I'm an Uchiha and have Tobirama's talent!

Chapter 271: 271 - A Devil in White, A Genius in the Dark

In the laboratory, Orochimaru was busy with his experiments, completely unaware that Isshiki had set his sights on him.

Three days later, just as he had completed a set of experiments and was organizing the data, his body suddenly froze. A powerful sense of danger made every hair on his body stand on end.

"Orochimaru, right?" A calm yet commanding voice sounded from behind him.

With difficulty, he turned his head and saw a man dressed in a very unusual fashion.

The man wore a white haori over a black cloak. His hair was gathered at the top of his head, with a long braid hanging down his back. Beneath his left eye was the Roman numeral IV, and on his chin was a diamond-shaped mark. Around his neck and wrists, he wore red neck guards and bracers. A red belt was tied around his waist, and red earrings hung from his ears.

On anyone else, this outfit would have looked bizarre, but on this man, it seemed perfectly fitting. Adding to that was a unique aura radiating from within him, giving off an impression of refined elegance.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Jigen," the stranger introduced himself. "I'm someone who can fulfill all your dreams."

"Heh," Orochimaru chuckled mockingly. "We've never met, have we? How could you possibly know what my dreams are?"

"It doesn't matter," Jigen replied nonchalantly. "Just say it, and I can make it happen."

"That's quite the bold claim," Orochimaru sneered. "What if I told you I sought immortality? Could you do that?"

"I thought it was something more difficult," Jigen said with a scornful smile. "For others, immortality might be hard, but for me, it's as easy as turning my hand."

"Hahaha!" Orochimaru laughed again. "Even the Sage of Six Paths couldn't do it, yet you claim it so casually."

"The Sage of Six Paths?" Jigen's brows furrowed, as if he'd been insulted. With displeasure, he said, "Comparing me to that sort of trash, isn't that going a bit too far?"

"That sort of trash?" Orochimaru's expression shifted, and he asked seriously, "Just who exactly are you?"

Jigen didn't answer immediately. Instead, he stepped forward, took the data report from Orochimaru's hands, and began reading it carefully. The more he read, the better his mood seemed to become, his gaze toward Orochimaru practically glowing.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Orochimaru felt goosebumps rise all over his body and quickly took two steps back.

"I wasn't wrong about you," Jigen said, his attitude having completely changed.

"You can understand this data?" Orochimaru asked in disbelief.

"You underestimate me, Orochimaru. While my research abilities may be far below yours, I have quite a bit of insight into the evolution of life. So when I arrived, I immediately saw that you were conducting experiments aimed at evolving life from its most fundamental level. Such ingenious designs, such exquisite experimental methods, such cutting-edge theories, truly breathtaking. You are exactly the talent I've been looking for. So, I am officially inviting you to work with me."

But Orochimaru remained cautious. "So far I only know your name. I have no idea who you really are. On what basis should I trust you, let alone work with you?"

"You want to know about me?" Jigen smiled faintly. "With all the advanced equipment you have here, some I doubt you've seen elsewhere, you should be able to measure a person's life level and lifespan, correct?"

"Are you saying you'd be willing to let me study you?"

"If it will make you agree to cooperate with me, why not?" Jigen replied indifferently.

Orochimaru took out some instruments and began extracting Jigen's blood, spinal fluid, and samples of skin and flesh. To his surprise, as soon as the extraction was complete, Jigen's body instantly recovered, as if nothing had happened.

Once the shock wore off, he immediately began running tests on the collected samples.

Ten minutes later, as he stared at the test report, his entire body trembled. He looked at Jigen in disbelief.

"This is impossible. There's no way someone could have lived for a thousand years, absolutely impossible." Orochimaru's voice was shaking.

On Jigen's report, the lifespan column displayed an astonishing number: 1,023 years.

This completely overturned everything the shinobi world thought it knew. He could no longer remain calm.

And Jigen's current physical state was still that of a young man, he could probably live another thousand years without issue.

Seeing Orochimaru's reaction, Jigen knew the matter was already in the bag. He smiled and said, "You're a scientist. You should know that data doesn't lie. The truth is right in front of you."

"Whew..." It took Orochimaru a full ten minutes to calm himself even slightly. But the way he looked at Jigen now was intense, like he couldn't wait to slice him open for study.

"I sincerely invite you to work with me. As long as you help me complete my experiment, I can give you a way to achieve immortality. So, what do you say?" Jigen spoke with complete confidence.

"I agree," Orochimaru answered without the slightest hesitation.

Why would he refuse?

"It's just that the equipment on this floor..." He glanced around and frowned slightly. "I've spent years painstakingly developing these devices, and I'm used to working with them. Rebuilding them from scratch would be too time-consuming."

"That's easy." As soon as Jigen finished speaking, he waved his hand lightly. All of the equipment instantly shrank and flew toward him, vanishing into some unknown storage space.

This scene shocked Orochimaru yet again.

"Is there anything else?" Jigen, pleased with Orochimaru's attitude and performance, asked patiently.

"No, nothing else," Orochimaru shook his head.

"What about your colleagues?" Jigen glanced around curiously.

"I've always been the only one on this floor," Orochimaru explained. "Because the research here is top secret, and in some cases morally questionable, I haven't let anyone else participate. The other researchers are working on completely different projects. Their work has nothing to do with mine, and I'm afraid they'd just get in the way."

"What if I want to take those researchers with us as well?" Jigen asked, testing him.

"Do as you please," Orochimaru said casually.

"It's just that my research must remain separate from the others. And when I need it, Jigen, you must provide me with certain... assistance."

Jigen knew exactly what Orochimaru meant by "assistance." He didn't mind being studied.

In fact, under Orochimaru's research, he might even be able to undergo another evolution, one that could take him in a completely new direction and reach the ultimate state coveted by all members of the Ōtsutsuki clan.

From just this first meeting, he was already impressed by Orochimaru's genius. This was the kind of talent one had to treasure.

He already had a clear understanding of Orochimaru, a genius scientist who would stop at nothing for the sake of research.

And that suited Isshiki perfectly, because he too was someone who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals. Working with someone like this was actually more appealing to him.

Because if a person had too many moral boundaries, there was no guarantee they wouldn't hold something back, preventing him from getting exactly what he wanted.

"However," Orochimaru suddenly reminded him, "The upper floors are all under surveillance now. If you plan to do anything, please keep it discreet. I don't want Shin to notice. That guy is far more dangerous than you imagine. If he gets pushed too far, I can't help but feel uneasy."

"Since you put it that way, I won't overcomplicate things." Hearing Orochimaru's words, Jigen dropped the idea of taking anyone else with him. After all, the only one he was interested in was Orochimaru; as he had said, everyone else was just an extra.

Having always kept an eye on the state of the shinobi world, he had heard of Shin's deeds. Until he found his next vessel, he truly didn't want to provoke him.

It wasn't out of fear, just unnecessary.

Jigen knew his own physical condition well; he was in no shape for an all-out fight. Otherwise, he wouldn't have stayed dormant, working from the shadows.

Everything would have to wait until he fully recovered his strength.

With that thought, he waved his hand, and a dark-red spatial portal appeared in front of him.

"Since we've reached an agreement to cooperate, after you."

"As you wish."

With that, Orochimaru followed Jigen into the portal.

As the portal vanished, everything on the fourth underground level of the research facility disappeared along with it, leaving behind nothing but an empty space.

Sensing Orochimaru's location shift, deep underground in a laboratory far from Konoha, Shin, who was in the middle of conducting an evolution experiment on Madara, suddenly let the corners of his mouth curl upward.

Orochimaru had indeed been taken away.

He had first gone out of his way to visit Mount Myōboku to find Gamamaru, asking him to contact Hagoromo, whose consciousness alone remained.

After telling Hagoromo certain things, Shin had him employ some methods to release traces of Kaguya's chakra, faking the appearance that she might be breaking free from her seal, thereby unsettling Isshiki.

Next, he had spies from other villages infiltrate Konoha. After much hardship and effort, they managed to locate the seven assassins who had once tried to kill Orochimaru but had been secretly imprisoned. Shin obtained their verbal testimony and had it passed back to their respective villages.

Of course, the intel was altered, or rather, the seven assassins' own memories had been tampered with.

The most important detail in that intel was that they had found Orochimaru on the fourth underground level.

But Orochimaru had intentionally lured them there and, with power beyond their imagination, had defeated them without suffering any injury himself. He had even experimented on them, and if it weren't for his desire to observe the experiment's results, they would have been disposed of long ago.

This way, Isshiki was led straight to Orochimaru while believing it was his own plan, never suspecting manipulation.

What surprised Shin, however, was that Isshiki hadn't taken the other researchers as well.

And that was after he had spent half a year painstakingly altering their memories so they knew only of Orochimaru and nothing about him.

Still, this had its benefits, Konoha's research progress wouldn't be delayed.

As for Orochimaru, ever since learning of the Ōtsutsuki clan's existence, he had been itching to study them.

So he was more than happy to support Shin's plan.

Once in Isshiki's hands, all he needed to do was cooperate in the research; he didn't have to handle intel or pass along any information.

That way, even if Isshiki eventually discovered a leak, it would have nothing to do with Orochimaru, he could withstand any investigation.

As for why they didn't try to kill Isshiki while he was at his weakest... It was because Shin also wanted to study him.

Isshiki himself wasn't truly terrifying, nor were many of the Ōtsutsuki clan members.

But among the Ōtsutsuki, there existed beings who could transcend the very dimension of life itself, completely surpassing life and death.

Such beings were called gods.

These utterly unfathomable existences were the real key to plunging the shinobi world into eternal ruin, and they were Shin's true enemies.

Researching the Ōtsutsuki might reveal a weakness in their clan, and could also provide more ideas and possibilities for future studies by both Shin and Orochimaru.

Walking up to the computer, Shin pulled up the test reports on Jigen's blood, spinal cord, and flesh tissue.

This report was far more detailed than the one Orochimaru had printed in front of Jigen earlier, it was a complete, all-encompassing set of life data.

All of Orochimaru's equipment could share data with Shin's systems, and their method of data exchange was unique, so unique that no one else could even detect it.

From now on, every one of Orochimaru's research results would be visible to Shin, but Shin's research would no longer be shared with Orochimaru.

The purpose was twofold: first, so that Shin could also carry out related research; second, to protect Orochimaru. Otherwise, if unusual, non-research files suddenly appeared in Orochimaru's system, they'd be hard to explain away.

But before that, Shin's greater priority was studying the ultra-ancient ruins to uncover the secrets of the so-called "Legendary Space-Time."

With the help of his left eye, the research progress was incredibly fast. It wouldn't be long before he mastered the method of traveling through space and time.

Once he built a detector for space-time fluctuations and forged ninja tools capable of traversing space-time, the only thing left would be to gain the strength necessary to deal with the Ōtsutsuki clan.

The second-stage evolution research was already complete, and he would soon perform another experiment on himself.

Once he obtained Isshiki's complete data, including genetic data, he would have more time to study the secret of final evolution: the secret of becoming a god.

"What's got you so happy?" a voice came from behind Shin.

"Isn't it obvious? Orochimaru's been taken away, so I can't help but be pleased," Shin replied with a smile.

"I really don't get the way you research types think," Madara said in exasperation. "If you ask me, that guy should've just been killed outright, instead of all this roundabout scheming. With the two of us working together, I don't believe he could get away."

"Now is not the time for you to act," Shin cautioned.

Madara had only just finished his experiment, and his body was still evolving.

Although the evolution procedure had been improved by Shin many times, greatly shortening the process, Madara still needed up to a month to complete the fusion of Hashirama's cells with the Uchiha bloodline, ultimately creating a perfect Sage Body with all the powers of the Uchiha lineage.

But during this process, Madara could not unleash his full strength, or the results might be ruined.

"Besides, Isshiki isn't the final boss. His threat is nowhere near that of Kaguya. Let him at least serve some purpose before he dies."

"Fine, I can't talk you out of it anyway." Madara gave a 'do whatever you want' look. "By the way, when I finish this evolution, will my strength really match yours?"

"Heh... more or less," Shin chuckled.

"What's with that smile?" Madara immediately grew suspicious.

"Once you finish this evolution, your power level will pretty much be the same as mine," Shin explained.

"But you know, not all Rinnegan are the same. The special abilities of your Rinnegan are... well, a bit hard to describe. For example, your Limbo: Border Jail, in the eyes of the Ōtsutsuki clan, who all have Rinnegan, it doesn't even have stealth capabilities. Sure, your shadows have almost the same abilities as your real body, and you can instantly swap positions with them, but without invisibility, their effectiveness is greatly reduced. Still, after your Rinnegan undergoes a second evolution, you'll gain new abilities. So what I'm curious about is, what mental state were you in back then, to evolve abilities like Limbo: Border Jail and Tengai Shinsei?"

Upon hearing this, Madara could only respond with a helpless expression.

He had only recently learned that for their kind of self-directed evolution, whether it was Mangekyō Sharingan or Rinnegan, the abilities that emerged were heavily influenced by the user's mental state and willpower at the moment they awakened the eyes.

It wasn't like the Ōtsutsuki clan, whose evolutions had nothing to do with their mental state, and were entirely determined by the type of chakra fruit they consumed and the energy and genetic information it contained.

At the time, Madara was in a state of endless loneliness, unable to take even a single step away from the Gedo Statue, and his sight was gone.

He wished for someone to accompany him, and longed for the chance to wander the world and see things, but his pride wouldn't allow anyone to know those thoughts. So he ended up creating four shadows that only he could see.

As for Tengai Shinsei, it came from his deep desire for destruction, he wished for meteors to fall from the sky and destroy everything.

And his wish actually came true; he could summon meteors at will.

As for why this Rinnegan-exclusive technique could still be used in his Edo Tensei state, that was because even without reclaiming his eyes, he could still barely activate the Rinnegan and use part of its power. Tengai Shinsei didn't consume much ocular power, so summoning it was possible.

These two jutsu might look powerful, but in battles against opponents of the same level, they were somewhat underwhelming.

For example, Tengai Shinsei, even if you summoned a hundred meteors, you couldn't hit Shin. And a technique that can't hit the target... is just a useless technique.

Limbo: Border Jail was more practical, swapping places between his real body and his shadow could achieve an effect similar to the Flying Thunder God Technique.

But Shin could clearly see the shadows summoned by Limbo: Border Jail, so even the so-called "switching of positions" still left traces and posed no threat to him.

Especially after hearing Shin describe many of the bizarre abilities of the Ōtsutsuki clan, Madara began to feel that his own powers were a little disappointing.

Of course, that wasn't something he could admit to Shin.

Fortunately, his Mangekyō Sharingan was strong enough, with ocular powers that gave a full-spectrum enhancement, dramatically boosting his combat ability.

This enhancement applied to taijutsu, genjutsu, ninjutsu, Susanoo, and every other aspect.

If not for this ocular ability, he wouldn't have been able to stand toe-to-toe with that monster, Hashirama.

Madara's "full-spectrum enhancement" was somewhat similar to Shin's "infinite enhancement," but not quite the same.

Infinite Amplification could only boost one domain at a time, though the magnitude of the boost was absurd.

For example, if Shin chose to boost taijutsu, his taijutsu would instantly become thousands of times stronger.

But during that time, if he used ninjutsu, genjutsu, or Susanoo, none of them would be enhanced.

Similarly, if he chose to boost genjutsu, then only his genjutsu would skyrocket in power, with no improvement in other areas.

Madara, on the other hand, just had to consume ocular power, and during that time, whatever he used, ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, or Susanoo, would all be boosted simultaneously, giving him great adaptability in battle. The only drawback was that the degree of boost wasn't as extreme as Infinite Amplification.

So, in terms of which was better... it was hard to say.

The difference, however, is that Shin's Infinite Amplification is a Rinnegan ability, so it can also enhance other abilities of the Rinnegan.

For Madara, though, his "full-spectrum enhancement" ultimately comes from his Mangekyō Sharingan, so its boost to his Rinnegan abilities is very limited. This makes him unbeatable in lower-level fights, but lacking in high-level ones.

In other words, the unique abilities of the Rinnegan don't actually give Madara much of a power boost.

On the contrary, it's the basic abilities shared by all purple Rinnegan users that help him more, but those are abilities that the Ōtsutsuki clan also has, so they can't give him an edge.

Unless... he could also master a movement technique like the Flying Thunder God Technique.

"Do you have any way... to let me learn the Flying Thunder God Technique?" At this point, Madara couldn't care less about pride and awkwardly asked.

"Haven't you always said that was Tobirama's technique, and you refused to learn it?"

"I want to learn your original version of the Flying Thunder God Technique, what does that have to do with that damned Tobirama?" Madara shot back immediately.

"I can't guarantee it... but I can try."

That's what Shin said, but he didn't think Madara could actually learn it.

The entry requirements for this jutsu were simply too high. He himself only managed to learn it because he had Tobirama's level of talent. As for Minato, he was a once-in-a-million prodigy.

Shin had taught it to others before, but so far, no one else had even gotten past the basics.

However, the Super Lightning Release Chakra Mode was something Madara could learn, and with his ocular ability, mastering it would basically let him take off like a rocket.

---

Land of Demons, Underground Research Facility.

The Isshiki, hiding his true identity and going by the name "Jigen," had a long conversation with Orochimaru.

In the end, he revealed his plan to find a vessel, replant the God Tree, and then have everyone share the chakra fruit to evolve together.

Even though Orochimaru had long heard rumors of such things, he still feigned shock and played along.

Isshiki's top priority was to have Orochimaru help him find a perfect vessel.

Upon hearing this request, Orochimaru immediately pulled up a set of classified files on his computer.

The data recorded there was the complete analysis of Shin and Minato.

When Isshiki saw this, he was stunned.

Matching them against his requirements, he found that both were perfect candidates for his vessel.

But that's when he hit a wall.

From the data alone, Shin and Minato might be ideal choices, but neither was someone to be trifled with.

Isshiki might be proud, but he wasn't stupid, he knew very well who he could provoke and who he couldn't in the current situation.

Both of them had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique and possessed overwhelming power. There was no way they'd obediently let him place a Kāma on them.

The reason he later risked everything to fight Naruto and Sasuke came down to the fact that his chosen vessel, Kawaki, had ended up in Konoha.

When he tried to retrieve Kawaki, Naruto and Sasuke refused, which was basically a death sentence for Isshiki. Of course he had to fight with everything he had.

Later, before his chakra had even recovered to 10%, Isshiki was ambushed by Koji, Jiraiya's clone, and was forced to enter the Kāma's second stage, compelling him to transfer into Jigen's body ahead of schedule.

But doing so left him with only two days to live.

To recover Kawaki and extend his life, he had no choice but to go all out again.

But now... the situation was different. He had options, and there was no need to throw his life away.

In the end, Isshiki told Orochimaru that if it came down to it, he would consider the suggestion.

But for now, he still hoped Orochimaru could find him another perfect vessel.