[Findings]

Stepping back into the lab, Sasuke caught the attention of everyone in the room. The strange masked figure returned alone, without any sign of Kimimaro. 

Their eyes shrunk to the size of a pin as they realized what they feared most had happened.

Kimimaro had most likely... died.

Despair clawed at their hearts, confused about what was going to happen to them now.

Walking towards what he assumed to be the head scientist, the one who spoke to Kimimaro and the others previously, Sasuke activated his Mangekyou Sharingan and began to place his target under a Genjutsu.

As the scientist's eyes glazed over, Sasuke questioned him, "What was the purpose of this lab?"

The scientist paused for a moment before he answered monotonously. "We were researching the mechanism behind the immortality of Jashin cult members."

"Did you find anything?" Sasuke pressed further.

He needed to understand if Orochimaru had already grasped this method of immortality, which would only make killing him even more difficult.

"Yes. We found out that these people don't exhibit long lifespans, great vitality, or regeneration. Instead, what seemed to grant their immortality was their soul."

"Soul?" Sasuke muttered, confused by how the soul was related to any of this.

Undeterred by Sasuke's confusion, the scientist continued his explanation. "Through our experiments, we noticed that regardless of the damage these people undergo, their souls don't disappear. When most people suffer fatal damage and die, their souls will travel to the pure land to seek their eternal rest."

"However, these people... their souls seemed to be glued onto their bodies. It was like some strange existence made sure that their souls wouldn't ever leave their physical body."

Sasuke's body froze, his mind immersed in a whirlwind of thoughts.

'Bound to the body. This seems to be the opposite of what the other facility was researching... Furthermore, there seems to be only one entity I know of that can directly prevent a soul from travelling to the pure land... The Shinigami?'

Realizing this might be linked to the Shinigami, Sasuke found himself with another thought floating in his mind.

Lord Jashin = Shinigami?

Though he couldn't 100% confirm this conjecture, it seemed very likely...

While Sasuke was questioning the scientist, the others in the room were on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Who is this person?

How could he have the Sharingan?

Is he here for their research?

Amidst his pondering, Sasuke looked around the room and was met with the horrified eyes of the Sound Four and the other scientists.

"Oh? How could I forget about you?"

Time soon passed with Sasuke interrogating everyone in the room with various questions, and he soon came to a few conclusions.

Orochimaru wasn't able to replicate this form of immortality, thankfully.

Mainly because this method comes at the cost of warping the mind of the individual in question.

This was because a person whose soul has fused with their flesh will have their soul eroded with every injury they take.

For this to ever actually kill them permanently, they would have to die several million times.

However, with every injury to their body, the erosion of their soul will cause irreversible harm to their psyche.

'I guess that explains Hidan's behaviour in Shippuden...?'

The final thing Sasuke found out from the Sound Four was that Orochimaru was planning to carry out the Chunin Exam attack from the anime.

'But why...?' Sasuke pondered.

With Orochimaru's intelligence network, he should be aware of my induction into Anbu and should be prepared for the fact I might not even be in the village during his attack.

'Unless I'm not his target...?'

This question got Sasuke's mind churning as he began to link some strange things he noticed together.

Kimimaro possessed something strikingly similar to the Karma Seal that the Otsutsuki used.

How could Orochimaru obtain something like this so early on in the timeline?

However, Sasuke soon found an answer to that question.

The Hand Of God.

This strange organization that seems to be linked to both the Shinigami and the Otsutsuki could be what led Orochimaru to find out about the Karma Seal.

However, the Uzumaki couldn't find anything about this organization, so how could Orochimaru?

Sasuke's eyes widened as he found himself quickly answering his question. 

Konoha.

More specifically, the ninja clans within the village. If that was where Orochimaru gained his information, everything would all make sense.

That was why the Uzumaki couldn't find anything regarding this group.

Even what Sasuke found near Kusagakure could be explained by the Uzumaki trying to avoid places close to Senju-Uchiha conflicts.

Furthermore, this would completely explain why Orochimaru wants to attack Konoha—he wants more information.

Sasuke took a deep breath as he felt the tension leaving his body. He had finally gotten more answers than questions.

'This is a sign. A few more years and I'll be able to find answers regarding that prophecy, the Hand of God, the Shinigami, the...'

His eyes began twitching as he realized he still had quite a few things to work out before he could even dream of living a peaceful life any time soon.

Looking around the lab, Sasuke made his way over to the massive cylindrical chambers that lined the walls of the room.

They were filled with a luminescent blue fluid and had several human figures floating within them.

At first, Sasuke wasn't able to make out what was in the chambers, but upon closer inspection, what he had found made his blood begin to boil.

Within the strange blue liquid floated children, none older than ten.

Their physical appearance was morphed with strange mutations, reminiscent of those found in the prison cells.

One of them possessed a snake head, one didn't have legs but instead possessed a snake's body, another had both their arms in the shape of snakes, etc.

Sasuke sighed looking at this. He might not consider himself a good person, but something like this was well beyond what he could tolerate.

Trying to calm himself down, he began heading towards the stairs that led outside.

Though not before collecting the body of the Jashin cult member into a storage scroll on his way out.

Normally, one wouldn't seal a living thing into the scroll as they would die instantly due to a lack of oxygen, but it might just be Sasuke's imagination, he had an inkling of a feeling that the Jashin cultist would be fine.

Probably...?

He then turned around while raising his left arm, his open palm facing the room.

A massive pillar of blue flames surged out of his palm and began engulfing the entire space in a burning inferno.

Wherever the flame touched, the lab facilities, the unconscious people whom he had interrogated, and the children who had been experimented on, bringing them out of their misery; turning everything to ash.

The fire erased all evidence that pointed to their ever being a lab here...

---

Meanwhile, back in a Konoha training ground, several days passed since Sasuke embarked on his Anbu mission.

Shikamaru, Choji, and Naruto darted around the training ground, engaged in a lively free-for-all.

Naruto lunged towards Shikamaru, who deftly manipulated his shadow, sending it snaking towards Naruto.

Evading the dark tendrils pursuing him, Naruto leapt into the air, a triumphant smirk forming on his face.

Crash!

While Naruto was in the air, a colossal palm swatted him, sending his form crashing down to the ground.

Choji, still recovering from his previous exchange, squinted through the settling dust, seeking out the real Naruto amidst the chaos.

Yet, all he could make out was a puff of white smoke.

Suddenly, explosive tags erupted beneath Choji, the blast leaving him battered but standing, his enlarged palms shielding him from the worst of the explosion.

Meanwhile, Naruto in the distance seized the opportunity.

Summoning a shadow clone, he used it to fling himself towards Shikamaru, who was momentarily preoccupied as he inspected the aftermath of his explosive tags.

A swift punch connected with Shikamaru's face, sending him sprawling.

But just as Naruto moved in to press his advantage, Shikamaru vanished from his location, reappearing by a tree which he had linked with his shadow.

Nevertheless, before Shikamaru could catch his breath, Choji extended his arms, aiming for Shikamaru, who deftly manoeuvred around the tree using his shadows.

As the skirmish unfolded, Choji's grip tightened around the tree trunk, his frustration boiling over. "Damn it, Shikamaru! How do I get out of this?" He exclaimed.

Shikamaru grinned; he managed to take out Choji in the spar, but he felt that he had forgotten about something. 

Suddenly, shurikens sliced through the air, and realization dawned on Shikamaru.

Naruto!

His heart raced as he dodged the onslaught, his dwindling chakra reserves leaving him unable to rely on his shadow techniques.

Forced to confront Naruto head-on, Shikamaru tried deflecting the incoming shurikens with a kunai, but the barrage left him with numerous cuts and bruises.

Naruto soon closed the distance, forcing Shikamaru to engage in a fierce exchange of Taijutsu with him.

With a resounding thud, Naruto's kick sent Shikamaru crashing to the ground.

"I surrender," Shikamaru shouted before Naruto could launch another attack, and just lay on the floor as he panted in exhaustion.

"Ha! I guess that means I'm the winner. Give me a few years and I'll be able to catch up to Sasuke! Dattebayo!"

Naruto shouted out loud before he was interrupted by another voice.

"Keep dreaming. It's not like Sasuke is going to stop training. Even if he did, I doubt you could catch up."

In the corner of the training ground, Karin had sat down to practice her Fuinjutsu.

She rolled her eyes at Naruto's antics while she continued drawing her seals, showcasing her growing ability to multi-task.

"Come on. At least let me have some hope..."

Naruto shook his head dejectedly before he found himself sitting with Shikamaru and Choji near Karin.

"Look on the bright side, Naruto. At least if Sasuke is stronger than you, you will at least have a goal to work towards."

Choji sat with his back against a tree, as he comforted Naruto.

"Yeah, I guess you're onto something... Sometimes it feels like instead of catching up, the space between me and Sasuke just keeps widening. He was no weakling back in the day, but now? Man, he's on a whole different level of crazy strength."

"Hey, I never asked this but how was Sasuke in the past?"

Karin's attention was arrested from her Fuinjutsu practice for the first time. She wanted to know a bit more about Sasuke from the three around her.

However, she was met with the teasing gaze of three pairs of eyes.

"Yo, Miss Lovebird wants an inside scoop about her Prince Charming?"

Naruto spoke out, before descending into a fit of giggles.

"Troublesome... Look, Naruto, cut her some slack, will you?" Shikamaru swatted Naruto's head, half due to revenge from before and half due to his excessive teasing.

"About Sasuke, where to start..." He continued on, "Back when we first crossed paths, he fit the Uchiha stereotype perfectly. Arrogant, annoying, overly talented, and did I mention arrogant?"

"But things took a turn after 'that' incident. Suddenly, he was a different person, more mature, colder, stronger, yet he seemed so lost at the same time."

"He seemed clueless about what to do in the future. Truth is, I don't think he's entirely figured it out even now. Though, that's not something kids our age should be dwelling on."

"The Sasuke you're seeing these days? He's a lot more talkative than the Sasuke of the past. Back then, he only spoke if spoken to, always in a bit of a daze whenever I saw him. Well, he's more 'alive' now, I guess..."

As Karin sat there, she found herself listening to Sasuke's past with gusto.

The more she learned about Sasuke, the more she found herself drawn to how he managed to get through the suffering life had thrown at him.

'I need to focus on honing my Fuinjutsu skills and training harder so I can truly support Sasuke when he returns...' Karin thought as she motivated herself. 'But I can't help but wonder what his favourite meal will be when he's back...'