"Kamui, huh."
Ryujin Kenichi was studying the Sharingan intently. The eye resting in his palm bore the three tomoe of a fully matured Sharingan—but it wasn't just that. Hidden within was a Mangekyō Sharingan.
This was the eye Ryujin Kenichi had taken from Hatake Kakashi, and it had been a week since the funeral of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.
Konoha had resumed its daily rhythm with surprising speed. The memory of the Fourth faded quickly among the general public, and few knew that the hero who gave his life during the Nine-Tails' attack had left behind a son.
"But it's not the right time to implant this yet. Kamui's dimension still has a master," Kenichi murmured, flipping the eyeball between his fingers before stowing it away.
He had once considered replacing one of his own eyes with it—using Kamui as a hidden base for his experiments. But he discarded the idea.
Obito Uchiha was still alive. And he still possessed the other Mangekyō Sharingan.
Installing the eye now would be dangerous. The connection between the two Mangekyō could alert Obito—or worse, allow him to interfere.
Besides, the cost was high. Kakashi had gained strength from the eye, but it came at the price of immense chakra drain. The eye wasn't suited for someone without Uchiha blood.
Kenichi had other plans for it.
For now, he wanted to study the nature of Mangekyō Sharingan: why it deteriorated with use, what this so-called "dōjutsu power" truly was. The degeneration didn't seem like simple retinal damage—it was something deeper.
Once implanted, he planned to activate Kamui a few times to test its limits.
He also had a darker experiment in mind. He would eventually add a biometric trigger to the eye, load it into a containment shell—possibly alongside one of his thermobaric prototypes—and toss it into the Kamui dimension.
He wondered how Obito would react to that kind of "gift."
From atop a tall structure, Kenichi gazed down at the peaceful streets of Konoha. Despite the scars left by the Nine-Tails, the village had been relatively quiet since the attack. Everyone was busy with reconstruction.
Even Orochimaru-sensei had been getting along well with the Third Hokage lately. Hiruzen had even granted him certain "freedoms." Injured Root operatives were quietly sent to Orochimaru's labs for treatment—or experimentation.
Sensei would occasionally show up at Kenichi's lab with fresh tobacco and food, giving the illusion of a warm, almost familial mentor-student relationship.
Kenichi had even begun to wonder whether Orochimaru truly intended to stay in Konoha.
That illusion shattered when Jiraiya stormed into the underground lab.
"Orochimaru! What the hell are you doing?!"
Kenichi's breath caught. That tone… Jiraiya had seen too much.
He hadn't expected Jiraiya to find the Root facility—or witness the horror within.
Moments before, Orochimaru had carried the body of a test subject off the table. The man, an ordinary villager infused with the First Hokage's cells, was dying. His flesh had twisted and bloated, Hashirama's chakra mutating his body into something monstrous.
Jiraiya burst in. He hadn't faced resistance—likely because Danzō had chosen not to interfere. Why try to hide the operation now? Best to let Orochimaru take the fall alone and distance himself.
"Oh, Jiraiya? Can't you see? I'm in the middle of an experiment." Orochimaru spoke with a cold smile, dropping the body unceremoniously at Jiraiya's feet.
The sight ignited Jiraiya's fury.
He didn't waste time. The ceiling of the lab exploded as he summoned Gamabunta, the massive toad chief, shaking the ground.
Kenichi rubbed the back of his head, watching the chaos unfold.
"Jiraiya-sama's not holding back. Looks like he wants to make this public—to force the Third Hokage's hand."
He was right. With so much destruction, the entire village would take notice. Hiruzen couldn't cover this up, no matter how deep his loyalty to Orochimaru ran.
Facing his old friend, Orochimaru grew serious. He hissed, and from his mouth slithered a thin white snake. It opened its jaws and revealed a sword—the Kusanagi Blade, which he drew and leveled at Jiraiya.
Kenichi knew better than to stay. Orochimaru could slip away even in the worst situations, and soon, both ANBU and Root would descend on the lab.
If he stayed, he'd only complicate things.
Without hesitation, Kenichi turned and vanished into the tunnels.
But before he could walk out, Ryujin Kenichi suddenly stopped—
A masked figure appeared silently in front of him, like a shadow materializing from the darkness.
A member of Root.
Kenichi had seen this operative before. This particular ninja was responsible for overseeing security at the experimental base—though it was no secret that he was also there to monitor. That was Danzō Shimura's style, after all.
Kenichi narrowed his eyes.
"Does Danzō-sama have any instructions?" he asked cautiously. He knew better than to underestimate this man.
His chakra was clearly Jōnin level.
The Root ninja didn't waste words.
"Die."
In the same breath, he vanished—Body Flicker Technique. A flash of steel arced behind Kenichi.
But the blade met only a puff of smoke.
Shadow Clone Jutsu.
"Seriously?" Kenichi's voice called from deeper in the woods, light and mocking. "Aren't villains supposed to monologue a little? Where's the dramatic speech?"
The Root ninja didn't respond. He simply turned, inhaled—and unleashed a stream of flames.
Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu — Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique.
The fire roared through the forest, searing the ground. But—
Chidori.
The piercing screech of a thousand birds echoed like a siren.
Kenichi's chakra surged—speed and force concentrated in his hand as he reappeared behind the Root ninja.
But again—only a clone.
Kenichi clicked his tongue. "Man, fighting Root agents is such a pain…"
He dropped into a low stance. "Guess I'll test that move."
Years of sparring with Might Guy had refined his taijutsu. He wasn't at Lee's level, but he was fast, and for now, it was enough.
The clash began—close-quarters, fast-paced. Blades clashed with fists, sparks flying with every impact.
In a blink, Kenichi produced a chakra-infused needle, a technique of his own creation. Composed of concentrated yang chakra, it shimmered faintly with life energy.
He waited for the perfect moment—
As the Root ninja slashed, Kenichi caught the blade with his palm, chakra armor flaring to dull the cut, and in the same motion, drove the needle into the ninja's side—right near the lungs.
A sharp gasp.
Kenichi stepped back, breathing hard.
"Why study cancer first?" he muttered under his breath. "Simple. Immortality."
He looked up, eyes shadowed.
"And why immortality? Naturally… it's for—"
His voice trailed off into static—nonsense, symbols, something broken and unreadable.
@ # ￥! @ @ #!
Something deep in the forest stirred.