Chapter 607: The Miserable Naruto and Sasuke

Chapter 607: Chapter 607: The Miserable Naruto and Sasuke

Chapter 607: The Miserable Naruto and Sasuke

Kenichi stared thoughtfully at the mountain of materials in front of him.

After an entire month, he had finally managed to gather almost everything he could find throughout the Shinobi World.

Rare metals.

Unusual elements.

Strange minerals and compounds.

Various substances with peculiar properties.

Essentially, if something could currently be discovered and collected within the Shinobi World, Kenichi had obtained a sample of it.

Originally, the collection should not have taken this long.

Unfortunately, they had no choice.

To prevent Isshiki from noticing that something unusual was happening and ruining all their preparations, the various villages had been forced to gather the materials slowly and discreetly.

That drastically reduced efficiency.

On top of that, some of the substances Kenichi requested were already extremely difficult to find.

In the end, the entire collection process had taken a full month.

"There’s a lot to analyze."

Kenichi stroked his chin.

"Shadow Clones can accelerate the process, but the accumulated exhaustion will become much worse."

He thought about it for a moment.

"If it’s only analysis, though, it should still be manageable."

His Rinnegan could continuously analyze matter, but every analysis placed a burden on his mind.

Using Shadow Clones multiplied the speed of his research, but it also multiplied the exhaustion he received when those clones disappeared and returned their memories.

The more clones he used, the greater the mental fatigue.

His brain also had to process enormous amounts of information all at once.

Fortunately, Kenichi had already developed a solution to raise his limit.

Primordial chakra.

More specifically, the Otsutsuki-like primordial chakra within his body could be used to protect his brain cells, allowing them to withstand a much larger amount of electrical activity and information processing.

It did not make him completely immune to mental exhaustion.

But it significantly raised the threshold.

Previously, Kenichi could safely endure the memories of roughly one hundred hard-working Shadow Clones returning to him at the same time.

Now...

He could handle approximately five hundred.

That was already an enormous improvement.

"But I still need to record the atomic structures of all these elemental materials."

Kenichi rubbed his forehead.

Analyzing this many substances down to the atomic level was going to be quite an experience.

Still, the sight of the enormous warehouse gave him another bold idea.

Kenichi had always felt that he had never fully developed the potential of his Mangekyo Sharingan ability.

Analysis and reconstruction were incredibly useful for scientific research.

But in direct combat, their practical value was limited.

It was not because the ability was weak.

The problem was speed.

If Kenichi wanted to completely analyze something as complicated as a person’s heart, he needed time.

And enemies were not idiots.

No opponent would simply stand still and politely allow him to stare at their body until the analysis finished.

That made fully analyzing and then deconstructing an enemy extremely difficult.

So far, Kenichi had only truly demonstrated the ability against Tsunade’s hand.

The result had been excellent.

Almost frighteningly so.

But reproducing that effect against a moving opponent was another matter entirely.

Now, however, Kenichi had gathered materials representing almost every substance currently known in the Shinobi World.

That gave him an idea.

What if he turned his analysis and reconstruction ability into something resembling a programmed database?

He could record the atomic structure of every material in the warehouse.

Then categorize and memorize them.

Afterward, whenever he observed an opponent, his dojutsu would no longer need to analyze everything from scratch.

Instead, it could prioritize matching known atomic structures already stored within his mental database.

Once a match was found...

He could directly deconstruct or reconstruct that material.

If the method worked, it could dramatically increase the speed and combat usefulness of his ocular ability.

Before now, Kenichi had never bothered attempting something this complicated.

There had been no need.

Gathering enough materials was troublesome.

And because every human body possessed countless subtle differences, creating a universal human template was extremely difficult.

But now that he finally had the necessary conditions...

There was no reason not to try.

If he succeeded, it would represent a major breakthrough.

His dojutsu could become considerably more dangerous in actual combat.

Kenichi even briefly considered another possibility.

Perhaps he could secretly approach Isshiki, observe him from hiding, and begin analyzing his body in advance.

The idea was extremely tempting.

But after considering the possibility that Isshiki might detect him, Kenichi abandoned it.

It was not worth risking the entire plan.

"Whew."

Kenichi took a deep breath and rubbed his hands together.

"Then let’s begin."

With a burst of chakra, four hundred Shadow Clones appeared throughout the warehouse.

Each clone immediately selected a group of materials and began observing, recording, and analyzing them.

With four hundred versions of himself working simultaneously, Kenichi’s research speed increased enormously.

...

While Kenichi was busy cataloging the material composition of the Shinobi World, Madara was busy tormenting Sasuke.

"Sasuke."

Madara stared at the boy with undisguised mockery.

"Is this the full extent of your hatred?"

"Your clan was massacred before your eyes, and this is all the effort you can muster?"

Sasuke’s anger surged.

Right now, he wanted nothing more than to defeat Madara and show the old man exactly who the real failure was.

Unfortunately...

He could not defeat Madara.

Not even close.

So Sasuke could only grit his teeth and continue swimming while carrying an enormous boulder.

This was Madara’s current training method.

The first time Sasuke had encountered Madara’s training philosophy, he had been completely baffled.

He still remembered their first meeting.

Madara had looked at him.

Remained silent for a moment.

Then said:

"You’re an Uchiha, yet you’re still wasting time tempering your body? How ignorant."

Sasuke had immediately felt dissatisfied.

Kenichi had personally taught him that method of physical conditioning.

And as far as Sasuke was concerned, no one in this world was stronger than Kenichi.

So naturally, Sasuke had said exactly that.

Madara had fallen silent.

That should have been the end of it.

Unfortunately...

Sasuke had apparently lost his mind.

Perhaps he had simply wanted to defend Kenichi’s reputation.

Whatever the reason, he had asked Madara another question.

"Then, Ancestor, are you stronger than Teacher Kenichi?"

Madara had smiled.

A very gentle smile.

Sasuke would never forget that smile.

Everything that followed could only be described as the end of the world.

Madara began tormenting him with increasingly brutal training.

Day after day.

Without mercy.

At one point, Sasuke had finally snapped and asked:

"Didn’t you say physical training was pointless for an Uchiha?"

That question had earned him an even harsher physical training regimen.

Originally, his conditioning had involved dragging and uprooting trees.

Now?

He was swimming while carrying an enormous boulder on his back.

At this rate, Sasuke genuinely wondered whether Madara would eventually summon a complete Susanoo and force him to swim while carrying that too.

And recently...

Madara had started looking at him in a way that made Sasuke deeply uneasy.

So Sasuke no longer dared complain openly.

Every complaint only produced retaliation.

Naturally, Madara never called it retaliation.

According to him, it was simply "training."

Training performed according to Kenichi’s instructions.

"How boring."

Madara watched Sasuke struggle through the water with visible disinterest.

His feelings toward Sasuke were complicated.

The boy resembled Izuna.

But resemblance was all it was.

Madara knew perfectly well that his younger brother was dead.

Sasuke was not Izuna.

So most of the time, Madara remained indifferent.

Truthfully, compared with training Sasuke, Madara would have preferred training Itachi.

Itachi was somewhat similar to himself.

Both were exceptionally talented elder brothers.

Both had foolish younger brothers.

Of course, Madara still believed Itachi’s talent fell short of his own.

There were very few people in the entire Shinobi World that Madara genuinely acknowledged.

Hashirama was one.

Kenichi was another.

Hagoromo as well.

And then there was Isshiki, whom Madara had never personally fought.

Isshiki’s strength was apparently so overwhelming that even Kenichi and Hagoromo had chosen to cooperate against him.

That alone made Madara intensely curious.

He wanted to see for himself just how powerful Isshiki truly was.

"At least it’s better than being used as someone else’s tool."

Sasuke muttered.

The words slipped out before he could stop them.

Sasuke often complained about Madara whenever he spoke with Kenichi.

This time, the thought simply escaped his mouth.

Madara froze.

Then he began laughing.

Loudly.

Happily.

Sasuke’s face immediately went pale.

He wished he could slap himself.

Why had he said that?

He knew Madara well enough by now.

The angrier Madara became...

The more cheerfully he laughed.

And Madara was absolutely furious.

Being manipulated by Black Zetsu was perhaps the greatest humiliation of his entire life.

He had genuinely believed Black Zetsu was the physical manifestation of his own will.

He had trusted Black Zetsu to help advance his plans.

Everything had been for the Eye of the Moon Plan.

Then he discovered the truth.

It had all been a trap.

A gigantic trap.

Madara himself had been nothing more than Black Zetsu’s pawn.

A disposable piece meant to die after fulfilling its purpose.

For someone as proud as Madara, that humiliation was unbearable.

At the time, he had wanted nothing more than to kill Black Zetsu himself.

Unfortunately, Hagoromo had taken Black Zetsu away to deal with other matters.

Madara had been forced to suppress his rage.

And now...

This brat Sasuke had dared mock him about it.

Truly...

He was courting death.

Madara took a deep breath.

If Sasuke were not the person Kenichi had specifically entrusted him to train...

And if Madara were not interested in preparing for the chance to fight someone as powerful as Isshiki...

He swore he would have killed Sasuke.

Or at the very least, taught him a lesson he would never forget.

Then again...

Nothing said he could not teach him that lesson now.

"So."

Madara looked at Sasuke with a faint smile.

"You’re feeling brave today, are you?"

Sasuke said nothing.

But internally, he already knew what was coming.

The training was about to become even more brutal.

Unfortunately for him...

His prediction was correct.

"Come, Sasuke."

Madara spoke calmly.

"Survive Tengai Shinsei."

Sasuke’s eyes widened.

A massive shadow suddenly spread across the ground.

He slowly looked upward.

High in the sky...

An enormous meteor was descending toward him.

Sasuke immediately panicked.

Was this old man serious?!

...

Not far from Madara and Sasuke’s training area, Kushina and Minato silently watched the enormous meteor falling from the sky.

Then they looked toward Naruto.

Naruto was diligently completing his own training.

Compared with what Sasuke was currently experiencing...

Naruto suddenly seemed to be living far too comfortably.

Minato and Kushina both fell into thought.

Should they ask Hashirama and Tobirama to increase the intensity?

After all, Naruto and Sasuke were similar in one important respect.

Kenichi had personally chosen both of them.

That meant both possessed tremendous potential.

Minato quietly reached over and held Kushina’s hand.

He was slightly worried that his wife might object to making Naruto’s training harsher.

"Minato."

Kushina suddenly looked at him.

"What if we make Naruto train a little harder?"

Minato blinked.

Then a surprised smile appeared on his face.

Apparently, Kushina had been thinking exactly the same thing.

That made everything much easier.

And so...

After Minato and Kushina reached an agreement, a completely bewildered Naruto suddenly discovered that his training workload had increased to a horrifying degree.

He had absolutely no idea what he had done wrong.

"This must be what parental love looks like."

Hiruzen, who had witnessed the entire process, sighed emotionally.

Asuma stood beside him and gave his father a strange look.

For perhaps the first time in his life, Asuma suddenly felt that Hiruzen had actually been a pretty good father.

At the very least...

Hiruzen had never tried to train him to death like this.

...

"Nagato, how are you adapting to your new eyes?"

Inside one of Akatsuki’s secret bases, Konan looked worriedly at her old friend.

Nagato’s eyes had changed.

They were no longer the Rinnegan.

Instead, he now possessed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

Kenichi had personally replaced his eyes.

Nagato’s original Rinnegan had been returned to Madara.

Nagato had no objections.

"But is it really fine for us to stay here all the time?"

Yahiko looked at his two friends with a smile.

Then he studied them more carefully.

"And Nagato, Konan..."

"You two have really grown."

Nagato and Konan both smiled.

Yahiko’s presence itself was something Kenichi had given back to them.

Neither of them fully understood why such an overwhelmingly powerful and mysterious person had chosen to treat them so well.

But regardless of the reason...

Seeing their dead friend alive again filled them with indescribable happiness.

"For now, yes."

Nagato shook his head.

"Akatsuki should remain as it is."

"If we suddenly start moving around too much, we could create unnecessary problems."

"So maintaining the current situation is safer."

Kenichi had also made several preparations to prevent complications.

Although personally, he doubted someone as proud as Isshiki would care very much about Nagato.

Even when Nagato possessed the Rinnegan, Isshiki probably would not have shown much interest in him unless the matter somehow involved Kaguya.

More importantly, Isshiki’s behavior during the Fourth Shinobi World War said a great deal about his personality.

He had not acted at all.

Even during a conflict that shook the entire Shinobi World, Isshiki had remained hidden.

That demonstrated just how deeply he preferred to conceal himself.

Until he was absolutely confident that he could control the situation, Isshiki would remain hidden like Voldemort, lurking somewhere out of sight instead of openly appearing.

Unfortunately for Isshiki...

His identity had already been exposed.

Now he was the unlucky one being hunted by enemies who knew he existed while he remained unaware of just how much they knew.

"How incredible..."

Yahiko looked thoughtful.

"To actually revive the dead."

Nagato glanced at his friend.

He knew Yahiko well.

His friend had always been idealistic.

And that idealism sometimes needed to be restrained.

Kenichi was not someone who could be casually persuaded by a few passionate words about peace and ideals.

If Yahiko intended to speak with him someday...

Nagato would need to make sure he understood that first.

....

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