Naruto had already been studying in Kumogakure for over two years. Under the dual pressure of sage arts and becoming a perfect jinchūriki, with Naruto's resilience and ability to rebound, his strength would definitely enter a period of rapid growth.
Yan would not have found it strange even if Naruto could enter Sage Mode now.
Naruto growing stronger was a good thing too. It would be just the thing to spur Sasuke on.
These two rivals, Sasuke and Naruto—early on, Sasuke's path had been smooth all the way, while Naruto had been somewhat mediocre. It was not that he was weak; he was still quite formidable.
But if one called him strong, he still could not compare to Sasuke.
As time passed and Naruto began to grow and gradually mature, Sasuke would be left behind.
Sasuke's talent was excellent. After all, he was the reincarnation of Indra's chakra. Saying his talent was poor would be an international joke.
But Sasuke had long been unable to obtain the Mangekyō Sharingan, completely stuck at this stage. Yan felt that Indra's chakra was at work, so he needed the reincarnation of Asura's chakra to give him a push.
How could loving brothers be without stimulation from the other half?
"Orochimaru, your mission is complete. Sasuke's training plan will end from now on.
"I'll issue your new experimental research funding as soon as possible. As I said before, normal experiments can be conducted in the village, but any experiments that cannot see the light of day should be carried out elsewhere."
For someone like Orochimaru, making him give up certain forbidden experiments was simply impossible. Yan could have seized his lifeline and demanded that he stop those experiments.
But there was no need to do that.
As long as Orochimaru obeyed, as long as