Inside the Laboratory.
Orochimaru lowered his head and thought for a moment.
Then he smiled. "Shinji, if what you say is true, this was foreseeable. Your genes assimilated with Nobihi's. Ocular Power and Chakra come from the cells themselves, and given the strength of your genes... it's fair to say your eyes and Nobihi's have become one."
"Yeah..." Shinji smiled.
"But the 'change' you mentioned earlier wasn't this, was it?"
A sharp light flashed in Shinji's eyes. "No, it wasn't. If he can awaken the Eternal Eye, that means there's another change to come..."
Orochimaru's gaze sharpened. "Another change?"
"That's right..."
Shinji smiled.
As things stood, Nobihi's transformation was far from over.
After all, there were other things in his genes.
"That kid really has everything he could ask for now."
Shinji sighed. "I fought on battlefields from childhood, lived on a knife's edge, and barely survived more times than I can count. I finally scraped together enough strength to start making plans last year, and those plans paid off. But he gets to enjoy the results just like that."
"Honestly..."
Orochimaru glanced at Shinji's smiling face and laughed to himself. "Shinji... you really are good to your little brother."
"I said that a long time ago. You seemed to scoff at it then and wouldn't give me an answer, but now it's been proven."
Shinji turned to stare at Orochimaru and said solemnly, "Have I?"
"Haven't you?"
"..."
Shinji shook his head, said nothing more, and closed his eyes to rest.
"Wake me when Nobihi changes again."
Orochimaru couldn't help smiling. "All right."
Inside the Laboratory.
Silence fell once more.
Shinji summoned the system, which he hadn't seen in a long time.
``` [Collection Mission: Gather any five Six Paths Tools! Current progress: Kōkinjō, Seven-Star Sword, Benihisago, Banana Palm