Return to the Village

"Let's go. It's time to return to the village." After checking and confirming that this illegitimate child of the Hyuga Clan had indeed not died, Orochimaru was relieved and put him back into the tank.

Kenichi Amamiya obediently nodded, then glanced somewhat reluctantly at the test subject. It was an exceptionally rare and valuable specimen. Perhaps he could find a chance to ask his teacher for it in the future.

But it did not matter much that Kenichi Amamiya was leaving now. After all, he already had his own experimental idea: use nicotine to selectively stimulate the target's lungs, thereby causing Lung Cancer.

Unfortunately, it had not succeeded yet. He still needed a great deal of experimental data and could only hope that Teacher Orochimaru would bring back more test subjects.

Along the way, Orochimaru taught Kenichi Amamiya all kinds of ninjutsu. However, since Kenichi Amamiya's Chakra affinities were lightning and fire, they mainly focused on Lightning Release Ninjutsu and Fire Release Ninjutsu.

"Teacher, do you know Kumogakure's Lightning Release Secret Technique? I heard they can use Lightning Release to temper their bodies." Kenichi Amamiya finished his ninjutsu practice. The Chakra in his body was nearly depleted.

He needed to rest for a while.

"Those muscleheads from Kumogakure? Of course I know them. Those people are extremely formidable in close combat." Orochimaru looked at his disciple with satisfaction.

Previously, when Orochimaru discovered that his disciple's strength was progressing slowly, he had honestly been somewhat disappointed. After all, in the ninja world, a ninja's strength was ultimately the most important thing.

If Orochimaru himself had not been strong enough, Danzo would not have spoken to him so politely, nor could they have formed their current Cooperation. Instead, Danzo might have ridden roughshod over him.

In Orochimaru's eyes, Kenichi Amamiya was a nearly perfect disciple. He possessed unique attainments in science as well. His only problem was that he was not strong enough, merely a Genin.

That disappointed Orochimaru somewhat. He knew very well that without sufficient strength, one could only become another person's dependent, controlled for life, just like those ninjas in Root.

But now, Kenichi Amamiya's strength had begun to improve, which greatly pleased Orochimaru.

Kenichi Amamiya was somewhat envious. Kumogakure's Nintaijutsu was extremely powerful. If he could learn it, it would count as another trump card to save his life.

Unfortunately, Orochimaru did not know exactly what Kumogakure's Nintaijutsu was, so he could not teach it to him.

When the master and disciple returned to Konoha, the biggest news on the streets was that Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi was preparing to step down, and the election for the Fourth Hokage was about to begin.

The transition between the old and new leaders of the Hidden Leaf Village was naturally a major event. For a time, the entire village was discussing This Matter. Orochimaru also instructed Kenichi Amamiya to stay obediently at home during this period.

There was no need to go to the laboratory for now—not until the Fourth Hokage had been elected. Kenichi Amamiya had no objections to this.

"Looks like Teacher has some plans of his own." Kenichi Amamiya shrugged, but he knew the outcome. The Fourth Hokage would not be his teacher, Orochimaru, but Minato Namikaze.

And once that result came out, his teacher would begin preparing to defect from the village. He would also come to hate Hiruzen Sarutobi and plan to carry out the Konoha Crush Plan in the future.

Although he could not go to the laboratory for now, Kenichi Amamiya intended to take the opportunity to set up a laboratory of his own, at least getting the basic framework in place. At the same time, he could look for Kakashi.

He could also use Kakashi to get in touch with Kushina Uzumaki and obtain some of her hair.

So Kenichi Amamiya cheerfully went to look for Minato Namikaze. It was already noon, so Kakashi certainly would not be staying home alone. Going to Minato Namikaze's house to find him would also let him get in touch with Kushina Uzumaki.

"Huh? Isn't that little Amamiya?" Minato Namikaze's house was not difficult to find. After all, he was currently Konoha's biggest star. And as soon as Kenichi Amamiya arrived nearby, he ran into his target this time—Kushina Uzumaki.

Kushina Uzumaki was actually quite pretty, though her temper was somewhat explosive. Kenichi Amamiya even suspected that Sakura had been modeled after Kushina Uzumaki's character.

"Hello, Older Sister Kushina. I came to find Kakashi." In front of Kushina Uzumaki, Kenichi Amamiya maintained the appearance of an ordinary child, putting on a sweet smile and looking adorably foolish.

"Oh, you're looking for Kakashi? Kakashi went to the training ground with Minato. You can go take a look over there." Kushina Uzumaki smiled at Kenichi Amamiya, then reached out and pinched his cheek.

It could not be helped. Kenichi Amamiya was quite good-looking, and at the moment, he still had that cute baby-fat appearance.

Kenichi Amamiya was somewhat helpless about it, but children really were like that. It would be better once he got older.

"Thank you, Older Sister Kushina." Only then did Kenichi Amamiya escape Kushina's clutches. But he had not come away empty-handed. Just now, he had noticed that one of Kushina Uzumaki's hairs seemed slightly off.

Sure enough, it fell out shortly afterward, and Kenichi Amamiya quietly picked it up.

Now that he had obtained the sample, all he needed to do was analyze how the Gene Chain in this hair differed from that of ordinary people, isolate that unique Gene Chain, and the task would be complete.

Although he had acquired the sample ahead of time, Kenichi Amamiya still took a stroll around the training ground to avoid arousing any unnecessary suspicion. He did not find Kakashi, but he did see Might Guy.

"Yo, Kenichi! Did you come back after finishing your mission?" Might Guy was as passionate as ever. Even though Konoha was somewhat hot now, he was still training until he was drenched in sweat.

When Kenichi Amamiya had arrived, he saw Might Guy doing one-handed push-ups, which made him sigh inwardly.

Setting everything else aside, Might Guy's hard work truly deserved his final moment of glory. A treasured sword sharpened for so many years, all for that one breathtaking instant—perhaps that was the reward for effort?

"Yeah, I just went out on a mission with Teacher. Might Guy, how about a thrilling contest of youth?" Kenichi Amamiya asked with a smile.

"Oh, oh, oh! How could a real man refuse a friend's request?! Then let's frog-jump around the training ground for twelve laps!" Might Guy instantly became excited. Kenichi Amamiya almost wanted to laugh. Might Guy's happiness was truly simple.