He raised one hand and slowly curled his fingers into a fist.
"Most people are trapped within their brief lives."
"They fight for their villages."
"They kill for power."
"Then they treat those meaningless victories and defeats as their greatest achievements."
"Their horizons are too narrow."
Lie Yang did not respond to his assessment.
He took out a scroll and placed it between them.
The scroll was already somewhat worn.
Its edges bore the marks of repeated handling.
Orochimaru needed only one glance for his slit pupils to contract slightly.
"This is my research on the Cell Activation Technique."
He picked up the scroll.
The number and handwriting on its cover were unchanged.
"It's still the first edition from five years ago."
Orochimaru unfurled the scroll.
Dense annotations immediately filled his sight.
"Konoha actually gave you access to this?"
Lie Yang remained seated.
"Konoha now acknowledges me as the God of Shinobi."
"Naturally, I'm free to use the village's research materials."
Orochimaru's fingers paused at the edge of the page.
Lie Yang had said "God of Shinobi" without the slightest hint of boasting.
But after their clash, Orochimaru could find no reason to dispute it.
"God of Shinobi..."
Orochimaru gave a low chuckle.
"Konoha has finally learned to face reality."
He said no more about the title.
His attention soon returned to the annotations.
The first few pages contained his old notes on cell activation.
Stimulating cells with chakra.
Accelerating the healing of injuries.
Increasing tissue activity.
And observing how cells changed under different chakra frequencies.
Orochimaru knew all of it by heart.
But Lie Yang's annotations did not assess whether the Cell Activation Technique was complete.
The very first question stopped him from turning the page.
Did chakra originate from life, or was it a parasite within it?
The