Chapter 304: Begin Your Performance!

"Surprise?"

Uchiha Ren knew that there was no way Orochimaru could produce anything truly earth-shattering in just three days, but he still couldn't help feeling a little expectant.

After all, this was a surprise prepared by the man who could handcraft a freaking Gundam!

"Come over here."

Orochimaru clapped his hands and turned toward a surveillance camera mounted over the training ground.

Yes, a surveillance camera!

Due to the bizarre development of this world's technological tree, although most places were still at an agrarian level of civilization, technologies such as surveillance cameras, live broadcasts, rebroadcasts, films, television, and so on had already appeared.

After greeting the surveillance camera, Orochimaru turned to Uchiha Ren and explained, "Ren, I'll introduce you to two talented people in a moment. They're extremely interested in the ideas you provided, and they deserve a great deal of credit for producing these weapons so quickly."

Uchiha Ren nodded slightly and offered a compliment.

"Anyone you, Senior Orochimaru, consider a talent must be extraordinarily capable."

Orochimaru smiled.

"I have you to thank for that, Ren. If you hadn't given me so many ideas that I couldn't handle everything on my own, I wouldn't have gone looking for talented people, and I wouldn't have discovered these two."

"Come to think of it, if my research is primarily focused on biology, then these two can absolutely be considered specialists in firearms."

Orochimaru was indeed the greatest scientist in the shinobi world. His talent allowed him to excel in practically everything.

Even so, his research still had a primary direction.

Most of Orochimaru's work was focused on exploring the mysteries of the human body and pursuing immortality.

By comparison, he wasn't nearly as passionate about weapons technology.

The mechanical Naruto and mechanical Nine-Tails from the original storyline, for example, had merely been casual creations of his.

That alone demonstrated just how monstrous Orochimaru's scientific talent was.

As Uchiha Ren and Orochimaru chatted, two figures entered the training ground.

One was a tall, thin woman, while the other was a short, stocky man. One was tall and slender, the other short and plump, making both of them quite distinctive.

"Lord Orochimaru. Lord Ren."

The two approached and respectfully greeted both Uchiha Ren and Orochimaru.

Orochimaru stepped forward.

"Ren, this is Akita Inuzuka, and this is Katasuke Tōno. They were both technicians in the Ninja Tool Development Division. They hold the rank of tokubetsu jōnin."

The tall, slender woman was Akita Inuzuka of the Inuzuka clan, while the short, plump man wearing square-framed glasses and sporting an honest-looking expression was Katasuke Tōno.

"The Ninja Tool Development Division? The village actually has a department like that?"

Uchiha Ren was somewhat surprised.

He had never heard of such a department before. He hadn't even seen either of these two attending any of the previous jōnin meetings in the village.

Akita Inuzuka and Katasuke Tōno exchanged awkward glances, clearly unsure of what to say.

Orochimaru shook his head and explained, "The Ninja Tool Development Division does exist. It was established by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju."

"But after the Second Hokage died, the division was no longer given much attention by the village. It gradually declined and disappeared among The common people."

"When I went looking for them, there were only these two people left in the entire Ninja Tool Development Division."

Orochimaru's words made Akita Inuzuka and Katasuke Tōno even more embarrassed.

When people fall into obscurity, it's easy for them to develop an inferiority complex. Neither of them was accustomed to having their lackluster careers laid bare in front of others.

Orochimaru noticed this and continued, "The two of you don't need to think too much about it. The decline of the Ninja Tool Development Division isn't your fault. It's the village leadership that lacked foresight."

"And it's certainly not your fault that you couldn't produce useful creations to convince The leadership. If the village leadership wouldn't approve a single bit of funding, how were you supposed to develop anything new?"

As a fellow researcher, Orochimaru understood the situation of Akita Inuzuka and Katasuke Tōno very well.

There was no prejudice in his attitude toward them, only genuine appreciation.

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru!"

Akita Inuzuka and Katasuke Tōno straightened their backs.

Their eyes toward Orochimaru became noticeably more fervent.

There was no denying that Orochimaru possessed a unique charisma in certain respects. Otherwise, so many children he had taken under his wing in the original storyline would never have been willing to fight and die for him.

For example, Kabuto Yakushi, who betrayed the organization he had originally served and devoted himself to pursuing Orochimaru's goals, or Kimimaro of the Kaguya clan, who willingly offered himself as Orochimaru's next vessel.

At this point, Uchiha Ren finally remembered who Akita Inuzuka and Katasuke Tōno were.

After the Fourth Shinobi World War, the existence of two overwhelmingly powerful individuals—Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha—ushered the shinobi world into a period of peace and development.

As communication between the various countries deepened, the shinobi world also entered a technological boom. All kinds of new technologies emerged, and towering skyscrapers began rising everywhere.

Katasuke Tōno would eventually become the founder and director of Konoha's Scientific Ninja Tools team, a special department within the village. He made an indelible contribution to Konoha's technological development and created numerous Scientific Ninja Tools.

Akita Inuzuka was Katasuke Tōno's assistant. She was also a scientist and one of the people in charge of the Scientific Ninja Tools team.

These two were precisely the talents Uchiha Ren desperately needed right now.

With that thought, Uchiha Ren smiled.

"Senior Orochimaru is right. The two of you don't need to belittle yourselves. The fact that your technology and ideas have been overlooked is the fault of this era, not yours."

"But opportunities always favor those who are prepared."

"I assume you've heard that my Uchiha clan intends to sponsor Senior Orochimaru in establishing the Konoha Research Institute."

"If the two of you don't mind, why not come and put your talents to use at my Konoha Research Institute?"

"I can guarantee that once you join us, no matter what ideas you have, we'll provide you with sufficient funding to pursue them."

"Gasp—"

Katasuke Tōno and Akita Inuzuka both sucked in a breath.

Their faces flushed with excitement.

When had minor figures like them ever received this kind of attention?

To them, Uchiha Ren's promise was practically a windfall from heaven—a lottery jackpot worth hundreds of millions.

Uchiha Ren, however, didn't think it was anything extraordinary.

After all, technical expertise deserved respect no matter where you came from.

"All right."

Orochimaru waved his hand.

"We'll discuss the future later. I already have plans for the two of them."

"For now, let's take a look at the surprise I've prepared for you."

Uchiha Ren shot Orochimaru a glance.

Was he worried that Ren would steal his people?

It seemed Orochimaru truly valued Katasuke Tōno and Akita Inuzuka.

Orochimaru completely ignored Uchiha Ren's look and turned toward Katasuke Tōno.

"Since this was developed according to your ideas, you should introduce your creation to Ren yourself."

"Y-Yes!"

Katasuke Tōno swallowed nervously and carefully took one of the storage scrolls Orochimaru had placed nearby.

He formed hand seals and released the storage scroll's contents.

A strange-looking gun appeared in his hands.

Its design resembled the grenade launchers Uchiha Ren remembered from his previous life.

The weapon was less than a meter long, but its barrel was unusually large, several centimeters in diameter. Calling it a cannon would hardly have been an exaggeration.

Its ammunition chamber was also unusually large, with a design and structure more reminiscent of a revolver.

"Because my personal talent as a shinobi is limited, I started thinking a long time ago about developing a ninja tool that could increase a shinobi's strength."

"For example, a ninja tool that would allow someone to use ninjutsu without chakra, use ninjutsu without forming hand seals, or use elemental ninjutsu without having to develop an elemental chakra nature."

Once Katasuke entered his presentation, he became considerably more relaxed. He stopped being so restrained and began speaking enthusiastically.

"For that purpose, I developed Chakra Capacitor Technology!"

"Chakra Capacitor Technology is essentially a special method of storing chakra."

"Using a chakra capacitor, the chakra required to activate a ninjutsu can be stored inside it. Once a ninjutsu has been loaded into a miniature sealing scroll, the technique sealed within can be released whenever needed."

"As long as someone knows how to operate the device, even someone who doesn't know how to use ninjutsu can activate the technique stored inside the scroll!"

Katasuke became more and more excited as he spoke.

His eyes seemed to see a future in which his technology would shine brilliantly.

His expression grew increasingly passionate, and his entire body seemed to radiate enthusiasm.

Uchiha Ren immediately picked up on the connection.

"What you're describing is somewhat similar to the Transcription Seal secret technique of the Uchiha clan."

"Transcription Seal?"

Katasuke froze.

"What is that?"

Uchiha Ren explained, "It's a secret technique in which a Sharingan wielder uses their Sharingan to seal a 'technique' into their own eye or the target's eye after making eye contact."

"When a predetermined 'condition' is fulfilled, the seal automatically releases, causing the 'technique' to activate and attack the target or serve another purpose."

Katasuke was stunned.

"There's actually a technique like that in this world? That's... that's... absolutely incredible!"

The Transcription Seal Uchiha Ren described was not merely similar to what Katasuke wanted to accomplish.

It was practically identical.

The feeling of discovering something so similar yet fundamentally different was incredibly fascinating to Katasuke.

"Susanoo, Izanagi, Izanami... and now Transcription Seal."

Orochimaru licked his lips, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Ren, your Uchiha clan really is a treasure trove. No one can ever know just how many secrets your clan still has hidden away."

"Who knows?"

Uchiha Ren shrugged.

He looked at Katasuke.

"Continue, Katasuke."

Katasuke nodded.

He raised the strange-looking gun in his hands.

"I've already made some preliminary progress with Chakra Capacitor Technology. However, there's still one very serious problem."

"The capacity of the chakra capacitors I can currently manufacture is limited. They can't even release the weakest D-rank ninjutsu. At most, they can release some basic Five Nature Transformations."

"But then your ideas for firearms gave me a tremendous amount of inspiration, Lord Ren."

"Since I can't increase the capacity of the chakra capacitor for the time being, I can compensate for its insufficient power in other ways."

"And your firearm designs were the perfect solution."

"I've already produced several prototypes."

"The one I'm holding is the Type-One Ninjutsu Bullet Launcher!"

Uchiha Ren immediately understood Katasuke's idea.

In simple terms...

He was enchanting bullets.

The combination of technology and ninjutsu!

Uchiha Ren became excited as well.

Orochimaru really had given him an enormous surprise.

Uchiha Ren spread his hands.

"No need to explain any further."

"Begin your performance!"

Katasuke nodded.

He turned to Akita Inuzuka.

"Akita, bring out the ammunition."

"Yes!"

Akita Inuzuka immediately opened the remaining storage scrolls one after another.

She took out dozens of specially made bullets roughly the length of a cigarette pack and about three centimeters in diameter.

She handed one of the bullets, which had the kanji for Fire engraved on its surface, to Katasuke.

Katasuke took the bullet and loaded it into the ammunition chamber.

"The Type-One Ninjutsu Bullet Launcher has a twelve-round capacity."

"The types of ninjutsu bullets can either be selected and loaded in advance or changed according to the situation on the battlefield."

"Since we're demonstrating the effects of the various ninjutsu bullets today, I didn't load them beforehand. We'll go through them one by one."

"This is the Fire Release Bullet No. 1."

As he spoke, Katasuke raised the weapon, aimed at a wooden target, and pulled the trigger.

Boom!

A dull explosion rang out.

A bullet streaked through the air trailing flames before striking the wooden target and exploding into a massive fireball.

At first glance, it appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary explosive shell.

But the flames lingered instead of immediately dissipating, clearly giving the projectile some characteristics of Fire Release ninjutsu.

Katasuke explained, "Fire Release Bullet No. 1 is currently the most powerful of all our ninjutsu bullets."

"Its destructive power is roughly equivalent to seven or eight Explosive Tags detonating simultaneously. It is powerful enough to pose a lethal threat to any shinobi."

"Of course, this is still an experimental version. There's plenty of room for improvement."

"Next is Wind Release Bullet No. 1."

Katasuke took another round from Akita Inuzuka, loaded it into the Ninjutsu Bullet Launcher, and pulled the trigger.

Another dull boom rang out.

The bullet shot forward.

When it struck the wooden target and exploded, a powerful gust of wind erupted.

Not only did it send fragments of the shattered target flying in every direction, it also dispersed the smoke and dust around it.

"Wind Release Bullet No. 1 may be weaker than Fire Release Bullet No. 1 in terms of raw power, but it surpasses it in attack range and coverage."

"It is especially suitable for dealing with fast-moving enemies or large numbers of enemies."

"Then there's Lightning Release Bullet No. 1."

"Its destructive power is inferior to Fire Release Bullet No. 1, while its attack range and coverage are inferior to Wind Release Bullet No. 1."

"But it has exceptional penetrating power, making it especially suitable for attacking individual targets with strong defenses."

"And finally, Earth Release Bullet No. 1."

"This is a support-type round. Its offensive power is somewhat lacking, but it has a certain restraining effect. It can obstruct an enemy's vision, hearing, and other senses."

"Finally, there's Water Release Bullet No. 1."

"This is also a support-type round, with its primary function being restraint and immobilization..."

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