Chapter 361: Orochimaru's Thoughtful Notice
It was perfectly normal for the Nine-Tails not to respond to Naruto.
After everything that had happened earlier, the Nine-Tails had started to feel lingering fear.
It had practically shoved the truth in Naruto's face, admitting that it had killed his parents, and that it was still deceiving him, preventing him from recognizing his mother, even manipulating things so that mother and son would end up attacking each other.
And what happened in the end?
Not only did Naruto forgive it without hesitation, he even talked back to Kushina and defended it when she scolded it.
The Nine-Tails had emotions too. After something like that, even it felt a bit embarrassed to keep stirring up discord.
But once it calmed down and thought it through, the Nine-Tails nearly broke out in a cold sweat.
It was as if it had been "captured", it was actually starting to draw closer to Naruto on its own initiative.
If this continued, wouldn't things really end up matching the prophecy of the Great Toad Sage?
What had its original plan been?
To get Naruto and Sasuke tangled up with each other as soon as possible, so it could slip away and stay out of it.
But the Yin Nine-Tails had told it that the "innately evil" Kushina was actually thinking about letting Naruto build a harem, with Sasuke as the main one, and the Nine-Tails as the secondary.
Even so, the Nine-Tails had no choice but to stick to its original plan.
If it didn't, it would end up being the "main one" itself.
If it followed the plan and first brought Naruto and Sasuke together, it would still have a chance.
Even if there was another one added later, it could still withdraw.
So, when faced with Sasuke's current "hypnosis" of Naruto, the Nine-Tails was happy to see it happen.
There was no way it would fulfill a Tailed Beast's duty to help its jinchūriki break free from genjutsu.
The Nine-Tails even mercilessly shut the door to the mental space, just in case Naruto might suddenly break free from the illusion and come running in to ask for help.
Naruto had to stay outside, fully conscious, and properly "enjoy" everything.
---
Outside.
Inside the room.
Sasuke looked at Naruto, who was unable to move, and took out the slip of paper Orochimaru had given him.
Naruto hadn't seen the contents of the note, but even if Sasuke showed it to him, Naruto wouldn't have understood it anyway.
There were only strange codes written on it.
This wasn't any kind of cipher or secret code.
It was an index.
An index of Orochimaru's stored research files.
Orochimaru knew very well about Sasuke's Mangekyō ability. If he wanted to tell Sasuke something, there was no need to hand over the full data. He only needed to give him an index and let Sasuke use his Mangekyō ability to access it himself.
Not only was this convenient, it was also much less likely to expose anything.
Looking at the numbers on the paper, Sasuke once again used his Mangekyō ability, Tenkō (Heavenly Fox).
He had only reviewed part of it on the way here. Now it was time to look at the rest.
It didn't take long before he finished reading.
The research materials Orochimaru provided were an expansion and supplement to Shiromo's theory.
Shiromo made bold hypotheses; Orochimaru verified them meticulously.
Shiromo had once proposed that combining Indra and Asura chakra could guide the emergence of the Sage of Six Paths' Rinnegan, and that having an Indra reincarnation "drink Asura's milk" could achieve the fusion effect.
Orochimaru had simulated and tested these ideas.
As for whether it could truly lead to the Rinnegan, Orochimaru, maintaining scientific rigor, did not give a definitive answer.
After all, the only example, Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, were already dead, while the living examples, Sasuke and Naruto, had not yet begun.
But in other aspects, Orochimaru provided answers backed by a large amount of data.
He even included some supplementary "tips."
For example: Orochimaru discovered that Asura and Indra chakra, as latent chakra, do not participate in other reactions. They only briefly manifest as active when they intersect with their corresponding chakra owners.
Even then, they still do not participate in other reactions.
Orochimaru speculated that this brief manifestation was a reflection of the entangled fate between Indra and Asura.
Similarly, he inferred that only Asura chakra in its manifested state could grant the Indra chakra bearer the ability to awaken the Rinnegan.
The reasoning was simple.
Orochimaru had previously taken Sasuke's cells for research.
Sasuke had kissed Naruto multiple times.
It was inevitable that oral cells had been exchanged.
If latent Asura chakra had any effect, then no matter how small the amount, Orochimaru believed he should have detected at least some trace of it.
But there was nothing.
Thus, Orochimaru reached his conclusion: The reincarnations of Indra and Asura must be in a situation where they have only each other, at the very least, where their eyes and hearts are focused solely on one another, and experience intense emotional fluctuations to activate the manifested chakra.
In other words, it was the lingering wish they made before death, to remain entangled with one another.
This was a necessary condition.
The two prior encounters between Sasuke and Naruto clearly did not meet these conditions.
The first time, under the gaze of their entire class, even though they made contact, they were not focused on each other; their first instinct was to distance themselves.
The second time was the same, they were both thinking about rescuing Sakura.
And this time, instead of entanglement, they even shared a temporary sense of unity.
That was precisely why Orochimaru had prepared a private space for them, to be alone together.
When Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama fought at the Valley of the End, they too had only each other in their hearts.
---
After reading, Sasuke understood.
As for what came next…
Through his research on previous generations, Orochimaru proposed another hypothesis.
Aside from the "illness caused by excessive chakra volume" proposed by Shiromo, there might be other possibilities.
Perhaps the Indra chakra bearer had faked death, causing the Asura chakra to believe Indra had died, and thus, to fulfill their reincarnated entanglement, forced Senju Hashirama to die prematurely.
Or it could be related to the piece of flesh Uchiha Madara had taken.
In any case, Orochimaru's advice to Sasuke was clear: If he truly wanted to ensure Naruto's safety, he must not choose something like consuming flesh as a resource.
Flesh could regenerate, but the damage was too great.
Other truly renewable resources, according to Orochimaru, not only had high effectiveness but were also much safer.
The only drawback at present was that Naruto, due to his training, had already entered a stage where "the bond is as light as water."
If Sasuke wanted to proceed, it would be best to let Naruto rest and recover for a period of time.
With Naruto's young Uzumaki physique, recovery should be quick.
Additionally, Orochimaru had thoughtfully prepared a "pre-conception knowledge guide" and included it, asking Sasuke to assist Naruto in recovering.
After reading everything, Sasuke decided to continue maintaining the genjutsu.
Orochimaru had said that Naruto's "take off" was highly addictive, once it started, it was hard to stop.
The pleasure of the act itself was already sufficient, and afterward, entering Sage Mode would double that pleasure, making it extremely easy for someone to lose control.
Just like Jiraiya.
So Sasuke decided to keep Naruto under genjutsu control.
After all, what was needed now was for Naruto's body to recover; mental fatigue didn't matter.
Half a month passed.
Sasuke, like a wife, carefully took care of his paralyzed husband every day.
Naruto wore a wristband on his hand, this was a portable, simplified health monitoring device sent by Orochimaru.
Finally, It was time to harvest the fruit.
(End of this chapter)