Inside Orochimaru's research laboratory in Amegakure.
A Sharingan was submerged in an unidentified liquid, soaking quietly. Orochimaru sat at his desk, engrossed in a notebook he was reading with great interest.
Before long, the laboratory door opened, and Sasori's figure entered. He cast a surprised glance at Orochimaru and remarked, "Changed vessels again?"
"Oh my, and here I thought I'd used the Vanishing Facial Technique perfectly to restore my original appearance. I didn't expect you to see through it at a glance," Orochimaru quipped, not even looking up from his notes.
"Five years. We've been living and working together for five years. How could I not notice something as significant as you switching containers?" Sasori replied calmly.
"Then I feel slightly ashamed. Whenever you swap out your Core of Living Flesh, I can never tell," Orochimaru said, finally looking up.
Sasori, within his lifelike puppet body, shot Orochimaru a glare. "It'd be a miracle if you could, considering I don't need to swap the Core."
Sasori walked over to the Sharingan preservation tank. After a brief inspection, he added, "By the way, you've been reading that notebook for years. Aren't you tired of it? With your intellect, you should have it memorized by now."
"This is an intellectual dialogue across time. Aren't you also clutching your own notebook constantly?" Orochimaru countered.
Indeed, both Orochimaru and Sasori were studying the notebooks of Tobirama. Diarmuid was as well. Despite five years of study, the three of them had yet to fully exhaust the complex and profound data within. It was, after all, the life's work of the Second Hokage. Every time Orochimaru leafed through it, he found new flashes of brilliance.
"I have to admit, Konoha's Second Hokage-sama was... a genius among geniuses. Long ago, I thought I was quite capable. After meeting you, I had to concede that your talent for research surpassed mine. But after touching these notes, I realize that even you have an immeasurable chasm between yourself and him," Sasori said with a touch of awe.
At some point, Sasori had begun using the respectful title "Second Hokage-sama" when referring to Senju Tobirama. Perhaps it was because anyone who delved into his notes found it impossible not to feel a sense of profound respect and dread. Tobirama was simply that kind of incredible individual.
"Lord Second's talent was indeed superior to mine, but to call it an 'unbridgeable chasm' makes me sound a bit too pathetic. In my view, he and I simply specialize in different directions," Orochimaru said with a hint of pride.
Sasori pondered this for a moment and nodded. "There is truth to that. He excelled at creating something from nothing; you excel at building upon existing foundations."
To put it simply, Sasori believed Tobirama's capacity for innovation far outstripped Orochimaru's, but Orochimaru's ability to deepen a specific field was perhaps even greater than the Second's.
Tobirama invented the Flying Raijin Technique, but it was Minato who deepened its application to perfection. He also developed Reanimation, yet it was Orochimaru who refined and perfected the jutsu. This wasn't to say Tobirama couldn't have done it, but rather that his mind was always moving to the next frontier. His creative drive was so strong that he developed too many jutsu to have the leisure to perfect every single one. As long as a technique was functional for his needs, he moved on.
Conversely, Orochimaru excelled at mining the latent potential of these techniques. He enjoyed the process, viewing it as the pursuit of "Truth." When he discovered Senjutsu, he quickly developed Cursed Seals to analyze its power. To him, the process of analyzing that power was the pursuit of truth.
Because he loved the process, he continued to deepen these arts. This didn't mean his innovation was lacking; he just preferred the accumulation of knowledge. Once his accumulation was sufficient, his focus would shift back to creation, leading to things like Mecha Naruto, Mecha Kurama, cloning, androids, and genetic engineering. Even at seventy, he would still be on the front lines of scientific research. Truly commendable spirit.
Sasori didn't pursue the argument. After recording some data on the Sharingan, he sighed. "Ultimately, we're running low on experimental materials. It's time to move to the next phase of research. We've thoroughly analyzed the detailed data of the Sharingan over these last five years..."
Orochimaru looked toward a cabinet nearby. A row of storage jars that once held Sharingan was now empty. Currently, they had only two pairs left.
"I've had Kabuto keep a close eye on the situation in Konoha. From what I know, while the old man, the Third, has tried to repair the rift with Fugaku over the last five years, there was never any room for reconciliation from the start... we just need to wait a little longer," Orochimaru said.
Indeed, the situation in Konoha was grim. The friction between the Uchiha clan and the Hokage's lineage had reached a breaking point. As Hokage, Hiruzen sought to centralize power. He had to. Otherwise, the fragmentation of authority would serve neither the village nor the office of the Hokage.
The current power structure was stable; the "cake" had already been sliced and distributed. The Uchiha, however, remained unsatisfied. Outside of the Police Force, they were excluded from the village's core authority, despite possessing the strength to fuel their further ambitions.
This was no longer a matter of ideology or the fallout from the Night of the Nine-Tails. Those were merely triggers. The root cause was a raw struggle for power. Fugaku was being held hostage by the collective will of his clan, forced to lead an offensive against the Hokage's line. As Clan Head, he had to secure benefits for his people. Similarly, Hiruzen could not bow to Uchiha pressure and dilute the power held by his own faction. "Anti-Uchiha" sentiment had become a secret political orthodoxy within Konoha's power circles, and for all his efforts, Hiruzen could not stop it.
"Then we wait. A few more days won't hurt," Sasori agreed. He then asked, "What about Diarmuid? Is he still researching that Spirit Transformation Jutsu?"
"Of course. He is currently obsessed with it, unable to pull himself away," Orochimaru said with a smirk. After a pause, he added, "But I must admit, the Spirit Transformation Jutsu possesses an infinite charm."
"So, has he solved the riddle? The claim that 'the end of Spirit Transformation Jutsu is spiritualization itself'?" Sasori asked.
Just then, a voice drifted through the wall. "Not yet. I'm still a long way off."
As the words fell, Diarmuid, his body radiating a spectral, eerie green light, drifted out of the solid wall. He was clearly in a state of astral projection.
Sasori observed Diarmuid's soul, his eyes showing a flash of surprise. "You've improved significantly again!"
"Hahaha! I told you, I have a natural talent for practicing the Spirit Transformation Jutsu," Diarmuid laughed.
Orochimaru stood up and circled Diarmuid twice, inspecting his condition. After a long silence, he closed his eyes and likewise projected his soul, standing beside Diarmuid.
Orochimaru's spirit raised an arm to compare with Diarmuid's. He remarked with wonder, "It is true. If it weren't for the unique glow of the soul, I would think this was your physical body."
Comparing the two, the difference was clear. Normally, an untrained soul appears as a faint, transparent reflection of the physical body. Orochimaru had practiced the art, and despite his soul being slightly weakened by Living Corpse Reincarnation, his spirit was much denser and less translucent than an average person's.
But Diarmuid? He lacked almost any sense of "illusion." He looked like a living person standing there. If it weren't for the natural aura of the soul and the fact that he had just phased through a wall, one would truly take him for a physical entity. This demonstrated the depth of the Spirit Transformation Jutsu: the deeper the mastery, the denser the soul becomes, gaining weight and power.
"I've spent these last five years training my spirit like a madman," Diarmuid noted. After a short pause, he added, "I want to go to the Pure Land to have a look."
Both Sasori and Orochimaru froze in shock.
"Have you gone mad?" Sasori blurted out.
"That is an extremely dangerous place!" Orochimaru warned sternly.