"The art of dual wielding… the essence of it…"
The moment Hanabi learned Rokudou Gorin: Kurikara Tenshou, she realized she'd hit the jackpot.
True to Shiki Ryougi's note, the skill couldn't be immediately understood or unleashed at full power—but it came bundled with a complete system of dual-blade methodology.
Naturally, it wasn't on the level of Jingliu's tutelage. But the swordsmanship of Niten Ichi-ryū still held enormous reference value for Hanabi.
Settling into her stance, a spectral figure began to materialize behind her.
It didn't linger long, though. Hanabi quickly discovered this thing devoured Chakra.
"Looks like I'll be able to pilot a Gundam of my own now."
Piloting a "Gundam" in the first studio, performing as one in the second.
A double bloom, if you will.
Naruto had the Kurama Gundam, Sasuke had the Susanoo Gundam, and now she had the Acala Gundam.
Very nice.
"Ara?" The Popularity Points Shop had refreshed too.
After clicking through, Hanabi discovered it now stocked some unique technologies. They had no star rating, but they could clearly come in handy.
[Knights of Sidonia Biotechnology: Biological technology from the seed ship Sidonia, designed for humanity's deep-space voyagers.]
[Price: 10,000 Popularity Points]
Plenty of places and people went by "Sidonia," but when you said "seed ship," there was only one answer: the manga Knights of Sidonia.
In that series, humanity had modified themselves to survive the void of space—photosynthesis included.
What stuck with Hanabi most, though, was the existence of a third gender in that world.
These individuals would shift their biological sex to match their partner.
"Bought."
Perfect timing—she could use this for her thesis.
And as an Ultimate Coordinator… self-determined gender wasn't out of the question either.
"I should've built a better rapport with Ulen Hibiki when I had the chance."
Hanabi scrolled down.
[Fyu-Neru Manufacturing Technology: Remotely operated autonomous insect-type robot. Contains internal storage for items. Capable of simple mechanical tasks.]
[Price: 2,000 credits]
This was the little robot that had always accompanied Inori Yuzuriha.
Its name was obscure enough that most people just called it "the rice cooker."
The Gundam world had Haro robots, but since this one only cost 2,000 credits, Hanabi didn't hesitate. "Bought!"
"I already know what the stage outfit should be~"
Hanabi had made up her mind about the Custom Stage Outfit.
"Now for the final piece of the setup."
Rewards claimed. Next up: back to class at Mendel University.
After purchasing the reference materials, Hanabi split off a Shadow Clone to study them.
Then she shifted into Mana Ouma's appearance and stepped through Mendel University's gates.
This year, she was a "senior."
No aptitude tests this year—just the thesis.
After graduation, she could continue with postgraduate studies.
"Thesis proposal first."
Before class even started, Hanabi was already writing her title:
On Directions for Human Genetic Adjustment and Reproductive Strategies for Interstellar Voyages
"Good morning, Mana-san."
Via spotted Mana and came over to say hello.
Ulen Hibiki gave Mana a nod as well.
Senior year coursework was light—everyone was fairly relaxed, busy with their own papers.
Mana Ouma, though, apparently hadn't missed a single biology class in four years.
"Interstellar voyages? Genetic adjustment? Reproductive strategies?"
"Just brainstorming a direction," Hanabi said.
"I figured you'd be writing about building robots out of cells," Ulen said, a little surprised.
"That's a research direction, not a thesis topic. This is just one angle in my exploration of the Ultimate Coordinator."
Mostly, though, it was bait.
Ulen was the fish.
"Ultimate Coordinator…"
The term snagged his attention.
"By the way, Mana—where are you headed after graduation?" Via asked.
"I'll continue my research, probably," Hanabi said.
"So the Mendel labs, then?" Via pressed.
"Who knows?"
Hanabi smiled lightly.
She was only here to study. Class over, she was gone.
The Naruto world's tech level was limited, but it had Chakra and all manner of extraordinary techniques. This world, meanwhile, had science well beyond anything the shinobi world could dream of. In a way, the two were surprisingly complementary.
"Oh—here, this is for you."
Hanabi handed Ulen a test tube.
"What is this?"
Inside was a solution—with clearly something suspended in it.
"That Organic Machine I mentioned before. Consider this a prototype."
To put it another way: Hashirama's Cells.
Most things from the Naruto world lost their properties in other dimensions.
But some were exceptions.
Hashirama's Cells were one of them. Even stripped of Chakra, these cells retained their vitality.
Hanabi hadn't possessed any Hashirama's Cells of her own before.
But with Kabuto Yakushi on her side, they were easy enough to obtain.
You couldn't perform Edo Tensei on Hashirama and Tobirama without some of their biological tissue in the first place.
Whether anyone else had stockpiles was debatable, but Kabuto—the guy who'd summoned an entire army via Edo Tensei during the Fourth Shinobi World War—not having some on hand? That'd be the real surprise.
"A carbon-based machine…? You actually made one?!" Ulen was stunned.
"No—just one of the sources of inspiration," Hanabi said. "I plan to build from scratch. These are ultimately still human cells. They don't meet my requirements."
The main issue was Lacia's BLACK MONOLITH. A human would find it extremely difficult to control.
In fact, after her research, Hanabi had found that the Lacia card was fundamentally incompatible with humans.
Even an artificial human built from Hashirama's Cells would still be a "biological organism" at the end of the day.
If she was going to build an artificial body, it needed to be more mechanical than that.
"I see." Ulen looked puzzled.
What exactly was Mana Ouma's deal?
In a flash, he recalled the time three years ago when Mana had first spoken with them.
Back then, she'd used the phrase "you humans."
Connecting that to Evidence 01—the bizarre "whale" fossil discovered near Jupiter's orbit—the existence of extraterrestrial life in this world was a foregone conclusion.
—Could it be that Mana Ouma wasn't human?
No—what kind of absurd thought was that? Utter delusion.
But…
Maybe the answer was right here in this test tube.
If he could analyze it, perhaps he'd find something…
And seeing the contemplative look on Ulen Hibiki's face, Hanabi allowed herself a smile.
Step one of the plan: success.