Konoha Research Institute.
Orochimaru held a thick stack of data in his hands, recording and revising it as he went.
These were his experimental notes on the technique of immortality.
The amount of data was staggering.
But…
This alone was still far from enough to complete the creation of the technique. At present, he had only just brushed against the threshold of Sage Mode—and not even a proper, orthodox one at that.
Following Kyoichi's advice, he had developed an approach almost identical to Kyoichi's own initial line of thought.
Cursed Seals.
By sealing the Ōtsutsuki clan's senjutsu chakra and locking it within the body through special sealing formulas, then slowly using that senjutsu chakra and natural energy to remodel himself.
As of now…
He was already capable of producing a portion of similar chakra.
Of course…
Being able to progress this quickly owed much to the bootleg God Tree Kyoichi had planted.
Although that counterfeit God Tree had an offshoot elsewhere and Kyoichi strictly forbade Orochimaru from messing around with it, simply siphoning off a bit of natural energy was still allowed.
"The first step is complete. The next step is to research how to fuse chakra with the soul itself. If I can accomplish that, I will reach the realm of true immortality!"
Orochimaru licked his lips.
If successful, this would be an unprecedented achievement—one without equals before or after.
However…
Before he could savor his excitement for long, he sensed an unwelcome visitor.
Someone from ANBU.
If he remembered correctly, it was from the Hyūga clan—most likely the next-generation ANBU commander. Back when Kyoichi was still with ANBU, he had taken special care of that kid, often guiding and instructing him.
Orochimaru sighed.
There was no need to guess who had sent him.
With Kohinata Mukai's courage, he wouldn't dare come looking for Orochimaru without orders.
Moments later, Mukai entered the laboratory.
"Orochimaru-sama."
"What does that kid want this time? Get straight to the point."
"Yes."
Kohinata Mukai took out a scroll and a suit of armor, handing them over to Orochimaru.
Orochimaru accepted them. After reading the scroll, his brows lifted slightly.
"Oh?"
Thoughtfully, he set the scroll aside and examined the armor.
Chakra Armor?
Interesting.
This represented an entirely different developmental path—one well worth studying. Just from a glance, he could already think of several similar applications, especially for the Military Police Force.
With such ninja tools, routine law enforcement would be far safer.
Orochimaru picked the scroll up again.
Earlier, he hadn't finished reading it—he'd skimmed the section about the chakra armor and immediately gone to examine the physical object. Now, looking more closely, he noticed another passage at the end.
A special request from Kyoichi.
"Create a suit of armor that's completely sealed?"
Orochimaru frowned.
It was a rather unusual requirement, but not impossible.
Fine…
He'd do it the way Kyoichi wanted. After all, when someone's that powerful, you play by their rules.
Besides…
The real reason was that Orochimaru himself was deeply interested. Otherwise, he would still do it—but nowhere near as enthusiastically. Certainly not like now, where he plunged into research immediately.
Orochimaru had his own reasons for studying this.
What truly leaves a mark on history?
Naturally—something that changes an entire era.
Without question, the thing before him had the potential to do exactly that.
Immortality techniques granted physical longevity. But if he could usher in a new era of specialized ninja tools, every shinobi would remember the name Orochimaru.
Body or legacy—
he wanted both.
He was greedy that way.
There was no way he'd let Kyoichi have all the spotlight.
---
Kyoichi and Tsunade's journey was not yet over.
They continued heading west.
West of the Land of Snow lay an expanse of towering mountains. Crossing them, they saw a vast ocean.
Perhaps beyond that sea lay another civilization entirely—but without knowing how far it stretched, and lacking truly reliable ships, they didn't dare attempt a crossing.
So…
They followed the coastline southward, making a wide circuit—passing beneath the Land of Wind into the Land of Rivers, and finally returning to the Land of Fire.
By then, several months had passed.
After traveling for so long, returning to Konoha and seeing the drastic changes filled them with emotion.
Hinata had been born.
As for Naruto—Kushina's biggest headache—he was an absolute handful, clinging to her nonstop. The moment she moved too far away, he'd burst into loud, inconsolable crying.
Sasuke, meanwhile, was still very close to Itachi.
Fugaku rarely involved himself in Uchiha affairs anymore. It seemed he had given up, focusing instead on raising his children at home. Meanwhile, reforms at the Ninja Academy were now fully on track.
In fact…
During this period, Kyoichi occasionally received some rather odd rewards.
Things like puppetry techniques, kunai manipulation techniques, and the like.
They were probably newly created jutsu from Ninja Academy students that somehow got credited back to him. They weren't particularly useful, but seeing an entire "field of leeks" growing still gave him a powerful sense of accomplishment.
After quietly resting for a day, he finally went to see Orochimaru.
The armor was finished.
But…
"You're starting to look less like a human."
Kyoichi's feelings were complicated.
Orochimaru had clearly undergone partial sage transformation. From Kyoichi's perception, it wasn't just Ōtsutsuki clan chakra inside him—there was also White Snake chakra mixed in.
The visible result was—
Scales had appeared on parts of his skin.
Orochimaru smiled nonchalantly.
"Thanks to those cells, my limbs won't develop those features, so I don't really mind. Power always comes at a price."
He was remarkably at ease with it.
As long as it stayed hidden beneath clothing, that was already a satisfactory outcome—especially considering what he gained in return:
A Sage Mode even more refined than before.
Orochimaru licked his lips.
"That technique—I've already made some progress. And I didn't rely on those kinds of experiments this time. I derived and tested it step by step. One day, I'll truly achieve it."
"Congratulations…"
No matter what, this was Orochimaru's dream.
As long as he wasn't harming others, Kyoichi was happy to see him succeed. At the very least, for as long as Kyoichi lived, he'd have a perfectly functional… assistant.
That sounded a bit heartless.
Kyoichi took the armor and sealed it away.
"What are you going to do?" Orochimaru asked.
"Go take a look at the Moon. See what's really going on up there. If there are still people alive, I'll talk to them."
The armor was merely a contingency—just in case.
Over the years, Kyoichi himself hadn't been idle either. He had already developed Light-Weight Rock Technique not long ago, and could now cast both Light-Weight and Super Light-Weight Rock on his own.
However…
One thing was still missing.
Eyes.
The Rinnegan.
He hadn't needed the Rinnegan before—Kyoichi was confident that Madara wouldn't be his match.
But if he was going to the Moon…
That was another matter entirely.
To be safe…
He would need to find Nagato and "borrow" his eyes for a while.
Better that than reaching the Moon, realizing he couldn't win, and getting beaten into the ground.
That would be a truly bad trade.