"Yamanaka, what are you going to do? Didn't Teacher Sarutobi ask you to make Healing Talismans?" Orochimaru asked.
"I've been making Healing Talismans for almost three months straight. The village's stockpile should be enough by now, right?" Yamanaka Tohru replied helplessly.
"But you can never have too many Healing Talismans. You still haven't answered my question. What are you going to do?"
"Lord Orochimaru, I'm going to the Konoha Library to look at Wind Style Ninjutsu." After Orochimaru asked repeatedly, Yamanaka Tohru could only tell him the truth.
"Wind Style Ninjutsu?" Orochimaru looked at Yamanaka Tohru thoughtfully.
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru. The war is about to begin, and I want to improve myself as much as possible before it starts."
"How could the Konoha Library have Wind Style Ninjutsu?"
"Brother Minato is giving special training to the newly graduated Genin, and Uncle Jiraiya has gone out on a mission. I can only go to the library to look at basic Wind Style Ninjutsu." Yamanaka Tohru explained.
"Wind Release? As it happens, I know it too. Do you need me to demonstrate Wind Release for you?" The probing just now had filled Orochimaru with interest in Yamanaka Tohru.
"Then sorry for the trouble, Lord Orochimaru." After pondering for a moment, Yamanaka Tohru nodded in agreement.
As one of the Three Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru's strength was unquestionably at Kage Level. Moreover, Orochimaru had yet to use Living Corpse Reincarnation to change bodies, so his soul had no defects, and he wasn't afraid of genjutsu.
At the Third Training Ground, Orochimaru demonstrated various Wind Release techniques for Yamanaka Tohru. From C-rank to A-rank, they left Yamanaka Tohru in awe.
He didn't merely demonstrate them, either. Orochimaru even explained the traits and weaknesses of the common Wind Release techniques to Yamanaka Tohru one by one. Yamanaka Tohru had to admit that when it came to ninjutsu, Orochimaru was more knowledgeable than Jiraiya.
After the Wind Style Ninjutsu demonstration ended, Orochimaru and Yamanaka Tohru began chatting.
"Yamanaka, you're also a Medical Ninja. What is life to you?"
Orochimaru's question made Yamanaka Tohru recall the Orochimaru from the original story. When Orochimaru was young, his parents' deaths had led him to search for the meaning of life. Through his step-by-step exploration, Orochimaru had come to understand life's fragility and the brevity of existence.
Orochimaru had already been a genius in ninjutsu. After realizing how fragile and fleeting life was, he began working on ninjutsu that would grant immortality.
As he researched his techniques, Orochimaru became increasingly indifferent to the existence of life and increasingly unscrupulous in his methods. He would eventually even experiment on fellow villagers and children, until Danzo betrayed him and he defected from Konoha.
When Yamanaka Tohru had first started watching anime in his previous life, his first impression of Orochimaru had been poor. The reason was simple: very few people would like a villain who killed his own teacher.
Yamanaka Tohru's opinion of Orochimaru began to change after Orochimaru Kabuto appeared. This was a person who imitated Orochimaru's way of survival and even knew more than Orochimaru himself. His appearance made Yamanaka Tohru realize that Orochimaru's life had actually been quite interesting.
Later, when Orochimaru went to rescue Tsunade, the things he said made Yamanaka Tohru completely change his view of this early-series anime boss.
After coming to the world of Naruto, Yamanaka Tohru had been a modern youth raised under the red flag in his previous life. He had received a materialist education and was also a medical worker. He grew increasingly interested in the only Snake Uncle in Naruto who believed in science. After all, they were both scientists.
Among the many evaluations of Orochimaru in his previous life, Yamanaka Tohru especially liked one: "In Naruto, some people believe in bloodlines, some believe in willpower, some believe in the body, some believe in the eyes, some believe in innate inheritance, and some believe in acquired effort. Only Orochimaru believes in science!"
"Snake Uncle, I think life is the most fragile thing of all, especially the lives of ninjas. A single Kunai can kill a ninja, one ninjutsu can kill a ninja, and one Explosive Tag can also kill a ninja."
Yamanaka Tohru's words made Orochimaru's eyes brighten slightly. It was the first time he had heard someone express such thoughts—thoughts so close to his own beliefs.
"Although life is both fragile and short, some things brought by life are priceless and eternal. The passing down of ninjutsu from generation to generation, the inheritance of Kekkei Genkai, and the love parents have for their children."
Yamanaka Tohru's words left Orochimaru silent. A few words from Yamanaka Tohru naturally couldn't shake Orochimaru's convictions, but his answer had reminded Orochimaru of his parents.
"Then, Yamanaka, do you think it's possible for a person to achieve immortality?" Clearly, Yamanaka Tohru's words had resonated with Orochimaru, or he wouldn't have asked such a question.
In his previous life, Naruto fans often said, "If I were lucky enough to be born in Konoha, I'd definitely drink with Snake Uncle and discuss immortality." Yamanaka Tohru was fulfilling that wish on behalf of Naruto fans everywhere.
In the Naruto world, only Kaguya Otsutsuki had truly achieved immortality. After eating the God Tree's Chakra Fruit, she had become an undying existence.
Kakuzu and Hidan's immortality could be considered a form of forbidden technique, while Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation came at the cost of sacrificing part of his soul.
Yamanaka Tohru had previously been uninterested in immortality. In his view, being able to spend several decades seeing all the splendor of the human world was enough.
But after finding someone he loved, Yamanaka Tohru's thoughts had changed somewhat. Being able to stay with his beloved forever was also a beautiful thing.
"Snake Uncle, I think immortality is possible in a certain sense." After careful consideration, Yamanaka Tohru still gave this answer.
The reason people grew old and died was that genes could make errors during mutation and replication. Perfect replication could never be achieved, and the human body had no way to correct these minor errors.
As time passed, more and more errors accumulated during genetic replication. Eventually, they became one massive error that couldn't be corrected. This error caused the entire system to collapse, making it difficult to function normally. (P.S. A professor said this in one of my university classes.)
If one preserved their genes at the peak of the human body's condition, used them to perfectly replicate and form a new body, and then transferred their consciousness into that new body, a new life would begin.
Naturally, such a thing had been impossible in his previous life. A person's consciousness—or soul—simply couldn't be transferred. But in the Naruto world, research into the soul had already been successfully applied to ninjutsu.
Spirit Transformation Technique, Reaper Death Seal, and Living Corpse Reincarnation were all techniques related to the soul.
The method Yamanaka Tohru had imagined was actually similar to Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation, but Yamanaka Tohru's method could effectively avoid damage to the soul.
Yamanaka Tohru didn't tell Orochimaru about this method, and naturally, he wouldn't use it himself. On one hand, the current technology of the Naruto world couldn't meet the requirements of this theory. On the other hand, this world possessed the wondrous power known as Chakra.
Achieving immortality in the Naruto world through the science of his previous life wasn't the result Yamanaka Tohru wanted. If he truly wanted immortality one day, he would become genuinely immortal like Kaguya Otsutsuki.
Moreover, he wasn't very interested in immortality right now. Yamanaka Tohru's goal remained to become the strongest person in the Shinobi World.
After hearing Yamanaka Tohru's answer, Orochimaru was very satisfied. Chatting with Yamanaka Tohru made him feel as if he had found a kindred spirit.
Just as Orochimaru was preparing to discuss the matter in greater depth with Yamanaka Tohru, an Anbu Ninja brought him an order from the Hokage. The Third Hokage wanted Orochimaru to go to the Hokage Office immediately.
"Yamanaka, I hope we'll have another chance to chat." After saying goodbye to Yamanaka Tohru, Orochimaru turned and left.
Writing about immortality was exhausting. I'd even ended up using material from one of my university lectures.
Before you continue