I decided to make new frames then and there, just to make sure that wouldn't happen. I even had enough spare glass.
And it still wasn't morning when I deposited the pictures back to their places on the fireplace mantelpiece.
I went to the back yard then, to watch the sky like my wife used to. For all of two minutes.
I never had patience to do nothing.
I went back inside and down to the workshop to tinker. From what I knew about Sarutobi Hiruzen, and what had been confirmed today, he liked the soft approach, which was why he used Shisui today and why he would probably continue to do so to put me at ease.
I had a few hours, more if the Hokage decided to give me time to rest.
The look on the kid's fake face when he saw the tesla coil was only surpassed by his reaction when I hooked it up to my phonograph and made the spark on top play and dance to its own music.
"Mister Crow. I guess I'm being summoned.
"
Shisui, to my gratification, actually had to put effort into tearing his eyes away. "Yes, sir.
I'm to lead you there at once. "
He didn't ask. That, too, was most impressive.
I picked up the binder I'd prepared, reluctantly didn't look at the drawer where my second gun was stashed, and followed Shisui to the Hokage tower. And as I walked, I pondered the nature of whims and the dramatic change they seemed to bring about in this world.
In my past life, I was a plasma physicist. I wasn't particularly ambitious, and I didn't achieve a capstone in my field or anything.
But that didn't mean there weren't others who did. And it certainly didn't mean that the whim didn't strike me to do something similar here.
Unlike with my side work in journalism, that whim wasn't followed up on. Now, though, I was having second thoughts.
It probably wouldn't lead anywhere, but that was alright. Between telephones, audio tapes, television, computer networking, miniaturising anything, cars, there would surely be something I could break the status quo's spine on that the ninja wouldn't immediately shut down.
Most of the technology existed already.
If nothing else, I'll at least be rich.
My mind flashed back to the tesla coil.
I wonder how chakra will interact with that?
In my past life, plasma physicists with means not much different than mine had successfully created plasma-based lifeforms.
If I was still alive tomorrow, I was going to recreate the experiment.