Looking at the crystal ball that Hiruzen used for his Telescope Technique, Suguru fell into thought. For some reason, his Kaisugan was reacting. There was a mysterious pull that only manifested when he focused on the object in question.
After a brief moment of thought, Suguru allowed his chakra to flow into the crystal ball. A small wisp of chakra traveled from his eyes and slowly drifted to the Hokage's office. After a minute, Suguru felt that the wisp of his chakra had entered the crystal ball.
"..."
Nothing happened.
Suguru stared at the glassy surface of the sphere and wondered why his Kaisugan seemed so keen on leaving behind a wisp of chakra there.
After a few minutes had gone by and nothing had happened, Suguru decided to snoop around elsewhere.
'I wonder what Orochimaru is doing...' He thought, recalling the events leading to his defection. 'He should be leaving in about two years if the butterfly effect isn't considered.'
Suguru's eyes shone. Since Orochimaru was still in the village, he could play around a little.
'Alright, let's have a look.'
Chakra was poured into Suguru's shattered irises, and his view rapidly shifted. He combed through every hidden location within his Kaisugan's range. When he bypassed a few sealing barriers, his expression shifted. A small realization had surfaced in his mind.
'Is my Kaisugan some kind of Space-Time Doujutsu?'
Suguru couldn't help but have that thought as his gaze phased through layers upon layers of protective seals.
'Perhaps that is why no one seems to notice me.'
That analogy with Obito's intangibility suddenly made more sense. If he was looking through the world using a space-time ability, then it was no wonder that people could not sense him.
After internalizing this discovery for a few seconds, Suguru continued looking deeper into the darkness of Konoha. When his gaze arrived inside a clean white room and a familiar pale face, he felt a jolt of exhilaration.
'Orochimaru!'
Suguru was a big fan of this guy. Someone who sought to learn every technique in the world was worthy of his respect. After all, the more techniques one comprehends, the more manners of destruction one can cause.
Thus, Suguru began to observe.
***
Orochimaru was knee-deep in his experiments, with his mind encompassed by the creation of a technique that could grant him [Eternal Youth and Immortality]. His consciousness slaved away at the changes in the body that lay unconscious before him.
Chakra surged and cycled through his body, and his mind was in the process of consolidating a heavy base. One that could survive the transference of his very being from body to body.
"This isn't it either," Orochimaru clicked his tongue. "Transferring my mind through the Yamanaka clan's technique is a safe approach. However, it is unreliable in the long run. The Mind Transfer Jutsu does not have the potency needed to sustain an absolute transfer..."
With a thought, Orochimaru willed a lot of spiritual energy to roil, pouring it all into the unconscious person lying on the operating table. Through fine control of chakra, he began rewriting the target's mind to accommodate his own.
When he was satisfied, he then activated the Mind Transfer Jutsu and made several observations.
Although he failed yet again, he was able to test out a hypothesis he could now deem insufficient.
"Again,"
He muttered, and a hint of desperation bubbled from the depths of his heart. It was unknown even to Orochimaru himself, surfacing as nothing more than a minor spike of emotion.
His trials always ended up in failures, each with varying deficiencies of various natures. Yet Orochimaru persevered.
"Again,"
He muttered, before failing once more.
"Again,"
Another failure.
"Again,"
A mistake he didn't expect.
"Again,"
A new variable he had yet to explore had ruined this attempt.
"Again."
After a sufficient amount of time had gone by, Orochimaru sighed and stood up. After a cursory glance at the notes he made for the night, he shook his head and disappeared from his lab.
All while being wholly unaware that someone had been watching in silence.
***
When Suguru deactivated his Kaisugan, he felt a wave of nausea assault him. His clothes were drenched in his blood and he felt lightheaded.
He had grown too curious... Nay, he was too invested in Orochimaru's experiments that he lost track of time. His chakra reserves were dangerously low and he had lost a lot of blood.
'But it was worth it.'
Suguru learned a lot from those hours he spent watching Orochimaru's experiments. It gave him a few ideas — a few things he would like to try. Observing Orochimaru in secret might prove to be a very productive use of his time.
'I'll learn as much as I can while Orochimaru is within the range of my Kaisugan.' He thought, writing his own copy of what Orochimaru had discovered throughout the night. He had a feeling that he would be able to build a library of controversial research very soon.
Satisfied with what he had achieved, Suguru went to sleep.
***
When morning came, Suguru woke up late. Moreover, it wasn't because he naturally woke up. He suddenly felt some kind of chakra signature sending a signal to his Kaisugan.
"Ugh... What the hell—?"
Suguru's curses never left his lips. His Kaisugan had activated on their own, staining his pillow with blood.
He wasn't mad though.
After all, he now knew why his eyes reacted to Hiruzen's crystal ball.
"Hehehe~" Suguru's devious laughter echoed through his apartment.
"I see,"
Literally.
Suguru could see what Hiruzen was busy spying on as if he were a subsidiary observer. His vision shifted whenever Hiruzen used the Telescope Technique, flitting through the different sights in Konoha.
Intrigued, Suguru realized that he could also hear the sounds that Hiruzen could hear through the Telescope Technique. It was a pleasant surprise.
Unfortunately, it impeded his daily life if he kept paying attention to Hiruzen's spying. After hearing his stomach grumble, he deactivated his Kaisugan and went to cook breakfast.
Luckily, his eyes received a signal whenever Hiruzen used his crystal ball. He could also reconnect whenever he felt like it. Or, he could simply use his Kaisugan as he had been doing thus far.
'I wonder... Can I use the crystal ball as a way to spy on Hiruzen himself?'
If he could use the crystal ball to eavesdrop on important conversations that would inevitably happen in the Hokage's office, then that would be quite the treat.
That answer would come quickly.
When Hiruzen stopped using the Telescope Technique, Suguru noticed it. The latter then activated his Kaisugan and quickly tapped into the crystal ball.
Suddenly, it felt as if Suguru had another pair of ears.
Just in time as well — someone had knocked on Hiruzen's door.
"Come in," Hiruzen said, and Suguru heard it loud and clear.
With a click, the door opened to reveal a white fox mask with whiskers of red. Suguru instantly recognized who it was.
"Reporting to Lord Hokage," A cold, emotionless voice sprouted from behind the fox mask.
From this moment on, Suguru realized that life was going to pass him by in the blink of an eye.