Chapter 19: From This Day Forward, I am a Master of Research
Even though he was planning to level-lock, that didn't mean he would just let a pile of experience points sit there unused.
After a long period of study, he discovered that whether he was improving his attributes, mastering new ninjutsu, or even upgrading his passive abilities, his overall combat power rating would increase.
But there was one type of skill that, when upgraded, did not affect his combat rating at all.
This was the "Support Skills" category, which he had largely ignored before.
Upon this discovery, he immediately dumped all his remaining experience points into them.
Support Skills
Ninjutsu Development: LVL 1 (0/50)
Ninjutsu Theory: LVL 3 (0/70)
Detailed Knowledge of Basic Human Anatomy: LVL 7 (0/70)
Pharmacology Knowledge: LVL 2 (0/40)
Basic Toxin Theory: LVL 2 (0/40)
Genjutsu: A Detailed Explanation: LVL 2 (3/40)
He poured a massive amount of experience into "Detailed Knowledge of Basic Human Anatomy," raising it directly to Level 7, as it was the most crucial for Orochimaru's research projects.
For this, Orochimaru, who occasionally appeared in the laboratory, had praised him lavishly.
Kyosuke could feel that Orochimaru's evaluation of him was rising daily. The day he would gain access to those "forbidden jutsu" was probably not far off.
Of course, the clan would still check in on him from time to time, but not as frequently as before. After all, Kyosuke had awakened a two-tomoe Sharingan at the age of five and had defeated a Chunin from the Hyuga clan. Even the most demanding person couldn't ask for more.
Especially now that he had Orochimaru as cover. Sometimes, he wouldn't even return to the clan compound, staying directly at Orochimaru's place. The clan members, including the elders, didn't dare to say anything.
But it wasn't all smooth sailing.
Aside from Uchiha Nagisa occasionally throwing a tantrum because she couldn't find him, there was the issue of his "patrols."
The Second Elder, and even the Great Elder, had approached him more than once, hoping he would stop his ridiculous patrols. With that time, he could be learning more from Orochimaru.
But Kyosuke had rebuffed them every time.
It was a joke. This was his only source of experience points at the moment. How could he just give it up?
But he had a feeling he couldn't keep this up for much longer. After another month of this, the clan elders would probably drag him back, kicking and screaming, and not let him be so willful anymore.
A genius of the esteemed Uchiha clan, a disciple of one of the Legendary Sannin, spending his days patrolling the streets? What kind of a look was that?
The thought gave Kyosuke a massive headache.
Soon, another month had passed.
Just as Kyosuke had expected, three days ago, the Great Elder had personally sent someone to inform him that his duties with the Military Police Force had been revoked.
Resigned, Kyosuke had to accept this reality and start looking for other stable sources of experience.
As for the experience points he had gained this month, he had once again invested them all into his support skills without hesitation.
Detailed Knowledge of Basic Human Anatomy: LVL 10 (MAX)
Ninjutsu Development: LVL 3 (0/70)
He had invested a huge amount of experience into these two skills.
Of course, the effort paid off.
During one of Orochimaru's evaluations, he had demonstrated a knowledge base almost on par with Orochimaru's own, completely "disassembling" a human body into different "units."
Stunned, Orochimaru had hesitated for a long time before teaching Kyosuke another, more advanced field of knowledge.
It was the one he had been eagerly awaiting: "Human Body Modification."
Human Body Modification: LVL 1 (0/100)
After much experimentation, Kyosuke, having finally mastered the skill, discovered that upgrading it required a massive amount of experience points. But this also indirectly proved how powerful the "technology" was.
With a heavy heart, Kyosuke invested his remaining 100 experience points, successfully raising "Human Body Modification" to Level 2.
Now, he could begin to conduct his own human experiments.
As for the materials, Orochimaru would bring some back from time to time. Kyosuke never asked who these people were or where they came from. He simply threw himself into his experiments.
In the blink of an eye, another month passed, and the season had turned to winter.
During this month, Kyosuke still hadn't found a stable way to obtain experience points.
With no other choice, he dedicated all his energy to his experiments.
The results were gratifying. Through his relentless efforts, "Human Body Modification" had successfully reached Level 3 a few days ago.
For this, Orochimaru had specifically sought him out, praised him, and then entrusted him with another powerful technology.
"Gene Modification Technology."
This technology was a branch of human body modification. Kyosuke had thought it would be easy to master, but reality dealt him a heavy blow.
For a whole month, he was unable to convert it into one of his skills.
It was only after Orochimaru noticed his predicament and offered some guidance that he finally succeeded.
Kyosuke later realized that the reason "Human Body Modification" had been so easy to learn was because he had the prerequisite skills to build upon. He could learn it without anyone teaching him. But the field of genetics was something he had almost no contact with, which was why it had been so difficult.
Fortunately, now that he had converted it into a skill, as long as he had enough experience points, upgrading it wouldn't be particularly difficult.
But the mention of experience points made Kyosuke's heart ache. After all, he was using Orochimaru as a cover to have the privilege of "staying out all night." Did he really have to sneak out to find missions for experience points? What if he got caught? How would he explain it?
So, the problem of experience points continued to plague him.
But first things first. If he couldn't get experience, so be it. His main goal at the moment was to "squeeze Orochimaru dry."
Although he had already obtained gene and human modification, he still had no clue about the most crucial technologies: "Cell Transplantation Technology" and "Cloning Technology."
So, he would have to stay cooped up at Orochimaru's place for a while longer.
As for why Kyosuke chose the path of research, one only had to look at the enemies he might face in the future.
The Akatsuki, the masked man Obito, the hundred thousand White Zetsu, the Six Paths Obito, Madara, Kaguya, and then… the Ōtsutsuki clan, Kinshiki, Momoshiki, and the still-mysterious "Kara" organization.
With so many enemies, could he rely solely on Naruto and Sasuke to deal with them? Or on "Boruto"?
Taking a step back, now that Kyosuke was in this world, who knew how things would unfold? What if Naruto and Sasuke's growth didn't go smoothly? Would Kyosuke have to carry the burden alone?
Therefore, as long as he mastered Orochimaru's core technologies, it was possible for the future Konoha to produce a large number of Kage-level, God-level, and even Six Paths-level masters.
This was Kyosuke's ultimate goal.