Chapter 121: Madara's Soul Sealed

Hearing the full story, Orochimaru dragged in a breath through his teeth, eyes flickering with disbelief as he looked at Shin.

"Unbelievable… I didn't expect you to accomplish so much in one operation."

He clicked his tongue in regret.

"If only I had gone with you…"

Then, his eyes narrowed.

"But... Madara Uchiha was really alive?"

Not only Orochimaru—most of those present were shocked to hear this.

"You'll find out later. We're not talking about that right now," Shin said flatly.

He had no intention of explaining the Madara situation. It was complicated, and they didn't need to know—at least not yet.

"Oh—right!" Shin suddenly remembered and turned to Orochimaru. "There must be prisoners from other villages here in the camp, right? Do you have any particularly wicked, low-ranking shinobi?"

He had decided to resurrect Madara immediately using the Impure World Resurrection—but without awakening him. It was safer to bind his soul now than risk Black Zetsu doing it first.

"Huh?" Orochimaru blinked. "Yes, of course... but why do you ask?"

"There's something urgent," Shin said, rising and placing a hand on Orochimaru's shoulder. Then, turning to the others, he added, "I need a moment alone with Orochimaru-senpai. You all go ahead and discuss the Suna situation."

"We'll be quick!" With that, Shin vanished with Orochimaru from the command tent, reappearing at the camp's prison.

"I need your help bringing out a particularly vicious low-ranking ninja," Shin said calmly.

"…Alright," Orochimaru nodded, still a bit puzzled by the abrupt turn of events.

Greeting the guards with a brief nod, Orochimaru entered the prison and soon returned, dragging out a dark, cold-eyed Iwagakure ninja with a sinister air.

"Did you explain anything to him?" Orochimaru asked.

"There's no need for words," Shin replied. He stepped forward, his Sharingan flaring—three tomoe swirling. In an instant, the prisoner's will was subdued completely.

Placing his hands on Orochimaru and the captive, Shin teleported them all to Orochimaru's underground base within the camp.

"Ah! This again…" Orochimaru grumbled, eyes scanning the familiar laboratory. "At this point, my lab is like your personal hallway—you just come and go as you please. I feel exposed!"

Shin shot him an annoyed glance. "You signed a contract with me. What exactly do you think I'm going to do to you?"

Besides, Mikoto chimed in cheerfully, "Now that you've mastered teleportation, you'll be able to use Flying Thunder God eventually, too."

Shin knew Orochimaru had been practicing teleportation between dimensions every chance he got. The more he traveled, the stronger his spatial-time affinity became—a clear effort to expand his power under their contract.

"Heh… just a joke," Orochimaru smirked, then narrowed his eyes at the prisoner. "So? Why bring this one here? You're not saying..."

"Exactly what you're thinking," Shin nodded. "I'm going to resurrect Madara Uchiha using Impure World Reincarnation—before Black Zetsu does it himself and turns him into a threat."

Shin stepped into the center of the lab, dropped to one knee, and pressed his palm against the floor. Intricate runes flowed from his hand, forming a complex summoning seal across the surface.

"Tsk-tsk…" Orochimaru leaned in with interest. "You really have mastered Edo Tensei…"

He grinned. "I'm very interested in that technique. Will you teach me? Along with the Soul Transference Technique?"

Orochimaru's eyes gleamed as he continued, "I'd already made a deal with Danzo before you eliminated him. I was going to assist his research on Wood Release in exchange for Impure World Reincarnation, Soul Transference, and funding. But—" he sighed dramatically, "you killed him before he delivered."

Shin paused, turning to Orochimaru with mild exasperation. "Didn't I already give you enough—health-preserving techniques, advanced jutsu? If you want immortality, just cultivate properly. Why are you still chasing the Soul Transference jutsu? Planning to return to the Eight Branches Technique and body-hopping again?"

He frowned. "Are you secretly a woman at heart or something?"

"No!" Orochimaru said indignantly. "Although I don't care much about gender—I'm absolutely a man! My future self followed that path out of necessity. He had no other choice."

"But me? I have a better option now. I won't need to change bodies anymore."

He added earnestly, "Still, those techniques are valuable from a research perspective. Understanding the soul, resurrection—it's all critical for my studies."

Shin chuckled, finally relenting. "Alright. I understand."

He touched Orochimaru's forehead.

"If you're interested, I'll give you an enhanced method for learning Impure World Reincarnation. Just be careful when experimenting. Don't get yourself killed."

"As for Soul Transference, I haven't studied it either—but once I return to the village and become Fourth Hokage, I'll make it available."

A stream of light shot from Shin's fingertip and entered Orochimaru's forehead. In an instant, the knowledge and practical mastery of Edo Tensei flooded his mind.

"Thank you," Orochimaru said softly, closing his eyes to absorb the data.

Meanwhile, Shin gave the mental order. The Iwagakure prisoner stepped silently into the center of the summoning seal.

Shin clasped his hands.

The seal activated.

Countless paper talismans rose from the ground, wrapping around the prisoner's body. With a final shriek, the man was consumed—and in his place, the resurrected body of Madara Uchiha took form.

Even Orochimaru, sensing the change, reopened his eyes to watch.

Shin immediately sensed Madara's soul fusing perfectly into the summoned body. He let out a sigh of relief.

"Good. Black Zetsu hasn't gotten to him yet. If he had used Edo Tensei first, things would've gotten very messy."

Resurrected at full power, Madara would've been a nightmare to deal with.

But Shin didn't activate him.

Instead, he waved a hand, casting a dimensional seal. Madara's soul and vessel vanished—transferred into Dimension 063 within Shin's space-time gate, where time stood still.

Without a soul in the world, not even Black Zetsu could revive him.

"Tsk-tsk… That was spectacular," Orochimaru murmured, impressed. "So that's the true power of Edo Tensei…"

He chuckled darkly. "When Black Zetsu finds out you sealed Madara's soul—he's going to lose his mind."

"Without Madara," he added, "resurrecting Kaguya Ōtsutsuki becomes nearly impossible."

Shin nodded. "Of course, there are still risks. Madara's Rinnegan still exists. Black Zetsu could manipulate Nagato Uzumaki, gather the Tailed Beasts, and attempt a resurrection that way. It wouldn't be as effective—but still dangerous."

"At the very least, he'd need the chakra of all nine Beasts. But the Nine-Tails is out of reach now. At best, he could only use the remnants left inside the Gold and Silver Brothers."

"Exactly," Shin said. "So why let him resurrect Madara to begin with? Now we have a few quiet years—especially in Konoha."

"I like that plan," Orochimaru nodded. "I'd rather spend that time doing research than wasting my life on a battlefield."

"…By the way," he added, "what are your plans for Madara's Rinnegan? The Uzumaki clan was saved thanks to you, but is there still a Nagato Uzumaki? Do you know how Madara implanted his Rinnegan?"

"Ah, right—the Rinnegan!" Orochimaru's curiosity flared. "I've always wanted to study those legendary eyes…"

End of Chapter 121