Malphegor
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IUTT: Ch. 52
🕑 Added 2025-05-13 19:48:17 +0000 UTCFor researchers, there were two major, unavoidable challenges. The first was funding.
The purchase of equipment, collection of materials, construction and maintenance of research facilities, all required a large amount of money.
So, there was no researcher who wouldn't be happy to receive funding.
Orochimaru used to be in pain. He had to conduct research while frantically completing missions to make money, otherwise the research couldn't be sustained at all. But even an S-rank mission would only bring him about a million, and lower-ranked missions paid even less. Plus, each mission required him to sacrifice a great deal of his research time.
This sense of fragmentation nearly drove him insane.
He just wanted to quietly do his research. Why was it so hard?
Then Shin casually pulled out a sum of money that was three times more than he had earned over the years. How could he not get excited?
What was more, Shin also said that in the future, the money Tsunade earned from Konoha Hospital would also continuously be invested into their research.
These past few days, Tsunade and Shin have had frequent discussions. In the end, Tsunade decided not to conduct research with him. Originally, she didn't want to be separated from him, so she suggested joining the research team. But when she saw him readily agree, she calmed down instead.
She had promised him that she would become Hokage and had already started taking steps toward that goal.
The first step was to build prestige, preparing to intervene in the Medical Department.
If she poured all her time into research, the position of Hokage would drift further and further away. Moreover, as Orochimaru had pointed out, she really wasn't the kind of person who could patiently do research.
However, she still didn't know that her salary for a long time into the future had already been thoroughly planned out by Shin.
With the initial funding in place, and her ongoing contributions, if they spent just a little time producing results that Hiruzen wanted, he would definitely increase their research funding.
In this way, a positive financial cycle could be established, and they would have more time to pursue the research that truly interested them.
In fact, not just Hiruzen, eventually, they could also rope in Danzō, and others. Making money through research, it was not acceptable. If all these methods still didn't provide enough funding, Shin even planned to "borrow" money by going out now and then using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Over the past few days, the two had engaged in deep discussions across various fields, to the point where Orochimaru was completely captivated by Shin's astonishing research talent, ignoring all of Tsunade's complaints.
He pretended to be unwilling and blamed Orochimaru, saying he was the one pestering him. But when it was just the two of them, he was even more excited than Orochimaru, constantly proposing ideas and verifying them one by one with him.
Sometimes they had intense discussions and listened to each other intently, sometimes they argued fiercely, faces red from the debate. At times they wrote furiously to record their discussions, and sometimes they each made discoveries, feeling joyful.
The research hadn't even officially started, yet the two of them were already completely immersed.
Orochimaru was so thrilled that he claimed the science of the ninja world would reach an unprecedented peak in their hands, and that all his dreams would come true. However, at this point in time, his research capabilities still couldn't compare to Shin's.
So naturally, Shin assigned tasks clearly. He said he would be responsible only for theoretical planning, guiding the direction of experiments, and personally conducting critical experiments.
All the work involving experimental design, data recording and organization, equipment procurement, sourcing materials, general fundraising, and external coordination... those would all be Orochimaru's responsibility.
He nearly cried when he heard this.
Aside from experimental design, wasn't everything else just assistant work? Wasn't this supposed to be a collaboration? Why are all the tedious and exhausting tasks his?
As a core researcher, why was he being made to do assistant work?
This made him consider recruiting a few reliable assistants while he had the chance.
As for the ethical dilemmas that had once troubled him, once he discovered that Shin had even fewer moral boundaries in research than he did, he immediately cast aside all such concerns.
As for certain forbidden experimental materials or rare resources that other villages outright refused to sell, Shin simply said, "Leave it to me. If we lack anything, I'll just 'borrow' it."
And on top of that, he generously provided a full 300 million in research funding. Orochimaru was so grateful, he practically wanted to kiss him.
Waiting around didn't feel great. After handing over the early-stage prep work to Orochimaru, Shin decided to take a break and spend some quality time with his family.
After all, in the long stretch ahead, he probably wouldn't have much free time.
The first thing he did, was quit his job at the hospital.
When he told the Konoha Hospital director he was leaving, the man burst into tears on the spot. Fortunately, Tsunade wasn't quitting as well, or the poor guy might have lost all hope. Still, the sorrow in his heart was very real.
Only he knew how much revenue Shin had brought to Konoha Hospital. How could he bear to let him go?
But seeing how determined Shin was, the director could only painfully agree and told him, "Anytime you want to return, the hospital's doors will always be open to you."
As for Tsunade, Shin promised her he'd take two days off early each week to spend time with her. After all, researchers are people too. A little relaxation now and then helps keep the mind sharp.
Plus, she had the privilege of visiting the lab at any time and even summoning Shin via the Flying Thunder God Technique, so although she felt reluctant, she agreed.
After all, she would soon be quite busy herself.
---
"It's biting!" Downstream from the southern Konoha River, in an uninhabited spot, Minato shouted excitedly from the bank as he saw movement on the fishing float.
Shin, sitting nearby, was speechless but couldn't bring himself to scold him.
He gently patted Minato on the head and smiled, "The float only wobbled a bit, it hasn't sunk yet. Look, you scared the fish away."
"Huh? I thought it was a bite," Minato said, disappointed.
Shin comforted him, "It's fine. We'll get one soon."
Minato nodded vigorously and propped his chin on both hands, refocusing all his attention on the float.
After spending two days with Tsunade, Shin took the opportunity, while Minato was on break, to take him fishing as requested.
Despite their deep bond, the brothers had rarely had the chance to relax together over the years, due to all kinds of responsibilities. So Minato was overjoyed.
After casting the line a few more times, the float moved again. This time, Minato held his breath, not daring to make a sound.
The moment the float sank, Shin quickly jerked the rod upward, immediately feeling the weight on the line.
With a strong pull, a fish weighing seven or eight pounds flew out of the water and swung toward the shore.
Minato quickly grabbed the net and caught the fish skillfully. "Haha! Fish for dinner tonight!"
After tossing the fish into the keep net, the two of them went back to quietly waiting for more bites. But when no fish came for a while, Minato's eyes slowly drifted toward Shin.
"What's there you can't say to me?" Shin smiled when he saw the look on his face.
"You're really not leaving anymore, right?" Minato asked cautiously.
A sudden ache hit Shin's heart, and his nose stung slightly.
Minato was perfect in every way, but sometimes just too considerate. It made Shin want to protect and cherish him even more.
