"Haha, you have a point, Fugaku. Every generation has its own mission.
"But we still need to take precautions. At the very least, we need the ability to fight back. If they appeared before us now, there would be nothing we could do," Orochimaru said.
Fugaku was surprised. That trip to Ryūchi Cave had changed Orochimaru in many ways. The Orochimaru he knew would never have said anything like that before.
Usually, Orochimaru paid little attention to anything that did not concern him. Now he almost sounded like someone preparing to save the world.
As if he had noticed Fugaku's surprise, Orochimaru chuckled. "Surprised, Fugaku?"
Fugaku nodded. "A little. But it makes sense. Life is hard enough for people in this cruel world.
"It's understandable that someone would step forward to save them, no matter who that person is. Even Madara Uchiha, whom the entire Shinobi World once feared, ultimately wanted to end its wars and bring peace to its people.
"His beliefs were simply at odds with most people's, which was why they opposed him. If even Madara Uchiha once wanted to save the world, there's nothing strange about what you're doing.
"It caught me off guard at first. I made too much of it."
Orochimaru smiled. "There's another reason. Our research into immortality has made great progress. Both Impure World Reincarnation and Living Corpse Reincarnation have reached the human experimentation stage.
"We may well succeed in achieving immortality. No one wants to spend centuries or millennia with a threat lurking nearby, always seeking to overthrow the Shinobi World.
"None of us has met the Chakra Ancestor, but one thing is certain: those of us who cultivate Chakra would be no match for him.
"To stand against the Chakra Ancestor, we would need to be at least as strong