Early the next morning, someone hadn't even finished relaxing yet when dragged back to Konoha by a science-obsessed madman.
"Snake Uncle, work can wait anytime. You must learn how to balance work and pleasure, otherwise you'll never truly enjoy life!" Shen protested bitterly as he was pulled into the underground lab.
Orochimaru remained his usual self. Yesterday, this guy had promised to act for the Hokage Tower performance. Today meant it was time to help tackle the next research project.
The tightly closed door of the biology lab only heard Shen's last desperate words: "Overworking constantly can kill a person, Uncle Snake. You can't treat a child like this!"
However, when he saw two small vials of blue liquid inside glass bottles before him, his eyes immediately lit up. He grabbed the two vials and started examining them carefully.
Using his eye's built-in magnification ability, Shen noticed the particles within the liquid weren't very uniform: "Snake Uncle, did you test this on white lab mice? This stuff feels kinda rough."
"Already did. Most experiments failed," Orochimaru shook his head, though he didn't appear the least bit disappointed. "The current equipment's precision just isn't good enough. Only by developing next-generation instruments can we conduct better experiments."
Shen understood now. No wonder he'd been dragged here at the crack of dawn. He wasn't being summoned for manual labor—this was about brains.
These two vials contained a serum he'd conceptualized based on an old mentor from his previous life. It combined chakra with certain cellular tissues to create an optimized enhancement serum.
Orochimaru had brought the first version of it to life in just one year—an achievement light-years ahead of the technology in the current Naruto world.
Once injected into a target's body, the serum would immediately fuse with both the individual's cells and chakra.
Essentially, it functioned like adding "plugins" to grant additional abilities that the original cells lacked.
The chakra component was mainly to facilitate better fusion, meaning it couldn't produce powerful special abilities like Kekkei Genkai.
Rather, it would gradually integrate with the entire body's cells as they divided naturally.
In the long run, even the fastest case would take at least seven years after one dose. Since no actual testing had been done, it was unknown whether taking two vials would accelerate the process.
Therefore, biology was a very dangerous science. Without extensive experimentation, it was impossible to predict the potential side effects.
However, because the synthesis equipment couldn't keep up with this concept, the serum's internal chakra and cellular structures were far too inconsistent, leading to extremely unstable test results with the white lab mice.
Thus, Orochimaru's only solution was to draft his "human computer" to upgrade the current equipment.
Poor Shen was doomed to start his research work all over again.
He wouldn't even have time to pay attention to the opening ceremony of the Uchiha Kendo Academy, Kishige leading people to the Land of Fire for business operations, or Konoha's exclusive adult-themed amusement park.
Adding to that, the Third Hokage had given an absolute order: complete development of mobile communication devices—telephones—within the remaining three years.
Man, at this rate, give it another year and I'll be a freaking time management guru!
"Huh? Can't I just use Shadow Clones? But even with the original, there are only three bodies maximum, and we can't share thoughts either."
Suddenly realizing something, Shen smacked his forehead. After all, his brain had an overpowered ability!
Camera vision, memory storage, processing power – these were all abilities he had already unlocked. So why not try using a mobile phone's RF antenna to connect the mind of his original body with those of his clones?
"Snake Uncle, why don't you focus on other research for now? I need a moment to clear my head," Shen made up an excuse and left the biology lab.
Orochimaru, who remained behind, watched him leave expressionlessly.
In the mechanical research lab adjacent to the biology lab,
Shen formed a Shadow Clone and immediately started testing his theory.
First, he used chakra to encode a piece of information, encrypting it before transmitting it into the clone.
The whole process was somewhat like chatting using old-world instant messaging apps – packaging and encrypting information into radio waves, which were transmitted through the phone's RF antenna into the cellular base station.
Then, bouncing through countless base stations across the globe, the signal finally reached the software server.
After another set of complex relays through numerous base stations, the receiving end successfully picked up this radio wave, where the software decoded it back into readable data.
However, Shen didn't actually need to relay through real base stations. He was only doing a preliminary test, let alone needing to travel far distances.
In just half a second, the clone successfully received and decrypted the message: "I got it!"
Shen immediately became excited, sending another message while asking out loud, "You got it?"
The Shadow Clone also grew excited, replying by sending its own message: "You know what I got!"
Shen: "I know you understand! I know what you've gotten!"
Clone: "I also know that you know exactly what I understood!"
"I know."
This brief exchange sufficiently proved that encoding chakra and transmitting it to the clones could indeed enable communication between the original body and the clones.
Shen and his Shadow Clone shared a knowing look before stepping out of the mechanical research lab, each heading their separate ways.
"You get it?"
"You know I..."
After about half an hour, Shen finally reached a conclusion.
This method of communicating via chakra between the original body and Shadow Clones did have certain limitations.
Firstly, distance – under about 100 meters, the encrypted chakra messages would gradually dissipate during transmission.
Secondly, obstacles – any physical barriers would greatly reduce the effective range.
Lastly, energy consumption – sending over two hundred messages within half an hour consumed nearly half of his chakra reserves, leaving only a small amount remaining.
This "Kakashi card" was a measurement unit named after Kakashi, representing the standard amount of chakra one typically possessed under normal conditions.
"Although the cost-performance ratio isn't ideal, the base stations needed for telephone communication could be used to accomplish that."
Shen, who could finally loaf around on the job, believed that once he overcame these three limitations, he'd regain his "freedom."
"Hehehehaha!" Grinning devilishly at the thought, he immediately decided to celebrate tonight.
Orochimaru from the next room heard the laughter and shuddered involuntarily.
Although he didn't know what madness the other person was up to this time, he was one hundred ten percent certain that the guy wasn't up to anything good.
"Could it be the EDM Festival? But hadn't Third Hokage asked the Uzumaki clan to set up a large-scale Barrier within the village?" Orochimaru thought his mentor, the Third Hokage, was reliable and continued with his work.
But could a Barrier really stop a walking computer like Shen? No way! Not in this lifetime!
So what if Konoha had the Uzumaki clan's Barrier? Shen still had close ties with their clan leader anyway!
The Uchiha clan had paid a fortune to secure a sizable plot of land along the "Second Ring Road" (inner-city zone), located northeast of Konoha's core district.
True to form, the Uzumaki returned the favor by offering the Uchiha first dibs on all the best things, and many of their clan members also worked in the Commercial Street.
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