Proactive Instruction

Under the cold white lights of the laboratory, even the air seemed to have solidified into concentrated stillness. Uchiha Kyohaku stood on a raised platform so he could reach the workbench. Oversized sterile gloves covered his hands, yet they were steady as stone as he precisely mixed a special cell-stabilizing solution according to the complex ratios Orochimaru had just dictated. His movements were smooth and exact, without the slightest unnecessary motion, as though he had rehearsed them thousands of times.

Orochimaru stood nearby with his arms folded, his golden snake eyes fixed unblinkingly on Kyohaku's work. A rare, nearly imperceptible curve of almost satisfied approval touched his cold lips.

Over the past year or so, this had become increasingly common.

Kyohaku's near-greedy thirst for knowledge, terrifying learning speed, and ability to grasp concepts at a touch—or even draw further inferences—had thoroughly earned a certain kind of "approval" from Orochimaru. In Orochimaru's system of values, talent and ambition were the only two passports. Age, background, even good and evil, were irrelevant footnotes. He admired all "kindred spirits" who could break convention and pursue truth, and the qualities Kyohaku displayed were undoubtedly drawing closer to that category.

Thus, Orochimaru began teaching him deliberately. He no longer viewed Kyohaku merely as a valuable test subject who provided data and samples, but began treating him as a... tool worth honing? An apprentice with the potential to understand the pursuit of his lifetime? Perhaps even Orochimaru himself had never clearly defined it, but he had indeed begun investing "resources" in him.

He would casually toss Kyohaku several profound scrolls concerning the relationship between cellular activity and Yang-natured chakra, then test his understanding with even more difficult questions a few days later. While conducting dangerous forbidden jutsu experiments, he would explain in that hoarse voice the core principles of energy conversion and the horrifying consequences of failure. He even allowed Kyohaku to operate those expensive, delicate instruments and personally sense the most subtle data changes when chakra interacted with matter.

"Watch here," Orochimaru said, his finger gliding across the energy sensor's screen, where an extremely complex chakra waveform was displayed. "This is the energy signature of Hashirama Senju's cells retaining their vitality even after leaving the original body. Such powerful life force... almost immortal. Once an ordinary person's cells leave the body, their energy rapidly decays. But his... it is as though they carry a miniature senjutsu cycle of their own." His tone was full of obsession and longing.

Kyohaku focused on recording everything while thinking at high speed. "Is it because the Yang Release power contained within the cells themselves has reached its limit, even surpassing the scope of ordinary chakra and forming some kind of 'self-consistent' energy structure?"

"Very close." Orochimaru glanced at him, a hint of praise flashing through his eyes. "But what is more crucial is the 'divine' factor contained within them... that is what truly touches the essence of the power of all things. Unfortunately, the rejection reaction also originates from that..." He shifted the topic and pointed to a lump of flesh in another dish, constantly writhing as it tried to devour the surrounding culture medium before ultimately collapsing in on itself. "Look. This is a failed fusion. Its life force is too domineering, and instead destroys the host."

Kyohaku silently observed, engraving every detail into his mind. Hashirama Cells... perhaps they were closely connected to his future "completion plan."

The laboratory's research focus gradually shifted toward the field Orochimaru was currently most obsessed with: the many forbidden jutsu left behind by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.

Especially the Impure World Reincarnation technique. More than once, Kyohaku had seen Orochimaru attempt to summon fragments of the dead's souls and fuse them with specially prepared sacrifices. The sight was strange and unsettling: dust gathered, gradually forming vague human shapes that sometimes let out soundless wails, only to collapse again in an instant. Failure was the norm, but every failure brought Orochimaru one step closer to his ultimate goal of profaning the boundary between life and death.

The work Kyohaku was responsible for also gradually advanced. At first, he merely cleaned vessels and recorded data. Later, he could independently complete parts of cell cultivation, basic rune engraving, and even assist with non-core jutsu energy guidance. His value swiftly transformed from "a valuable sample that could think" into "an exceptionally useful laboratory assistant."

He was simply too useful. His extraordinary memory meant he never made mistakes. His superb chakra control allowed him to perform the most delicate energy manipulations. His calm mind ensured that he would never panic under any unforeseen circumstance. And his nearly ruthless, objective perspective on the essence of life's structure was particularly to Orochimaru's liking.

He was like a tool tailor-made for the laboratory: precise, efficient, reliable.

Throughout this process, Kyohaku hungrily absorbed every scrap of knowledge about Impure World Reincarnation, soul energy, Hashirama Cells, and all of Tobirama's forbidden jutsu. He knew this knowledge was dangerous and taboo, but it was precisely the indispensable piece his future plans required.

He even began offering a few small suggestions of his own, based on the knowledge of two worlds.

"Lord Orochimaru, regarding the stabilization of soul fragments, if we used Yin-natured chakra to construct an energy field that simulates the frequency of 'obsession,' rather than forcibly suppressing them with sealing techniques, would that better reduce rejection and improve the success rate of fusion?"

"Could the corrosive nature of Hashirama Cells be addressed on the 'information level'? Perhaps we could use specific genjutsu or sealing techniques to interfere with or overwrite the 'devouring' directive they carry, rather than simply opposing them with force?"

These suggestions often came from unusual angles, yet they always gave Orochimaru new ideas, making the way he looked at Kyohaku grow increasingly profound.

In just over a year, Uchiha Kyohaku had undergone an astonishing transformation within this laboratory filled with taboos and danger. From a passive little experimental guinea pig, he had grown into a laboratory assistant whom Orochimaru actively taught and increasingly relied upon.

He stood silently in Orochimaru's shadow, calmly recording everything, learning everything, planning everything. Deep within those black eyes, occasionally reflected in the gleam of the instruments, shone a light of insight utterly unlike someone his age. He knew he was walking a shortcut toward the heart of power—and the price was dancing with the devil.