Days, weeks, and then months went by. The new year passed quickly, and the month of March arrived.
After seeing Kakashi reporting to Hiruzen about the disappearances last December, Suguru began paying more attention to Orochimaru. He would spend as much time as he could in scouting the scattered laboratories, keeping tabs on Orochimaru whenever an experiment was scheduled.
'It is a little brutal to watch, to say the least.' Suguru smacked his lips.
The screams, the blood, and the splattering human innards were all sights that would make anyone retch. Human experimentation was vile, yet Suguru never looked away. His shattered irises shone with a devious light with every passing moment of observation.
'Orochimaru is indeed an unparalleled genius. I need to learn as much as I can.'
Although he did not have even an inch of power at the moment, perhaps the Living Corpse Reincarnation would be integral in getting a more suitable body to use.
'A more talented body would be able to throw me straight into the sky,'
Therefore, he recorded every important detail that caught his eye. All of Orochimaru's failures and all of his secret achievements — Suguru made sure to document them.
Furthermore, Suguru had also stumbled upon Root's headquarters some weeks ago. The secrets that Danzo held were just as intriguing as Orochimaru's experiments, given that the two had worked on a few things together.
The First Hokage's cells were a very useful tool that could also escalate Suguru's abilities. If he could get his hands on some, then he would have more leeway to play around.
Aside from spying on Orochimaru and Danzo, Suguru also eavesdropped on Hiruzen from time to time. He watched as the Hokage managed the village, giving orders left and right. Although it was less 'exciting,' he got a better image of the ninja world.
On top of that, Suguru was practicing nature transformation and chakra control when he wasn't doing any of the above. The Byakugan and occasional use of the Sharingan were of surprising aid to his goals:
Borrowing active Byakugans helped him visualize the flow and molding of chakra. His chakra control and nature transformation abilities took a step into the realm of an Academy Student as he grew ever more familiar with the Byakugan. It was surprising, given his abysmal talent.
On the other hand, having a Sharingan active meant that he could memorize, analyze, and copy a variety of jutsus. He snuck around the village to watch a few kids practicing their jutsus. With his borrowed Sharingan, he began memorizing what he could, but only for a few minutes at a time.
After all...
'It's very taxing on my chakra.' He thought.
Due to this, Suguru had only learned the standard E-Rank jutsus that an Academy student was supposed to learn. The Substitution Jutsu, Disguise Jutsu, and Clone Jutsu wasn't difficult for the Sharingan to memorize, but it was still difficult for him to copy and practice.
'My body has no future as a shinobi!'
Suguru lamented his inability to translate much of his knowledge into his skills. Learning E-Rank jutsus had taken a long time. Even his progress in Taijutsu wasn't doing any better despite using the Sharingan to copy a few of the kids. Let's not get started on delicate Genjutsu techniques.
Suguru was now sure of one thing: The original Kagami Suguru was even worse than Naruto in chakra control and nature transformation!
To rub even more salt in his wounds, Suguru had already observed and memorized the Fireball Jutsu and Fire Bullet Jutsu, yet no matter what he did, his chakra refused to move the way he wanted even when he had an affinity for Fire Release. Despite the guidance of hand seals and his systematic training, he still couldn't do anything more than light a small candle!
Frustrated by his abysmal progress, Suguru thought about his Kaisugan. His eyes were his pride and joy. Although they didn't increase his combat power, they were unique.
That was enough for him to treasure his eyes.
'I also need to experiment with mirroring someone's Doujutsu without using [Clairvoyance].' Thinking up to this point, Suguru recalled that there were a few more ideas that he hadn't tested.
He couldn't test these ideas out because of the possible repercussions. Hiruzen had already begun cracking down on his use of his Kaisugan. Somehow, he was able to deduce the range of his actions and had even drawn up a map of where he had been frequenting.
This also led to Suguru learning about an unexpected side effect of his Doujutsu.
If his ability to see anywhere within 50 kilometres was called [Clairvoyance], he named this special side effect, [Resonance].
After all, he didn't expect it to trigger other people's eyes. From a few of his experiments, he realized that [Resonance] was tied to some kind of connection that the Kaisugan makes with the Doujutsus it mirrors. Young Uchihas were especially sensitive to his Kaisugan's pull, awakening the Sharingan in those who would meet his ethereal gaze.
Suguru got the chills whenever he thought of Hiruzen's conversation with Danzo. Both Konoha's light and dark sides had already taken note of him because of all the Uchihas he had awakened by accident.
The unknown possibilities had erupted over a hundred fold with this.
If he hadn't been spying on them and used this information to his advantage, perhaps he might've been discovered already!
"Sigh, luckily Orochimaru has been making great progress."
...Although the number of abductions had already exceeded double digits. It was only a matter of time before the snake would be caught. Perhaps Suguru's own presence had caused Hiruzen and the Anbu to also give the disappearances more attention.
Konoha's higher ups clearly had a feeling that these two events had a connection.
Moreover, Orochimaru had already begun his preparations to leave the village, similarly wary of the weird phenomenon that Suguru had been causing. The unknown could disgruntle even the best of the best.
Suguru also noticed that the sudden spike of 'talented' Uchiha had worsened Konoha's suspicions more than in the original.
'If my actions end up starting a civil war instead of the Uchiha clan's massacre, then that would be a great opportunity for me.'
The butterfly effect had already begun, giving Suguru a sense of urgency to get stronger. If his dreams were snuffed out even before they could bloom... The humiliation would be unfathomable.
'I need to figure out how to enhance my talent as soon as possible, even if I have to use a modified version of Living Corpse Reincarnation.'