After Satori Hyūga finished speaking, a figure slowly emerged from the corner of the wall.
It was Orochimaru. He wore a pale white kimono with a purple obi, gliding gracefully toward Satori.
"Satori, you're truly hardworking," Orochimaru said, a gleam of admiration in his eyes.
"As a member of the Hyūga Main House, even shielded by the Branch House by default, you've never slacked on your taijutsu training."
"You've already surpassed most of your peers within the Hyūga Clan when it comes to strength."
Satori placed the fitness equipment on the ground, picked up a towel from a nearby rack, and wiped the sweat from his face before respectfully saying, "Professor Orochimaru, it's been a while."
"Being a caged bird, I still understand the importance of preparing for danger even in safety. The stronger I become, the longer I'll live."
"Born into the Hyūga Main House, I'm shielded by the Branch House by default, but it also feels like being trapped in a cage."
"One day, I might grow tired of this life. When that happens, I want to have the strength to break free from this prison."
Orochimaru praised, "No wonder you're the genius of the Hyūga Clan, the one who's come furthest toward achieving Tensei-level potential."
"A prodigy like Satori will surely be able to break free from the chains imposed by the Byakugan someday."
Orochimaru stared at Satori with his serpent-like eyes gleaming with an odd light, as though both testing and inviting.
"I'm running an experiment—care to join me? If successful, it might bring tremendous benefits."
Originally, he hadn't planned to drag Satori into Konoha's darker dealings; after all, the boy was still very young.
Yet now, seeing how Satori thought and listening to his perspective, Orochimaru started seeing him not just as a kid, but as an equal.
Therefore, he suddenly wanted to pull Satori into the Hashirama Cell experiments.
Satori was also a genius who might offer some ideas or insights Orochimaru himself hadn't considered.
Besides, Satori feared death so much and pursued immortality—a desire perfectly aligned with Orochimaru's own ambitions.
Satori lowered his gaze, listening to Orochimaru's words while images of human trials flashed through his mind.
Frankly speaking, he wasn't really against it.
In the ninja world, the quickest way to obtain immense power was none other than human trials.
Of course, except for the Sharingan.
That kind of power doesn't follow any science.
A normal person could potentially awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan out of rage.
He gave a slight lick to his lips, resolve blazing in his eyes as he said, "Since my teacher is willing to bring me along, I'd be honored to try. But being a Hyūga Main House member does come with certain limitations—I can't leave easily."
He paused briefly before continuing, "I heard that the Second Hokage had a Shadow Clone Jutsu. If I could learn that, I'd surely be able to fool the guard ninjas from the Branch House."
His status as a Main House member was both a shield and a shackle.
Fooling the Hyūga's guardian ninjas wouldn't be easy.
However, [Shadow Clone Jutsu] could be the answer to that exact problem.
[Shadow Clone Jutsu] was created using chakra, separate from the original body, with its own independent will and strength.
The [Shadow Clone Jutsu] allowed one to assist Orochimaru in his experiments—not only would one gain knowledge, but all experiences and observations would be transferred back to the original body.
It was undoubtedly an ideal technique for studying.
Of course, its drawbacks were also obvious.
A flood of knowledge and experiences could easily overwhelm the user's mind, possibly resulting in psychological collapse or even brain death.
However, Satori Hyūga wasn't worried. As long as he used it carefully, it was just a minor side effect.
Besides, he wasn't heading into combat—there wouldn't be any violent deaths to trigger cerebral trauma.
"The [Shadow Clone Jutsu]… I suppose it's a viable option," Orochimaru remarked.
Since his apprentice, Satori Hyūga, had already agreed, a B-ranked technique like this meant nothing to Orochimaru.
"Tell Danzō to bring me a scroll of the [Shadow Clone Jutsu]," Orochimaru said with a grin.
Inside the Root headquarters.
One of Danzō's masked subordinates knelt before him, murmuring in hushed tones.
"The [Shadow Clone Jutsu]? Why is Orochimaru asking for that technique suddenly?"
"Ah, no matter. Give it to him. The top priority remains the experiments."
With a wave of his hand, Danzō handed over a copy of the ninja scroll containing the [Shadow Clone Jutsu] to his subordinate, instructing him to deliver it to Orochimaru.
He didn't realize it—Orochimaru had turned him into a personal ATM and jutsu supplier.
As the saying goes, use other people's resources to serve your own purposes.
...
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