Orochimaru took a deep breath and created a weak current at both ends of the coil.
Then, he slowly brought the copper wire, through which current was flowing, close to the stationary magnetic needle.
A miracle happened.
The moment the copper wire approached, the magnetic needle, which had been pointing south, abruptly deflected at an angle, pointing straight at the copper wire, as if moved by an invisible hand.
"!!!"
Orochimaru's eyes widened.
He abruptly cut off the chakra supply, and the current in the copper wire disappeared.
The magnetic needle slowly turned back to its original direction.
He tried again.
Current on, magnetic needle deflects.
Current off, magnetic needle resets.
"So... that's how it is..."
"So that's how it is!!!"
Orochimaru's body began to tremble slightly.
He understood!
Electricity can produce magnetism!
These two seemingly unrelated forces were essentially capable of influencing each other.
This discovery, like a bolt of lightning at the creation of the world, instantly cleared all the fog in his mind.
All his previous confusion about why electricity was unstable, why it couldn't be stored, and why it couldn't be transmitted over long distances seemed to have an answer at this moment.
Because he had always been studying electricity in isolation.
He had ignored its other half—magnetism!
"Haha... hahahaha..."
Orochimaru could no longer suppress the ecstasy in his heart and let out a neurotic, yet infinitely joyful laugh.
The other researchers in the laboratory looked at their captain, who was usually as cold as ice but was now laughing like a madman, somewhat at a loss.
"Cap... Captain, are you alright?"
"Shh... keep it down, you idiot."
Orochimaru paid no attention to anyone's gaze.
He grabbed the blueprint from Lord Hokage and the small magnetic needle, and without looking back, rushed out of the laboratory.
He had to see his teacher immediately!
He had made a brand-new, great discovery!
He also wanted to ask his teacher...
Was all of this also within your expectations?
He rushed out of the Team Zero base and sprinted towards the Hokage building.
Orochimaru's figure leaped rapidly across the rooftops of Konoha, startling two cats in heat.
His heart was filled with a thirst for unknown truth.
"Bang—"
The door to the Hokage's Office was rudely pushed open.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was reviewing documents, was startled by the sudden noise. The brush in his hand shook, leaving a large ink blot on the scroll.
"Don't you know how to knock..."
He looked up, and his words got stuck halfway.
He saw Orochimaru standing at the door, his chest heaving violently.
That always indifferent face was now filled with excitement and fanaticism, even a bit neurotic.
His hair was a bit messy, his white research coat was stained with oil, and he was clutching a compass tightly in his hand.
He looked like a patient who had just escaped from a mental hospital.
"Tea... Teacher!"
Orochimaru's voice trembled with excitement.
"Orochimaru? What's wrong with you?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned, his heart skipping a beat.
This guy didn't go crazy from research and electrocute himself into stupidity, did he?
"Teacher! I... I seem to have discovered an incredible secret!"
Orochimaru rushed to the desk in two steps and slammed the scrapped compass onto the table.
"Look! This is it!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the thing, question marks all over his head: "A magnetic needle? What's so..."
"No! Teacher! Listen to me!"
Orochimaru interrupted him, speaking very fast. "Just now, one of our experiments failed again. In the moment of failure, a huge current was generated. Then, I saw the needle of this compass, it... it moved!"
"Although it was only for a moment, I saw it clearly! It deflected! It deflected in the direction of the current flow!"
A near-crazy light shone in Orochimaru's eyes.
"Teacher, do you understand what this means? It means that electricity and magnetism, two seemingly unrelated things, have some mysterious connection between them that we don't know yet!"
"They... they might be twin brothers!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen listened silently, his heart calm.
Electricity generates magnetism.
Looking at Orochimaru, who looked like he was about to ascend on the spot with excitement, Sarutobi Hiruzen suppressed his laughter and put on an inscrutable expression.
He didn't answer immediately, but slowly stood up, walked to the window, put his hands behind his back, and said slowly in a tone as if reminiscing about the past, "Electricity and magnetism... Orochimaru, it's very good that you discovered this."
"This shows that your observational skills have surpassed the vast majority of people."
"Teacher... you... you knew all along?"
Orochimaru looked at his teacher's calm back, his heart shaken.
"Hehe."
Sarutobi Hiruzen let out two ambiguous chuckles, neither admitting nor denying.
This ambiguous attitude, in Orochimaru's view, was a tacit admission.
Teacher... he actually knew the relationship between electricity and magnetism long ago.
Then the blueprint he gave me before, the conceptual drawing of the hydro-turbine generator, wasn't a concept at all.
It was clearly a theory he had verified long ago.
He was just... he was just guiding me, testing me.
To discover this truth with my own ability!
Having figured this out, Orochimaru looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen's back, the admiration in his eyes completely turning into awe.
If the previous teacher was a great scientist at the forefront of the times in his heart.
Then now, the teacher in his heart was a... god who had insight into the origin of the world.
"Orochimaru."
Sarutobi Hiruzen turned around, looking at his disciple who had been thoroughly fooled by him, and decided to add fuel to the fire.
He walked to the desk and opened the bottom drawer, which was always locked.
Then, from inside, he took out a thick manuscript that looked quite old, with a cover wrapped in special leather.
There was no text on the cover of the manuscript, only an emblem of intertwined lightning and magnets.
Sarutobi Hiruzen gently placed the manuscript in front of Orochimaru.
"This is...?"
Orochimaru reached out and tremblingly stroked the manuscript, as if touching a sacred work of art.
"The answers you want, perhaps, are all in here."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone was as flat as if he were talking about a trivial matter.
"Since you have touched the threshold of this field with your own ability, then this book, now, it is time to give it to you."
"Perhaps, it can provide you with some... small ideas to solve the problems you are currently facing regarding energy storage and transmission."
Orochimaru's breathing stopped completely at this moment.
With an attitude akin to pilgrimage, he carefully opened the first page of the manuscript.
On the title page, written in vigorous handwriting, was a line of large characters.
"On the Fundamentals of the Interaction Between Electricity and Magnetic Fields"
The first sentence of the opening chapter was like a thunderclap splitting heaven and earth, striking fiercely in his mind.
"Electricity and magnetism are two sides of the same force and can be transformed into each other."
"Law of Electromagnetic Induction: When a part of a conductor in a closed circuit moves in a magnetic field cutting magnetic induction lines, an electric current is generated in the conductor. This phenomenon is called electromagnetic induction."
"Faraday Cage: A cage made of metal can effectively shield external electric fields. This principle can be used to manufacture insulation equipment to ensure the safety of power transmission..."
Boom!
Orochimaru's mind went blank.
Electricity can generate magnetism.
Then conversely, can magnetism... also generate electricity?
If magnetism can generate electricity, then can we build a device to change the form of electricity?
If the form of electricity can be changed, then can we...
Crazy, subversive thoughts surged frantically in his mind.
He seemed to see a door to a brand-new world slowly opening for him.
And behind that door were endless truths and mysteries waiting for him to explore.
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