While Tobirama sank into thought, Rikusei held his tea and curiously looked around the office.
There were none of the jars and bottles of soaking materials he had imagined. Everywhere he looked, scrolls of varying sizes were neatly arranged on wooden racks within easy reach.
The steam rising from his cup reminded him of the Hashirama Cells that had been sent here during his physical examination. Thinking of Tobirama's dejected expression earlier, he guessed that the relevant experiments had already begun.
It put Rikusei on guard. When the time came for him to fuse the two, he had to be fully prepared.
Hashirama Cells could be cultivated using White Zetsu. The only problem standing in his way was cultivating Indra's cells.
Rikusei drained his tea in one gulp. His eyes flickered as he wrestled with the issue, but he could only try experimenting on White Zetsu.
There was plenty of material, after all, and it was highly workable.
Tobirama stopped pacing, pulled over a chair, and sat across from Rikusei with amusement in his eyes. "Doesn't making a Sage the leader of the shinobi give you the feeling of the Sage of Six Paths' era of the Ninjutsu Sect?"
No, an incomplete Sage.
Thinking of a Sage with only two Truth-Seeking Orbs, Rikusei repeatedly refuted him inwardly, though he kept an agreeable expression on his face. "The course of the world sometimes resembles a cycle."
"Just like the Rinnegan?" Tobirama suddenly became interested, his tone teasing. "Are you saying that after peace comes, we'll step into another age of chaos?"
"Peace and war are opposites that exist as one."
Tobirama had long since grown used to Rikusei's thought-provoking remarks.
The familiar line of thought sent his mind wandering.
He could not help recalling that, at Rikusei's age, the topics he