For Orochimaru, the greatest pursuit of his life was to explore that endless, unfathomable path of science.
And now, something that surpassed the level of power like the Kekkei Mora had appeared. Without a doubt, this meant that the future would be far more vast than anything he had ever imagined before.
With such an astonishing discovery, how could he not feel ecstatic? The surge of excitement rising from deep within him was almost impossible to suppress.
Thinking of this, Orochimaru couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Looks like I'll have to speed up my research progress as well."
At this moment, a burning light flickered in his narrow eyes, filled with boundless longing and anticipation for a beautiful future.
After all, for someone as intelligent as him, nothing was more enjoyable than personally witnessing that boundless future full of possibilities gradually unfold before his eyes.
Just then, Rengoku suddenly spoke with a smile, "Don't worry. With the way Konoha is developing right now, everything you're hoping to see will come true one by one."
Then, as if remembering something, Rengoku added, "Tsunade told me yesterday that you've recently started working on some important experiment. What is it?"
Hearing this, Orochimaru slightly turned his head, a mysterious smile curling at the corner of his lips.
He turned and strode toward the inner laboratory, waving his hand behind him to signal Rengoku to follow.
———
While Rengoku's main body was heading off to talk with Orochimaru, one of his clones quietly arrived at the spacious training ground of the Uchiha clan.
On that field, Kimimaro and Gaara were in the middle of a fight.
Gaara was manipulating his sand. The originally heavy grains had somehow transformed into fine, thread-like strands.
These thin lines of sand darted through the air at high speed, weaving and twisting like a swarm of agile snakes, creating layers of dazzling afterimages.
Standing opposite him was Kimimaro, who possessed outstanding taijutsu talent. At this moment, he had already entered Sage Mode.
Amid the crisscrossing web of sand threads, Kimimaro's figure flickered unpredictably, shifting left and right. His speed was so fast it seemed almost like teleportation, impossible to track.
The clash between these two experts was like lightning and sparks, swift as the wind.
Their attacks were so fast that those with weaker eyesight couldn't even clearly see their movements.
Not only that, Gaara didn't stay rooted in place. Instead, he constantly stirred up large amounts of sand in the air.
Using it skillfully, he performed Sand Body Flicker, making his figure appear and disappear within it, elusive and unpredictable.
Both sides had extremely strong defenses, and both were using speed to counter speed. The level of this battle was simply breathtaking.
It was no exaggeration to say that if either of them were replaced with an ordinary ninja, they probably wouldn't be able to handle such an intense confrontation, let alone fight as effortlessly as they were now.
Just as Rengoku's clone arrived, Gaara and Kimimaro, who were in the heat of battle, seemed to sense it at the same time and almost simultaneously stopped fighting.
Clearly, despite how intense the battle had been, both of them had still been holding back quite a bit.
"Lord Rengoku!"
Seeing Rengoku arrive, the three of them called out in surprise at the same time.
In the blink of an eye, they rushed over like a gust of wind and appeared in front of him.
Gaara's face was flushed red. He charged forward and tightly hugged Rengoku.
Because of Gaara's sudden action, Haku, who had been standing to the side, instantly lost his place. Left with no choice, he reached out and lightly grabbed Rengoku's arm.
Compared to Gaara and Haku, only Kimimaro remained relatively calm.
He stood quietly in front of Rengoku and respectfully performed a proper salute.
Rengoku smiled, a hint of warmth in his eyes.
He raised his right hand and ruffled Gaara's hair, laughing as he said, "You brat, I didn't expect you to grow up so much in the blink of an eye!"
Then, with his left hand, he gently stroked Haku's hair and said with a sigh, "Haku, you really haven't changed at all."
Gaara was now sixteen years old, right in the middle of adolescence, his height shooting up rapidly.
His figure had become tall and slender, his facial features more defined, and his whole being gave off a spirited, youthful energy.
Especially his messy, fluffy hair, which made him look lively and full of charm.
However, although Haku was three years older than Gaara, his height was clearly shorter.
Not only that, the outfit Haku wore today leaned toward a neutral, ronin-style look, which made him appear even smaller and more delicate.
Along with that fair, soft face, it was as if time had stopped on him, he looked almost no different from five years ago.
As for Kimimaro, he had already grown into a tall and imposing man.
He stood well over 1.8 meters, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, his physique nearly perfect.
The clothes he wore were of the style unique to Orochimaru's faction.
Beneath the open upper garment, firm muscle lines could be faintly seen, exuding a sense of masculine strength.
At that moment, Rengoku's thoughts drifted to the Haku beside Natsuki.
Compared to the Haku in front of him, there were clear differences in both personality and physical traits.
At the very least, it was certain that the Haku before him was male.
Rengoku's eyes turned slightly, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his lips as he suddenly asked, "Haku, how come you're not wearing a skirt today?"
Haku instinctively lowered his head to look at the ronin-style outfit he was wearing, then replied softly, "In Sandthorn City, dressing like this makes it easier to move around."
Rengoku understood immediately. From that simple answer alone, he could tell that Haku still preferred wearing skirts in daily life.
But he didn't dwell on the topic. Instead, he smoothly changed the subject and said, "Come on, tell me, what have you all gone through these past few years?"
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