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A ninja like Orochimaru, with his desire for immortality, can't really be blamed on the fervor of human nature. If you had to say what fundamentally sets him apart from other ninjas, it would be first, his thirst for knowledge, and second, his ability to conduct various experiments and develop techniques.
With these two abilities, Orochimaru has been on a path of self-evolution. If you gave him enough time, it wouldn't be difficult for him to evolve to the level of the Otsutsuki. It would be more like a natural progression.
For this kind of upgrade, Orochimaru doesn't need to defeat small fry and bosses. He only needs a long time. So, need determines action, which then produces results. All of Orochimaru's actions stem from his own will.
He is a man of ideas, so he has a strong ability to accept various speculations with potential.
"Interesting idea..." This was Orochimaru's response to Haori's previous words.
"But it would be very difficult to achieve."
To be more precise, it's a very far-fetched idea. The possibility of achieving it is almost zero. Orochimaru does think Haori's idea is interesting, but with his current knowledge, it's hard to make this idea a reality.
Even finding a feasible path is difficult.
Anything that involves evolution, genes, and so on, if you want to make any effective success, then the process of achieving it has to be described as "engineering." Because it's both vast and complex, and it involves thousands upon thousands of failures.
This is different from what Haori discussed with him before, about using weak "Lightning Release" to gradually stimulate the babies' physical abilities. That was just modification. Haori's new idea is closer to "bloodline awakening." The difficulty isn't on the same level.
On the surface, Orochimaru doesn't seem to have any particular reaction to Haori's statement. He said he was interested, but it seemed like he was only interested. But in reality, for Orochimaru, this statement would become more and more appealing.
Otsutsuki Hagoromo, the Sage of Six Paths who created the ninja world, was originally just a legendary being. His power and strength were a bit like something unreal. But the guess of this other Haori in front of him seemed to be a path to understanding this kind of power. Even if the possibility of this path is extremely low, someone like Orochimaru, who is extreme in his thoughts and pursues the ultimate, will eventually start trying this path.
The more unconcerned he appears now, the more impatient he will become later.
… Orochimaru has no reason to be unaware of the origins of the Uchiha, Hyuga, Senju, and Uzumaki clans. Even if he couldn't obtain this kind of information in Konoha, there's still a White Snake Sage who has lived for an unknown amount of time in Ryuchi Cave. And unlike the senile Mount Myōboku Toad Sage, his mind has always been very clear.
All white snakes have the talent for a thousand years of waiting for one chance. Maybe he has even seen the Sage of Six Paths. The White Snake Sage should know everything about the Otsutsuki family. Even if Orochimaru doesn't know everything, he must know the origins of the Uchiha and the others.
So, the research scientist Orochimaru will eventually start researching the topic Haori gave him. What's more… so far, his Edo Tensei has been developed to a crucial point. It's almost complete. In fact, he has already set his sights on a body… a body from the Uchiha.
This can be directly linked to what Haori said…
"You should say it's very challenging." Haori corrected Orochimaru's statement.
If it wasn't difficult, he would have done it himself. Actually, Haori himself doesn't think this has much possibility. But… one sentence: try it, you won't get pregnant.
If it succeeds, wouldn't those two children be like they're cheating all the way from their ancestors?
"You're providing this line of thinking…" Orochimaru's mind turned, and he understood the reason why Haori said this. "Is it for the Fourth Hokage and Kushina's 'inheritance'?"
"But instead of expecting something so difficult, an unrealistic power, why not let those two children experiment with the First Hokage's cells? The Uzumaki and Senju are related. They should have a higher affinity and compatibility with Wood Release cells than ordinary ninjas. Once it succeeds…"
The Otsutsuki's power is out of reach, but the Senju's Wood Release is right in front of them.
Orochimaru made a good point. Both the Uzumaki and the Senju have powerful physical abilities and chakra reserves. They are both clans that have inherited the body of the Sage.
But…
"Orochimaru…" Haori called him by his name. His expression didn't change at all, as if he were about to state a fact. "Even if it's about improving the abilities of the two children, what I need is a practical method, not an experiment with huge risks… You can't do things that you shouldn't do."
Would he agree to a grafting experiment on those two children? That's impossible.
"Heh… just kidding."
A threat? Or advice?
Orochimaru didn't care about Haori's words. To be honest, Kushina's offspring were indeed the most suitable subjects for his ongoing First Hokage's cell experiment. But he couldn't do it.
It wasn't just because Haori was protecting the two children. More importantly, the Third Hokage and the entire Konoha high command had their eyes on this. There's a limit to any indulgence. Even Shimura Danzō didn't want anything to happen to the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
If he was too blatant, Orochimaru couldn't handle the consequences.
Don't even talk about the Third Hokage at this age. His strength is above Orochimaru's. Just Haori alone, to be honest, Orochimaru didn't have an absolute guarantee of victory… Before the Nine-Tails incident, Orochimaru viewed Haori as a rising star. But after the incident, he had begun to see Haori as an equal.
He didn't want to be outnumbered. Research scientists sometimes like to do reckless things. But it's best to avoid actually seeking death.
"Speaking of which, there's something else I'm interested in. The Rinnegan… what kind of eye is it?" Orochimaru changed the subject, no longer dwelling on the previous question.
This was something he was very concerned about. Orochimaru had already become obsessed with the Sharingan and the Uchiha. Along the way, his curiosity about various dōjutsu had also gradually increased.
Especially the legendary Six Paths Eye.
"The Rinnegan? It's probably the kind of dōjutsu that can't be defeated." Haori said.
Did he win against the Rinnegan that day?
No.
He only won against Pain. And Pain… in the end, was just a puppet. Haori hasn't won against Nagato and the Rinnegan yet.
Then, Haori revealed some of the abilities of the Deva Path and the Preta Path to Orochimaru. To be more precise, he revealed the three jutsu: Shinra Tensei, Banshō Ten'in, and Fuinjutsu Shūin.
Haori was the only ninja who had fought against the Rinnegan. And before, he hadn't revealed the abilities of this eye in detail to Konoha. Even now, the information he was telling Orochimaru, whether it was credible or not, was entirely up to Orochimaru to judge.
As for whether Haori was hiding anything else, Orochimaru could naturally guess. After all, he could somewhat understand why Haori didn't tell Konoha the secrets of the Rinnegan.
In short, through this conversation in the underground space, Haori hoped that Orochimaru would start genetic engineering and achieve some results. Once he had results, he would have the possibility of obtaining them from him.
But when Orochimaru would start this work, or even whether he would do it at all, was something that Haori couldn't force.
And Orochimaru's hidden First Hokage cell experiment, Haori would help cover up as much as he could.
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