"Oh? So you want to research Impure World Reincarnation now?"
Orochimaru took a sip of tea, resting his cheek on one hand as he looked at his disciple with a playful glint in his eyes.
"Yes, sensei. I think Impure World Reincarnation has a lot of potential in actual combat," Kenichi replied honestly.
He really did want to dig into Edo Tensei. Not just for fun, but because he wanted to pry more value out of Hashirama's Sage Body—value that suited him.
Ever since obtaining the First Hokage's Sage Physique, his strength had improved by leaps and bounds.
But for some reason… he still hadn't awakened Wood Release.
So Kenichi decided to attack the problem from the other direction: if the body was already there, then he needed the technique that best matched it—senjutsu.
If he could master Sage Mode on top of Hashirama's body, his growth rate would become terrifying.
"For now, I don't recommend you using Impure World Reincarnation too recklessly," Orochimaru said, shaking his head. "The jutsu is still in the middle of being refined. If you insist on experimenting, start with some low-level ninja. Don't jump straight to legends."
Kenichi understood what he meant immediately.
He knew his teacher well enough to read between the lines.
Hashirama was not some random corpse you could yoink from the Pure Land without consequences. One slip, one trace, and someone in Konoha would notice.
And once suspicion started, it was only a matter of time before it reached Orochimaru.
"I get it, sensei," Kenichi said with a nod.
Orochimaru changed the subject.
"Speaking of which… how is that personal project of yours coming along?"
He'd read Kenichi's experiment reports before. That "original jutsu" of his was… intriguing. Morbid, but intriguing.
"It's going pretty well. With a few more experiments, I should be close to a breakthrough," Kenichi answered, unable to hide his smile.
His time was split in two lately.
On one hand, there was the standard work: assisting Orochimaru with the Hashirama cell research and the Sharingan experiments. Those projects existed largely because of Root's funding and "donation" of test subjects.
On the other hand was what Kenichi truly cared about.
His own jutsu.
The cancer-inducing technique he'd been slowly refining.
At his current stage, he could already induce terminal-stage lung cancer in a genin by spraying nicotine on their skin and then driving his yang-nature chakra into their lungs.
Not exactly glamorous, but extremely lethal.
The shortcomings were obvious, though:
It took time.
It needed nicotine exposure.
And the process still wasn't clean or fast enough.
"I noticed your technique severely weakens the target's combat power," Orochimaru mused. "But can you be sure it will work on chunin or jonin?"
He had his doubts, though not enough to shut the project down. Kenichi's research had already produced results—and results were what kept funding and test subjects flowing.
Kenichi spread his hands helplessly.
"I don't know yet. I haven't had any chunin or jonin-level… 'materials'… to work with."
Chunin were tempting, sure. But turning a living chunin into a test subject in Konoha was a pain in the ass.
This wasn't wartime anymore. People didn't just vanish without consequences.
He couldn't exactly stroll into the village, bag a chunin, and drag them into a basement.
"At least not without blowing my cover wide open…"
"Human physiology is fundamentally similar," Orochimaru said after a pause. "In theory, your method should work."
He was actually quite optimistic about it.
On the surface, Kenichi's technique just induced a nasty disease. But the cancer cells themselves were… special. In some ways, they resembled Hashirama's cells: abnormal growth, extreme vitality, aggressive expansion.
If he could fully understand that mechanism…
Maybe he could even reverse-engineer a path to immortality.
That said, Orochimaru was far from putting all his hopes on cancer. His other major project—Living Corpse Reincarnation—was progressing steadily.
The problem was that every transfer seemed to damage the soul in some way. Rest or time might repair it… or might not. Without long-term data, he couldn't be sure.
If cancer cells weren't so close to Hashirama's in behavior, he might have considered turning them into the base material for a custom-made body.
"Sensei, you know as well as I do," Kenichi said seriously, "you can't advance science based purely on theory and conjecture. At some point, you have to test it."
Orochimaru shot him a sideways look.
"I can provide you with a chunin-level subject," he said at last. "But try not to waste him too fast."
His tone suggested Kenichi had been burning through "consumables" a bit too enthusiastically.
Kenichi's eyes lit up instantly.
"Thank you, sensei!"
A chunin test subject.
Sure, Kenichi was now strong enough to fight a chunin head-on, but "defeating" and "turning into research material" were two very different tasks. Kidnapping someone from within Konoha's walls was way more trouble than it was worth.
He had thought about it before.
He'd also wisely given up.
"…You want me to sit in on the experiment, too?" Orochimaru asked, noticing the way Kenichi kept glancing at him.
He rarely supervised Kenichi's personal projects in person.
"Yes, sensei. If you have the time," Kenichi said, his expression just a bit weird.
It wasn't that he minded being watched. He was just unused to it. Normally, Orochimaru tossed him money, equipment, and bodies, then disappeared to focus on his own work.
"Today is… relatively free," Orochimaru replied lightly.
That was as close to "I'm curious" as he would ever get.
Kenichi had no reason to object. He followed Orochimaru to pick up the "material," then led the chunin into his own remodeled lab.
"Sensei, please disinfect first," Kenichi said politely.
Cancer cells were tyrants inside the body, but outside, in open air, they were fragile. A proper sterile environment was crucial.
Kenichi had burned a lot of time and resources turning his corner of the lab into something that actually qualified as a clean room.
Orochimaru casually submitted to the disinfecting process and stepped in after him.
Once the subject was securely restrained, Kenichi began.
First step: nicotine exposure.
Second step: directing refined yang-nature chakra into the lungs.
Third step: wait for the abnormal proliferation to spark, then accelerate it.
Under Kenichi's precise control, the chunin's lungs soon began to show the first signs of malignant change—early-stage cancer, forming exactly where he wanted.
Kenichi nodded, satisfied.
He'd spent most of his recent effort not on induction itself, but on control. On making sure the yang chakra only turbo-charged cancer cells and not everything else.
Now, at last, that part was working.
He could create the disease.
He could aim it.
And soon, he'd be able to weaponize it.
From the observation area, Orochimaru watched in silence, golden snake-like eyes reflecting the image of the suffering chunin and the boy calmly recording data beside him.
Interesting… he thought.
Cancer, immortality, forbidden reincarnation, parasitic worms, strange metals that drank chakra—
Piece by piece, his disciple was assembling a completely different kind of power.
Not one built solely on jutsu or bloodline.
But on science.