Chapter 316: The Secret of the Mangekyo Sharingan
"So the real issue now lies with the Mangekyo Sharingan." Kenichi looked at the experimental log in his hand. It contained a great deal of his research on the Sharingan.
However, every record stopped at the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. There was nothing on the Mangekyo. And now, Kenichi felt it was finally time to begin a new round of experiments.
It was still Yasuo Yayoi, the little fellow who served as Kenichi's current Three-Tomoe test subject and was in relatively good condition. After a period of recovery, his body had healed well, and with the parasitic worm inside him, safety was also guaranteed.
"How do you feel?" Kenichi glanced at Yasuo, who sat in the chair staring back at him with an extremely complicated expression.
It was hard to describe.
There was hatred in that gaze, but also submission and even a kind of worship. Those emotions twisted together and distorted his face into something deeply unnatural, as if it were teetering on the edge of the uncanny valley.
"...Lord Amamiya," Yasuo said with difficulty. Every word seemed painfully forced from his throat. It was obvious he wanted to say something else, but under the influence of the parasitic worm, he simply could not.
"I feel very well."
In the end, Yasuo gave up resisting, and once he did, his speech returned to normal. Kenichi found the result very satisfying. The parasitic worm's control was already proving quite effective.
[The presence of the parasitic worm can resist the influence of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, but further progress still requires continued testing. Begin increasing the intensity of the tests on the subject's resistance.]
"Now, tell me about yourself and your teacher." Kenichi continued questioning him.
He wanted to measure just how much control the parasitic worm exerted over the host. If it could force out this level of personal information, then perhaps it could also be used to extract another ninja's techniques through interrogation.
"I... I..." As soon as the subject shifted to Kurenai, the agony in Yasuo's expression intensified. His body trembled violently, as if he were resisting with all his strength. Kenichi was in no hurry. He simply picked up his pen and calmly recorded Yasuo's current state.
[Once questioning begins on matters of true personal importance, the subject still displays a degree of autonomy and has not completely lost his sense of self.]
"Kurenai Yuhi-sensei is our Jonin leader. She's usually strict, and she cares a lot about her niece." After a long period of struggle, Yasuo finally began recounting his story with Kurenai in a lifeless tone.
He even confessed that he had once entertained the thought of peeking at Kurenai while she bathed, which almost made Kenichi laugh.
Still, the result pleased him. The parasitic worm's effect on a ninja was obvious. Once he issued an order, the target's chance of resisting dropped dramatically.
"What ninjutsu have you learned? Do you have any secrets?" Kenichi increased the intensity of the questioning.
Talking about Kurenai had probably fallen into the category of things Yasuo could still reluctantly speak about. But secrets and ninjutsu were the most important things to a ninja. Yasuo seemed to realize how futile resistance was, and with a dead, empty expression, he began revealing everything, including things he absolutely should not have said.
[The parasitic worm may also be suitable for interrogating certain ninjas. However, its existence is destined to provoke rejection from powerful individuals. For now, perhaps it is only suitable for controlling those with insufficient strength.]
Kenichi rubbed his brow.
At the moment, though, the parasitic worm had only brought good news. Not a single bad result had appeared yet.
As for its loyalty, that was no longer a concern. The previous subject had already verified that. Even so, out of caution, Kenichi still issued a self-destruction command.
Without hesitation, Yasuo raised a kunai and drove it toward his own heart.
Kenichi stopped him at the last moment.
Now he was fully certain that Yasuo was incapable of resisting him, and that the parasitic worm could absolutely control him.
Which meant it was time for the final stage of the experiment.
The evolution from the Three-Tomoe Sharingan to the Mangekyo Sharingan.
As for how to evolve the Mangekyo into the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, Madara had already provided the blueprint. Following that trail would not be especially difficult.
Looking at the now-anesthetized Yasuo, Kenichi fell into thought.
Within the Sharingan, the Mangekyo represented an absolute dividing line. The gap between the Three-Tomoe and the Mangekyo was enormous, almost as if they were two entirely different sets of eyes. That alone showed just how much power the Mangekyo brought.
If Kenichi had possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan back in the Hidden Mist, the way he obtained the Eight Gates would have been completely different. He would not have needed to go to so much trouble.
And what Kenichi coveted most was the unique ability each Mangekyo granted.
According to the established rules, when the Mangekyo awakens, the eye gains an ability shaped by the strongest thought in the user's heart at that moment. Amaterasu, Kotoamatsukami, and others all fell into that category.
Kenichi could not help but wonder whether that process could be guided.
And if he truly mastered the method of awakening the Mangekyo, then what kind of thought would be best to hold onto at that moment?
"Forget it. It's too early to think that far ahead." Kenichi shook his head and cast aside the clutter in his mind. "For now, I need to complete the first round of experiments on a Three-Tomoe recipient."
This time, Kenichi still used the emotional stimulation process he had developed and refined himself.
After all, according to everything the anime had shown, the transition from the Three-Tomoe to the Mangekyo also required an extremely intense emotional shock.
[After opening Subject One's skull, the experiment was initiated using emotional stimulation. The subject's physical condition remained similar to previous trials.]
[After seven minutes of stimulation, the subject's physical state remained normal, and no abnormal rise in temperature occurred. Was there an issue with the experimental procedure?]
Kenichi looked at Yasuo and fell silent.
The subject had indeed shown obvious emotional fluctuation under the stimulation, but the amygdala had not produced the high-temperature response Kenichi had seen before.
"Is the stimulation not strong enough? Or did the parasitic worm interfere with the subject's emotional response?" Kenichi muttered.
Still, he felt the greater possibility was that the emotional shock simply was not intense enough.
To awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan, the user needed an overwhelming mental blow, something on the level of watching a loved one die before their eyes. Kenichi did not think the key was family itself. He thought it was the intensity of the emotion behind it.
"But those emotional changes are, in the end, a form of grief. Extreme grief. So is overwhelming sorrow the real key to awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan?" Kenichi raised an eyebrow.
Nearly every Uchiha who had awakened the Mangekyo had done so through grief, grief so intense it shattered them. No one had ever awakened it simply because they were too happy.
"If I use genjutsu to make him watch the death of the person he cares about most right in front of him... no, that probably won't work either." Kenichi rubbed his forehead. The idea he had just come up with was likely useless.
After all, Itachi had already done something similar to Sasuke. He had forced Sasuke to repeatedly witness the Uchiha massacre through genjutsu, yet Sasuke had not awakened the Mangekyo on the spot.
Of course, it was also possible that even that level of stimulation had not been enough.
"It seems I still need to increase the intensity." Kenichi shook his head.
For now, that was the only way forward.
But just as he was about to act, he noticed the thin tendrils on Yasuo's brain.
Those were the limbs of the parasitic worm.
Kenichi narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
"Koyuki, can the offspring of the parasitic worm influence the host's emotions?" Kenichi found Koyuki, who was in the middle of handling government affairs. Piles of documents still waited for her signature and review.
Kenichi found the whole thing exhausting.
As expected, he was not suited to being a ruler.
Once his dream was realized, he intended to throw the position to someone else and focus entirely on research and development, then eventually figure out how to build a planetary cannon and fire it straight at the Otsutsuki homeworld.
"Yes, Master. We naturally possess the ability to influence the emotions and thoughts of others." Koyuki answered proudly, then stamped another document without even looking up.
Kenichi nodded.
Now he had an idea.
If he used the parasitic worm as an auxiliary, could he force Yasuo's emotions to cross the required threshold and awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan?
As for whether Yasuo would cause trouble after awakening the Mangekyo, Kenichi was not especially worried. With his current strength, thinking that a newly awakened Mangekyo user could deal with him was pure fantasy.
Even Obito had been played by him.
Back in the laboratory, Kenichi issued his command to the parasitic worm, and it executed his instructions perfectly.
"Now, let's begin the emotional stimulation."
Kenichi took a slow breath.
If this still did not work, then he would have to start looking for a completely different path.
[Second experiment begins. This time, the parasitic worm is being used to assist emotional stimulation. As the procedure continued, the subject's reaction grew extremely violent, and the intensity of the struggle increased without interruption.]
[The temperature in the amygdala has begun to rise gradually, but the rate remains too slow. The hypothesis may be correct. This level of stimulation is still insufficient. Adjust the intensity to double the previous output.]
As the chakra in Kenichi's hand increased, Yasuo's entire body began to convulse violently, and the temperature around the amygdala rose rapidly, soon producing that all too familiar smell.
"Seriously, I'm never eating brain again..." Kenichi took a slow breath.
The smell was unbearable.
Still, this was the temperature response he had wanted to see. After all, this was double the chakra-based emotional stimulation. If this still could not force the Mangekyo to evolve, then he would truly have to find another method.
Beep. Beep beep.
The life-monitor alarm began screaming. Tachycardia. Falling blood oxygen. Chaotic brain waves.
Kenichi frowned.
Was it about to fail?
No. If it was going to fail, then...
"This time, raise the stimulation to five times the original level. If that still doesn't work, I'll bury him." Kenichi gritted his teeth.
If twice the stimulation was not enough, then what about five times?
As a massive amount of chakra gathered, Yasuo's body arched violently into opisthotonos. He writhed so hard it looked as though he might launch the operating table into the air.
Beeeeeeep.
Then, Yasuo collapsed weakly onto the table.
Kenichi glanced at the monitor.
The heartbeat was flat. The brain waves were flat.
That continuous tone was often the last sound many people heard before death, the sound of life itself cutting off.
Kenichi sighed.
It still had not worked.
Even under five times the emotional stimulation, Yasuo had failed to awaken the Mangekyo.
"Could it be that the Mangekyo can only awaken when the subject consciously witnesses a sufficiently shocking event? But that doesn't make sense..." Kenichi felt a headache beginning to form.
Then he heard another sound from the monitor.
He turned his head.
Yasuo's heartbeat had returned.
Kenichi froze.
Had he come back to life? Or had he only entered a state of suspended animation?
Suspended animation was not uncommon. Even now, in both past and present eras, when someone died, if it was not due to catastrophic injuries, families often chose to keep the body for some time.
That was precisely to prevent cases of mistaken death caused by suspended animation.
Kenichi stared at the monitor as the readings slowly climbed back toward normal.
He licked his lips.
He really had not died?
Could it be that the fivefold emotional stimulation had forced his brain into some kind of emergency shutdown, pushing the body into suspended animation to protect itself?
Countless ideas flooded Kenichi's mind, but right now, the one thing that mattered most was whether the experiment had succeeded.
"The parasitic worm offspring is also still alive." Kenichi checked the worm. It was fine. No damage, no abnormalities, just slightly sluggish.
Next, he used chakra to inspect Yasuo's physical condition.
Everything was fine.
His bodily functions had recovered.
Which left only the most crucial question.
His eyes.
"What is this..." Yasuo slowly opened his eyes.
Kenichi glanced at them.
They were still Three-Tomoe.
Kenichi frowned.
Had the experiment failed?
Was this really not the correct path?
Or perhaps...
A possibility entered his mind.
A cruel one.
.....
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