"Oh dear, Little Amemiya, I just realized I forgot something! Could you take Kakashi home for me?" Kenichi Amemiya watched Uzumaki Kushina's comically exaggerated performance and took a deep breath.
Why do I regret my decision more and more?
"Of course, Kushina-a, Sister," Kenichi replied helplessly, resigned to his fate.
He was about to call her "Auntie" when he sensed the murderous aura radiating from Kushina and noticed Namikaze Minato behind her shaking his head gravely.
He quickly switched to "Sister" instead.
Kenichi suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for Minato, wondering about the future Fourth Hokage's standing in his own household.
"Thank you so much~" Kushina chirped, still beaming with her signature squinting smile. She grabbed Minato and led him away, but before leaving, Minato turned back to wink at Kenichi and give him a thumbs-up.
"..." Kenichi was speechless.
Kushina and Minato's intentions were painfully obvious: they wanted Kenichi and Kakashi to bond and become friends.
Kenichi glanced at Kakashi beside him, who remained expressionless. As soon as Namikaze Minato left, Kakashi turned and walked away without even a perfunctory farewell.
Tch, kids are such a pain.
Kenichi clicked his tongue but still followed Kakashi.
After all, he'd promised Uzumaki Kushina, and for his future plans, he needed to see this through properly.
Kenichi had no particular designs on Kakashi. The boy was a natural talent, but Kenichi could find better alternatives for anything Kakashi possessed. If pressed, perhaps Kakashi's swordsmanship might be worth considering.
Hatake Kakashi's father had been immensely powerful, rumored to surpass even the Three Great Sages of Konoha. The Hatake Clan's inherited sword techniques must be formidable, but Kakashi hadn't shown any particular aptitude for them later on.
Kenichi knew better than to bite off more than he could chew. Besides, he wasn't exactly a prodigy himself.
In fact, apart from having Orochimaru as his teacher, Kenichi was just an ordinary Genin in Konoha—the kind destined to be cannon fodder.
Research Progress: 99.99%
Kenichi's mood brightened. He might be cannon fodder now, but once that progress bar hit 100%, he'd finally get the key to becoming a true powerhouse.
"Hey Kakashi," Kenichi said, breaking the silence that had hung between them. "I heard you're a Jonin now?"
Kakashi heard him, but didn't turn around, didn't stop, didn't even answer. He just kept walking at his steady pace.
Kenichi clicked his tongue. This Kakashi was nothing like the future Make-Out Paradise Kakashi. He was more like a living corpse—a soulless one.
"Do you have nightmares?" Kenichi asked with a playful smirk. Kakashi finally paused slightly, but still didn't turn around, continuing to walk in silence.
Kenichi grinned. After losing Obito and Rin, Kakashi had been through hell. There was no way he wasn't having nightmares. This was textbook PTSD—something that would have needed a therapist back in his old life. Kenichi didn't know much about therapy, but he knew all about Genjutsu.
Why would Kenichi Amemiya, Orochimaru's disciple, bother mastering Genjutsu?
Simple: self-preservation.
Orochimaru currently had no plans to use Kenichi as a vessel for reincarnation. His research was still far from complete. But to protect himself from Orochimaru's unpredictable nature, Kenichi diligently worked to master Genjutsu techniques.
To Kenichi, Genjutsu was essentially hypnosis from his past life, but far more potent. When applied skillfully, it could even serve as a legitimate form of psychological therapy.
Unfortunately, Kenichi was still just a Genin, and Kakashi possessed the Sharingan, making it difficult to use Genjutsu effectively.
So Kenichi abandoned his plan to manipulate Kakashi with Genjutsu, hoping to blackmail him later when he grew up and had a "black history" to exploit.
After walking Kakashi home, Kenichi left without exchanging more than a few words. Kakashi was as unresponsive as a block of wood, and Kenichi had no patience for talking to inanimate objects. He figured time, especially Kakashi's future Anbu duties, would eventually wash away his pain.
Back in his own home, Kenichi lay down on his bed. It wasn't much—just a small house Orochimaru had given him.
But even though it was small, it had everything he needed, even a refrigerator.
Who knew why the Ninja World had refrigerators? The science of this world had always been a mystery.
Kenichi wasn't ready to sleep yet. His progress could hit 100% at any moment, and he couldn't relax anyway. Instead, he sat in his chair, idly playing with his collection of oddities.
Orochimaru was an excellent leader. He paid Kenichi well—far better than those bosses who only offered empty promises.
Thanks to his Golden Finger, Kenichi had consciously started collecting strange artifacts. Once he finished analyzing the First Hokage's cells, he could use them to analyze other items.
"This piece of amber is rather intriguing," Kenichi mused, turning it over in his hand.
Encased within was an insect he'd never seen before. He'd even consulted the Aburame Clan, Konoha's insect experts, but none of them could identify the species.
This piqued Kenichi's interest, and he impulsively bought the amber for his collection.
But his most prized possession wasn't the insect in amber, but something else entirely.
"I wonder how long this stuff will last," Kenichi murmured, opening the refrigerator. His eyes lit up as he gazed at the rows of test tubes inside.
These were specimens Kenichi had asked his teacher to collect: Toad blood from Mount Myōboku, Manda's blood from Ryūchi Cave, and secretions from the Slug.
These samples were precious to Kenichi, but Orochimaru hadn't valued them much. He'd studied them extensively but found nothing of interest, so he readily handed them over to Kenichi.
Kenichi pretended to research them for a while before giving up, but he kept all three specimens.
He wanted to understand the power of the Sages from the Three Great Sage Lands. Unfortunately, Teacher Orochimaru couldn't acquire any bodily tissues from the Toad Sage or the Snake Sage, only from the Slug Sage.
Current research progress completed.
You have obtained Senju Hashirama's Sage Body Constitution.