Chapter 601: Jiraiya, Isshiki, and I Are Out Drinking

Chapter 601: Chapter 601: Jiraiya, Isshiki, and I Are Out Drinking

Chapter 601: Jiraiya, Isshiki, and I Are Out Drinking

"The experiment failed again?"

Kenichi stared at the Toneri clone in front of him, which was already hovering on the verge of death, and could not help sighing.

"How many Toneri clones does this make now?"

"For the experiment to fail this many times under the same conditions... what exactly is going wrong?"

"And what is happening with these gene sequences?"

"Why does inserting so many of these fragments cause genetic collapse?"

"Some of them even become impossible to remove once inserted."

"The mortality rate is far too high."

Kenichi frowned at the data.

"Could it be that these genetic sequences simply can’t function when inserted individually?"

He had already been conducting these experiments for quite some time.

Unfortunately, the results were nowhere near as good as he had hoped.

At first, everything had gone relatively smoothly.

But as the testing continued, the clones began experiencing widespread genetic collapse almost immediately after certain sequences were inserted.

"According to the current records, the collapses begin after sequence number 214."

Kenichi looked through the experimental log and rubbed his temples.

He was currently dealing with yet another Toneri clone whose genetic structure had destabilized.

The earlier experiments had been normal enough that Kenichi had eventually handed the repetitive work over to his Shadow Clones.

But not long after the Shadow Clones took over, the genetic collapse problem started appearing.

That left Kenichi completely baffled.

There was no way all of these sequences were independently lethal.

Too many different genes were causing the same catastrophic reaction.

It was highly unlikely that every single one of them simply happened to be fatal.

"Based on what you’ve described, these genes may need to exist as part of a larger combination."

Amado stood beside him, examining the data.

"They might work together to form a complete expression pathway."

"If we separate them and insert them individually, that incomplete expression could interfere with the rewriting process."

"And once that happens, reverse transcription may lose control."

Kenichi nodded slowly.

"That makes sense."

He agreed with Amado’s theory.

The problem was what came next.

If the genes only functioned properly in combinations, then the amount of experimentation required would increase dramatically.

There were already an enormous number of sequences.

Now they would also have to test different permutations and combinations among them.

Just thinking about the number of possible arrangements made Kenichi’s scalp tingle.

"Then we’ll have to take it slowly."

Kenichi sighed.

"Everything is difficult at the beginning."

There was no better solution.

Kenichi himself had started this gene-mapping project from nothing.

That meant every foundation, every procedure, and every useful piece of data had to be built on his side.

Thinking about that gave Kenichi a new appreciation for scientific research companies from his previous life.

Why were newly developed products often so expensive?

Because the research costs had to be recovered somehow.

Years of experiments.

Failed prototypes.

Equipment.

Materials.

Personnel.

Time.

The cost of scientific research could become terrifyingly high.

Ultimately, those expenses had to be distributed across whatever successful product emerged at the end.

What Kenichi was doing now was slightly different.

This research was fundamentally meant to increase combat power.

So to a certain extent, Kenichi himself had to bear the cost.

Fortunately, the entire Shinobi World was now cooperating toward the same goal.

That reduced the burden significantly.

Most of what Kenichi personally needed to spend amounted to basic materials and time.

And even those costs could be reduced by assigning repetitive production work to Shadow Clones.

Thinking about it that way made him feel slightly better.

The only thing he still could not estimate was how long the research would take.

Kenichi looked at the mountain of genetic data before him.

Then he imagined all the possible combinations they might need to test.

His scalp tingled again.

"By the way, Kenichi."

Amado looked toward him.

"How is that other project progressing?"

"Any new breakthroughs?"

Amado knew that Kenichi had assigned much of the genetic testing to Shadow Clones.

What interested him more was the time machine.

If he had not already been occupied with several new experimental projects, Amado would have happily gone over and investigated the machine himself.

Kenichi shook his head.

"The principles behind that thing are even more complicated than I expected."

Still, he had not gained nothing during the past several months.

At the very least, Kenichi had already figured out most of the time machine’s mechanical structure.

By now, he could probably build something that looked almost identical to the original.

The problem was that it would only be an empty shell.

It would look like a time machine.

It simply would not travel through time.

At present, Kenichi was stuck on two major problems.

The first was the machine’s energy source.

The second was a particularly strange component buried within its internal structure.

Kenichi had only attempted to disassemble that component once.

The result had nearly destroyed it.

Fortunately, he had reacted quickly enough to reconstruct the materials and restore the component before permanent damage occurred.

Since then, Kenichi had treated that section with extreme caution.

It was unbelievably complex.

Trying to understand it completely through nondestructive examination seemed almost impossible.

But at the same time...

How could he properly study something without taking it apart?

Eventually, Kenichi made a decision.

He would sacrifice one of the time machines.

The other, the machine he originally possessed, would remain intact.

"These projects really consume time."

Kenichi sighed.

"Another half a year has already passed, and the progress still isn’t particularly impressive."

"At this rate, I’ll have to completely dismantle one of the machines."

Amado’s eyes immediately lit up.

He stared at Kenichi with obvious excitement and rubbed his hands together.

He had wanted to dismantle that time machine for a very long time.

If Kenichi was finally willing to do it...

Amado absolutely intended to be there.

If he missed something like that, he would regret it.

"When are you taking it apart?"

A voice suddenly came from nearby.

"Can I watch?"

Toneri walked into the room.

The original clone Toneri.

Not one of the new experimental copies.

Kenichi stared at him speechlessly.

So even Toneri wanted to study the time machine now?

Or did he have some other motive?

Kenichi briefly considered refusing.

But Toneri had behaved honestly and obediently throughout the past several months.

After thinking it over, Kenichi eventually agreed to let him observe.

Naturally, precautions would still be in place.

The moment Toneri displayed any suspicious behavior, Kenichi would stop him without hesitation.

Looking at Toneri reminded Kenichi of his own Tenseigan experiment.

He reached up and touched his eyes.

They still looked like the Rinnegan.

No new visible dojutsu had appeared.

However, the intense pain associated with the Tenseigan awakening had completely disappeared.

More importantly...

Kenichi could now feel a strange energy hidden within his eyes.

It felt as though something was waiting to be released.

That left him somewhat confused.

There was no existing example in the Shinobi World he could reference.

No one else had ever been in exactly the same situation.

That placed Kenichi in an awkward position.

Even after all his observations, the research had not advanced much.

According to the memories sent back by his Shadow Clones, a peculiar energy did indeed exist within his eyes.

But that energy constantly moved around while remaining hidden.

It did not seem to damage his Rinnegan.

Yet it also produced no obvious effect.

That confused Kenichi even more.

Could the Rinnegan and Tenseigan truly not coexist?

But whenever he thought about Kaguya, he felt they should be able to.

The only problem was that Kenichi had no idea what the next step was supposed to be.

"There’s still too much work."

Kenichi stroked his chin.

"But overall, the Tenseigan can be studied slowly."

"The gene project still requires repetitive data collection."

"As for the time machine... dismantling one today might actually give us a breakthrough."

His current workload did not feel particularly unreasonable to him.

Yes, he was conducting three major research projects simultaneously.

But with enough Shadow Clones, it was manageable.

Kenichi had also grown far more accustomed to receiving large amounts of memories from his clones.

The influx no longer overwhelmed him the way it once had.

At this point, he had almost become used to it.

...

"This guy is strange."

Jiraiya idly rolled the sake cup between his fingers, deep in thought.

"He acts perfectly happy whenever he’s drinking and talking with me, but I keep feeling like there’s another reason he approached me."

For the past half year, Jiraiya had been spending a great deal of time with Jigen.

At first, he had known almost nothing about the man’s true identity.

Later, however, Jiraiya had learned the truth.

The man sitting beside him was the vessel currently being used by Isshiki Otsutsuki.

The enemy that the entire Shinobi World was preparing to fight.

A terrifying outsider.

A disaster powerful enough that the major villages had put aside their differences and united specifically because of him.

That fact alone showed just how dangerous Isshiki was.

Thinking about it gave Jiraiya a headache.

Yet over the past six months...

Jigen had behaved almost absurdly normally.

He joked.

He drank.

He spent time fooling around with Jiraiya almost every day.

There had been no obvious sign of some grand ambition.

That made Jiraiya increasingly suspicious.

Was the man in front of him really the legendary Isshiki Otsutsuki?

If he was...

Why was he acting like this?

Was he deliberately trying to lower Jiraiya’s guard?

But even that explanation felt strange.

Jiraiya was certainly famous.

He called himself the Toad Sage.

He had written internationally renowned masterpieces such as Icha Icha Paradise.

And he was undoubtedly an experienced shinobi.

But compared with the monsters currently training Naruto and Sasuke back in Konoha...

Jiraiya knew very well that he was no longer anywhere near the top.

So why would someone as powerful as Isshiki spend half a year drinking with him?

Talking about women?

Visiting bathhouses?

Watching women together?

What exactly was this guy trying to accomplish?

Jiraiya could not understand it.

At times, he seriously wondered whether something was wrong with Isshiki’s head.

If Isshiki really did have something wrong with his brain...

Well.

That would actually be excellent news.

"Jiraiya!"

The man himself walked in just as Jiraiya thought about him.

Jigen carried a bottle of sake and wore a cheerful smile.

"What are you sitting here thinking about?"

He dropped into the seat beside Jiraiya.

"More importantly, which women’s bathhouse are we visiting today?"

"I’ve been looking forward to it."

Jiraiya immediately gave him a knowing grin.

He patted Jigen on the shoulder and enthusiastically told him where they would go later.

Jigen burst out laughing.

Jiraiya laughed just as loudly.

Inside, however, his confusion only deepened.

What the hell was this man actually trying to do?

Fortunately, Jiraiya’s performance remained natural.

In fact, calling it acting might have been inaccurate.

He was not really pretending.

He was simply behaving like himself.

That was probably the best disguise possible.

"Jiraiya."

After the laughter died down, Jigen looked at him with a smile.

"We’ve been staying around here for half a year now."

"Don’t you have anywhere else you want to visit?"

Jiraiya’s expression remained perfectly normal.

Internally, however, his attention sharpened immediately.

There it was.

After dragging things out for half a year...

Isshiki was finally beginning to probe him.

Jiraiya wanted to see exactly what he was after.

If he could discover Isshiki’s real intentions, that information alone could be extremely valuable.

"What kind of place are you talking about?"

Jiraiya chuckled.

"I mostly know hot spring towns."

"If you want to travel somewhere else and experience different scenery, I can recommend plenty."

He leaned back casually.

"For example, there’s a hot spring town near Kumogakure."

"The women there are all broad shouldered and strong."

"Some of them have more muscle than plenty of male shinobi."

"Just looking at them is enough to make you laugh."

Jigen looked genuinely surprised.

Then his expression slowly became serious.

"No, my friend."

Jiraiya’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.

Jigen continued.

"I want to invite you to join my secret organization."

His tone was solemn now.

"I want to create greater benefits for the entire Shinobi World."

Jiraiya paused.

A secret organization?

Creating benefits for the Shinobi World?

He was supposed to believe that?

Jiraiya already knew the name of the organization Isshiki had founded.

Kara.

And he knew enough about its true purpose to understand that Isshiki’s idea of "benefiting" the Shinobi World was nothing like what an ordinary person would imagine.

Jiraiya nearly wanted to laugh.

What a ridiculous claim.

....

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