If Amamiya Kenichi had to rate the ninjutsu of the shinobi world, his top two were clear as day.
Number one: Edo Tensei.
Number two: Multi Shadow Clone.
Orochimaru's Edo Tensei needed no explanation. Infinite reincarnations, near-endless lifespan, the only downside being some… soul-side effects after each possession. But even those could be corrected over time.
As for Multi Shadow Clone—
That jutsu was priceless.
If not for the fact that all the exhaustion came crashing back when the clones dispelled, it would basically be a perfect technique.
Like now.
Seven Amamiya Kenichis were crammed into the not-so-large lab, all moving at high speed. One seed after another was examined, tossed aside, or carefully placed into petri dishes and labeled in neat rows.
Without Multi Shadow Clone, this pace would have been impossible.
With it, his daily productivity had multiplied several times over.
"Does yang chakra actually promote plant growth?" one Kenichi asked without looking up, hands busy sorting seeds.
"No," another clone replied, flicking a shriveled grain into the trash. "Flooding them with yang chakra speeds things up a bit, sure—but it also severely damages their vitality. The seeds end up useless."
"Maybe you need Wood Release to truly accelerate plant growth," said a third Kenichi while methodically sticking labels onto dishes.
"Didn't we get that guy's body? So why don't we have Wood Release ourselves?" a fourth clone paused and frowned.
The original Kenichi, sitting at a desk covered in notebooks, rubbed his temples.
That question again.
Why didn't he have Wood Release?
He knew on paper: Mokuton was a combination of water and earth chakra.
But if it were really that simple, Wood Release would've been as common as Fireball.
Yet, up to this point in history, the only confirmed Wood Release users were:
First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and
The experimental "success," Yamato, created by Orochimaru.
"Enough arguing," the original Kenichi finally said. "If we can't accelerate growth directly, then we focus on seed selection and breeding. These rice varieties mature in about half a year—it won't take that long."
His clones went quiet and returned to work.
He sighed.
His clones had inherited his intelligence, curiosity… and his urge to argue with himself. Somehow, he could even start a fight with his own copies.
Plant science—especially selective breeding—was notoriously time-consuming.
From sowing to harvest, everything took time. And one or two generations of selection usually weren't enough to stabilize a trait. You had to:
Plant,
Wait,
Compare,
Select,
Plant again,
Repeat. Over and over.
That's why agriculture students treated their test fields like treasure.
Those crops weren't "just plants."
They were literally their graduation theses—weeks, months, even years of work.
And if you weren't careful, you could end up with tragic headlines like:
"Your graduation project ate my graduation project."
Because, say, your experimental pigs got into someone else's experimental field.
In this world, there was no simple "instant-grow" jutsu for crops. Maybe Wood Release could've done it… but there was no longer a First Hokage around to ask.
The First Hokage was dead.
Dead—
Kenichi froze.
Hold on.
This was the ninja world.
Did "death" really mean rest in peace here?
Obviously not.
Hashirama and Tobirama had already been dragged out of the Pure Land once by Orochimaru to go party on the battlefield. Later on, it would get even more outrageous—with four Hokage and multiple Kage all being summoned to stomp across the world.
So "eternal rest" was clearly a lie in this setting.
If Orochimaru could pull the First Hokage back for a skirmish…
Then there was no reason Kenichi couldn't pull him back for scientific contribution.
Compared to fighting, wasn't helping to improve food production much more… in line with the First's personality?
Kenichi's eyes lit up.
If I use Edo Tensei to summon the First Hokage, and instead of having him fight, I ask him to help test Wood Release on crops…
That would be…
Absolutely perfect.
All he needed was a sacrifice and a DNA sample.
Once he realized this, Kenichi bolted out of the lab in excitement—
And almost smashed straight into Orochimaru.
His reflexes saved him in the nick of time. He slipped sideways, narrowly avoiding a full-body collision.
In a romantic comedy, this would've ended in a fall, a stumble, maybe even an awkward "accidental hug" moment.
Here?
Most likely result:
He'd end up skewered.
Kenichi was pretty sure he'd just seen his teacher raise a kunai.
"Why are you charging around like that?" Orochimaru frowned, lowering his weapon.
"I had a sudden idea, so I got a little excited," Kenichi said with a sheepish grin.
Orochimaru's expression eased.
He'd experienced that feeling more than once—when inspiration suddenly hit, your brain ran faster than your feet.
"These are the materials you asked for," he said, handing over a storage scroll.
Kenichi's eyes brightened.
The thermobaric ingredients were here.
Experiment plans instantly reshuffled in his head.
With materials in hand, priorities changed.
The First Hokage could wait.
Money came first.
Kenichi immediately dispelled and re-summoned his clones, gathering them around the workbench.
"Change of plans. We're assembling the thermobaric bomb now," he announced. "Wood Release and rice can line up and wait their turn."
The clones nodded and dove into work.
Under seven pairs of identical hands, the assembly went much faster this time.
Measurements were more precise. Steps were smoother. Everyone already knew what could and couldn't explode.
After a full day of tense, careful labor, they finally finished.
A brand new thermobaric bomb stood in the middle of the room, quietly radiating pressure.
Kenichi stared at it for a long moment.
Then very, very solemnly, he sealed it into a scroll.
Absolutely no on-site testing this time.
If it blew here, it wouldn't just destroy the lab. It would take him with it.
Once the scroll was safely tucked away, Kenichi finally exhaled.
"Okay. Next stop: Land of Frost," he muttered.
He contacted Nagato through the ring to confirm the warfront location. Konoha had been urging him for days—clearly things on the Frost front were going badly for them.
Otherwise, they wouldn't be so desperate to call in "that sky demon" for another performance.
He'd also need to grab Sasori on the way.
With Magnet Release boosting the bomb's drop speed, and a new, higher-altitude balloon…
This time, the mushroom cloud over the battlefield should be even more spectacular.
And, more importantly—
The payday should finally be enough to refill his empty pockets.
Note: If you enjoyed this chapter, you can read far ahead (Chapter 131+) on patreon.com/nakai01. Don't forget a Power Stone to keep the updates coming.