Chapter 93 Urgent tasks

After resting for a few hours, Orochimaru compiled the experiences shared by the Three Snake Princesses regarding the "Sage Art: Shape-Changing Body Technique" into reference notes. Over the next few days, he managed to develop a rudimentary version of the technique suitable for human use.

However, the results were underwhelming. Most notably, he failed to establish a connection with Manda—the core integration simply didn't work.

This failure was due not only to the incomplete nature of the sage technique itself, but also because Orochimaru was not a snake. The method might prove more effective if tested on a true human subject.

With this stage of the sage art complete, Orochimaru no longer had any reason to remain in Ryūchi Cave and thus bid farewell to the White Snake Sage. Now that he possessed her scales, he could continue practicing Sage Mode and enhancing his body through breath techniques even outside the cave.

The White Snake Sage had no objections. In fact, she preferred Orochimaru to return to the village quickly and continue researching the transplantation of the Divine Tree's power. After all, humans live short lives—waste a little time, and they vanish.

---

The following day, around noon, Orochimaru returned to Konoha.

He slept until dusk to recover, then retrieved a sealed scroll hidden in a dark compartment of his room. Inside it was a chakra-soul body and a fragment of a soul taken from the Pure Land.

As he examined the scroll, his expression turned serious.

While training in Ryūchi Cave, Orochimaru had realized something troubling: his limit for storing Sage Chakra was low. It depleted after only a few uses—not simply due to inexperience, but likely because his soul and body were incomplete.

He had plenty of chakra, and his control was excellent, yet when his Sage Chakra exceeded a certain threshold, it began leaking uncontrollably—like trying to fill a barrel with a hole near the top. No matter how much you pour, it never stays full.

He could no longer postpone resolving the flaws in his chakra, soul, and body.

Turning his gaze behind him, he spoke:

"Djinn, I'll leave the inspection to you."

The seal on the scroll couldn't be removed carelessly, or the soul body inside might be pulled back into the Pure Land. Orochimaru wouldn't risk it until he understood how far the Cursed Seal had eroded the contents.

"No problem," Djinn replied.

He emerged from behind Orochimaru, dove into the scroll's seal, and returned moments later with a puzzled expression.

"You can remove the seal. The chakra soul body inside is gone."

"Gone?" Orochimaru looked at him in surprise. Without hesitation, he activated the sealing formula.

The black markings on the scroll peeled away like a receding tide, revealing a glowing orb of white light. Orochimaru absorbed it into his body—and immediately realized the soul and body it once held had completely faded. Only the curse mark remained.

He didn't know why. But the fragment of his consciousness tied to the seal had faintly sensed the ninja's mind being wiped away, then gradually fading into nothing.

"What does this mean?" Orochimaru muttered.

Djinn replied, "Maybe the reason is simpler than we think."

He shrugged. "That ninja was already dead. You, on the other hand, are alive. Maybe the soul within the cursed seal survived because of that difference."

"That's it?" Orochimaru frowned, unconvinced.

Djinn snapped his fingers. "Chakra volume, soul strength..." He listed a few traits, then continued, "From what I can tell, your separated chakra soul body wasn't much stronger than that ninja's—possibly even weaker. Yet his vanished."

"I can't think of any other explanation beyond the difference between life and death."

Orochimaru remained silent, brows furrowed deep in thought.

Djinn was neither omniscient nor omnipotent—he'd always known that. After all, if the other party truly was all-knowing, why would they need him to gather knowledge in the first place?

Still, at that moment, he couldn't help feeling a hint of regret.

The pursuit of ninjutsu was never hindered by difficulty. What made it truly frustrating was when you didn't even know where the difficulty lay.

Just like now.

"…Actually, I've been meaning to ask," Djinn suddenly said after a moment of silence. "Why not use the curse seal to erode a ninja's body and kill them? That way, you could ride along with their soul."

Orochimaru shook his head. "The curse seal isn't that powerful."

"When a ninja dies, the curse seal doesn't follow their soul. It disperses, just like a shadow clone—once destroyed, the chakra returns to the original body, and the seal vanishes."

"So the curse seal's erosion only affects the flesh," Djinn mused. "Or at least, it's based on the flesh…"

"Then why did you try to use it on a chakra-based soul body?"

"It was just an experiment," Orochimaru replied calmly.

The soul remained a blind spot in Orochimaru's knowledge. But from what Djinn had said before, a chakra soul body was like a different form of life altogether. In fact, he claimed the world of the dead—of souls and spirits—was no different from the world of the living.

Naturally, Orochimaru wanted to test this theory.

But for now, the experiment had ended in failure. A soul body from the Pure Land couldn't survive long enough for the curse seal to complete its erosion.

Whether the seal could actually erode such a soul body remained unverified.

Perhaps he would need to go deeper—refine the Edo Tensei technique and give the Pure Land soul a vessel to extend its existence. Only then could proper testing continue.

After listening to Orochimaru's explanation, Djinn offered another idea.

"Maybe there's a better direction—try eroding the soul of someone who's still alive. Specifically, someone who's mastered the Spiritualization Technique."

Orochimaru's eyes lit up. It was a brilliant suggestion.

Compared to working with unstable, fading souls from the Pure Land, testing the curse seal on the spirit body of a living person was a more reliable way to see if it truly had a corrosive effect on souls.

And if it failed, it would be less of a loss than wasting resources on a full Edo Tensei setup.

Of course, finding a ninja capable of using the Spiritualization Technique wouldn't be easy. It was an S-rank jutsu—not something just anyone could learn.

But for Orochimaru, the difficulty of mastering a jutsu was never the issue. He was confident he could teach it. The real challenge lay in finding a ninja with the right aptitude.

"…"

Boom boom boom.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

Orochimaru snapped out of his thoughts and turned toward the sound. The chakra signature was familiar—very familiar.

It was Uchiha Fugaku, the head of the Uchiha clan.

Since achieving immortality, Orochimaru's sensory abilities had sharpened considerably. Within a certain range, they now rivaled even the Byakugan.

He rolled up the scroll on the table, stood, and opened the door.

"Patriarch Fugaku," he said with a smile. "I didn't expect you to visit so soon after my return. What brings you here in such a hurry?"

Fugaku's expression turned slightly awkward. After all, sending someone to watch the residence of one of the Sannin was a bold and arguably inappropriate move.

But this wasn't something he could ignore. The new dojutsu awakened in Uchiha Shinsuke's eyes might be the future of their clan. He had to find out more.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Orochimaru interrupted him.

"It seems we'll have to discuss your business later, Patriarch Fugaku."

No sooner had he spoken than an ANBU ninja landed silently in the courtyard.

__________________

Support me on patreon and read

1)Insect princess from Konoha

2)Second girls journey in Naruto

3)Orochimaru's Magic lamp

patreon.com/Silver757