He narrowed his eyes. He had gone through thick and thin, having spent much time manipulating Sora and acquiring this technology. But what he wasn't going to do was panic.
Since there was no sign of energy activation, he began to check each device, unwilling to surrender to failure just yet.
Kneeling down, he inspected the connections again, tracing the circuits. It quickly became clear that one critical element of the system was off: "The grounding."
Upon seeing this, he adjusted a few cables and re-established the connections in less than a minute. Not many would have noticed the short circuit issue. At least not with this old design.
After a few more adjustments, he hit the activation switch again.
This time, there was a humming noise followed by a series of lights. With each glow, it became apparent that he had successfully interconnected the processors, optimized the memory access, and established a stable power supply, effectively constructing the ninja world's first running supercomputer!
It wasn't like those today, but it was most certainly more advanced than what Orochimaru could design. Even Hagoromo would be impressed.
Just then, the door whooshed open, and Brie stepped inside. She stifled a yawn, rubbing her eyes as she took in the sight before her.
"What on earth happened in here?" she blinked in surprise, surveying the transformation that had occurred in his absence.
"Let's just say I made a substantial acquisition," he replied without looking in her direction.
How could anyone explain this contraption without blowing their minds? This was still the ninja world, after all, and a lot weren't familiar with advanced technology.
It was akin to Gen-Z living in the fifties. And that was approximately a fifty-year difference.
Brie couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the changes.
"But it hasn't even been that long since you left," she remarked. "To think you'd come back with… this!"
Before she could inquire further, he turned his attention to an additional task. He rummaged through the drawers on the workbench until a small syringe appeared in his hand.
"What are you doing now?" she wondered.
"Extracting my blood," he replied as the needle pierced his skin.
"Wait, what? Why would you need to do that?"
He recited with clarity from the King James Version of the Bible, Leviticus 17:11: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood…"
"I'm sorry, my lord, but this is borderline insane! What exactly are you planning to do with it?"
In truth, she just wanted to know more about how Arthur's incredible mind functioned. And the only way to do that was by probing with questions.
He didn't answer her immediately but continued his work, adding the blood sample to a small centrifuge. Finally, after measuring precise amounts, he turned back to her and commanded, "Gather amino acids, glucose, and inorganic salts from storage, and bring them here."
Brie folded her arms, choosing to contain her excitement. Her eyes showed that she was ready to obey, but her heart yearned to know.
"You're not going to tell me anything, are you?" she asked as she went to gather the materials.
Arthur seemingly didn't hear her, choosing to instead organize the equipment. Moments later, she returned, arms piled high with various containers.
"I got everything you asked for. Now, could you at least tell me what you're up to?" she inquired, clearly too eager to know.
But he was too absorbed in his apparatus to give her a proper answer.
The centrifuge spun, drawing upon the properties of the extracted blood. When it was done, he commanded, "Pluck up aloe vera, seaweed, soybean, and yeast from the garden…"
"But those haven't fully grown yet!" she retorted, unwilling to accept his dismissive tone.
She secretly hoped that it hadn't offended him for talking back.
"That doesn't matter," he coolly said, eyes focused on his task. "I only need their nutrients, so go…"
Brie couldn't suppress her growing curiosity now. She had already talked back once, wasting her one and only chance.
"I'll explain when you get back," he promised, not turning away from the swirling contents of the centrifuge.
This brought a sense of joy to her heart, so she hurried out with more determination.
"Okay!"
It took her the better part of an hour to gather the required specimens from the garden. Hurrying back into the lab, she was struck by what she found. In the center of the room sat a large, inflated tub of a bright blue liquid that seemed to glow under the overhead lights more than the technology surrounding it.
"What on earth is that?" she asked, setting down the containers of nutrients on the table.
"This," Arthur stated with authority, "is a specialized culture medium."
"What are you using it for?" she probed.
"Have you heard of the name Hoshikaze?" he asked.
She mulled it over for a moment before answering, "Yes, he's the recent winner of that grand tournament held in the Land of Waves!"
At Arthur's silence, Brie grew impatient. Before she could further ask what this all meant, he gave her an instruction, "Mix in the extracts with the culture medium."
She obeyed, pouring the contents into the blue liquid. As the mix swirled together, the color shifted, deepening to a shade of green within seconds.
Any chemist would know that this new liquid would help provide nutrients, hormones, and the environmental conditions for some type of experiment. The only question was what kind?
Arthur picked up the tub with one hand and moved with it. Brie finally began to piece together the purpose of all his actions.
"Wait, are you telling me…?" But it took a moment longer as she watched him pour the green liquid into an awaiting, large vat. Then it struck her all at once. "You just made an incubator!"
The implications of what he had created were monumental. She watched him intently as he prepared for the next phase of what he referred to as a "cloning process."
"First, we need to select a somatic cell," he said, retrieving a small vial filled with a fluid containing his own bloodstream. "This will provide the complete DNA of the individual to be cloned."
Brie leaned closer, eyes narrowed in concentration.
He stirred the blood sample and then moved to another section of the laboratory where various samples were laid out.
"Now, for the oocyte procurement," he continued, glancing at her over his shoulder. "An egg cell needs to be harvested from a female donor."
Brie was ready to blush, but she of all scientists knew what he meant. She adjusted her glasses, the glare reflecting off them as she said, "And I assume that's not me, but I'd be more than willing to participate if you need."
Koko would have slapped her for saying that.
"No," he said, unfazed by her tomfoolery. "I've already arranged that with this vial. We'll need to remove the nucleus of this egg cell, which contains its genetic material."
"Then what?" she asked as her excitement grew, trying to follow each step.
After it was removed, it was then placed into a suitable liquid to help sustain its function.
"Nuclear transfer," Arthur answered. He inserted the nucleus of the somatic cell from the vial into the enucleated egg cell. "This egg cell now contains the DNA of the individual."
"And the final step?" Brie asked, practically sweating.
"Activation," he replied, turning to face her. "This egg cell will need to be stimulated—usually through electrical shock or chemical means—to begin dividing and developing into an embryo."
Those who heard him speaking would have been astounded. Was he a nerd? No, he was simply Arthur Bennett.
He pushed buttons on the control panel of the incubator and tweaked a few settings. Then jolted the egg cell with an electric pulse. Brie watched in awe as lights blinked on the panel.
"How long will the embryo development take?" she asked, looking at the vat.
Arthur considered having already asked himself that before this experiment commenced. The answer, however, had not come immediately.
"It'll need to be cultured in the right environment for several days," he said, "perhaps even weeks, to fully develop."
This was true considering the materials inside the cloning vat were essentially simulating a mother's womb. Brie was dumbfounded.
"What will it look like when it's aged?" she wondered, thinking about the implications.
Arthur set the machine to the right temperature and conditions before answering.
"The cells I used were transformed to take on the appearance of Hoshikaze."
If that was the case, what he was integrating was to create a perfect hybrid of himself!
Brie's mind reeled upon finally seeing the grandeur of it all. How was this possible? No, why did it have to be Hoshikaze? Then something struck her again.
"Wait a second," she hesitated, "you're not just Kaito… you're also Hoshikaze!"
The glow from the vat illuminated his features as he stood there and watched without an expression on his face.
This caused her to glance around the lab. There had only ever been one shinobi as crazy, if crazy was the right word to use, as Arthur.
"You're not secretly that legendary Sannin, Orochimaru, are you?"
Arthur closed his eyes and said, "No… I bear the responsibility of expanding knowledge, not hoarding it for personal gain. Instead of becoming an intellect who can think of nothing but evil and revenge, my information is a tool for progress, not just a weapon for power-hungry vipers."
His gaze slowly turned to her. She remained silent for a second before drawing her attention to the vat. Then she paced around it and mused, "This might take a few weeks, then? Or even months based on the materials at play."
"Exactly," he confirmed. "That's why I'll need you to monitor it closely until it's ready…"
Brie nodded appreciatively, understanding how much responsibility had suddenly fallen on her.
"I've never done anything like this before," she smirked. "But this is even more amazing than what we did to Rin—I mean what you did."
One could ask themselves how a man like Arthur even knows how to do this. Cloning was a topic often bordering on the conspiracy side of things, like something out of folklore or even science fiction.
Arthur wasn't like the average norm, those who believed what they were told even if it was wrong.
On earth, cloning is indeed a realm of possibilities, though often fraught with limitations. It's child's play in the ninja world, though. That was because of chakra. If there was one thing to know about clones, it was that they had no souls.
Clones in this world, however, could have their own essence, which is what makes them unique.
Because of chakra, they could share the mind and will of their original donor. And because this specific clone Arthur was creating was imbued with his chakra, everything about them would carry his being, his will, and his desires.
The pieces began to fall into place for Brie, which caused her thoughts to race faster and faster as the enormity of Arthur's statements struck her.
"S… So, every aspect of this clone will be you—same mind, same ambitions, just… different appearances?"
He nodded, saying, "And why stop at one? I'll be creating more: John Belfort, Kaito, Ryugetsu… the list goes on and on…"
It was more than just having identities; it was about gathering all these experiences, insights, and power to ultimately create something greater—something no mortal could understand.
Brie felt a shiver at the implications. All those transformations, all of his knowledge—a vast and nearly unfathomable array of talent, wisdom, and skill that drew from the strength of who he was.
"What will happen when the clones are ready?" she asked with wide eyes.
But she knew the answer before he spoke them: "Their purpose aligns with mine…"
At those words, she fell to her knees. Surely this couldn't be a man standing before her. No, Arthur Bennett was simply him.