Kagami decided not to act immediately. Konoha was in a critical period of unifying the ninja world, and he didn't have the energy to attack the Three Sage Regions for the time being. It wouldn't be too late to take them over after he ruled the world. "Well, let you beasts enjoy yourselves a while longer," he mused. He created several clones to continue practicing Sage Mode, while he himself entered the Kamui dimension.
The Tenseigan cultivated by Orochimaru should be mature by now. He planned to absorb their power to evolve his six-tomoe Rinnegan into a nine-tomoe Rinnegan and evolve Obito's Kamui Sharingan as well.
He arrived at Orochimaru's lab and saw him studying Hashirama's cells. "How is the cultivation of the Tenseigan coming along?" Kagami asked.
"Sir Kagami," Orochimaru replied respectfully, putting down his work. "The Tenseigan are fully mature and can be used at any time."
"In that case, take them all out. I want to use them." A moment later, Orochimaru brought a briefcase and placed it before Kagami. Inside were fifty pairs of Tenseigan, stored in test tubes. It didn't cost Orochimaru much to cultivate them—he only needed some Tenseigan genes and Hashirama's cells. If not for the fact that Itachi's body could only withstand the cultivation of fifty pairs at once, he would have made more.
"Can these Tenseigan awaken other ocular jutsu?" Kagami asked. The Tenseigan cloned from the original on the moon would have the same abilities, and while not bad, Kagami was not satisfied.
"I can try," Orochimaru said, "but it will take some time to research."
"Okay, then you can study that next," Kagami nodded, casually tossing a pair of Tenseigan to Orochimaru. "This is a reward for you."
"Thank you, sir!" Orochimaru said, excitedly accepting the eyes. He had long coveted their power. If not for Kagami's Kotoamatsukami, he would have started studying how to transplant them into himself long ago. Now that Kagami had given him a pair, he was naturally thrilled. Once he perfected the Hashirama cell transplantation technology, he would be able to transplant them.
But at that moment, Orochimaru suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning pale.
"What's wrong with you?" Kagami frowned. Orochimaru's abilities were useful; he didn't want anything to happen to him.
"It's nothing," Orochimaru smiled nonchalantly. "This body just can't hold on any longer. I'll just change to another one." This body had been used for several years, and his constant research had worn it out. He was used to changing bodies every few years.
Kagami then remembered Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation technique. He had to change bodies every few years. That was why he had been after Itachi's body in the original story, only to be killed instantly by a genjutsu. Orochimaru was a top-tier ninja; he shouldn't have been defeated so easily. It was most likely because the reincarnation technique had weakened his soul, making him vulnerable.
Thinking of this, Kagami used his spiritual pressure to check Orochimaru's soul. He was shocked to find it was so broken and weak that it was even weaker than a genin's. This confirmed his suspicion. If Orochimaru continued like this, his soul would eventually dissipate completely.
"Orochimaru," Kagami said seriously, "your soul has become broken because of your continuous use of the Reincarnation Technique. That's why your resistance to illusions is so low. If you continue, your soul will eventually cease to exist."
Hearing this, Orochimaru froze as if struck by lightning. He had used the technique to gain eternal life, but he never expected it to have such a devastating side effect. If his soul disappeared, he would truly be dead. His face turned pale as snow, his eyes filled with fear and despair. He was no longer the cold-blooded Orochimaru, but an ordinary person facing the threat of death.
He quickly knelt on the ground. "Please, Sir Kagami, save me!" he begged, his voice trembling and hoarse. "I am willing to pay any price, just save my life!" He knew that if Kagami could see the problem, he could surely solve it.