To be honest, Hikaru was just as curious about the interaction between Orochimaru and Tobirama Senju.
He really wanted to see what kind of sparks would fly when two geniuses like them came together.
So before Orochimaru even voiced his thoughts, Hikaru had already agreed.
In recent years, Orochimaru hadn't exactly been idle either.
He had been researching all kinds of jutsu and biological subjects. Not only had he improved many existing techniques, but he'd also made significant progress in the field of biology.
Coincidentally, his best techniques—aside from elemental jutsu—were snake techniques.
According to Orochimaru himself, he felt that snake-style jutsu suited him well, and he was quite interested in it.
But there were some differences from the original story.
For example, to aid his research, Orochimaru had developed considerable expertise in Medical Ninjutsu as well.
You could say that aside from a lack of chakra and battle experience, this Orochimaru was already no weaker than the one in the future.
Over the years, in pursuit of his research, he had often studied the notes left behind by Tobirama Senju.
So now, upon seeing the man in person—someone he had long admired—it was only natural that Orochimaru wanted to approach him.
Seeing Hikaru's approval, he informed his parents briefly and rushed to Tobirama's side to start a conversation.
Tobirama watched the young man running over and initially assumed he was just another admirer.
But once the conversation began, he quickly realized that this young man's thoughts and insights were strikingly unique and profound.
Their understanding of jutsu, research, and the world aligned so closely—it was like they'd found kindred spirits.
Their dialogue grew increasingly intense and animated.
Orochimaru's brilliant mind clashed with Tobirama's deep insight, creating an endless stream of sparks.
Their voices grew louder and more excited, gradually drawing a crowd of onlookers.
Yet neither of them noticed the gathering audience. They were completely engrossed in their discussion.
Watching this, Hikaru nodded in satisfaction and thought to himself:
Tobirama-sama, I've already found you a kindred spirit. I won't ask for much—just help me handle a few billion chores in the future.
Standing off to the side, Jiraiya watched Hikaru with a complicated expression, his heart a tangled mess.
He admitted that Hikaru treated him well—but he didn't dare get too close.
The reason for that was simple: one time, while peeping, he had nearly had his little buddy roasted off by Hikaru's flames.
It had taken him a long and painful effort to extinguish the fire, and the experience had left him half-dead with fright.
Afterward, Hikaru had calmly informed him that a special seal had been placed on his body. If he dared to peep again, the flames would burn his manhood clean off.
And to make things worse—it would grow back, only to be burned off again.
First time peeping, burn once. Second time, burn twice.
At first, Jiraiya hadn't believed it. But after he tried peeping again…
His little buddy really was gone.
Recalling that terrifying experience made his body tremble involuntarily.
That one incident had left him completely traumatized.
Even though some time had passed, the fear still hadn't faded.
At that moment, he felt someone lightly pat his shoulder.
He turned his head—and saw Hikaru standing next to him, smiling as always.
Looking at that smile, Jiraiya felt a swirl of conflicting emotions.
Hikaru looked at him and asked:
"Jiraiya, have you started learning Sage Mode yet?"
Hearing this, Jiraiya rolled his eyes with a hint of frustration.
"Why? I thought you weren't interested in this stuff."
He knew Hikaru had always shown no interest in Sage Mode, so the question caught him off guard.
Hikaru chuckled softly and didn't answer right away.
He had already made up his mind—he just hadn't said it out loud yet.
With his current strength and life level, he really didn't need Sage Mode anymore.
But he also knew that people like Tsunade weren't as strong as him. For them, Sage Mode would be a powerful boost.
Still, Hikaru understood how dangerous and difficult the training was.
In the past, many who attempted Sage Mode had fallen into pitfalls—some even dying.
So, he decided Jiraiya should go first—to explore and flatten the path.
He was confident Jiraiya would succeed, so naturally, this task fell to him.
As for Hashirama Senju, who had already mastered Sage Mode—Hikaru didn't hold out hope.
After all, he'd seen Hashirama's Wood Release training scroll, which basically said:
'Just clasp your hands, move your chakra, and Wood Release comes out.'
With vague instructions like that, no one was expecting anything useful from him.
Once Jiraiya mastered it, Hikaru planned to have him explain the full process in detail to Orochimaru and Tobirama.
Both Orochimaru and Tobirama were elites of the shinobi world, with first-rate intellect and research ability.
Hikaru believed that with Jiraiya's experiences, they could work together to develop a refined version of Sage Mode.
Eventually, this perfected training method would be passed on to Tsunade and the others.
That way, Tsunade and the rest could gain the benefits of Sage Mode without risking their lives in training.
Of course, if their research didn't meet Hikaru's expectations in the end—
He'd personally step in and use the Idle Training System to acquire the skill anyway.
Hikaru knew he wasn't a babysitter. He couldn't be expected to handle everything.
Otherwise, wouldn't things just get flipped? All the hard work would be dumped on him.
That was definitely not what he wanted.
Seeing that Hikaru hadn't answered, Jiraiya understood—he wasn't going to reveal his real goal.
Still, Jiraiya didn't really mind. After all, Sage Mode was already part of his own training goals, so their interests didn't conflict.
He just muttered under his breath with a hint of dissatisfaction:
"Then what do I get out of it?"
Suddenly, his eyes lit up with excitement.
"Can you remove the seal you put on me?"
He knew the seal came from Hikaru—if he wanted to, Hikaru could undo it.
But Hikaru just let out a dry chuckle and replied without hesitation:
"Not a chance. Forget it."
Yeah right. If I remove the seal, what happens when Tsunade and the girls go to the hot springs?
Wouldn't I be sabotaging myself? No way. That's never happening.
Jiraiya instantly deflated like a balloon.
He'd really thought he had a chance to get rid of the seal—but clearly, that was never going to happen.
However, just then, Hikaru added:
"But… I can give you a bloodline-based training method in exchange. How about it?"