So, Was Creating an Iron Man in the Shinobi World Really Such a Big Problem?

Orochimaru had been gone for a long time.

The Fourth Hokage's funeral began in the morning and ended at noon, but even after it was over, Kenichi Amamiya still had not seen his teacher.

"Teacher isn't really going to become the Fifth, is he?" Kenichi scratched his head. If that was really the case, it would be too ridiculous.

After all, his teacher had always wanted to become Konoha's new Hokage. It had never been an urgent obsession, but Kenichi knew that his teacher had indeed held such hopes.

But after Minato Namikaze had been chosen as the Fourth Hokage, his teacher seemed to have given up on that idea.

"No, there's another possibility." Kenichi thought of the Third's missing arm.

Although the Third had lost his Left Hand, who was his teacher? Orochimaru, a man who commanded the Shinobi World's greatest technology.

And now that the Third had lost an arm, if he wanted to become Hokage again, he needed to solve that problem.

If there was anyone in the Hidden Leaf Village who was most likely to help the Third solve it, Kenichi felt that no one but his teacher fit the bill.

"Forget it." Kenichi stopped dwelling on it and returned to the laboratory he shared with his teacher. This laboratory was a Smoke Bomb his teacher had put out.

There were no excessive experiments or anything shameful inside, so Kenichi could come and go freely, though he still had to keep a low profile.

"Kenichi, remember this: the more openly you display something, the less others will care. But if you hide it too carefully, they'll pay even more attention to it." That was what his teacher had said.

Kenichi thought it made sense. If the Third investigated and traced something here, it would at least give them something to deal with him.

"Assuming Teacher needs to help the Third solve this problem, there are probably three possible methods at present." Since nothing crossing the line could be researched in this laboratory, Kenichi had nothing much to do.

So he simply began thinking about how to solve the problem.

"First, use cloning to create an arm for the Third, then transplant it onto him." Kenichi thought this was the most suitable option.

But the problem was that his teacher did not seem especially proficient with Cloning Technology yet, so he might not choose this method.

"Second, try using the First's Cells to create an arm." Kenichi shook his head and crossed out the idea himself.

This idea was completely unworkable.

The First's Cells possessed powerful corrosive properties. Even Danzo needed the Uchiha Clan's eyes to achieve a delicate balance. The Third would not choose this.

After all, he was the Kage of an entire village. It would damage his reputation if word got out, and it would also intensify the conflict with the Uchiha Clan.

That left the first option as the most likely one: transplanting an arm through Cloning Technology.

Kenichi spun his pen around his fingers. He did have a third option.

"I remember there are metals in the Shinobi World that can conduct Chakra. If we used those metals to make a Mechanical Arm, wouldn't that solve the problem?" Kenichi thought it was a pretty good idea.

Flesh was weak; Mechanical Ascension was the way.

At the end of the day, the biggest problem with losing an arm was being unable to form Hand Seals or channel Chakra. That was extremely troublesome for a shinobi.

Metal with good conductive properties could replace that function, and given the Third's status and wealth, obtaining the finest metals should not be difficult.

More importantly, a Mechanical Arm meant they could hide a backdoor inside it. If they ever needed to become enemies with the Third, they could activate that backdoor and disable the arm—or even severely injure him.

But Kenichi had no idea which option the Third would ultimately choose.

As Kenichi slowly sketched out a design draft, he heard the base door open. When he turned around, he saw his teacher walking down.

"Kenichi, do you have any thoughts on restoring Hiruzen Sarutobi's arm to normal?" Orochimaru's expression was unpleasant, but when he saw the drawing on his disciple's desk, he became a little interested.

So he simply asked.

Kenichi understood at once. Sure enough, the Third had no intention of making Orochimaru the Fifth. Instead, he intended to solve the problem with his arm and become Hokage again.

"Teacher, I have three ideas." Kenichi hurriedly explained his thoughts to Orochimaru. Orochimaru remained calm upon hearing the first and second ideas; those were what he had considered as well.

But when Kenichi reached the third, Orochimaru showed interest.

"Using conductive metal to make a Mechanical Arm to replace a normal hand?" Orochimaru was intrigued. He had originally thought his disciple would suggest another solution.

"Yes, Teacher. An arm made this way would be quite practical." Kenichi nodded. Its Combat Power would be decent too. After all, how could flesh and blood compare to cold metal in terms of durability?

Though a taijutsu shinobi like Might Guy, who constantly tempered his body, might be an exception.

"Hmm, interesting. Since you have this idea, do you have any thoughts on how to make it?" Orochimaru intended to hear his disciple out.

Although that old bastard Hiruzen Sarutobi had already decided on a solution, Orochimaru was also very interested in something like a Mechanical Arm.

Hearing his teacher ask, Kenichi roughly explained his idea.

In general, they could try making a Mechanical Arm according to Sunagakure's methods for creating puppets, only with far greater precision. The issue of nerve transmission could also be solved through the methods used to control puppets.

Then the Mechanical Arm could rapidly form Hand Seals according to its wearer's will, conduct Chakra, and occasionally block kunai or poisoned weapons. It would be quite practical.

The only issue was that it might require a large investment. Metal capable of conducting Chakra was quite expensive, and the better the quality, the higher the price.

"A very interesting idea. Later, I'll allocate some research funds to you. You can study this in your spare time." Orochimaru was very satisfied. His disciple always provided novel ideas.

"Then, Teacher, what did the Third choose?" Kenichi was somewhat curious about that.

"He plans to transplant someone else's arm, since that method saves the most time. At the same time, he wants me to clone an arm for him as soon as possible." Orochimaru sneered.

It seemed his teacher was getting anxious too.