Chapter 355: Let the World Experience Pain!
At first, Kenichi thought his teacher intended to have him train the Spirit Transformation Technique himself.
If that were the case, he absolutely would not do it.
Although the Spirit Transformation Technique was a decent ability, it simply did not suit him. Compared to that technique, Kenichi felt he would be better off continuing to develop Wood Release. Senjutsu combined with Wood Release would already be terrifyingly powerful.
"But ordinary ninja can't learn the Spirit Transformation Technique, right?" Kenichi looked at his teacher and asked.
He had now understood what Orochimaru meant.
He wanted him to arrange for one of his subordinates to learn the Spirit Transformation Technique, then use that subordinate as a test subject.
Still, Kenichi had some concerns.
After using the Spirit Transformation Technique, the soul leaves the body. In that situation, Kenichi felt it was unlikely the parasites would follow the spirit body. That meant the ninja might break free from the parasites' control, at least while in soul form.
Wouldn't that create new problems?
"No. The real difficulty lies in the training process itself," Orochimaru said, shaking his head. "If one's mastery is insufficient, the spirit body may leave the body and fail to return. At that point, they simply die."
He had researched the Spirit Transformation Technique before, so he naturally knew where the true danger of the jutsu lay.
All ninjutsu training ultimately had to be put into practice. Just like the Summoning Jutsu, where one must actually form hand seals and summon something during training, the Spirit Transformation Technique worked the same way.
The problem was that training it carried enormous risk, and that was exactly why so few people learned it. After all, very few were willing to gamble their lives on mastering a single ninjutsu.
"So, Teacher, do you already have a solution?" Kenichi asked curiously.
He knew his teacher well. Since he had brought this up, he had most likely already worked out a solution. Otherwise, it would not fit his style.
"Yes." Orochimaru nodded. "When I was discussing things with Amado, I learned about the Soul Restraint Device he developed. That thing should be useful in solving the problems that arise during the training of the Spirit Transformation Technique."
Kenichi's mouth twitched.
So that was the reason.
When Amado had first developed that device, Kenichi had only viewed it as a tool for preventing a soul from forcibly returning to the Pure Land.
He had never expected Orochimaru to find this kind of use for it.
That really was unexpected.
Still, since his teacher had already thought of a solution, Kenichi did not mind giving it a try.
So while waiting for the device to be completed, he had Kazahana Koyuki send over a Chunin and a Jonin, both already under parasite control. Talent among ninja was not easy to judge. It was not guaranteed that a Jonin had better talent than a Chunin, so bringing both would save time.
If the Chunin learned it first, even better.
As Orochimaru watched Kenichi instruct the two ninja in learning the Spirit Transformation Technique, he rested his chin on one hand, deep in thought.
Ever since he had seen Kenichi revive Amado, he had been curious about one thing.
How exactly had his disciple managed that?
He had made someone sacrifice his life, even though the man had clearly shown some resistance. Orochimaru had seen that much with his own eyes. Logically, someone that unwilling should not have been able to carry out the Reanimation Jutsu.
And yet he had.
That made Orochimaru feel that his disciple was hiding some very interesting little secret.
His snake like pupils narrowed, and he slowly licked his lips.
How intriguing.
The actual learning process, however, was dull and tedious. Kenichi watched for a while, then quickly lost interest. Resting his chin on one hand, he looked thoroughly unmotivated.
"Kenichi, if you have other things to do, go handle them," Orochimaru said as he walked over. "Leave this to me and Amado."
Kenichi perked up the moment he heard that.
If that really worked, it would save him a lot of trouble.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Teacher. I do still have some other things to take care of," Kenichi said with a grin, rubbing his hands together.
Orochimaru nodded with a faint smile.
Seeing that, Kenichi immediately ordered the two parasitized ninja to obey his teacher's instructions, then hurried out of the laboratory.
"This is truly..." Amado muttered as he watched the scene unfold, clearly amused.
He really had not expected Kenichi's prestige in the Land of Snow to be this high. How had he achieved it? Was it just because he had saved Kazahana Koyuki?
Orochimaru glanced at the two silent ninja and licked his lips with interest.
He wanted to see exactly how far these two would go in obeying his disciple's commands.
Kenichi, of course, knew nothing about what his teacher was thinking. Even if he did, he probably would not care too much. He had never intended to keep the existence of the parasites hidden forever. Something like this was bound to be discovered sooner or later. The only difference was whether that happened sooner or later.
The Byakugan could clearly see where the parasites were lodged. It was hard to say whether other dojutsu or sensing techniques might also have similar effects.
"Sigh... let me see..." Kenichi took out his schedule and glanced over it, rubbing his chin.
Logically, it should be time to begin the Mangekyo Sharingan awakening phase. But considering that the test subjects had not rested enough yet, he decided to delay it a little longer.
Besides, for Genin and Chunin level ninja, awakening the Mangekyo too early might not actually be a good thing. Using the Mangekyo placed a serious burden on the body. In Kenichi's view, it would be safer if they only awakened it after reaching Jonin.
Unfortunately, he did not have that much time.
According to his plan, if he wanted to unify the Ninja World, then the first target, the Hidden Mist Village, was absolutely critical.
He needed to end the battle quickly and efficiently, occupy the Hidden Mist Village, dismantle its defenses, eliminate everyone who stood in the way, and restore order before the other villages noticed what had happened.
If he could do that, he could continue accumulating strength in peace.
That was the core of Kenichi's plan.
"Now that I have Wood Release, I should be able to suppress an entire village by myself... but with subordinates helping, it would be much easier." Kenichi stretched.
He could certainly go alone, but that would be too troublesome. With subordinates assisting with encirclement and suppression, the spread of information could be greatly delayed, perhaps even prevented entirely. That would make the next stage of the plan much smoother.
And of course, if Nagato were willing to help, it would be even easier.
"Right. Speaking of which, where exactly is Nagato?" Kenichi scratched his head.
That part still bothered him.
Had Nagato not previously agreed to contact him later so they could discuss everything properly?
Then why had Kenichi tried contacting him again, only to get nothing?
Thinking of that, Kenichi tried reaching Nagato once more.
A long while passed.
Still nothing.
It was as if Nagato simply did not exist anymore.
"What's going on?" Kenichi frowned as he paced around the laboratory.
He had definitely sent out the signal, but Nagato had given no reply at all. Earlier, Nagato had been the one to initiate the long distance communication, which meant either this type of contact depended on Nagato's side, or something had gone wrong.
So Kenichi considered two possibilities.
Either something had happened to Nagato.
Or Nagato's previous thought wave had only been able to cross such a distance because Nagato possessed the Rinnegan, while Kenichi himself simply lacked that ability.
The first possibility seemed unlikely. Nagato was still very powerful. Even if Obito and Black Zetsu targeted him, it would not be easy unless they managed a perfect sneak attack.
"There's no reason for those two to attack Nagato right now either," Kenichi muttered, scratching his head.
He did not believe Obito or Black Zetsu had noticed the conversation he had with Nagato. At least, there should have been no reason for them to.
As for the second possibility, it was entirely possible that Kenichi was just too weak in that specific area, and his signal could not travel that far unless Nagato initiated it.
Either way, waiting here and doing nothing would solve nothing.
If it was the first possibility, Nagato would contact him eventually if he could.
If it was the second, then Nagato would likely realize something was wrong and come looking himself.
So Kenichi decided not to dwell on it.
After all, he still had plenty to do.
Still, after thinking it over, he dispelled the Shadow Clone he currently had out, created a fresh one, boarded an airship, and headed for the Land of Rain himself.
He needed to understand what was happening.
Otherwise, if something truly had gone wrong, that would be a serious problem.
"Black Zetsu, are you sure that scroll is inside the Hokage Building?" Obito asked coldly.
He was standing on a branch in the forest not far from Konoha, gazing toward the distant village. His eyes flickered with obscure emotion. Just seeing Konoha made him feel uncomfortable.
And as always, that discomfort quickly turned into killing intent toward Kenichi.
He still wanted to stab that bastard to death.
After all, Rin's remains had been desecrated by that man.
"Hehe. According to the intel, yes," Black Zetsu replied with a chuckle, leaning against a tree. Then he glanced sideways at Obito.
"Still, Konoha's barrier seems to have been strengthened a lot lately," he added.
Obito's expression darkened immediately.
Yes, it had been strengthened too much. So much that even he now found it troublesome.
And all of it was Amamiya Kenichi's fault.
"Hmph. Otherwise, why do you think I would reveal that information to Nagato?" Obito snorted.
He could certainly spend time infiltrating Konoha on his own, but it would be troublesome, and eventually it would still lead to a clash with the village.
"Aren't you worried Nagato won't come?" Black Zetsu asked with a smirk, crossing his arms.
"You really think he won't?" Obito said calmly.
When he saw Nagato's reaction that day, he had already understood what kind of person Nagato was.
Black Zetsu curled his lip in disdain.
What a boring question.
Nagato would definitely come.
Yahiko meant too much to him.
Nagato could ignore many things. He could keep Akatsuki in the shadows and endure all kinds of losses. But once he learned that Danzo was the real mastermind behind Yahiko's death, he would not remain still.
That was the weakness of ninja.
Bonds.
What a dull thing.
Black Zetsu sneered inwardly. Obito was nothing more than another puppet.
This entire Ninja World was unbearably dull.
The world his mother had once created should never have been filled with these woodworms.
The entire history of shinobi that he had manipulated into existence was stale and lifeless.
He wanted to laugh wildly.
He wanted to see the expressions Obito and Madara would make when they finally learned the truth.
But it was not time yet.
So he suppressed that impulse.
Nagato, dance.
Dance in the palm of my hand.
"Konoha... truly a village steeped in sin," Deva Path Pain said coldly.
At that moment, the Deva Path, the Asura Path, and the Animal Path had already arrived outside Konoha.
Konan, hidden not far away, was watching Nagato with worried eyes.
Just as Obito expected, Nagato had come.
"Nagato..." she called softly from the hollow of a nearby tree.
Ever since he had received that piece of intelligence, her friend had changed again. He had become exactly like he was on that day.
"Konan, don't try to stop me," Nagato said, clenching his fists. "All this time I thought Hanzo was the true culprit. But the real murderer has lived in peace for so long!"
His voice was full of rage.
Because of the anger surging through him, he could not help coughing several times.
But even so, the fury in his heart only grew stronger.
Danzo Shimura.
That man was the true culprit.
If Danzo had not interfered, Hanzo never would have turned on Akatsuki, and Yahiko never would have died.
Konan said nothing.
She had heard the same information.
Her heart was burning with anger too, but more than anything, she was worried about the friend who was all she had left.
"I have grown beyond mortals through endless pain, from a mortal into a god," Nagato said in a low, gloomy voice. "And now, I will make Konoha feel pain, understand pain, accept pain, and know pain."
Konan lowered her head, looking at Nagato's emaciated hand, her eyes reddening.
Nagato took a deep breath, then sent his puppets and his fallen friends forward without hesitation, straight toward Konoha.
But at that moment, the ring on his finger suddenly grew hot.
Nagato froze.
"Hm?"
He lowered his head and looked at the ring.
He knew what that meant.
Someone was trying to contact him.
Amamiya Kenichi.
Nagato's face darkened immediately.
He should have refused the thought wave without hesitation.
But then he remembered what Kenichi had said last time, and he hesitated.
In the end, Nagato made his choice.
"Hm? The thought wave got cut off?" Kenichi muttered in confusion as he stood outside the Land of Rain.
It was not raining here, but Nagato was nowhere to be seen either. If Nagato were present, he definitely would have sensed Kenichi's arrival.
So where had Nagato gone?
What kind of urgent matter could make him ignore something he himself had previously insisted upon?
"Can't figure it out. Forget it," Kenichi muttered, shaking his head. "As long as Nagato is still alive, I might as well head to Konoha and see how Naruto is doing."
After all, he had left that book with Naruto.
.....
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