused on it. Carefully, he used the still unproven ninjutsu to carry out gene level programming on the seed.
The gene chain split apart.
Kenichi inserted one of the gene groups he had previously isolated, then stabilized it with Yang chakra. A very small portion of Yang chakra remained inside the seed, maintaining the chain's integrity.
Only then did Kenichi lower his hand.
He looked at the wheat seed in front of him. On the surface, it looked no different from before. But then again, gene chains could not be seen with the naked eye. Even with his Mangekyo Sharingan, directly observing their essence was not easy.
"But now this thing..." Kenichi's Mangekyo appeared in his eyes.
He stared at the wheat seed, and a great deal of compositional information instantly surfaced before him.
At that moment, a sudden idea struck him.
Could he use his eyes to observe the composition of a soul?
With that thought in mind, he subconsciously glanced at Amado.
"Proteins, calcium..."
A string of information regarding the composition of the human body appeared before Kenichi, but at the same time, the strain on his eyes increased sharply. He had no choice but to shut off his Mangekyo and blink several times to ease the discomfort.
"What's wrong?" Amado asked with a smile, seemingly unaware of Kenichi's abnormality.
"Nothing," Kenichi said, though his eyes were still slightly sore. "But this experiment was a success. Mr. Amado, you really are a genius."
It seemed that when he tried to observe directly, the first thing he perceived was the body, not the soul.
Unless he could directly observe a soul itself. But that was far from easy.
He remembered that the first clear appearance of a soul in Naruto had been when Hiruzen used the Reaper Death Seal on Orochimaru, allowing Orochimaru to see the Shinigami behind him.
"Then remember to revive me when the time comes," Amado reminded him once more.
After Kenichi nodded and mentally noted it down, he immediately released the Edo Tensei and sent Amado back to the Pure Land.
"Mr. Amado is a true research fanatic," Kenichi sighed.
But Orochimaru's expression beside him had turned grim.
"Kenichi," Orochimaru said quietly, "didn't you feel something strange just now?"
"Huh?" Kenichi paused.
He had felt a vague sense of incongruity, but he had not been able to put it into words. It was just... strange.
But seeing Orochimaru's grim face, Kenichi immediately understood that his teacher had noticed something too. And the fact that Orochimaru only brought it up after Amado had already been sent back to the Pure Land meant the person he found suspicious could only be...
Amado.
Kenichi's thoughts instantly began racing.
If something really was wrong with Amado, then why had Orochimaru waited until after releasing Edo Tensei to say anything?
Was Orochimaru wary of him?
But Amado's own strength was only average. He should not have been enough to make Orochimaru cautious.
Then another possibility flashed through Kenichi's mind.
What if...
What if the one speaking in front of them earlier had not been Amado at all?
"Don't you think Mr. Amado was too smart?" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "And his understanding of Yin and Yang Release chakra was also far too deep."
Kenichi fell silent.
"Before this, Amado and I worked together to improve the gene programming ninjutsu," Orochimaru continued. "Even with the two of us working on it, it still took a long time."
Human intellect advanced in stages. It did not leap upward without reason.
Newton had not instantly understood gravity the moment an apple struck his head. It had still taken long periods of calculation, verification, and thought.
Amado was absolutely a genius scientist. But if he could suddenly produce a massive amount of new knowledge and display a qualitative leap in his understanding of ninjutsu, then unless he had transmigrated like Kenichi had, with some kind of cheat of his own...
For example, some absurd scholar system that just downloaded everything straight into his brain...
And when Kenichi combined that with the strange sense of dissonance he had felt earlier, he finally understood what had bothered him.
Amado's eyes and expression had been too detached.
It had been like an old wise man watching a child play around with great amusement.
Kenichi had seen that exact expression before. Once, when he had been studying mathematics, he had excitedly told his professor about a sudden inspiration involving calculus. His professor had looked at him the same way.
He only found out later that what he had discovered had long since been formalized as an established theorem, and his brilliant inspiration had been completely useless.
"..." Kenichi unconsciously licked his lips.
He finally understood what had happened.
When they were discussing the Pure Land and the issue of soul bodies, Amado might already have been replaced, or perhaps controlled. And the one controlling him was most likely...
The Sage of Six Paths, the one who had mastered Yin-Yang Release.
Only someone like him could possess that level of understanding regarding Yin and Yang chakra. After all, he was the founder of Ninshu and, in some sense, the progenitor of chakra.
Though Kenichi, as someone from the future, knew the true progenitor had been Kaguya Otsutsuki, the woman sealed on the moon.
Still, the Yin-Yang Release wielded by the Sage of Six Paths was no ordinary ability.
"...Then what about Mr. Amado?" Kenichi asked after a long pause. "Can we still bring him back now?"
Amado's soul was still in the Pure Land. And so far, the Sage of Six Paths had not clearly demonstrated how much influence he could exert over the living world.
In the original story, the Sage of Six Paths had only directly interfered with the world once in a major way, by giving Naruto and Sasuke the seals needed to use Six Paths Chibaku Tensei and seal Kaguya again.
Beyond that, he had never clearly shown how much power he truly had over the present world.
"I think he needs to be revived as soon as possible," Orochimaru said as he took another sip of tea. "After all, it wasn't Amado himself who asked to wait three months."
Kenichi scratched his head.
If they revived him now, then the one who returned might very well be the Sage of Six Paths. But that raised another issue. Since the Sage mastered Yin-Yang Release and possessed power on that level, why had he died in the first place?
Even Orochimaru had developed something like Living Corpse Reincarnation. A figure like the Sage of Six Paths should have been capable of creating something similar if he truly wanted to.
"Then I'll arrange it immediately," Kenichi said at once.
Though he was burning with curiosity, he also understood the seriousness of the situation. Amado was still under the Sage's control. If things got worse, the consequences would be enormous. Reviving him as quickly as possible was the safest option.
Orochimaru nodded and remained standing nearby, watching.
He naturally understood Kenichi and Amado's original plan. Using Living Corpse Reincarnation to restore someone was indeed an excellent method, though also a dangerously unstable one.
Under Kenichi's orders, a Special Jonin from the Land of Snow was quickly brought before him. He dropped to one knee immediately, his eyes full of reverence and adoration.
"Learn this ninjutsu," Kenichi said as he threw the scroll to him.
He had already sensed the parasite inside the man's body. After this much development, the parasite's control had strengthened considerably. Along with its subtle mental influence, the man now worshiped Kenichi almost fanatically and would willingly die for him.
"Yes, sir!" the Special Jonin replied at once, then immediately opened the scroll and began studying it.
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow slightly.
Kenichi's prestige in the Land of Snow seemed unusually high. The man had clearly understood what kind of jutsu this was, yet after reading it, he still showed no hesitation at all.
That level of control...
Orochimaru licked his lips thoughtfully.
Kenichi then began preparing a second Edo Tensei. This time, however, he had no intention of completing the final step. He still did not know whether the one who would come back would be Amado or the Sage of Six Paths.
And there was another problem.
Madara had once directly broken free of Edo Tensei's control and remained in the world. A figure like the Sage of Six Paths had probably long since found a way to do the same. If he were truly brought back and turned hostile...
Then another thought struck Kenichi.
If the Sage of Six Paths could hijack an Edo Tensei vessel once, then he could do it a second time, a third time, or more.
In that case, Edo Tensei itself would become unusable.
After all, if every Edo Tensei could potentially turn into the Sage of Six Paths and immediately answer with some Six Paths level technique, the result would be catastrophic.
"Teacher," Kenichi said with a bitter smile, "I think Edo Tensei has become completely forbidden now."
Unless they could defeat the Sage of Six Paths, this jutsu might need to be shelved permanently.
"..." Orochimaru's mouth twitched.
He had already reached the same conclusion.
Everything had been fine just moments ago, yet in the blink of an eye, Edo Tensei had effectively become untouchable.
"Sigh. Then we can only use another method," Orochimaru said softly.
He no longer even dared to use Edo Tensei casually.
That peculiar sensation from earlier, the strange discomfort that spread through his body the instant that other person looked at him, had left him deeply unsettled. He could not even tell what had been done to him.
His only clear feeling was that he seemed to have become even more compatible with this body.
.....
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