Hokage: Ryo's Path

“This is a gift that I just received from Danzo and the two councilors.” Orochimaru licked his lips and replied.

Ryo was shocked, but did not say anything. His full attention was paid to the Sharingan oin front of him.

The connection between the tomoe upon it was unusual. It was definitely above the regular Sharingan, but it wasn’t a Mangekyo Sharingan either.

It was the 1st time Ryo noticed such a pattern, whether it was in this world or when reading the Manga during his past life.

“Orochi san, do you have any idea on who the owner of these eyes might be?” Asked Ryo.

“It should be Kagami Uchiha!” Said Orochimaru after thinking for a while.

“How could it be? Isn’t he already dead?” Ryo was a little surprised. There was no mentioning of Kagami’s eyes in the Manga. If Danzo did have them, why did they never appear?”

“A ninja’s body is very valuable. It is rumored that the 2nd Hokage also preserved the body of Uchiha Madara. It’s no wonder that Danzo and his pals preserved Kagali’s corpse.” Orochimaru explained.

“Ryo kun, it was thanks to you that I got to have these eyes.”

“Thanks to me?” Ryo did not understand what Orochimaru meant.

“If you kept quite the other day and didn’t go against Danzo so clearly, he wouldn’t have tried to buy my loyalty with these eyes.”

Hearing Orochimaru, Ryo became speechless. He never thought that his presence would make Danzo even trade the eyes of his old comrade!

“Orochi san, I’m sorry, but I have to ask. Is there any way you could give me those Sharingan?” Ryo hesitated at first, and then asked.

These eyes were those of Kagami Uchiha. Although they hadn’t evolved into Mangekyo Sharingan yet, they were much stronger than regular three tomoe Sharingan.

Ryo thought of his disciple, and that these eyes might be somewhat helpful to him when he awakens the Mangekyo.

Hearing Ryo’s request, Orochimaru did not hesitate, directly handing them to Ryo.

To him, Ryo was his confidant, a good friend who also chose to march through the road of science.

What’s more important, Orochimaru hadn’t been tortured by Itachi yet, so he wasn’t so obsessed with the Sharingan as he was in the Manga.

Ryo was surprised by this swift approval. Orochimaru’s trust in him had exceeded all his expectations.

Such trust made Ryo embarrassed. After thinking for a while, Ryo decided to help Orochimaru work on his dream of achieving eternal life!

“Orochi san, I remember you asked me before about the possibility of achieving eternal life. Before, I’ve told that one could achieve it in a way. But now, I’m telling you’ve only recently figured out how we might be able to achieve that!”

Hearing Ryo, Orochimaru’s eyes grew bright, he stared at Ryo speechless.

“Orochi san, don’t worry, I’ve been thinking about this ever since you asked me that question. Later, when I was studying Fuijutsu with Kushina ne-san, I discovered their method of sealing one’s souls, and that inspired me with this idea.”

“Soul?” Orochimaru’s attention was caught by Ryo.

“Yes, soul! Well, I think it’s one’s consciousness. The body is just a vessel that accommodates it. If one was to figure out a way to make it move from one vessel to the other, they would find a way to achieve eternal life.”

After Ryo finished his words, Orochimaru stood still. After a good while, he started laughing. He never thought that Ryo would be the one to give him the clue he was seeking.

On top of being a Sannin, Orochimaru was often nicknamed “Cold Blood”. Like a snake is a cold-blooded animal, he showed no emotions.

But today, after getting the clue to eternal life, Orochimaru’s laughted was going of control, he was extremely happy!

“Orochi san, don’t be so happy so early! Going for eternal life this way has its big problem.” Ryo said to Orochimaru.

“What problem?” Orochimaru was surprised, he calmed down a little bit then asked.

“It’s about the soul, it’s necessary that soul fits its new vessel well after making the transition. Otherwise, the soul would be damaged and its strength would be affected.”

Ryo problem sounded very reasonable to Orochimaru, but he believed that eternal life was worth all of that and even more.

“Orochi san, I know what you’re thinking. Anyone would choose eternal life over a short one, even with the damage that could occur to their souls. However, I have a way to solve that problem and limit the damage. Curious to hear it?” Ryo said with a smile, teasing Orochimaru.

Orochimaru looked at him helplessly and said: “Ryo kun, I think we need to discuss the matter of these Sharingans.”

“No no we don’t Orochi san.” Hearing Orochimaru’s threat, Ryo stopped teasing him and told him everything he knew about cloning.

He compared the result of cloning to a Shadow Clone that never disappeared. Orochimaru quickly understood the matter, and also understood Ryo’s solution.

It was all about one’s own cells to clone their own body, the sealing the consciousness of the new body as it grows up to eliminate the problem of losing one’s own soul.

Because it’s your own body, it would surely fit your soul, and there should be no problem in adapting with it.

After learning about this, Orochimaru rushed out to another chamber in his lab. He had to conduct his research and had no time to take care of Ryo.

Ryo shook his head helplessly and returned to the 3rd Training Ground with Teleportation Barrier.

In Root’s headquarters, Danzo, Koharu and Homura were together discussing the cooperation with with Orochimaru.

The two men’s faces were expressionless, looking at Koharu who seemed a bit anxious.

“Danzo, even if Orochimaru took Kagami’s eyes, there’s no guarantee the he would be helpful to us. Why didn’t you and Homura discuss this with me?”

She was somewhat angry, felt hurt by the fact that the eyes of their comrade were used as trading tools.

“Koharu, don’t be angry. This is just the 1st step. We just need to keep providing Orochimaru with Kekkei Genkai, and he’ll be on our side. Even if we never succeed, I have a way to get him out of Konoha.” Said Danzo.

Homura never spoke, but it was obvious that he was on Danzo side.

Koharu sighed and stopped arguing.

For the 1st time, she felt that he old comrades had changed. They were no longer the ones who used to be willing to offer their whole to Konoha.

She got up, and left Root’s headquarter.