Ever since Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze officially took office, the carving of Hokage Rock had begun, and Orochimaru had grown even more taciturn.
Amemiya Kenichi watched his teacher stand for a while at a spot overlooking Hokage Rock, then turn and leave without a backward glance.
"Even though Teacher acts like he doesn't care, he probably cares more than anyone," Kenichi thought, watching Orochimaru's retreating figure.
Suddenly, he began to doubt his teacher's gender. If he didn't know for a fact that Orochimaru was a man and hadn't changed bodies yet, he'd swear he'd stumbled upon a tsundere girl.
Hmm, if Teacher's hair were blonde and styled in a ponytail or twin tails, he'd really fit the image of a tsundere loser.
"Teacher, does Elder Shimura Danzo smoke?" Kenichi asked, walking down the familiar road to the joint Root-Konoha research lab.
"Huh? Him? I've never seen him smoke," Orochimaru replied, startled by the question but answering nonetheless.
Hearing this, Amemiya Kenichi felt a twinge of disappointment. He doesn't smoke? That makes things much more difficult.
Earlier, Amemiya Kenichi had been considering slipping some cancer cells into Danzo's system, but since Danzo didn't smoke and his technique wasn't fully refined, he temporarily abandoned the idea.
Arriving at Root's underground laboratory, Danzo wasn't there, only Root ninjas. But this didn't hinder the experiments.
However, the Fourth Hokage's inauguration in Konoha signaled the complete end of the war. At least for the short term, Root wouldn't be able to secure enough resources, and this situation would only worsen in the future.
"Teacher, what's today's experiment about?" Amemiya Kenichi noticed something strange about himself—he always felt strangely excited whenever he entered the lab.
"Nothing special. Just continuing our research on how to better control the First Hokage's cells," Orochimaru replied calmly. This was Danzo's request.
Amemiya Kenichi found it somewhat boring. While the First Hokage's cells were powerful, their limitations were significant. Simply being able to withstand them was a huge challenge.
Orochimaru's experiments had claimed countless lives before he finally achieved a success like Yamato.
"Teacher, can I pursue my own research?" Amemiya Kenichi asked, eager to move beyond the First Hokage's cell experiments and explore his own ideas.
Orochimaru glanced at him and nodded. The First Hokage's cell experiments were indeed tedious. If not for Root's backing, Orochimaru wouldn't have bothered with Danzo at all.
With Orochimaru's permission, Kenichi excitedly rushed off to begin his own research. However, since this laboratory collaborated with Root, he couldn't continue refining his Ninjutsu.
Instead, he chose to develop something else: Chakra Armor, or more precisely, an expanded study based on a metallic substance Teacher Orochimaru had previously researched.
During his earlier research, Teacher Orochimaru had discovered a special metal capable of absorbing Chakra. This material could draw Chakra from a ninja's body, but due to Orochimaru's many research projects, it had been temporarily shelved.
Amemiya Kenichi was quite optimistic about this thing. If he could improve it to absorb Chakra from Ninjutsu, its practicality would skyrocket.
"Then, if we add an energy conversion device to store the absorbed Chakra or transfer it to the wearer, wouldn't it become a perpetual motion machine on the battlefield?" Amemiya Kenichi smacked his lips.
Wouldn't that mean he could build Chakra Gundams in the world of Hokage?
Theoretically, the idea was feasible. Amemiya Kenichi recalled seeing Chakra-absorbing armor in one of the Hokage movies.
By enhancing its defensive capabilities and researching higher-performance metals and compatible conversion-storage cores, this concept might actually become reality.
Then, even if Uchiha Madara was strong, what could he do when Amemiya Kenichi pulled out his Chakra Armor and absorbed all his Ninjutsu?
But all of this was still a long way off. Amemiya Kenichi hadn't even figured out how to improve the metal yet, so he could only proceed with experiments at a slow pace.
"No wonder Teacher wants to collaborate with Root." Looking at the materials he'd used up, Amemiya Kenichi clicked his tongue. Scientific research really is a money pit.
No wonder so many people focus on developing Ninjutsu. Developing Ninjutsu doesn't cost nearly as much. It's true what they say: the poor rely on mutation, the rich on technology.
"You're quite interested in Strange Metal, aren't you?" As soon as he heard the voice, Amemiya Kenichi knew Orochimaru had arrived. He quickly turned around and, sure enough, Teacher Orochimaru was standing behind him.
Here he was again, appearing without a sound. I wonder if he learned that from Batman.
"Yes, Teacher. I believe this metal has tremendous potential for development," Amemiya Kenichi replied honestly. If this stuff develops the way I think it will, it could become a strategic deterrent on par with nuclear weapons.
It might even completely reshape the balance of power in the Ninja World.
"Strange Metal has a low absorption limit, but I have high hopes for you. After all, science always starts from nothing." Orochimaru smiled. There wasn't much in this village he wanted to take with him, but Amemiya Kenichi was definitely one of them.
Orochimaru even felt he might never need another disciple. This one, who resembled him so closely, was enough.
"Yes, Teacher. Science is about creating something from nothing," Amemiya Kenichi replied firmly. Though not a brilliant scientist himself, he knew many things had once been nonexistent.
Before computers existed, no one could have imagined what they would be like. So, saying they came from nothing wasn't an exaggeration.
Besides, Kenichi remembered the future Boruto series, where even more unimaginable things appeared.
"Let's go. The experiment is finished for today," Orochimaru said calmly, starting back. Kenichi followed behind, leaving the wailing laboratory behind them.
Step by step, they climbed the stairs, moving from darkness into light.
"Teacher, do you think the Third Hokage knows about our experiments?" Kenichi suddenly asked, curious.
Root was a highly secretive organization belonging solely to Danzo, but the Anbu weren't just sitting around doing nothing.
"Of course he knows. He's tacitly approved it."