Attention from the Teacher

Uchiha Kyohaku's changes were like undercurrents beneath ice—turbulent, yet soundless. But before Orochimaru's perceptive golden snake eyes, none of those changes could remain hidden.

The first and most obvious outward trait was his increasingly pronounced, bloodless pale skin. During a break between experiments, Orochimaru's gaze happened to sweep over Kyohaku's hand as he calibrated an instrument, and the color of that skin made him pause slightly. It was not the pallor of sickness, but something... closer to the white of a cold-blooded creature or a special experimental specimen, carrying a strange vitality. He said nothing, merely allowing an imperceptible curve to touch his lips.

Next, he noticed the subtle changes in Kyohaku's movements and posture. The cane that had accompanied Kyohaku for years had, at some point, begun appearing less and less often. At first, Kyohaku still carried it out of habit, but before long, Orochimaru discovered that his movements through the laboratory had become exceptionally steady, even possessing the lightness of a feline. Whenever his right foot touched the ground, there was no longer the slightest stiffness or weakness. His disability seemed to have become a thing of the past.

Even more obvious were the changes in his chakra. When Kyohaku handled experimental materials or performed auxiliary ninjutsu and sealing techniques, the sheer volume and purity of his chakra, along with his effortless control over it, had already surpassed the scope of an ordinary chunin and firmly entered the level of a jonin. Such a leap in strength could never have been achieved through normal training.

Lastly, there were his eyes. Though Kyohaku rarely activated his Sharingan of his own accord in the laboratory, whenever he occasionally needed extreme powers of observation or had to deal with a sudden energy impact, the fleeting glimpse of scarlet pupils with a more complex pattern, nearing the three-tomoe form, likewise did not escape Orochimaru's notice.

All of these changes had taken place within just a few months.

Orochimaru saw them all, yet rather than harboring any suspicion or asking questions, the appreciation and pleasure in his cold snake eyes only burned more brightly.

"What a... remarkable masterpiece." Once, as he watched Kyohaku smoothly manipulate three sealing formulas at once to stabilize an extremely unstable soul-fragment sample, Orochimaru suddenly murmured in his distinctive hoarse voice, as though speaking to himself and yet also speaking to Kyohaku.

Kyohaku did not pause in the slightest. He merely tilted his head a little and gave him an inquiring look.

Orochimaru chuckled softly and approached at an unhurried pace, his gaze sweeping across Kyohaku's body like a scanner. "The form of life was never meant to be bound by fixed frameworks. Breaking free from the shackles of flesh and ascending to a higher level... that is the natural state of the path toward truth. You have done very well, Kyohaku."

His tone was full of matter-of-fact certainty, as though a disciple independently completing a successful bodily transformation was the most natural thing in the world. After all, he himself was the pinnacle of bodily modification, having long since made himself inhuman. In his values, which transcended all common sense, Kyohaku's changes were not aberrations at all, but proof of "talent" and "enlightenment"—proof that he was one of the same kind, someone who truly understood Orochimaru's ideals and possessed the ability to put them into practice.

From that moment onward, Orochimaru's attitude toward Kyohaku underwent a subtle yet significant shift. He no longer regarded Kyohaku merely as a valuable assistant or experimental subject, but truly saw him as, in a sense, an "heir" or a "collaborator."

He began taking the initiative to systematically impart more profound knowledge to him. He would casually toss Kyohaku several ancient scrolls carrying a stale, musty smell, filled with dangerous human experimentation data and forbidden modification plans.

"Look at this," he said, pointing to a record about forced cellular fusion and rejection reactions. "This is an early failed attempt at combining bloodline limits. The key lies in constructing an energy buffer layer, rather than forcibly crushing the resistance..."

Or, "The compatibility between soul and body is not fixed. With stimulation from specific drugs and sealing techniques, this compatibility can be raised for a certain period of time, allowing the body to bear more powerful external forces..."

He was no longer content to have Kyohaku merely assist him. Instead, he began assigning him independent responsibility for small but extraordinarily precise subprojects, such as cultivating a mutant cell line with powerful resistance to neurotoxins or optimizing a complex energy-extraction sealing array.

More importantly, the access he granted reached an unprecedented level. Orochimaru had practically opened all of his private library and research results to him, aside from the most crucial material concerning Living Corpse Reincarnation. The vast collection of forbidden technique scrolls, lost sealing tomes, detailed research notes on the bloodline limits of various clans—including the Uchiha, Hyuga, and Kaguya—and even much taboo knowledge involving the realm of souls were no longer guarded against Kyohaku.

"Your understanding of sealing techniques has reached the introductory level. You may look at these now." Orochimaru placed several deep-purple scrolls before Kyohaku. They were copies of portions of Second Hokage Tobirama Senju's original manuscripts regarding space-time seals and soul confinement, their value impossible to measure.

"When applying medical ninjutsu, do not always limit yourself to healing. Destruction and reconstruction are two sides of the same coin." He would then toss over dangerous forbidden techniques describing how to use medical knowledge to precisely destroy the body's chakra pathways or catalyze abnormal tissue growth.

He answered every question and taught without holding anything back. Orochimaru seemed to have found the perfect recipient for his torrent of knowledge and a partner with whom to clash ideas. Every question Kyohaku raised based on his own understanding prompted Orochimaru to offer deeper explanations and even more wildly imaginative ideas.

A common sight in the laboratory was this: the pale scientist and the equally pale youth standing shoulder to shoulder before a complex experimental bench, either fiercely discussing how to optimize an energy formula or silently cooperating to complete an operation of extreme precision. A strange mutual understanding, built upon greed for knowledge, disregard for the forms of life, and betrayal of common sense, flowed silently between them.

Uchiha Kyohaku silently accepted all of it. He knew this was the "reward" he had earned by displaying his worth. Like the greediest sponge, he absorbed the forbidden knowledge Orochimaru had accumulated through countless efforts, continuously enriching his own theoretical foundation and laying bricks for his immense Completion Plan.

The attention and wholehearted cultivation of his teacher became the strongest catalyst for his rapid growth. He traveled farther and faster down this path that turned away from sunlight. And Orochimaru watched with satisfaction as his most outstanding "masterpiece" advanced step by step toward a realm beyond the ordinary.