A Teacher's Attention

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

The first was his most conspicuous external trait: his increasingly pronounced, bloodless pale skin. During a break in an experiment, Orochimaru's gaze casually swept over the back of Kyohaku's hand as he calibrated the instruments, 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 test subject, carrying a strange vitality. He said nothing, merely curling his lips into an imperceptible smile.

Then, 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 Orochimaru soon discovered that his movements through the laboratory had become exceptionally steady, even possessing the lightness of a feline. When his right foot touched the ground, there was no longer the slightest stiffness or unsteadiness. His disability seemed to have become a thing of the past.

Even more obvious were the changes in his chakra. Whenever Kyohaku handled experimental materials or used auxiliary ninjutsu and Fūinjutsu, his vast, pure chakra reserves and effortless control had already surpassed the scope of an ordinary Chunin, firmly entering the level of a Jonin. Such a leap in strength was absolutely beyond the reach of normal training.

Lastly, there were his eyes. Although Kyohaku rarely activated his Sharingan on his own in the laboratory, whenever extreme observational ability was needed or he had to deal with a sudden surge of energy, those fleeting glimpses of scarlet pupils—more intricate in pattern and approaching the Three-Tomoe form—had not escaped Orochimaru's notice either.

All of these changes had occurred within only a few short months.

Orochimaru saw it all, yet not only did he harbor no suspicion or ask any questions, the appreciation and delight in his cold snake eyes instead grew ever more intense.

"Truly... an astonishing masterpiece." Once, as he watched Kyohaku smoothly manipulate three Fūinjutsu formulas at once to stabilize an extremely unstable soul-fragment specimen, Orochimaru suddenly murmured in his distinctive raspy voice, as if speaking to himself, yet also as if speaking to Kyohaku.

Kyohaku did not pause in his work. He merely tilted his head slightly, revealing an inquisitive look.

Orochimaru chuckled softly and slowly approached, his gaze sweeping over Kyohaku's entire body like a scanner. "The form of life should never be bound by fixed frameworks. Breaking free from the shackles of the flesh and advancing toward a higher level... that is the natural course of pursuing truth. You have done very well, Kyohaku."

His tone was filled with certainty, as though it were perfectly ordinary for a disciple to independently complete a successful bodily modification. After all, he himself was the pinnacle of Soft Physique Modification, having long since turned himself into something inhuman. In his values, which transcended all common sense, Kyohaku's changes were not aberrations at all. Instead, they were proof of "talent" and "enlightenment"—proof that he was a kindred spirit 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 change. He no longer regarded him merely as a valuable assistant or test subject, but truly saw him as a "successor" or "collaborator" in some sense.

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

"Look at this." He pointed at a passage concerning forced cellular fusion and rejection reactions. "This is an early failed case of attempting to fuse Kekkei Genkai. The key lies in constructing an energy buffer layer, not forcibly overwhelming it..."

Or, "The compatibility between the soul and the body is not fixed. Through stimulation with certain drugs and Fūinjutsu, this compatibility can be increased for a period of time, allowing one to bear stronger external power..."

He no longer limited Kyohaku to assisting with menial work. Instead, he began allowing him to independently oversee small but exceptionally precise subprojects, such as cultivating a mutated cell line with extreme resistance to neurotoxins, or optimizing a complex energy-extraction sealing array.

More importantly, the access he granted reached an unprecedented degree. Orochimaru opened almost all of his private collection and research findings to Kyohaku, aside from the most essential portions concerning Living Corpse Reincarnation. The vast collection of forbidden technique scrolls, lost secret Fūinjutsu texts, detailed research notes on the Kekkei Genkai of various clans—including the Uchiha, Hyuga, and Kaguya—and even much forbidden knowledge concerning the domain of souls were no longer withheld from Kyohaku.

"Your understanding of Fūinjutsu has reached the beginner level. You may look at these now." Orochimaru placed several deep-purple scrolls before Kyohaku. They were copied excerpts from the original manuscripts of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, concerning space-time sealing and soul confinement, their value beyond measure.

"Do not always limit the application of Medical Ninjutsu to healing. Destruction and reshaping are simply two sides of the same coin." He would then toss over several dangerous forbidden techniques detailing how to use medical knowledge to precisely destroy the body's meridians or catalyze abnormal tissue growth.

He answered every question and taught without reservation. Orochimaru seemed to have found the perfect recipient for his flood of knowledge and a partner with whom to clash ideas. Every question Kyohaku raised based on his own understanding could prompt Orochimaru to offer deeper explanations and even more wildly imaginative lines of thought.

The laboratory often presented such a scene: the pale scientist and the equally pale young man standing side by side before a complex experimental table, either fiercely debating how to optimize an energy formula or silently cooperating to complete an operation of extraordinary precision. A peculiar tacit understanding, born of greed for knowledge, indifference toward the forms of life, and betrayal of common sense, flowed silently between them.

Kyohaku Uchiha silently accepted all of it. He knew this was the "reward" he had earned by demonstrating his value. Like the greediest of sponges, he absorbed the forbidden knowledge Orochimaru had accumulated through countless efforts, constantly enriching his own theoretical foundation and laying brick after brick for his enormous "Completion Plan."

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