Railgun

"Money, money, money! Why does everything cost money?!" Gu Qi cried out from the bottom of his heart.

As he browsed the System Mall, Gu Qi came across all sorts of things that made his mouth water.

For example, he could directly upgrade his lab into a super-lab, fully equipped and powered by permanent electricity.

He could also renovate and upgrade a specific area, using only part of the space.

The price of a lab like that was pretty eye-watering, ranging from ten million to a hundred million Ryo.

To Gu Qi, that was an astronomical sum.

Although he now had a steady, long-term share of the profits from Secret Recipe Dried Meat, figuring out how to use the money without anyone noticing was a real headache.

Besides, Secret Recipe Dried Meat had only been on the market for a few months, and Gu Qi had earned just over five hundred thousand Ryo in royalties so far.

Even the most basic lab set in the System Mall cost at least a million Ryo.

"Looks like I can only get what I need in the real world." Gu Qi quietly closed the mall. It had plenty of good stuff, but he couldn't afford any of it right now.

There was a problem with buying lab equipment in the real world, though. Ever since Orochimaru's human experiments had been discovered, Konoha had kept a very tight rein on laboratory equipment.

Apart from institutions specifically run by Konoha, any other group or individual wishing to purchase equipment had to explain its intended use and register it.

But Gu Qi didn't want anyone to know what he was planning. And given his age, there was little chance they'd let him buy the equipment.

"Should I ask Kakashi to handle it? This is so frustrating!" Gu Qi clutched his head, looking troubled.

"Were you thinking about me again?" Kakashi, who had appeared out of nowhere, once again showed up by Gu Qi's window.

"Kakashi, I swear I'm leaving an Exploding Tag on the window next time." Gu Qi glared at him.

Kakashi smiled and ruffled Gu Qi's hair. "Exploding Tags are dangerous. Kids shouldn't play with things like that!"

"Hmph!"

"So, what do you need me to do this time?" Kakashi asked curiously.

Gu Qi hesitated for a while, then finally said, "I want you to buy some lab equipment for me. I want to research something."

Kakashi's expression turned serious. "Didn't we talk about this before? You're not allowed to research that until you're strong enough."

Gu Qi shrugged. "Research takes time. If I wait until I'm strong enough to start, won't it be too late?"

Kakashi thought for a moment. "You have a point. But you have to promise me that even if you succeed, you won't bring it out into the open for now. Of course, there's nothing wrong with using it in private."

Gu Qi looked at Kakashi in surprise. "You agree?"

Kakashi sighed. "Even if I didn't, you'd find some way to get your hands on the equipment. I'd rather keep an eye on you than let you mess around on your own."

"Kakashi, you're the best." Gu Qi grinned.

"Tch!"

Gu Qi chuckled. "I'll give you the list tomorrow. Then you can help me get the equipment!"

"Got it."

"It's getting late. Come on, let's go out!" Gu Qi glanced at the sky, then tugged Kakashi toward the door.

"Where to? Don't tell me we're going for barbecue again," Kakashi asked warily.

Gu Qi rolled his eyes. "You're so stingy. Saye and the others are still with the Inuzuka Clan. It's about time I brought them home."

"That's true. Let's go."

Kakashi nodded and followed Gu Qi out.

"Saye, Hachi, Ras, did you miss me?"

Not long afterward, the two arrived at the Inuzuka Clan compound before sunset.

Hana Inuzuka smiled. "Congratulations on getting out of the hospital, little Gu Qi. These three little ones have been down in the dumps ever since you left!"

"Big Sis Hana, thanks for taking care of them," Gu Qi said gratefully.

Hana Inuzuka patted Gu Qi's head. "It was no trouble at all, Gu Qi. You don't have to thank me."

"Mm-hmm!"

"Saye, what's wrong?" After patting Ras and Hachi on the head, Gu Qi noticed that Saye looked pitiful and seemed afraid to come near him.

"This little one feels guilty. Saye thinks that if it had rushed in to protect you, you wouldn't have been hurt," said Black Maru, who was lying nearby and had been listening.

Hearing that, Gu Qi picked Saye up and rubbed his cheek against the little one. "I'm the one who should feel guilty. I was too weak to protect you back then. From now on, I'll protect you and make sure you don't get hurt."

"Woof, woof!"

"The little ones say they'll train hard from now on and won't hold you back," Black Maru translated.

"Thank you!" Gu Qi wrapped his arms around all three Ninja Dogs.

"Little Gu Qi is going to be a very dependable partner one day. These three little ones are so lucky to have you," Hana Inuzuka said with a gentle smile.

After saying goodbye to Hana Inuzuka and Black Maru, Gu Qi put on his backpack and left with the three Ninja Dogs.

"Kakashi, I'm going to train. You can go do your own thing!" Gu Qi said suddenly after they left the Inuzuka Clan compound.

Kakashi stopped walking. "So suddenly? Don't you want to rest for a few more days?"

"No." Gu Qi shook his head. "Training is like rowing upstream: if you don't move forward, you fall behind. I've rested long enough. It's time to train properly."

Seeing Gu Qi's expression, Kakashi didn't argue. "All right. Just be careful."

"Don't worry."

"Get home early. Don't train too late."

"Got it!"

Watching Gu Qi hurry off, Kakashi gazed after him for a long while before turning and walking down the street.

When Gu Qi reached the forest, which he hadn't visited in quite some time, he sent the three little ones off to train on their own.

Today, Gu Qi planned to start training to turn the Railgun into a ninjutsu.

Compared to the complicated air cannon, Gu Qi thought the Railgun would be easier to pull off.

Besides, he had experience from researching the Electromagnetic Shield, so he was confident that he'd get the hang of the Railgun more easily.

The Railgun technology provided by the system came in two forms: the electromagnetic rail type and the electromagnetic coil type.

The most famous example of the former was the railgun mounted on the US Navy destroyer in Transformers 2.

As for the latter, famous users included Mikoto Misaka and Yu Xiaobai.

Compared to the latter, the former was actually easier to pull off.

All he had to do was run electricity through both arms and hold a metal projectile, such as a Kunai, between them to launch it.

But that would leave Gu Qi's hands completely occupied, making it impossible for him to defend himself for a while.

The coilgun, on the other hand, could be used with just one hand.

But Gu Qi would have to generate rings of electricity starting from his shoulder, then use them to launch the metal projectile in his hand.

This method put Gu Qi's chakra control to the test.

The time between each coil had to be extremely short, and the current had to be consistent, or else the metal projectile wouldn't launch properly.

Given how the system operated, Gu Qi guessed that he'd have to make both launching methods work to complete the task.

Facing a large tree, Gu Qi stretched out both arms and began releasing Lightning Release Chakra from his shoulders.

He needed to send the Lightning Release Chakra out through his shoulders, then rapidly channel it down his arms to his wrists.

Only then would the metal projectile between his arms have enough acceleration to launch.

Sparks of lightning flickered along Gu Qi's arms, racing toward his wrists.

Once he'd gotten used to the rhythm and amount of chakra, Gu Qi stopped feeding in chakra.

"Let's give it a try!" Gu Qi took out a one-yuan coin, tossed it into the air, and quickly stretched out both arms.

When the coin reached the space between his arms, Gu Qi swiftly poured a large amount of Lightning Release Chakra into the gap between them.

As if pushed by a pair of invisible hands, the coin shot forward.

With a sharp crack, a burst of Kakkō appeared in the middle of a tree some distance away.

When Gu Qi walked up to the tree, he saw that a coin had sunk deep into its trunk.

The wood around the coin had also been chipped away by the extreme heat generated by its high-speed friction with the air.

Although he'd succeeded on the first try, Gu Qi wasn't very happy.

The speed and power of the shot had both disappointed him.

"Looks like I'll have to practice some more," Gu Qi muttered to himself.