Chapter 47: Redefining the Will of Fire
The two of them finished their meal, and while it ended peacefully, Takahashi was still thinking about the girl on his way back. Who was she? Why didn't he remember a character like this?
When he got home, he brought a bowl of ramen for Orochimaru.
He was halfway through eating when Takahashi suddenly slammed the table, startling Orochimaru so much he almost choked.
"What are you yelling about?!" Orochimaru coughed. "You didn't buy the materials we needed all day, and now you're screaming here?"
Takahashi hurriedly recounted what had happened that day. Orochimaru wasn't interested in these romantic entanglements; he was only interested in his research.
But finally, Takahashi remembered who Yakumo was, and why she wanted to paint him.
This girl was a notoriously "buggy" character in the early lore of the Naruto world. She was a descendant of the Kurama clan, but her physical condition was very weak, making it difficult for her to become a proper ninja.
However, she possessed a very powerful Kekkei Genkai, an ability that was almost broken. It allowed her to turn illusions into reality. Specifically, Yakumo could bring the things in her paintings to life. Her ability completely outclassed someone like Sai.
Sai could only make his ink drawings manifest temporarily before they dissolved back into ink. But Kurama Yakumo was different. She could even draw abstract concepts like lightning and fire, and make them appear in real, tangible form.
The problem was, right now, this little girl was a walking time bomb. As a child, her mental state was very unstable, and she was prone to losing control of her emotions. She had no real ability to control her power and could easily form a destructive secondary personality. That personality could, in turn, form a twisted monster.
While this monster wasn't a physical entity in the usual sense, it wasn't a normal living being either. It was something abstract. Unless you killed Kurama Yakumo herself, the monster was almost impossible to defeat.
The most exaggerated part was that she could even create a strange, isolated space and pull people into it. Because she was so young, she couldn't always distinguish between illusion and reality. It was only her physical weakness that limited the scale of her power.
If a powerful ambition were to exploit her, the results could be catastrophic.
Thinking of this, Takahashi couldn't help but shudder. She had painted his portrait earlier. That meant if he made her angry, she could use her ability to tear up the painting, and he would be torn apart along with it.
His neck suddenly felt cold. Orochimaru saw his strange expression but, while curious, didn't ask any questions.
After eating, the two returned to their work on the new weapons. Orochimaru held the replica of Iron Man's right-hand weapon with excitement.
"This weapon is so exquisitely designed, it's incredibly difficult for us to replicate," Orochimaru mused. "I truly wonder how the original creator's mind worked. At our current level, perfectly imitating it is basically unrealistic. But creating a separate, functional product based on its principles is still possible."
He then brought out a semi-finished laser gun. It was called that because it didn't have a traditional muzzle at the front. Instead, it had a special crystal that could gather and emit energy.
At the rear was a metal body that could store energy. This metal had excellent chakra conductivity and could even slightly amplify it. The metal would then channel energy to the focusing crystal at the front, which would emit a ray capable of causing damage.
As for what this crystal was, Takahashi couldn't quite name it. It looked similar to quartz but wasn't particularly eye-catching. In the ninja world, it was usually used for decorations or chandeliers, so it was also very cheap.
This was their first test with the semi-finished product. The main goal was to see if it could penetrate flesh. They placed a large piece of pork belly a few meters away and fired. An orange beam shot out and pierced through the pork belly without any resistance. It even went on to bore a hole into the wall behind it. The area around the wound in the pork was already charred.
Seeing this level of power, Takahashi smiled with satisfaction. Causing this kind of injury on the battlefield, especially if it hit internal organs, wouldn't even give the enemy a chance for rescue. He was also confident in some of the key design features; even if the enemy got their hands on one, it would be impossible for them to reverse-engineer it within a few years.
By that time, even if they cracked this model, he and Orochimaru would have already developed newer, stronger weapons. They could let their enemies copy the obsolete products all they wanted.
Takahashi was quite happy with the results of this first test. But he noticed Orochimaru seemed lost in thought, as if he wasn't fully satisfied.
"What's the matter? Is there a problem?"
Orochimaru suddenly spoke. "If this thing is fired continuously, it will definitely consume a huge amount of chakra. Can we change it to a burst-fire mode instead?"
Takahashi almost shouted, Good idea! That's basically turning it into an automatic rifle! It could fire in bursts or be held down for sustained fire. Then he asked in a low voice, "Are you thinking of adding a scope to it, so ninja can aim at longer distances?"
Orochimaru's eyes suddenly lit up. "So you think so too? I was just considering that ninja have varying levels of eyesight. With a scope, everyone could maximize the weapon's effectiveness."
It had only been a few days, and Orochimaru was already having ideas like this. Takahashi felt that Orochimaru's talent for scientific research and innovation was indeed exceptional. One had to remember that this was an era dominated by cold weapons like swords and kunai. For Orochimaru to already be considering things like rate of fire and accuracy was a massive leap in thinking.
Once they had the idea, the two got busy again. Konoha already sold binoculars, so scopes weren't a rare concept.
Orochimaru began working on modifying the laser gun for burst fire, ensuring it wouldn't affect accuracy or the power of a sustained shot.
A few days later, under Takahashi's guidance, they attached a stock and a scope to the laser gun.
It felt quite comfortable to hold, though it looked a bit miniature in Takahashi's larger hands. For Orochimaru, however, it was just right.
But because this was the full version, its power was much greater than the prototype. They could no longer test it safely in the basement.
So, the two of them had no choice but to go to the forest in the back hills to conduct their experiment. They took aim at a thick tree trunk that would take two people to wrap their arms around and fired a shot.
The beam went straight through the tree trunk. Not only that, it left a hole three fingers wide, surrounded by scorched, brown marks. The smell of burnt wood filled the air.
The two looked at each other and smiled. This level of power was a clear success. A single shot was comparable to a B-rank ninjutsu.
Takahashi laughed, holding the gun. "Starting today, we will redefine the Will of Fire!!"
(End of this chapter)