"Ahhh, Kenichi-kun, I just remembered I forgot something at home… can you walk Kakashi back for me?"
Kushina clasped her hands together, putting on an exaggerated "oops" face worthy of an academy play.
Kenichi took a deep breath.The more he saw of this couple, the more he regretted agreeing to anything.
"Of course, Kushina-aun… onee-san."
The word auntie almost slipped out, but the instant he felt Kushina's killing intent and saw Minato silently shaking his head behind her, he changed course at ninja speed.
Calling her sister was, obviously, the only correct answer.
Kenichi suddenly felt very sorry for Minato.He wondered what the future Fourth Hokage's actual status at home would be.
"Then I'll leave it to you~" Kushina said with a bright smile, eyes curving into little crescents as she grabbed Minato and dragged him off.
Minato still found time to look back, wink at Kenichi, and give him a thumbs up.
"…"
Kenichi was speechless.
Their intentions couldn't be more obvious—they wanted him to get along with Kakashi, to become friends.
He glanced to the side.
Kakashi, expression blank, turned around and walked off without a word. No polite farewell, no thanks, nothing.
Tch. Kids are such trouble.
Kenichi clicked his tongue but still followed behind.
A promise was a promise, and he had agreed to Kushina. For the sake of his future plans, he needed to take this task seriously.
He didn't have any grand scheme for Kakashi. The guy was a natural-born genius; anything Kakashi had, Kenichi could find other ways to obtain—better ones, even.
If he had to name one thing he was slightly interested in, it would probably be swordsmanship.
The Hatake clan's kenjutsu was said to be terrifying; the White Fang's strength was rumored to surpass even the Sannin.But Kakashi himself never really showed much talent in that direction later.
Besides, Kenichi understood the danger of being greedy. He wasn't some heaven-defying prodigy.
Remove the fact that his teacher was Orochimaru, and he was just another faceless genin in Konoha—a standard-issue expendable grunt.
[Research progress: 99.99%]
Kenichi's mood instantly brightened.
He might be cannon fodder now, but once that progress bar hit 100%, he would finally hold the key to becoming a true powerhouse.
"Hey, Kakashi… I heard you've already been promoted to jōnin, right?"
Kenichi broke the heavy silence hanging over the road.
Kakashi heard him—that much was obvious—but he neither turned around nor replied. His pace didn't quicken or slow; he just kept walking.
Kenichi's lips twitched.
Right now, Kakashi wasn't the future "Icha Icha Kakashi."He was more like a walking corpse.
A corpse without a soul.
"Do you have nightmares?" Kenichi asked, his tone almost playful.
This time, Kakashi's footsteps paused for a split second.
But again, he said nothing and resumed walking.
Kenichi smiled to himself.
After Obito and Rin's deaths, there was almost no way Kakashi didn't have nightmares.
In his previous world, this would've been called trauma and treated by a psychologist. Kenichi didn't understand therapy… but he understood genjutsu.
And as for why the disciple of Orochimaru had bothered to study genjutsu?
Naturally—for self-defense.
Right now, Orochimaru had no plans to use Kenichi as a vessel; his research was still incomplete. But if Kenichi wanted to survive under a man like that, he needed every tool he could get his hands on.
To Kenichi, genjutsu was just a much stronger version of hypnosis.Used properly, it could absolutely work as a form of mental treatment.
Unfortunately, he was still only a genin—and Kakashi had a Sharingan.
Casting illusions on someone with a Sharingan was… not very convenient.
So Kenichi regretfully abandoned the idea of using genjutsu to "treat" Kakashi, record some humiliating black history, and blackmail him with it in the future.
After dropping Kakashi off at his house, Kenichi turned and left.
The two of them hadn't exchanged many words.
Right now, Kakashi was just a piece of wood, and Kenichi didn't have the habit of talking to lumber. Better to let time—and the ANBU—grind down his pain.
Back in his own home, Kenichi flopped down on his bed.
It wasn't a big place—just a small apartment Orochimaru had given him—but it had everything he needed.
There was even a refrigerator.
To this day, Kenichi still had no idea why the ninja world had fridges, televisions, and air conditioners, yet its overall technology level was so backward. This world's science was a puzzle.
He didn't try to sleep.
That progress bar could hit 100% at any moment; there was no way he'd be able to close his eyes.
So he sat at his desk and started playing with his "collection."
Orochimaru was, in his own twisted way, a very competent boss—he even paid Kenichi a salary, and a generous one at that. Way better than those previous-life bosses who only knew how to "pay" in promises.
Relying on his golden finger, Kenichi had begun to consciously collect… strange items.
Once he finished analyzing Hashirama's cells, he'd move on to these.
"This piece of amber is interesting…"
He held the amber up to the light.
Inside was a small insect—one Kenichi had never seen before, not in this world or his previous one.
He'd even consulted the Aburame clan, Konoha's resident bug experts, but they'd had no idea either.
That only made him more curious, and he bought it on the spot.
But out of all his collectibles, the one he valued most was something else.
"I wonder how long this will stay usable…"
Kenichi opened the fridge and looked at the rows of neatly arranged test tubes inside, a bright smile creeping onto his face.
These were things he'd specifically asked Orochimaru to help him obtain:
Blood from the toads of Mount Myōboku.Blood from the snakes of Ryūchi Cave.Secretion taken from the slugs of Shikkotsu Forest.
The Three Great Sage Regions—each test tube was a piece of their power.
Orochimaru didn't really think much of them. He'd examined these samples before and hadn't discovered anything worthwhile, so when Kenichi asked, he'd handed them over without fuss.
Kenichi had put on a show of "research" as well, but eventually stopped.
Even so, he preserved all three samples carefully.
He wanted to know what kind of power the sages of the three lands possessed.
Unfortunately, Orochimaru hadn't been able to get biological tissue from the toad and snake sages—only from the slug.
Still, that was enough for now.
[Current research target completed]
[You have obtained: Hashirama Senju's Sage Physique]
The message appeared in front of his eyes.
Kenichi's heart hammered in his chest.
At that moment, the weak, ordinary genin of Konoha quietly stepped onto an entirely different path.
(End of Chapter)