Naruto: Orochimaru's Disciple

Chapter 597: Chapter 597: Kaguya’s Cloned Embryo

Chapter 597: Kaguya’s Cloned Embryo

”Would you call this cloning experiment a success or a failure?”

Amado looked at the strange humanoid creature in front of them and could not help asking.

Kenichi studied it for a moment, then stroked his chin.

That was difficult to say.

Personally, he felt there was a high probability that the experiment had failed.

After all, Kaguya’s physiology was already fundamentally different from that of an ordinary human. Considering how abnormal her biology was, Kenichi could not completely rule out the possibility that an early stage of her development might naturally look strange.

Still...

The creature in front of them looked nothing like the Kaguya from the anime.

Calling it humanoid was already generous.

Its body was grotesquely distorted, its posture unnaturally twisted, and its entire appearance gave off an unsettling feeling.

Kenichi activated his Rinnegan and carefully examined it.

The results only made things worse.

The clone’s body was slowly breaking down.

Its biological structures were decomposing on their own.

In other words, even if Kenichi and Amado did absolutely nothing, the creature would eventually continue deteriorating until nothing remained but a pile of mush.

”Does it possess any intelligence?”

Kenichi turned toward Amado.

That was the simplest way to judge whether the experiment could be considered successful.

If Kaguya’s clone had been born with consciousness and was capable of communicating normally with humans, then they could reasonably call the experiment a success.

But if there was no consciousness at all...

Then it was obviously a failure.

And judging by the appearance of the monster before him, Kenichi seriously doubted it could communicate normally with anyone.

”Based on my observations so far, no.”

Amado shook his head.

”It reacts to pain and electrical stimulation, but those appear to be purely instinctive biological responses.”

”There’s no indication of learning ability or cognitive discrimination.”

Amado had already conducted several simple tests on the clone.

When subjected to electrical shocks or pricked with needles, its muscles contracted noticeably.

The problem came when those same stimuli were repeated.

The creature responded in exactly the same way every single time.

There was no avoidance.

No hesitation.

No indication that it remembered the previous pain.

That suggested it possessed no obvious learning ability whatsoever.

Even a human infant who accidentally burned its hand on a flame would quickly develop a fear response toward fire and instinctively avoid it afterward.

And not just humans.

Ordinary animals with functioning brains displayed obvious learning responses to painful stimuli.

Even certain insects possessed a limited capacity for learning and adaptation.

But this lump of flesh showed none of that.

That was the main reason Amado did not consider it a normal living organism.

”On top of that, its body is already decomposing.”

Kenichi stared at the gradually deteriorating mass of flesh.

”So this experiment was definitely a failure.”

He frowned.

”But why?”

Failure itself did not bother him.

Kenichi had experienced more than enough failed experiments to become accustomed to it.

Some difficult research projects might fail hundreds or even thousands of times.

As long as one attempt eventually succeeded, that was enough.

What bothered Kenichi was not the failure.

It was that he did not understand the cause.

The cloning process had followed the same basic procedure he had successfully used countless times before.

Logically speaking, if the method had worked on so many other subjects, it should not suddenly fail this badly.

Was the problem caused by the special nature of Kaguya’s genes?

That was certainly possible.

But if so, they needed a control experiment.

Perhaps the problem was not cloning itself.

Perhaps it was the accelerated-growth process.

Thinking of that, Kenichi pulled out another sealed cultivation container and looked inside.

Within it floated an extremely small embryo.

This was another cloned embryo created from Kaguya’s genetic material.

”If we want to confirm whether accelerated growth is responsible, we’ll need to let this one develop naturally.”

Amado immediately understood what Kenichi was thinking.

”But that will take a very long time.”

”For a normally developing human embryo, just reaching full-term development takes roughly ten months.”

Kenichi nodded.

Of course he knew that.

And another strange possibility had already occurred to him.

The Otsutsuki Clan possessed extraordinarily slow metabolism.

If that trait also affected embryonic development...

Then an Otsutsuki gestation period might be even longer than a human one.

”But we don’t have a better option right now.”

Kenichi looked at the embryo.

”The rapidly accelerated clones keep producing this problem.”

”We still need to determine whether accelerated growth itself is the cause.”

He paused.

”Before settling on that conclusion, though, we can try a few more times.”

Kenichi wanted to eliminate the possibility of accidental failure.

So they repeated the experiment.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Not a single attempt succeeded.

By the time they stopped, the laboratory contained seven additional grotesque masses of flesh that were slowly decomposing on their own.

None of them had any meaningful value.

They could not even be used for organ transplantation.

Their bodies consisted of malformed flesh, blood, and strange sticky tissues with no stable biological structure.

Strictly speaking, calling them living creatures was questionable.

They were closer to masses of biological material operating entirely through basic instinct.

Kenichi stared at the failed clones and felt somewhat speechless.

Seven failures.

All useless.

At this point, one conclusion was becoming increasingly clear.

Rapid-growth technology was not suitable for cloning Kaguya.

Whether a naturally developing embryo could succeed would require long-term observation.

With that conclusion established, Kenichi temporarily abandoned the idea of producing additional Kaguya clones.

”It looks like rapidly cultivating a clone of this target simply doesn’t work.”

Amado looked toward him.

”Should we change the research direction for now?”

Kenichi nodded.

A naturally developing embryo would require at least ten months before they could even begin drawing meaningful conclusions.

During that waiting period, Kenichi intended to categorize Kaguya’s enormous genome and determine the function of each major group of genes.

And as for what subject he would use to test those genes...

There was an obvious candidate.

”Toneri.”

Kenichi looked toward the young Otsutsuki before him.

”How are your preparations?”

Toneri was the experimental subject Kenichi had selected.

After all, Toneri himself belonged to the Otsutsuki lineage.

His genetic structure was far closer to Kaguya’s than that of an ordinary human.

That made him an excellent candidate for experiments involving Kaguya’s genes.

”Reporting to Teacher, I am fully prepared.”

Toneri answered calmly.

”I’ve also adapted considerably to the activation of the Tenseigan.”

”My eyes no longer hurt.”

Kenichi nodded.

Toneri’s mental state remained somewhat abnormal.

He possessed very little emotional fluctuation.

But from an experimental perspective, that personality made him exceptionally convenient.

A subject’s emotions and expectations could influence the results of certain experiments.

This was precisely why pharmaceutical trials often included placebo control groups.

Those participants believed they were taking medicine, but in reality they might receive something inert such as flour, glucose, or another harmless substitute.

Researchers could then compare their reactions with those of people receiving the actual medication and determine how much of the observed effect came from the drug itself and how much came from psychological expectations.

Toneri’s unusually flat emotional state reduced certain variables of that kind.

”I have several more experiments that require your cooperation.”

Kenichi looked at him.

”Do you have any concerns?”

Toneri shook his head.

At present, there was nothing he particularly needed.

His Tenseigan development was progressing well.

In his mind, that probably meant he had finally earned some degree of recognition from his teacher.

That thought caused the slightest change in his emotions.

But even then, his expression barely changed.

Toneri immediately sat down in front of Kenichi, waiting to hear what he needed to do.

”The experiment itself is simple.”

Kenichi continued.

”If it succeeds, you’ll gain even greater power.”

Then he paused.

”Besides that, is there anything you want?”

Toneri froze.

He had not expected Kenichi to ask him that.

For the first time, Toneri seriously considered what he actually desired.

The question was surprisingly difficult.

He had been born inside this laboratory.

He had grown up inside this laboratory.

Everything he understood came from this laboratory.

As for the outside world...

It was almost completely unfamiliar to him.

He knew there was a blue sky outside.

White clouds.

Sunlight.

Mountains.

Villages.

People.

But he had never personally seen any of them.

For a moment, Toneri felt a faint stirring in his heart.

Perhaps he wanted to go outside.

To see the scenery.

To experience something beyond these walls.

The emotion was there.

But only faintly.

After thinking for a while, Toneri finally raised his head.

”I want to lead an experiment.”

His voice was serious.

Kenichi blinked in surprise.

That was not the answer he had expected.

He had assumed Toneri might ask for freedom.

Or perhaps permission to leave the laboratory.

Instead...

The thing Toneri wanted was to lead a research project.

Kenichi had no particular objection.

He currently had many experiments underway.

Allowing Toneri to supervise one that was not especially important would be perfectly acceptable.

Besides, ultimate authority would remain in Kenichi’s hands.

There was no real danger of losing control.

”What experiment do you want to lead?”

Kenichi asked curiously.

Toneri’s choice itself could reveal useful information about his psychological state.

Kenichi wanted to see what kind of research Toneri would naturally gravitate toward.

”Teacher.”

Toneri looked at him seriously.

”I saw that there is a blood-genetics research project in the laboratory.”

”I want to lead that project.”

”Would that be possible?”

Kenichi stared at him.

Of course he knew exactly which project Toneri meant.

There was only one major blood-genetics research project currently underway.

Kaguya’s genome.

That was precisely why Toneri’s choice surprised him.

”No.”

Kenichi refused immediately.

”That project is extremely important.”

”I cannot give you control over it.”

There was no hesitation.

Kaguya’s genetic research was far too valuable.

Kenichi could not hand leadership of it to Toneri when he still could not be completely certain of the clone’s intentions.

Was Toneri genuinely interested in scientific research?

Or did he have another motive?

Kenichi did not know.

Interestingly, Toneri showed no disappointment after being rejected.

His expression remained perfectly calm.

Then he made another request.

”Then I would like permission to participate in the project.”

Kenichi fell silent.

A moment later, he understood.

So that was Toneri’s strategy.

What Toneri truly wanted was not leadership.

He merely wanted access to the research.

But Toneri probably realized that if he directly asked to participate in such an important project, Kenichi might reject him.

So instead, he began with an excessive request that Kenichi was almost guaranteed to refuse.

After the first request had been rejected, Toneri followed it with a smaller and much more reasonable one.

Psychologically, that second request became harder to reject.

It was a fairly common negotiation tactic.

Ask for something impossible first.

Once the other person refuses, lower the demand to what you actually wanted.

Most people would become more inclined to accept the second request because they had already refused the first one.

Unless the target was someone who simply did not care about such social pressure, the method had a fairly high success rate.

Kenichi looked at Toneri thoughtfully.

Interesting.

The clone was learning.

”You can participate.”

Kenichi finally said.

”But there will be conditions.”

Toneri waited silently.

”For every part of the experiment you personally conduct, you must first obtain Amado’s approval.”

Kenichi’s expression became serious.

”You are not allowed to perform any unauthorized procedure.”

”If you violate that rule even once, your permission to participate will be permanently revoked.”

After considering it, Kenichi had decided to accept Toneri’s request.

For him, the risk was limited.

And for Toneri...

This would be another experiment in its own right.

....

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