"Why join Akatsuki? To pursue the beauty of art, of course!" Nagato startled awake in the dead of night, rubbing his tired temples. He hadn't had a nightmare in ages.
Yet tonight, he'd had another strange dream. In it, Scorpion, the man Konan had recruited, had joined Kenichi's group, turning Akatsuki into utter chaos.
"Hmph... If those two can't even handle this mission properly, I'll have to find a replacement... No, they shouldn't fail," Nagato muttered, shaking his head.
If Konoha's S-rank and A-rank Missing-nin couldn't even manage to collect funds, then Konoha had no right to claim the title of the strongest among the five great Ninja Villages.
Still, the thought of Kenichi and Orochimaru left Nagato with mixed feelings. Now that Scorpion had joined Akatsuki, they'd need to hold a briefing soon. He hoped those two wouldn't cause any trouble.
Especially Kenichi.
Meanwhile, the very Kenichi Nagato was worrying about stood in an empty field in the Land of Fire, scribbling notes in his experimental log.
"The explosive power of Number Three is slightly improved compared to the previous ones, but still not up to expectations," Kenichi said, shaking his head as he surveyed the shattered rocks before him. "But that firework was quite pretty."
After mixing a batch of thermobaric explosive in his lab, he had brought out eight experimental samples. To ensure accurate data collection, he had used Ninjutsu to create several small earthen shelters.
While Experiments One and Two had detonated successfully, their effects had been underwhelming. Experiment Three, however, had produced a deep purple burst of flames.
The varying colors of fireworks stemmed from the different elements added during their production, which altered the flame's hue.
Kenichi wondered if he might discover new methods for crafting fireworks in the future. Perhaps he could even open a fireworks factory someday?
"Forget it. Time is short, and the mission is pressing. Let's speed things up," Kenichi muttered, shaking his head again before proceeding to test the remaining five experimental samples one by one.
Kenichi wasn't worried about being discovered. The Land of Fire was vast, with plenty of valleys and forests. He had deliberately chosen a remote, uninhabited location for his experiments.
If someone managed to evade his observation, they would undoubtedly be highly skilled. Of course, there was also the possibility that Zetsu was involved. Kenichi remembered that Zetsu possessed a unique detection method, capable of concealing himself even from Kage-class shinobi.
However, Kenichi wasn't particularly concerned about this. He was just an ordinary ninja, hardly a threatening figure.
After testing all eight experimental subjects, Kenichi compiled his data. In terms of pure explosive power, Subject No. 7 performed best. The Earth Release-constructed house was completely obliterated, leaving a large crater in the ground—and this was with a relatively small amount of thermobaric explosive.
Subject No. 5, however, had a unique characteristic: the smoke produced by its explosion was toxic. Kenichi didn't pay much attention to this, as toxins were commonplace in the Ninja World.
Kenichi defined thermobaric bombs as weapons designed for battlefield use and the destruction of enemy structures, capable of efficiently killing large numbers of insufficiently powerful personnel.
Their primary purpose was to maximize destructive force, harnessing the kinetic energy of the explosion and their ability to deplete oxygen from the air. Toxins were considered unsuitable for thermobaric bombs.
In his previous life, thermobaric bombs had been incredibly powerful. However, in the Ninja World, where ninjas defied conventional logic, Kenichi wasn't entirely sure how effective these weapons would be against Jonin or higher-ranked ninjas.
But for Genin and ordinary people, thermobaric bombs were far more troublesome than even Tailed Beast Balls. There was no escape—even hiding underground meant certain death.
Besides, Tailed Beast Balls rarely hit their targets successfully. The sheer size of a Tailed Beast made its every move highly conspicuous.
"If Nagato had this, he wouldn't have needed the Almighty Push," Kenichi mused, studying the experimental records in his hand with a satisfied smile. "He could have simply had Deidara drop the bomb from high altitude."
"No, against an opponent like a Ninja Village, we need to test whether the thermobaric bomb can break through their barriers," Kenichi muttered, scratching his head.
Ninja Villages typically have defensive barriers. While Konoha's barriers often seemed like a joke, they were undeniably an essential part of the village's defenses.
Therefore, if the thermobaric bomb was to be practically deployed on the battlefield, its effectiveness against barriers needed to be tested.
One thing was certain: the larger the bomb's yield, the greater its destructive power.
"I really want to try this out! If we could infuse Chakra into it, the power would increase even more, right?" Kenichi rubbed his hands together excitedly. After erasing all traces of his earlier experiments with Ninjutsu, he quickly left.
As for researching how to fuse thermobaric explosives with Chakra, Kenichi already had a preliminary idea. Of course, conducting experiments would require him to sneak out later.
If he blew up another lab, his Teacher would undoubtedly fly into a rage.
When Kenichi returned to the Experimental Base, he felt a surge of nervousness. He couldn't help but glance around the lab. Only after confirming his Teacher wasn't present did he finally relax.
"Why do I suddenly feel like I've done something wrong and I'm afraid my parents will find out?" Kenichi muttered, letting out a sigh of relief as he surveyed the empty Experimental Base.
Since the Teacher wasn't here, he might as well focus on theoretical problems for now.
Kenichi actually enjoyed this solitary life. Scientific experiments were often incredibly tedious, with breakthroughs sometimes requiring years or even decades of research by entire teams.
Fortunately, his Golden Finger provided assistance. Without it, manually crafting a thermobaric bomb might have taken him until the Fourth Great Ninja War began.
"The fusion of Chakra and thermobaric explosives can probably be divided into two approaches," Kenichi mused, jotting down his thoughts.
"Perhaps we could seal the Chakra separately from the explosive, then mix them after the fuse is lit to create a violent reaction. That sounds promising." Kenichi chewed on his pen, oblivious to the figure that had appeared behind him.
This morning, he'd felt a bit dizzy, like he was about to catch a cold. After taking some medicine, he'd told his father to wake him later. But when he woke up, his father had thoughtfully covered him with a blanket and taken off his shoes.
He'd slept soundly.