"Teacher, aren't you going to transplant that Byakugan?" Amemiya Kenichi asked, eyeing his teacher curiously.
While the Byakugan might seem less useful in later stages, the Hyuga Clan's position as one of Konoha's two great ninja clans, alongside the Uchiha, proved its unique value.
In any other ninja village, a pair of Byakugan could fetch an astronomical price.
Throughout the entire Ninja World, only Ao of Kirigakure had ever acquired one. Other villages had coveted the Byakugan for ages, yet none had succeeded. This showed just how fiercely Konoha protected them.
Of course, the Caged Bird Cursed Seal, that exploitative seal, also contributed to the Byakugan's rarity.
"Too conspicuous. Besides, there's something wrong with these eyes," Orochimaru said, shaking his head. The Byakugan was valuable, but far too noticeable. He was currently vying for the position of Fourth Hokage, and transplanting them would be foolish.
Moreover, these eyes contained those strange proliferating cells. Even if he transplanted them, there was no guarantee they would function properly. The test subject's vision had been steadily deteriorating lately.
Amemiya Kenichi nodded knowingly. It was exactly as he'd suspected—Orochimaru hadn't transplanted the Byakugan for this very reason.
But Amemiya Kenichi's gaze toward his teacher now held a strange mix of amusement and disbelief. He hadn't realized Orochimaru still dreamed of becoming the Fourth Hokage. *Is my teacher actually a bit naive?*
Then again, putting himself in Orochimaru's shoes, Amemiya Kenichi could see why his teacher might think that way.
After all, Orochimaru was one of the Three Great Sages, renowned throughout the Ninja World. His battle record was impeccable, having commanded numerous successful campaigns. Plus, he had Danzo's backing.
If Amemiya Kenichi were in his position, he'd feel confident too. Besides, the other leading candidate in Konoha was Namikaze Minato, the Yellow Flash, who, compared to Orochimaru, seemed somewhat lacking.
*How could you possibly lose when you've got a dragon riding your face?*
"That insect amber you have—did you bring it?" Orochimaru's sudden question snapped Amemiya Kenichi out of his thoughts. He quickly nodded and retrieved the amber.
Orochimaru took the book, glanced at it, and shook his head, handing the insect amber back to Amemiya Kenichi.
Amemiya Kenichi noticed the book's peculiar title: *Tales of the Sage Era*. It didn't exactly scream "serious literature."
"I initially thought this insect might be from the era of the legendary Sage of the Six Paths," Orochimaru said, handing the book to Amemiya Kenichi. "But after comparing them, I don't think they're the same type."
Amemiya Kenichi took the book and read a passage:
In short, it described a type of insect that had destroyed several villages. Strangely, these insects burrowed into people's bodies and controlled them, driving them into a frenzy.
The passage ended there, simply stating that Sages discovered the threat and killed all the infected people.
The accompanying illustration confirmed that the insect in the book was indeed different from the one trapped in the amber.
"If such a thing actually existed, that would be insane," Amemiya Kenichi muttered, clicking his tongue. "A parasite that can control humans? That's just ridiculous."
"So, Resident Evil 4 was inspired by this place, huh?"
"Not necessarily," Orochimaru replied skeptically. "Legends from the Sage of the Six Paths era always mention bizarre religions and incredibly powerful weapons."
Amemiya Kenichi considered this. "You're right. We had the Divine Tree and the Ōtsutsuki Clan—aliens, basically. Parasites that control humans wouldn't be that strange."
"If these bugs really exist, why not implant one in everyone? Instant peace in the Ninja World!" Amemiya Kenichi joked. "Just don't let Nagato hear about them."
But even if he did, it probably wouldn't matter. It all happened so long ago. Whether it's true or not, just finding these bugs would be a nightmare.
"Peace isn't that easy," Orochimaru said, licking his face. "Some of my actions might still be a bit twisted, but overall, I'm pretty normal now."
Kenichi figured Orochimaru hadn't fully processed the disappointment of not becoming the Fourth Hokage yet. He also wondered if Orochimaru's ambition to claim the title had been the only thing keeping him somewhat restrained.
"Kenichi, stay here at the lab for the next few days. I'll come back for you later," Orochimaru said, his eyes cold.
Kenichi nodded obediently. Now was definitely not the time to ask his teacher where he was going. Orochimaru's anger could be terrifying.
"Teacher, what about the test subject?" Kenichi couldn't help but ask. Such a valuable specimen shouldn't go to waste.
"Just don't kill it," Orochimaru replied curtly, then turned and left.
Kenichi was used to his teacher's ways. This had happened before: Orochimaru would bring him to the lab, leave him there, and then disappear.
Kenichi was practically a tool.
But right now, Kenichi was excited. With Orochimaru gone, he could finally study that Hyuga Clan bastard child locked up in the lab to his heart's content.
"Let's see what happens if we wrap these cancer cells in Yang Chakra," Amemiya Kenichi said, rubbing his hands together with a cheerful grin as he strolled into the lab.
After a series of pained groans, Kenichi began his research with the scrapings he'd collected.
Today, after injecting a small amount of Yang Chakra into Cell No. 1, it began to proliferate. However, it soon started dying off on a large scale. Cell No. 1's survival outside the body is highly questionable, possibly due to contamination.
This afternoon, I scraped the last of the growth from the target. This time, I infused an amount of Yang Chakra equivalent to the Great Fireball Technique. The cells still proliferated rapidly, but the rate of apoptosis also increased.
So, what's the problem? Possible factors include the cells' inability to adapt to the external environment after being separated from the body, changes in temperature and humidity, and attacks from external bacteria and viruses.
On the second day after Teacher Orochimaru left, there was no more growth on the target's eyeball. We can now proceed with in vivo experiments.