Chapter 198: Still Water: I Just Want a Peaceful Life
Gene programming in his previous life usually began at a very small stage. Once you injected the adjustment, you could simply wait as the cells divided and developed on their own. It was slow, but it was straightforward.
Programming a fully grown person, however, was another matter entirely.
The number of cells in a normal human body was terrifying. If you wanted to program a person, you had to program every single cell.
Not one could be missing.
Orochimaru's ninjutsu solved that impossible requirement in the simplest, most direct way possible: by using ninjutsu itself.
Even if the process caused some cellular damage, it was still achievable. Shiori had used that method to gain a chance to change her fate. She survived, and afterward, she obtained genetic information identical to Obito's.
"If we want to improve it, we have to work on both refinement and the stability of the gene chain," Kenichi muttered.
He glanced at the draft paper in his hand. A flame flickered to life in his palm, and the paper curled and blackened as it burned to ash.
Improving his teacher's ninjutsu was difficult because it involved the genetic level. If he made it too refined, the chakra consumption would spike. When he had programmed Shiori before, he had already felt the strain. If he refined it even further, the cost would only rise.
"Let's try again," Kenichi sighed.
He could only take it slowly, but this step was necessary. Only after finishing it could he safely perform gene programming on himself, or on anyone else.
"I wonder how the experiment is going on the other side," Kenichi said, glancing toward the wall, as if his gaze could pass through it.
In the adjacent lab, several of his shadow clones were still fighting their own war.
"The problem is that he used lab rats, while we used eyeballs," one clone said bitterly, staring at the table. "And we're running out of eyeballs."
Another clone looked at the remaining stock beside him. Every eyeball came from Orochimaru's reserves, and the pile was shrinking far faster than their progress.
It was beginning to feel like a result was a distant dream.
One ruined sample after another ended up in the trash. The destroyed eyeballs lay on a plate, either overripe or completely broken down, releasing a strong, indescribable stench.
That smell existed for a reason. It was a warning carved into living things by evolution, a reminder that corpses of similar creatures were nearby, that the area was dangerous, and that it was time to leave before something else decided you belonged with them.
"Is he also working on improving gene programming?" a clone grumbled while dumping another failed sample away. "What made the main body think having us do this was a good idea?"
In the lab next door, four identical Kenichi sat under dim lights, sifting through logs and running calculations, their expressions equally grim.
Kenichi himself did not dwell on it.
Things that looked free were often the most expensive, and he could not afford to waste time.
Still, his mind drifted to the people he had pulled out of Konoha.
Half a month later, Kenichi hurried out of his laboratory.
The reason was simple. He needed to see Shisui.
The Uchiha had moved quickly. Faster than Kenichi expected.
The clan had abandoned their tribal emblems and stopped wearing their signature clothing. Instead, they dressed like ordinary villagers. Aside from their hair and striking features, there was little that marked them as Uchiha anymore. It was a practical disguise, and it was already working.
Kenichi was not short on money, and his current research had stalled enough that pushing too hard would be pointless. Slowing down made sense.
But slowing down alone was not enough.
He also could not completely abandon the Uchiha. They were capable workers, and to him, they were valuable research material. If he threw them away now, he would only be sabotaging his own future.
When he arrived, Shisui was busy in the village.
Kenichi found him in the middle of farm work, sweat on his brow, hands in the dirt, planting crops that looked like tomatoes or something close to it.
For a moment, Kenichi just watched.
A farmer's life did not suit Shisui. It was almost surreal seeing him like this, as if someone had taken a legendary genjutsu user and assigned him the world's quietest punishment.
Nearby, a simple bamboo basket sat on the ground. Inside were farm tools, rough workmanship, plain materials, nothing refined. Yet the rougher the texture, the more honest it looked. This was how ordinary people lived in small villages. Exquisite tools were not made for them.
"So you built a small village this quickly?" Kenichi asked, scanning the area with open surprise.
Shisui wiped sweat from his forehead and stood up with a smile. "Yes. Everyone contributed."
Most of the clansmen had adapted quickly. They had chosen to flee Konoha in the first place. If they had not been willing to start over, they would not have followed Shisui out.
"It seems you're living quite comfortably," Kenichi said, glancing at the basket.
Shisui's expression softened. "Not bad. I left that suffocating village behind. I don't have to worry about people's stares anymore. I can live quietly."
He smiled, genuinely happy.
Only Sasuke still missed his parents from time to time. Fortunately, Itachi was there, steady enough to keep him in check. Sasuke did not cry or make a scene easily, which made him easier to manage, even when his heart was clearly still torn open.
Shisui had spoken with Itachi for several nights after they left. He could understand why Itachi did what he did. He could also understand why Fugaku had sent both brothers out.
Still, Shisui did not let himself grow careless.
He knew kindness without reward did not exist in this world. That kind of kindness only appeared within family. Kenichi and the Uchiha were not related, so how could Kenichi be a good person for no reason?
Peace across the shinobi world, harmonious coexistence between clans, an end to war. Those kinds of ideals did not come without a price.
Kenichi shrugged, as if reading his thoughts. "Yes, or you could say no."
Shisui stared at him, puzzled by the answer.
"I thought you came to ask me to do something," Shisui said, his tone turning slightly playful. "But you're standing here like you just came for a walk."
"I did come to remind you to disguise yourselves and avoid being discovered by Konoha's shinobi," Kenichi admitted calmly. "But now that I'm here, I don't think I need to remind you."
The curious clansmen behind Shisui had already started glancing their way. Shisui waved a hand to settle them, then looked back at Kenichi.
"Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked.
Kenichi did not answer immediately.
He had never intended to demand labor or test subjects right away. Doing that now would only lower their favorability, and forcing people was always inefficient. Getting people to act willingly was the fastest path.
The real problem was Sasuke.
Sasuke was the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths' son. Kenichi had no desire to draw attention to himself. The Pure Land was still a mystery, and he could not be sure whether the Sage had ways to observe the living world.
If that entity became aware of him, and then decided to act against him, it would become a serious problem.
So Kenichi needed a reason to be here. A clean reason. A harmless reason.
Reality was harsh, and sometimes you had to disguise your intentions just to survive your own curiosity.
Kenichi stepped beside Shisui and looked out over the village.
"Honestly," Kenichi said, "this world is pretty boring."
Shisui blinked. "Boring?"
"Look at it," Kenichi said. "It only takes two or three days to go from Konoha to Sunagakure."
Shisui frowned, as if that sounded enormous. Kenichi's lips twitched.
For shinobi here, it was a long trip. For Kenichi, it was not. He had calculated before that the distance from Konoha to Sunagakure was only around eight hundred kilometers. Compared to his previous life, it was nothing. A plane could cross more than that without making a dramatic event out of it.
"Isn't that huge?" Shisui asked, still confused.
"Too small," Kenichi replied, serious now. "Shisui, really too small."
As they spoke, a blushing female Uchiha passed by. Kenichi offered her a polite greeting, as if he were just another villager. She hurried away, flustered, and the moment passed like a ripple over still water.
Shisui watched Kenichi carefully, then asked, "Why not just use Hiruzen's name? He's only one person."
"That's the idea," Kenichi admitted without hesitation. "But it's for the future."
Shisui's gaze sharpened slightly.
Kenichi had saved them, yes, but Kenichi was also a man with frightening ideas. Just thinking about those ideas made Shisui's feelings complicated.
Kenichi, for his part, was already thinking several steps ahead.
He planned to slowly reshape Shisui, Sasuke, and Itachi, to slowly overwrite the way they understood the shinobi world, until the foundation beneath them changed. Not with force, but with time, pressure, and direction.
A new order.
A new world.
And when that time came, he would need Shisui.
Back in the laboratory, the clones continued their own grim work.
"If we run out," one clone said, exhausted, "we can dispel one of us and report to the main body. He'll figure out how to replenish the stock."
Another clone stared at the notes and added, "Or we capture some ape demons. Their genetic information should be closer to humans."
A third clone nodded, muttering, "The eyeballs of mice are too small. If we try inserting genes that resemble the Sharingan into that, it'll probably fail. Using Enma's, or a gorilla's, would be much better."
Kenichi did not speak any of that aloud here in the village.
He simply placed a hand on Shisui's shoulder, the weight of his palm steady and deliberate, and pressed down slightly as his voice hardened.
"Too small, Shisui," he said again. "Really too small."
.....
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