Chapter 2: Danzo Shimura
The Sharingan, one of the most broken cheat codes in the Naruto world, was something only members of the Uchiha clan could possess.
Ordinarily, Kenichi Amamiya might have gone his entire life without ever seeing one up close. Fortunately for him, his teacher was Orochimaru. Add in the ruthless methods of Danzo Shimura, and during the chaos of the Third Shinobi World War, Kenichi still managed to get his hands on a Sharingan.
As for what the Uchiha clan thought about that?
There was no need to worry. This particular eye had been dug out of a Uchiha who had gone "missing" on the battlefield.
Of course, the Sharingan currently in Kenichi's hand only had a single tomoe. On its own, it did not hold much value as a research subject. Orochimaru had already completed his own research on it before handing it over. For Kenichi, though, it was more than enough.
"The Sharingan, the bloodline of the Uchiha clan, should be a kind of genetic inheritance from a biological point of view. In other words, a bloodline limit should be a genetic mutation that has been preserved."
Kenichi studied the eye in his hand, his gaze carrying a hint of amusement.
Whether it was bloodline limits or these special eyes, all of these inherited abilities were, in his view, differences at the genetic level.
Maybe the genes of these people had undergone some kind of mutation that separated them from ordinary humans, which then manifested as these powerful abilities. Of course, chakra itself also played a crucial role.
The world of Naruto was often called a world of eyes. Ocular powers here were incredibly powerful. Even a Tailed Beast like Kurama could do nothing in the face of a Mangekyo Sharingan.
Not to mention the even higher level Rinnegan. Even the Byakugan, which many people in Kenichi's previous life had mocked or dismissed early in the story, was actually one of Konoha's most important forces.
At the very least, a completely ordinary genin like Kenichi could never hope to obtain those eyes in his entire life.
Right now, Konoha had two major eye clans: the Hyuga clan, who possessed the Byakugan, and the Uchiha clan, who possessed the Sharingan. From Kenichi's perspective, though, it was obvious that the Uchiha were being slowly pushed to the margins by Konoha's higher ups.
The Hyuga clan, on the other hand, was very obedient. Although the Byakugan had been mocked as a "useless" eye in many of the impressions from his past life and did not look as flashy compared to some of the other dojutsu, it was in truth extremely powerful.
Kenichi wanted to study exactly how the Sharingan, and the genes of the Uchiha clan, differed from those of ordinary people. If he could figure that out, he might be able to unlock the underlying secrets of the Sharingan.
Unfortunately, the technology tree of this world had a serious problem.
Given the current level of scientific development here, it was still nearly impossible to truly analyze gene chains and DNA. Scientific advancement was never something that happened overnight. It was built step by step, on years of accumulated knowledge and experimentation.
For example, even now, Orochimaru's base did have a crude prototype of a microscope, but it was still quite different from the microscopes Kenichi remembered from his previous life.
Konoha had televisions, air conditioners, and refrigerators, yet to Kenichi, this world still felt backward. Chakra had brought tremendous convenience to ninjas, but at the same time, it had severely hindered the development of science.
"Kenichi, pack your things and come with me. We are about to begin the first stage of live experimentation."
Just as Kenichi was pondering the technological level of this world, Orochimaru's voice sounded from behind him.
He swept a glance at the Sharingan in Kenichi's hand but did not comment on it.
Orochimaru did not particularly value this single tomoe Sharingan, especially since it was something he had already dissected thoroughly in his own research. Still, he was curious to see what his disciple might be able to discover from it.
Kenichi was quite satisfied with his teacher.
Orochimaru was interesting and dangerous, but at the same time, he treated his subordinates and disciples surprisingly well. That, perhaps, was why so many people would later be willing to devote everything to him, and why someone like Kimimaro would even regret not being able to become Orochimaru's vessel.
Thinking of Kimimaro, Kenichi glanced at his teacher, wondering when Orochimaru would bring that boy back to the village. If it happened before Orochimaru's eventual defection, that would be ideal. Kenichi was very interested in the Shikotsumyaku bloodline.
"Understood, teacher."
Kenichi placed the Sharingan into a special container, carefully sealing it away to avoid any damage. He would need it intact if he wanted to analyze and study it properly later.
He had actually thought of targeting the Byakugan first, but that was far harder to obtain. The Hyuga clan's Caged Bird Seal was infamously cruel and made things even more complicated. Now that he had secured a Sharingan, Kenichi no longer needed to gamble on the Byakugan.
Following in Orochimaru's footsteps, Kenichi made his way to a forest at the outskirts of the Hidden Leaf Village. It looked quiet and deserted, but in reality there were one or two Root operatives stationed nearby.
Danzo claimed they were there to protect the safety of the laboratory.
Both Kenichi and Orochimaru, however, knew perfectly well that they were there to keep an eye on Orochimaru.
Orochimaru did not care. Those Root ninjas were strong, but compared to one of the Legendary Sannin, they were still far too weak.
Once they entered the underground testing facility, Kenichi immediately spotted Danzo Shimura, that hateful old man.
He still looked fairly normal, but age had carved its marks deeply into his features. Kenichi instinctively lowered his head.
When faced with someone you could not defeat yet, bowing your head for a time was simply a way to buy yourself the chance to grow stronger.
Kenichi had no intention of drawing Danzo's attention. That would only invite trouble. The Dark Lord lurking in Konoha's shadows was still an extremely dangerous man.
"Orochimaru, we can begin our plan. These are some orphans that Root captured in the Land of Rain after the war."
Danzo glanced briefly at Kenichi.
His focus, however, remained on Orochimaru. In his eyes, Kenichi was no more than a disposable extra.
"Excellent."
Orochimaru's pleasure was genuine. Kenichi's gaze drifted to the trembling orphans locked up nearby, and he sighed inwardly.
There was not much he could do for them. At best, he could only try to make the experiment succeed as quickly as possible.
"Let us go, Kenichi. Our experiment is about to begin. Make sure you keep proper experimental records."
The very idea of maintaining detailed experimental logs had been proposed and refined by Kenichi himself. After seeing it once, Orochimaru had taken a liking to the system.
From then on, whenever they ran experiments, Kenichi was always the one in charge of this work.
"Yes, teacher."
Kenichi's expression was calm and indifferent, mirroring Orochimaru's own composure.
Danzo, flanked by several Root members, walked alongside Orochimaru down the corridor. His eyes flickered over Kenichi one more time before dismissing him outright.
In Danzo Shimura's view, this boy was just a talentless ninja, barely worth a second look.