The leeks are growing well.

“As long as I can obtain enough information, it will be worth it.”
“That’s easy to say…”
Orochimaru’s lips curled into a sly smile, his eyes narrowing with cunning as he pointed to the scroll and said,
“Once the curse mark has finished its corrosion, I’ll add a one-time jutsu inside it that can ‘delay an alarm.’”
“The chakra soul within the curse mark can’t do much, but it’s still capable of interfering with the jutsu’s normal function.”
“This way, when the alarm is received, it means the journey to the Pure Land has failed, and at that point, I can simply summon it back.”
Of course, it was also possible that as soon as the curse mark entered the Pure Land, the soul within would be immediately absorbed, but by Orochimaru’s estimation, such a likelihood was slim.
Given how little was known about the Pure Land, this was already the safest strategy he could devise.
The Lamp Spirit cast a glance at Orochimaru. “You really are crafty.”
Orochimaru toyed with the scroll. “Minimizing risk is the most basic operation. If I didn’t have tricks like this, I’d have died long ago.”
The Lamp Spirit, with his casual question, had underestimated Orochimaru.
Shaking his head, Orochimaru retrieved the insights and experiences of those who had practiced the Spirit Transformation Technique over the generations and began to study them.
He hoped to discover a path toward refining the technique, making it less difficult to master.
The laboratory fell quiet again, shadows flickering in the lamplight, broken only by the turning of pages.
No one knew how much time had passed when a sound startled Orochimaru from his reading.
With a puff, smoke drifted away, and in the corner of the laboratory, a one-eyed viper appeared, obediently slithering over to Orochimaru and spitting out a black box from its mouth.
Orochimaru put away the scroll and, undeterred by the saliva on the box, opened it without a care.
A beautifully crafted pair of lenses gleamed before his eyes.
“That was quick.”
Orochimaru examined them closely, thoroughly satisfied, and unconsciously licked his lips.
With these, he could soon attempt to restore Shisui’s ocular power.
…

Deep within the forests of the Hidden Leaf, on a training ground, the wind howled and figures danced in motion.
Kakashi and Yamato, relying solely on taijutsu without the aid of any other jutsu, attacked from the left and right, joining forces to launch a fierce assault on Guy.
Yet, facing their torrential storm of blows, Guy remained in complete control—his body spinning like a top, hands and feet in perfect harmony, always deflecting their attacks in the nick of time.
In fact, when Kakashi and Yamato began to tire and show signs of faltering, Guy only pressed his advantage even further.
The sound of fists and feet clashing echoed across the field as the three continued their relentless sparring.
Orochimaru stood atop a tree branch, silently observing the fight below.
To an ordinary ninja, it would seem an extraordinarily intense taijutsu battle, but in reality, none of the three were using their full strength. They were adjusting to each other’s rhythms, striving to keep the fight going as long as possible.
Though it fell short of true life-and-death combat, it was still an effective form of training.
“Willpower, reflexes, cardiovascular fitness… I’ve already explained to you how the breathing techniques should be trained.”
Orochimaru turned his head and asked, “Yet you still insist on having them train this way. Why?”
“Isolating each part of the body for targeted training is indeed more efficient,”
Jiraiya replied, also watching the three as they sparred. “But there’s a problem—it’s detrimental to learning Sage Jutsu.”
Not every ninja who enters the ‘ordinary state’ of breathing techniques can naturally master Sage Jutsu. More often, they can only passively strengthen their bodies by absorbing natural energy over time.
A person must first see themselves as a whole before they can blend into nature and comprehend it.
Training each part separately and then combining them sounds simple, but it’s like the old joke about putting an elephant in a refrigerator—easier said than done.
“These kids are all gifted,”
Jiraiya looked up at Orochimaru, smiling with a hint of warning. “A little extra effort now will save them much trouble in the future. Don’t be too eager for quick results.”
He had indeed been instructing the trio lately, but Guy and Yamato—one Orochimaru’s disciple, the other his subordinate—were both deeply influenced by Orochimaru.
Orochimaru licked his lips and didn’t answer. Instead, he asked, “When will you be leaving the Hidden Leaf?”
At this, the smile froze on Jiraiya’s face, and his thoughts involuntarily drifted to his conversation with the old man that night.
Hesitation and struggle flickered across his expression. After a long pause, he sighed,
“The search for the Child of Destiny will have to wait. According to the Great Toad Sage, he is fated to be my disciple, so there’s no need to rush.”
To be honest, having chased this goal for most of his life, Jiraiya was reluctant to suddenly stop now.
But the Great Toad Sage’s prophecy was ambiguous, open to many interpretations; even the Deep Sage and Lady Shima disagreed with each other on whether he should continue searching for the Child of Destiny, leaving Jiraiya at a loss.

So, he decided to set all that aside for now and focus on improving his own abilities.
Besides, Jiraiya worried whether he would be capable of guiding the Child of Destiny when the time came.
Now that he had Orochimaru’s breathing techniques, his first priority was to train until he could enter Sage Mode on his own.
Once he hit another bottleneck, Jiraiya planned to visit his former students, see how they were faring, and then decide what to do next.
…
While the two conversed, the battle on the training ground was drawing to a close. The breathing techniques were, after all, a means of explosive power, and unless one used the ‘Breath of the Sun’ to enter a state of perpetual renewal, the physical toll was immense.
Even with careful pacing, Yamato—the youngest and least physically developed of the three—gradually fell behind and was the first to withdraw from the fight.
With a swish, Orochimaru leapt down from the tree and landed before the sweat-soaked, gasping Yamato.
Guy and Kakashi noticed him too and were about to stop when Orochimaru spoke,
“This doesn’t concern you two. Keep practicing.”
He glanced at Yamato, then strode deeper into the woods. Yamato took a deep breath and followed.
Jiraiya wanted to go along, but Orochimaru stopped him with a look, leaving him to stand and shake his head helplessly.
Not long after, some dozens of meters from the training ground, Orochimaru halted.
Seeing the grave expression on Yamato’s face, Orochimaru licked his lips and smiled,
“No need to be so tense. Relax. Today, I only want to borrow your body for a while.”
Hearing this, Yamato involuntarily took two steps back, his body going rigid.
But he dared not resist Orochimaru and could only watch as he approached and placed a hand on his face.
Please, not like this… Yamato screamed inwardly.
The next instant, a sharp pain flared in his right eye, and a trail of blood-tears slid down his cheek.