Hearing this, Uchiha Yato didn't blush or his heart race. Since it was the truth, he answered straightforwardly:
"This is the Third Kazekage's head hair."
"Though there was a slight issue during collection, which is why it ended up like this."
Hearing Uchiha Yato's reasonable explanation, Orochimaru didn't press further.
But judging by how he held it, his lack of questioning was purely for appearances.
Uchiha Yato tactfully changed the subject and continued:
"Not just that, I also have some of the Third Kazekage's leftover iron sand and a small blood sample."
As he spoke, Uchiha Yato produced these items, making Orochimaru's eyes light up.
While handling them, Orochimaru said to Uchiha Yato:
"As expected of you, Yato. You really managed to obtain these things."
For Orochimaru, with these physical samples, he could analyze the Third Kazekage's abilities.
Uchiha Yato then inquired about another experiment:
"Not long after I left last time, a new batch of experimental subjects should have arrived. How did you handle them?"
He was referring to the cultists of the Jashin religion they encountered in Hot Springs Village when he first went to the Land of Wind.
Mentioning those experimental materials made Orochimaru look somewhat troubled.
He wasn't sure how to explain or describe their current condition and the nature of the experiments to Uchiha Yato.
After all, besides wanting different Bloodline Limits, Orochimaru also sought immortality.
Previously, Uchiha Yato had counseled Orochimaru, so his pursuit of immortality wasn't as extreme as in the original timeline, but that didn't mean he'd given up.
Seeing Orochimaru's constipated expression, Uchiha Yato knew these experimental subjects were 80% not in the condition he'd want to see.
Or rather, they definitely weren't being treated like volunteer subjects.
Uchiha Yato said indifferently:
"Those cultists all have blood on their hands, innocent civilians' blood at that."
"I don't care much about their lives. Just tell me their current status directly, no need for reservations."
Hearing this, Orochimaru's expression improved, and he resumed his calm smile:
"With Yato-kun's words, I'm relieved."
He then collected his thoughts and continued."I've dissected and experimented with their cells. They cannot be killed."
"But that doesn't mean they can't be completely and utterly destroyed."
Hearing Orochimaru say this piqued Uchiha Yato's interest.
Orochimaru continued speaking.
"Their cells have extremely low activity, so in a sense, they can delay death."
"Then through recombination, severed limbs can be restored."
"When suffering severe external damage, their cells are stimulated to divide and multiply rapidly, creating a false death phenomenon."
As he spoke, Orochimaru deliberately took out a small petri dish.
Inside were the flesh and blood of those cultists he mentioned.
A simple touch with an external object caused damage.
Then, after a delay, these cells would revert to their original fleshy form.
Uchiha Yato asked about something that particularly interested him.
"So how do we kill them? And can this ability be replicated?"
Hearing Yato's question, Orochimaru greatly appreciated having such a good straight man who knew exactly where to prompt him.
Orochimaru replied, "The method is simple - just starve them."
Hearing this, Yato roughly understood Orochimaru's meaning. The snake Sannin continued explaining:
"As long as no energy is provided, with no other energy source available, there's nothing for it to convert."
"The final result would be the cells being unable to divide, eventually starving to death."
Yato then said, "What if we transmit Chakra to the cells, or use other methods to cut off their energy absorption? Would that achieve the same effect?"
Orochimaru's eyes lit up at Yato's new line of thinking.
This was something he hadn't considered in his experiments, yet Yato had identified it - and it was an excellent research direction.
Yato didn't have time to provide Orochimaru with more ideas. He currently just wanted to know if this ability could be easily obtained by others.
Logically speaking, it shouldn't be possible. According to the original lore, this ability could only be gained by making sacrifices to an evil god and surviving fatal injuries.
So strictly speaking, these cultists were just defective half-products.
Only Hidan could slightly approach being half-immortal.
Orochimaru said, "Based on my experiments and information from Hidden Leaf volunteers, no one meets the conditions so far."
"Yato-kun, do you know where these unique ninjas get their special physiques?"
Yato had expected this question and didn't plan to hide the truth.
"They obtain it through a ritual sacrifice to an evil god."
"Those who gain this ability live. Those who fail die."
Hearing Yato's explanation made Orochimaru think of some mythological stories.
Yato continued, "It probably can't be replicated - I already had that suspicion."
"This time I've brought back two corpses with extremely strong vitality as new research materials."
What Yato referred to were White Zetsu's bodies, which were meant for experimentation.At the same time, Uchiha Yato also hoped Orochimaru would quickly perfect the Impure World Reincarnation.
Of course, Uchiha Yato wasn't in a hurry, nor would he say it outright. Otherwise, certain things might become uncontrollable later on.
Currently, Orochimaru had no other thoughts in mind. He simply heard Uchiha Yato mention that there was new experimental material available.
Instantly, a look of delight appeared on his face—this was the pure, fervent love of science.
If Uchiha Yato knew what Orochimaru was thinking right now, he would surely comment:
"The intoxicating allure of science!!"
Without further delay, Uchiha Yato directly produced two White Zetsu corpses.
To Orochimaru, though these two corpses looked somewhat peculiar, the dense vitality they exuded was unmistakable.
This piqued Orochimaru's curiosity. What kind of structure and lifeform was this creature—or rather, this humanoid organism?
Uchiha Yato explained straightforwardly:
"You can call this creature 'White Zetsu.' It's a type of humanoid organism with immense life energy."
"So, you can compare it with the flesh and blood of those Jashin cultists."
"If conditions permit, its flesh might even have applications in the medical field. Who knows, it might yield some unexpected effects."
As usual, Uchiha Yato first gave Orochimaru a few ideas. After all, it was Orochimaru who would be conducting the experiments, not him.
He only provided the starting point—the rest of the process would be entirely Orochimaru's to explore.
Once these matters were settled, Uchiha Yato turned to Orochimaru again and asked:
"Are you interested in immortality?"