After the nursing care was finished, there was still some time left, so Naraku went to Orochimaru's research base to confirm the data, leaving Kakashi there to accompany Sakumo.
He wound his way through the base to his laboratory, changed into a somewhat loose white lab coat, took out the samples he had collected from Sakumo, placed a portion under a microscope for observation, and immersed another portion in a solution.
After letting it sit for a while, he turned and picked up the notebook on the table, opening a new page.
By the time he had recorded lines of data in the notebook and finished all the meticulous operations, a hoarse, gloomy male voice suddenly came from behind him.
"I presume you've been to the Hospital, Naraku-kun?"
Naraku had known he was there all along; he calmly turned around and respectfully bowed to the man leaning in the doorway: "Lord Orochimaru."
"So, how effective is the Senra Tensei Rinne Array? I'm quite looking forward to this unprecedented feat."
Orochimaru slowly walked closer, his gaze towards Naraku carrying a hint of inquiry, but overall it was restrained, lacking the madness of a mad scientist from years later.
"The array is operating smoothly."
Naraku handed the notebook to him, explaining the specific situation: "The energy is very weak, but it has been very stable so far."
"As you expected, Master's cell activity has not continued to decrease."
"Perhaps after some more time, we'll see the data increase."
"Or perhaps... it doesn't have much use at all, just a failed attempt."
Naraku murmured, lost in thought, but then heard Orochimaru actively comforting him.
"Don't be so pessimistic; the fact that the values aren't decreasing is already a miracle."
"Science is built on one failure after another. If this method doesn't work, we'll just try another."
"There will be a day of success."
Seeing the young man's expression improve, Orochimaru then looked at the experiment record in his hand. Every piece of data was extremely detailed and accurate, exuding rigor.
He couldn't help but sigh; Naraku was indeed a promising talent for scientific research and couldn't be disheartened by one failure.
When Naraku first came to the research base for help, the talent he displayed during their conversation was truly astonishing, but his design was still too fanciful, with little feasibility.
Using Sealing Jutsu arrays to collect natural energy and converge it onto the unconscious Sakumo—not to mention the huge risk of death with even a slight deviation—even if the Sealing Jutsu truly worked, Sakumo, as a comatose patient, wouldn't be able to retain that energy.
Moreover, the knowledge system involved was vast and complex: Medical Ninjutsu, Sealing Jutsu, and the perception of natural energy; not one could be overlooked. This was an entirely impossible task.
Due to Uchiha being his biggest sponsor at the time, and his appreciation for Naraku's talent, Orochimaru offered some potentially useful experience and advice, and allocated a laboratory for him to use.
For over a month afterward, Naraku hadn't visited much. He assumed the other party had realized there was no hope of success and had abandoned this path, so he didn't inquire further.
Until one day, he was urgently called to the Hospital by Tsunade, and in her office, he saw Naraku again. The latter was sitting in a chair, coughing up blood, his entire body ragged, and half of his left hand had turned a stiff gray.
Tsunade urged him to help quickly, while angrily scolding Jiraiya, who was standing in the corner facing the wall as punishment.
"Is natural energy something just anyone can touch?!"
"You said you didn't teach him? Bullshit! You old man, not a single truthful word comes out of your mouth!"
"He learned a few things from a book and managed to mess himself up like this? Confess honestly!"
Jiraiya was thoroughly lambasted by her, and after being a tough guy for half his life, he almost cried from grievance in front of the woman he loved.
Who could have predicted that someone in this world would be so gifted, capable of independently grasping how to sense and absorb natural energy with just a bit of theory?
"I'm innocent..."
Naraku tried to speak several times to explain for Jiraiya, but was either interrupted by his teacher's impassioned scolding or blocked by Orochimaru, who enjoyed watching the drama. It took him a long while to interject.
"Teacher, it's not Lord Jiraiya's fault; it was truly me..."
Before he could finish, he received an angry flick to the forehead from Tsunade—a flick using about half her strength—causing a bump to slowly rise on his head. He didn't dare to use Medical Ninjutsu to make it disappear, so he could only endure the pain and silently take the scolding.
"You brat! I said I was scolding him, not you, didn't I?!"
"You've really gotten too bold! Are you an idiot? You dared to try it without anyone guiding you?!"
"If there's a next time, you can just wait to turn into mud! I won't care about you at all!"
After much effort, Naraku's left hand finally returned to normal. Tsunade ordered the old man and the young boy to reflect in the office for an hour before they could leave, then huffed and slammed the door shut as she departed.
"Lord Jiraiya, I'm sorry for causing Teacher to misunderstand you."
Naraku apologized dismally, his face as pale as paper from spitting blood, still thinking about clearing Jiraiya's name: "Don't worry, I will definitely explain everything clearly to Teacher."
"Don't worry too much; Tsunade just has a bit of a quick temper."
Jiraiya quickly forgot about such a minor matter, laughed heartily, and rubbed Naraku's head with his large hand until the sullen child looked up at him, then stated directly: "She just cares about you too much; I can understand that."
"Yes, it's all my fault for making Teacher worry like this," Naraku lowered his head again, his fingers anxiously twisting and rubbing the corner of his clothes.
Orochimaru couldn't help but think it must be because of that Sealing Jutsu array, and asked with interest: "It seems you've started experimenting? Do you have any data?"
"Yes, besides the drafts at home, everything is here."
Naraku took out a notebook from his embrace and handed it to Orochimaru; it was filled with experimental logs and related data.
Orochimaru looked through it while asking questions, and by the end, he sincerely praised Naraku's intelligence and perseverance. He had actually completed the prototype of the Sealing Jutsu array in such a short time and could even genuinely tap into natural energy.
However, the risks were indeed very high. He had just started experimenting with animals when a slight error in the incantations caused the energy to go wild and backlash onto him.
Fortunately, the situation wasn't serious and he could be saved.
Although he had only a rudimentary understanding of medical experiments, Jiraiya, having listened until now, generally understood what Naraku was doing. He suddenly slapped the young boy's tender shoulder, and with his other hand, pointed his thumb at himself.
"It's okay! With me, Jiraiya the Toad Sage, protecting you, this kind of situation will definitely not happen again!"
"Huh?" Naraku paused for a moment, then realized what he meant, and asked hesitantly: "Won't it be too much trouble for you? Lord Jiraiya must be very busy normally..."
"Cough, cough!" Jiraiya coughed twice guiltily, then puffed out his chest and declared righteously: "Sakumo is my friend, after all. This much effort is what I should contribute! Don't you agree, Orochimaru?"
"Indeed," Orochimaru shook the notebook in his hand and smiled, "I am very interested."
...To this day, Orochimaru has personally witnessed this "Senra Tensei Rinne Array" being perfected by Naraku bit by bit, steadily and continuously acting on Sakumo. The effort and dedication Naraku poured into it are beyond description.
All that remains is to pray that the gods, in their unseen wisdom, bestow upon him merciful blessings.