Orochimaru's research institute.
When Senju Chen pushed open the heavy metal door of the laboratory again, the pungent smell of formalin mixed with the smell of blood hit his face.
Xie followed him in, his green eyes scanning everything in front of him through the cracks in the puppet's shell.
The dark green culture fluid was rolling in the huge glass tank, and experimental subjects of various forms were floating inside - some still maintained their human form, and some had been twisted into monster shapes. The walls were covered with anatomical diagrams and data sheets, and the air was filled with a nauseating smell of pharmaceuticals.
"Here..." Scorpion's voice was filled with excitement, "It's more interesting than I imagined."
Kakuzu stood at the door, looking at Xie's appearance, the corner of his mouth twitched.
This guy is indeed a lunatic.
"Hehehe..."
A hoarse and magnetic laughter came from deep in the laboratory.
Orochimaru walked out from behind a culture tank. His pale skin looked even weirder under the green light. He licked his lips and stared at the scorpion with his golden vertical pupils, as if he was looking at an interesting collection.
"Little Chen, is this the Sasori of the Red Sands you are talking about?" Orochimaru turned to look at Xie "I heard that you make people into puppets?"
"Yes, I call it eternal life."
"Eternity..." Orochimaru suddenly laughed, very exaggeratedly, "Do you really think that kind of thing is eternal?"
Scorpion's eyes turned cold.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean..." Orochimaru walked to a culture tank and patted the glass, "A puppet is just a dead thing. Even if you preserve the human skin perfectly, it is just an empty shell. There is no blood flow, no cell division, no breath of life... How can this kind of thing be called life?"
Scorpion's body stiffened for a moment.
"You..."
"The true eternal life should be the eternity of the physical body." Orochimaru turned around, with a fanatical light flashing in his eyes, "Only a living body can carry real life. Even if the body needs to be changed, it should be a body of flesh and blood, not those cold wood and metal."
Scorpion was silent for a moment.
Then, he suddenly laughed.
"Ha... your idea is very interesting." Scorpion's voice was full of sarcasm, "But have you ever thought that the physical body itself is the biggest shackles? It will age, decay, and be eroded by disease. No matter how you take care of it, you will eventually die."
Orochimaru licked his lips, "As long as we can find a way to live forever, our body will not age."
"That's just your fantasy." Scorpion shook his head, "I think that as long as the consciousness still exists, it doesn't matter what the body is. The puppet will not age, get sick, or die. This is the real eternity."
"Consciousness?" Orochimaru raised his eyebrows, "How can a person still be alive when his body is gone?"
"The definition of living should not be determined by the physical body." Scorpion's tone became serious, "As long as the consciousness is still there, even if it is replaced by a puppet's body, it is still 'me'."
The argument between the two became more and more intense, and their voices echoed in the laboratory.
Kakuzu stood aside, watching the two lunatics arguing, and couldn't help but complain: Who are these people on horseback...
"Ahem."
A calm voice suddenly broke in.
Amado stood up from behind the experimental table, pushed up his goggles, and said expressionlessly, "You two, have you quarreled enough?"
Orochimaru and Xie stopped at the same time and turned to look at Amado.
"Oh?" Orochimaru smiled, "Amado, do you have any opinions too?"
"It's not an opinion." Amado walked over, his tone still calm, "I just feel that the argument between you two is too one-sided."
Scorpion frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean..." Amado stopped in front of the two of them, "You are all arguing about which one is better, the body or the puppet, but in fact, this is not the point at all."
"Then what's the point?" Orochimaru became interested.
"Consciousness." Amado pushed up his goggles, a glimmer of light flashing in his eyes, "As long as the consciousness can be preserved, nothing else matters. Whether the body or the puppet, they are just containers that carry consciousness. As long as the consciousness can be transferred, backed up, and copied, that is true immortality."
Orochimaru's pupils shrank slightly.
Scorpion's body also stiffened.
"Transfer... backup... copy..." Orochimaru murmured to himself, the enthusiasm in his eyes getting stronger and stronger, "Interesting... so interesting..."
"This idea..." Scorpio's voice was trembling, "If it can be realized..."
"Of course it can be achieved." Amado's tone was very calm, as if stating a fact, "Human consciousness is essentially the electrical signals of brain neurons. As long as the rules of these signals can be analyzed, they can be digitized and stored."
"Digitalization..." Orochimaru licked his lips, "You mean, turning human consciousness into data?"
"Yes." Amado nodded, "Just like your ninja's Sealing Jutsu, you can seal Chakra in a scroll. The same goes for consciousness. As long as you find a suitable medium, you can save it."
When Xie heard this, he was stunned.
He never thought that consciousness could handle it like this.
"If we can really do this..." Xie's voice was filled with excitement, "Then my Puppet Technique can truly achieve eternity."
"It's not just Puppet Technique." Orochimaru's eyes flashed with excitement, "If I can transfer my consciousness to a new body, then I won't have to worry about the aging of my body."
Orochimaru and Xie looked at each other.
Then, they both laughed at the same time.
"Hehehe... It seems that we can cooperate on our research direction." Orochimaru licked his lips, "Amado, do you have any specific ideas?"
"Of course." Amado turned around, walked to an experimental table, and picked up a piece of information, "I have recently been studying a technology - the reading and copying of neural signals. If successful, human consciousness can be completely extracted."
Xie walked over, took the information, and browsed it quickly.
His hands began to tremble.
The contents of this document were completely beyond his cognition.
"This... this..."
Well, Scorpio can't understand the data in his hand at all...
Amado ignored the scorpion and pushed up his goggles, "I have already done a preliminary experiment. Although the success rate is very low, it at least proves that this path is feasible."
Orochimaru came over and took the information from Xie's hand. After reading it, the enthusiasm in his eyes became more and more intense.
"If we can perfect this technology..." Orochimaru's voice was trembling, "Then we can create a truly immortal body."
"It's not just immortality." Amado's tone was still calm, "If consciousness can be digitized, backup and replication of consciousness can be achieved. By then, a person can have countless 'selves'."
Although he didn't understand the other party's information, Xie was stunned when he heard this.
Countless "selves"...
This idea is simply crazy.
But... it's too tempting.
"I want to join this research." Xie suddenly spoke, with a hint of urgency in his voice, "No matter what you need, I can provide it."
"Not bad." Orochimaru licked his lips, "This project is so interesting."
The three of them looked at each other, with the same enthusiasm flashing in their eyes.
In the next few hours, the three of them got into a heated discussion.
Orochimaru showed the results of his research - an experimental body fused with Tailed Beast cells. The experimental body was lying in a culture tank, with its body covered with a layer of light red Chakra Cloak, and its heart still beating weakly.
"This is my latest work." Orochimaru patted the glass, eyes flashing with excitement, "Its cell activity is ten times that of ordinary people, and its regeneration ability has reached an astonishing level. Even if an arm is cut off, it can grow back within a few days."
Xie walked to the culture tank and carefully observed the experimental body.
The look in his eyes gradually changed from the initial arrogance to shock.
"This kind of vitality..." Scorpion murmured to himself, "Has gone beyond the scope of a puppet..."
"Of course." Orochimaru licked his lips, "No matter how sophisticated the puppet is, it is just a dead thing. But this body is truly alive."