Chapter 635: Isshiki Otsutsuki’s Scheme

Chapter 635: Chapter 635: Isshiki Otsutsuki’s Scheme

Chapter 635: Isshiki Otsutsuki’s Scheme

"Kenichi, there’s something I want to ask you."

Amado looked at him from across the laboratory.

"You already know that ordinary shinobi will be almost useless against the enemies we may face in the future. So why are you putting so much effort into increasing food production?"

Amado genuinely did not understand.

Against beings like Kaguya and Isshiki, increasing the number of ordinary shinobi would not change much.

No matter how many weak shinobi gathered together, they would still struggle to influence a battle at that level.

So why was Kenichi investing so much effort into improving crop production?

Kenichi smiled.

The reasoning was not particularly complicated.

Amado simply had not looked at the problem from that direction yet.

Kenichi calmly took a sip of tea and ran a finger along the edge of the cup.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to explain.

He was still waiting for the genetic data extracted from Kaguya and Isshiki to be fully separated and analyzed.

Once that work was complete, Kenichi intended to transplant additional Otsutsuki genetic traits into himself and gain access to even more of their abilities.

That was his current goal.

Unfortunately, separating the useful genetic information from Kaguya and Isshiki remained troublesome.

At least for now.

Kenichi had not yet found a reliable way to screen every relevant gene from their massive genetic datasets.

Strictly speaking, Isshiki’s genes belonged to the Otsutsuki Main Family.

But Kenichi still had not completely understood the differences between Isshiki’s genetics and Kaguya’s.

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Still, the genetic differences between those two were extremely interesting.

"Mr. Amado, you’re right that ordinary shinobi are nearly useless against beings like Kaguya and Isshiki."

Kenichi placed his cup down.

"But if the total number of shinobi increases, then the probability of exceptional shinobi appearing among them also increases."

Amado listened quietly.

"And if there are more shinobi, there will also be more people capable of contributing to scientific research."

Kenichi continued calmly.

"Scientific progress is extremely difficult if the entire burden falls on just the two of us."

"But if thousands or even millions of people begin researching different fields, progress will accelerate dramatically."

"That alone could solve many problems."

Amado fell into thought.

Kenichi understood why Amado had viewed the issue differently.

Most shinobi really were ordinary.

But Kenichi had another advantage.

He had already mastered the foundations of genetic transplantation.

In the future, he could potentially turn some ordinary people into beings much closer to Kaguya or Isshiki.

For Kenichi, that was no longer an impossible idea.

Amado eventually nodded.

What Kenichi said did make sense.

After all, Amado himself had once been an ordinary person.

If not for his concern for his daughter, he might never have devoted himself to scientific research.

His desperation had pushed him into experimentation.

That path had eventually led him to Kenichi and turned him into the researcher he was today.

Kenichi smiled and finished his tea.

Then he checked the latest progress regarding Toneri.

The problem involving that unusual gene had mostly been resolved.

The gene itself was extremely strange, but its usefulness had already become clear.

Kenichi was now using it for agricultural experiments.

So far, the results were promising.

Rice improvement had accelerated considerably.

With that handled, Kenichi returned to his laboratory.

He planned to continue studying the Otsutsuki genetic samples while also observing what Isshiki intended to do.

Isshiki had appeared indifferent for quite some time.

He had made no obvious moves.

More strangely, he had shown no intention of contacting Kenichi either.

It almost seemed as though he no longer cared whether Kenichi visited him.

Kenichi did not believe that for a second.

Isshiki was troublesome.

Whatever he was planning, Kenichi was not in a hurry to find out.

The initiative still belonged to him.

He could afford to wait.

"Isshiki, Isshiki..."

Kenichi smiled faintly.

"I really want to see what you’re planning."

Still, he did not rush to visit him.

Kenichi simply sat down, opened the reports in front of him, and continued his research.

Time passed.

Day after day.

Month after month.

Half a year went by.

Eventually, Kenichi once again returned to the land where the battle against Isshiki had taken place.

The area had once been completely devastated.

Nothing had lived there.

But over the past six months, time had quietly changed the landscape.

Life had begun returning.

Thin blades of grass pushed through hardened soil.

They swayed gently in the breeze, like small green messengers announcing the return of spring.

Trees had also started spreading across the land.

Young branches broke through the soil and stretched upward.

As more trees grew, their crowns gradually joined together, forming patches of shade.

Kenichi watched quietly.

A thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.

It seemed the antimatter explosion really had blown away a large portion of the surrounding nuclear contamination.

Otherwise, the area would never have recovered this quickly.

Inside the new forest, insects moved constantly through the vegetation.

Their wings produced faint buzzing sounds.

Birds hopped between branches, their calls rising and falling throughout the woods.

Deeper inside stood the ruins of the old base.

Moss covered sections of damaged stone walls.

Countless marks of destruction remained carved into their surfaces.

There were no people here anymore.

Yet traces of the civilization that had once occupied the place could still be seen among the scattered debris.

Plants grew beneath broken pillars.

New life had taken root among the ruins, almost as if the land itself were saying farewell to the past.

But the edge of the forest was completely different.

There, the ground remained dead.

No grass.

No insects.

No sign of life whatsoever.

The soil was blackened and cracked.

Wind passed through the fissures with a hollow sound.

That barren section stood in sharp contrast to the recovering forest nearby.

Kenichi immediately understood why.

Radiation.

The surviving contamination in that area was still too concentrated.

Normally, nuclear radiation did not automatically turn an entire region into a lifeless wasteland forever.

Kenichi remembered Chernobyl from his previous life.

Even after that nuclear disaster, plants and animals had eventually returned to the area.

Radiation certainly caused damage.

But unless the concentration reached an extreme level, ecosystems could still survive.

The dead zone before Kenichi was clearly different.

The concentration here was much higher.

He stood near the boundary and carefully sensed the area.

A faint sense of danger appeared in his mind.

It was not overwhelming.

It felt more like someone lightly pressing the end of a chopstick against his forehead.

Not enough to cause pain.

But enough to make him notice.

Kenichi stared at the dead circle in front of him.

An idea appeared.

If radiation at this concentration could make him sense danger...

What about a dirty bomb?

If he deliberately created a weapon designed to leave behind far more radioactive material, would beings like Kaguya and Isshiki also experience a stronger sense of danger?

The possibility was interesting.

But after thinking about it, Kenichi quickly abandoned the idea.

Dirty bombs had limited practical value.

In terms of direct destructive power, they were inferior to conventional nuclear weapons.

Besides, Kenichi did not know enough about that field to make it worth pursuing.

It was better to focus on the research he actually understood.

Kenichi glanced at his system.

The progress displayed there was still at 56%.

It had not moved at all.

That confused him.

For the past half year, the number had remained completely unchanged.

Kenichi was beginning to wonder whether something had gone wrong.

"Forget it."

He shook his head.

"I should check on Isshiki first."

Kenichi walked toward the ruins.

But the moment he entered...

He froze.

Isshiki was awake.

More accurately, something involving Isshiki had changed.

The laboratory looked completely different from the last time Kenichi had visited.

The underground space was deep and dim.

Heavy doors sealed the laboratory from the outside world.

Oil lamps burned along the walls, their weak flames flickering like distant stars.

The air smelled of wood and lamp oil.

The entire place carried an old, almost historical atmosphere.

Much of the laboratory had been rebuilt using wood.

Exposed beams and pillars formed a simple structure.

Age marks covered their surfaces, yet every piece had been carefully cleaned.

It gave the impression that whoever lived here valued this isolated little world.

The furniture was equally simple.

A wooden table.

Several chairs.

A bed in the corner covered with a clean straw mat.

Everything fit naturally into the laboratory without interfering with its purpose.

Yellowed books lined the shelves.

They looked like witnesses to countless years of lonely study.

Despite the simplicity of the surroundings, everything was arranged neatly.

Each object had its proper place.

Bottles and containers stood in orderly rows across the worktables.

Some contained reagents.

Others held products from previous experiments.

Faint chemical smells occasionally drifted through the air.

A microscope rested quietly nearby, ready for the next investigation into the microscopic world.

The living area felt slightly warmer.

Fabric and simple tapestries softened the otherwise cold laboratory.

Several old paintings and maps hung from the walls.

They recorded ancient understandings and interpretations of the world.

There were very few personal belongings.

Yet the ones that existed reflected the owner’s habits and preferences.

The entire place gave off an impression of isolation.

Someone had created a world entirely for research.

A place where nothing outside mattered.

Only knowledge.

Only truth.

Even without sunlight, the laboratory somehow felt peaceful.

Then a voice came from inside.

"Kenichi, you’re here?"

Isshiki looked at him with a smile.

Kenichi stopped.

His expression immediately darkened.

Isshiki had come back to life?

But after looking more carefully, Kenichi quickly realized that was not quite right.

This was not the Isshiki he had fought before.

Nor had Isshiki truly resurrected.

He had apparently used some kind of technique to change his current appearance.

Kenichi clicked his tongue.

For the past half year, Isshiki had made no moves.

He had shown no intention of leaving.

That silence was precisely why Kenichi had come to investigate.

But he had never expected Isshiki to transform the entire laboratory into something like this.

Kenichi genuinely could not understand what the man was doing.

"Looks like you’re living pretty comfortably."

Kenichi looked at him.

"Weren’t you supposed to be dying?"

Isshiki truly was different from Kaguya.

Kaguya could not do something like this.

Kenichi also had no idea what kind of technique Isshiki had used to reach his current state.

Isshiki had never mentioned anything similar before.

Kenichi scratched his head.

Still, he did not waste too much time thinking about the technique itself.

Instead, his attention remained fixed on Isshiki.

For a moment, Kenichi seriously considered killing him immediately.

Isshiki was troublesome.

Too troublesome.

He possessed too many secrets.

And now he had become even more mysterious.

Kenichi had always suspected that Isshiki was planning something else.

The problem was that he still did not know what.

That uncertainty was the only reason Kenichi had not acted yet.

But as he stared at Isshiki now, his eyes gradually narrowed.

Sooner or later...

He would need to find an opportunity to eliminate him completely.

As long as Isshiki continued existing, he remained a massive hidden threat.

And if Kenichi allowed the situation to continue developing, dealing with him later might become much more difficult.

Kenichi had no intention of letting that happen.

.....

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