Research on Cancer Cells

"Sensei, aren't you planning to transplant this Byakugan?" Kenichi Amamiya asked curiously, looking at his teacher.

Although the Byakugan seemed somewhat useless in later years, the Hyuga Clan had been able to stand alongside the Uchiha Clan as Konoha's two great ninja clans for a reason. They naturally had their own unique strengths.

This pair of Byakugan could have been traded for an enormous fortune in any other hidden village.

Even now, across the entire ninja world, only Ao of Kirigakure had obtained a single Byakugan. Other villages had coveted the Byakugan for so long yet never managed to get one, which showed just how tightly Konoha protected them.

Of course, the Caged Bird Seal, that damned curse mark, was also why the Byakugan was so rarely passed on.

"It's too conspicuous, and there's something wrong with this person's eyes." Orochimaru shook his head. The Byakugan was certainly useful, but it was far too eye-catching. He was currently planning to compete for the position of Fourth Hokage; transplanting them now would be idiotic.

What was more, those eyes contained strange proliferating cells. Even if he transplanted them, he might not be able to use the Byakugan properly. This test subject's vision had been steadily deteriorating lately.

Kenichi Amamiya nodded in understanding. It was more or less what he had expected; that was why Orochimaru would not transplant the Byakugan.

However, the way Kenichi Amamiya looked at his teacher became strange. He had not expected his teacher to still dream of becoming the Fourth Hokage. Why did he suddenly feel that his teacher was a little naive?

But putting himself in Orochimaru's shoes, Kenichi Amamiya felt there was nothing wrong with him thinking that way.

After all, in terms of fame, he was one of the Sannin whose name shook the ninja world. In terms of military achievements, Orochimaru had commanded so many battles that his merits were already outstanding, and he also had Danzo's support.

If it were him, Kenichi Amamiya would have thought the position was his too. Besides, the other popular candidate in Konoha was Minato Namikaze, known as the Yellow Flash, who did indeed seem somewhat inferior to Orochimaru.

How could he lose with such an overwhelming advantage?

"That Insect Amber of yours—I told you to bring it along. Did you bring it?" Orochimaru suddenly asked, instantly snapping Kenichi Amamiya awake. He hurriedly nodded and took out the Insect Amber.

Orochimaru took it and compared it against a book, then shook his head and handed the Insect Amber back to Kenichi Amamiya.

Kenichi Amamiya caught sight of the book's title. It was called Miscellaneous Records of the Sage Era, a very odd name that did not look remotely serious.

"I initially thought the Bug in your amber had been passed down from the era of the Sage of Six Paths mentioned in the legends, but after comparing them, I don't think they're the same kind of insect." Orochimaru casually handed the book to Kenichi Amamiya.

Kenichi Amamiya took it and glanced through it, where he found a passage recorded within.

In summary, it said that there had once been a type of insect that destroyed several villages. Strangely, these insects burrowed into people's bodies and controlled them, causing them to become "like crazed demons."

There was no further account after that. It only said that a sage discovered what had happened and killed everyone infected by the insects.

There were illustrations as well, but they indeed did not look like the Bug inside the Insect Amber.

"If bugs like that really existed, wouldn't that be absurd?" Kenichi Amamiya smacked his lips. Weren't they just parasites? Parasites that could control humans.

I get it. Resident Evil 4 got its inspiration from this place, didn't it?

"Not necessarily. Legends from the era of the Sage of Six Paths always include all sorts of strange religions and miraculous weapons." Orochimaru remained skeptical of such accounts.

Thinking it over, Kenichi Amamiya felt that made sense. There had once been the God Tree, as well as aliens like the Otsutsuki Clan. Parasites capable of controlling humans would not be all that strange.

"If bugs like that really existed, then implanting one into everyone would bring peace to the ninja world, wouldn't it?" Kenichi Amamiya joked. Nagato absolutely could not be allowed to learn of those bugs.

Then again, even if he did learn, it probably would not matter. These events had happened a very, very long time ago. Leaving aside whether they were true, merely finding those bugs would be a problem.

"Peace is not so easily achieved." Orochimaru licked his face. Some of his actions were still somewhat creepy at times, but overall, he remained relatively normal.

Probably because he had not yet suffered the blow of failing to become the Fourth Hokage. At the same time, Kenichi Amamiya wondered whether Orochimaru had restrained himself somewhat because he believed he could become the Fourth Hokage.

"Kenichi, stay at this Test Base for the next few days. I'll come pick you up in a few days." Orochimaru stood up, his gaze carrying a chill.

Kenichi Amamiya obediently nodded. At a time like this, he absolutely could not ask what his teacher was going to do. Orochimaru was terrifying when he got angry.

"Sensei, then that test subject..." Kenichi Amamiya could not help asking. Such excellent material would be far too wasteful if he could not use it.

"Just don't kill him." Orochimaru answered crisply, then turned and left.

Kenichi Amamiya was very familiar with his teacher's way of doing things. It had happened before: Orochimaru would take him somewhere, leave him in a laboratory, and then depart.

Kenichi Amamiya had practically become a human tool.

Still, he was quite excited now. With Orochimaru gone, he could thoroughly study that imprisoned Hyuga Illegitimate Child.

"Let's first see what happens if I wrap cancer cells in Yang Release Chakra." Kenichi Amamiya rubbed his hands together, then walked into the laboratory with a cheerful grin.

After a round of agonized wails, Kenichi Amamiya carried the growths he had scraped off and began his research.

Today, after infusing a minute amount of Yang Release Chakra into Cell One, Cell One began proliferating, but afterward it started dying off on a large scale. Cell One's ability to survive outside the body is extremely worrying; this may be related to contamination.

In the afternoon, I scraped the last remaining growths from the target. This time, I infused an amount of Yang Release Chakra equivalent to one Great Fireball Technique. Large-scale proliferation still occurred, but the rate of apoptosis also became faster.

So where exactly is the problem? Current possibilities include: cells separated from the body cannot adapt to the outside environment; changes in temperature and humidity; and attacks from other external bacteria and viruses.

On the second day after Orochimaru-sensei left, there were no longer any growths on the target's eyeballs. Live testing can begin.