Was human life fragile?
That depended on what you compared it to...
Compared with mayflies and ants, humans were undoubtedly not fragile.
Even compared with beasts, humans had earned the title of "fearsome upright ape" and stood near the top of the food chain.
But compared with human ideals and desires, life seemed fragile and fleeting.
That was also why Minato had deliberately chosen to work with Orochimaru.
He wasn't as obsessed with immortality as Orochimaru, but he was hardly content with a mere few decades—or even a century—of life.
Given Minato's abilities, achieving immortality wouldn't actually be difficult.
Once the power of All-Encompassing Power had fully merged and he awakened the Rinnegan, he wouldn't need to gather the Tailed Beasts. He'd only need to collect the chakra of the Nine Tailed Beasts, gut the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, modify it into a small Ten-Tails, and seal it inside himself.
In theory, that would make him an existence on Kaguya's level—or at least put him on the same level in terms of life force.
Whether he could become truly immortal like Kaguya was hard to say, but living longer shouldn't be a problem.
But leaving aside the potential drawbacks of this method, immortality for one person meant nothing to Minato.
"Do you know, Minato..."
Orochimaru set down his cup. His tone had grown much more serious, and a look of recollection flickered in his eyes.
"We're very alike. We both lost our parents when we were young, and we both had exceptional talent. Heh... Though I'm nothing compared with you, Minato, Teacher Sarutobi once called me a genius seen only once in several decades."
"Back then, I often stood before my parents' graves and wondered: if everyone must die one day, what's the meaning of life?"
As he