In the Land of Demons, at the shrine.
Jiraiya squinted, stifled a yawn lazily, and grumbled at the stone shrine in front of him: "This is so boring. Why do I have to stare at this broken thing?"
"Less complaining," Orochimaru said, leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed. "After tonight, our mission will be over."
Jiraiya's legs were a bit sore from standing, so he squatted down: "Orochimaru, do you think Tōshirō, that bastard, found us annoying, so he deliberately sent us away so he could have alone time with Tsunade?"
Orochimaru was about to deny it, but then, after a second thought, he nodded and let out a hoarse sound: "It's not impossible."
"Ha!" Tsunade exclaimed, looking like "I knew it," and confidently stated: "I knew it."
Orochimaru: ...
Jiraiya slowly stood up, clasping his hands behind his head: "Damn it, when this mission is over, he better apologize to me properly."
Orochimaru shook his head speechlessly and closed his eyes to rest.
"Want something to eat?"
A voice came from beside him. Orochimaru opened his eyes and glanced over. A soldier approached, holding a rice ball and offering it.
Orochimaru thanked him and politely declined: "I'm not very hungry."
When you're out and about, casually eating things given by others can lead to problems.
As a ninja, you still need that much vigilance.
It wasn't that these Land of Demons ninjas would poison him, but sometimes enemies exploit such kindness.
This is what's known as "good intentions leading to bad results."
Jiraiya leaned in: "If you're not eating it, then I will. I'm hungry anyway."
With that, he took the rice ball from the soldier and began to eat it with relish.
Then...
After only a few bites, he knelt down, clutching his stomach, a pained expression on his face.
Orochimaru's eyes widened. He stood ready, as if facing a formidable enemy, striking a pose, looking around with a vigilant expression.
Jiraiya suddenly laughed: "Haha..."
Orochimaru realized something and frowned.
"Just kidding..."
Jiraiya grinned and stood up as if nothing had happened.
Orochimaru: ...
Having successfully fooled Orochimaru, Jiraiya teased: "Orochimaru, you're too tense..."
Orochimaru pondered: "At this moment, if Tsunade were standing in front of you, you'd already be pressed against the ground."
Jiraiya looked like he had a close call, apologized, and said it wouldn't happen again.
Orochimaru snorted coldly.
Jiraiya scratched his head, pulling the conversation towards a topic Orochimaru might find interesting: "Oh, right, according to the Maiden Shion, the soul of Moryo is sealed in the shrine behind us, isn't it?"
Orochimaru looked at him, puzzled: "Why do you bring that up?"
Jiraiya chuckled: "Nothing, I just suddenly got a little curious. What do you think would happen if Moryo was sealed with the Reaper Death Seal?"
"The Reaper Death Seal?"
The Reaper Death Seal is the ultimate sealing jutsu from the Uzumaki clan. When used, it can summon the Shinigami to seal the target's soul within its belly, from which no one can escape.
Orochimaru was quite interested in what effect sealing Moryo's soul within the Shinigami as a vessel would have.
In fact, it wasn't just this matter that interested Orochimaru; anything related to souls deeply fascinated him.
He hoped that by researching these things, one day he could resurrect his deceased parents.
But things related to souls were too mysterious; even his knowledgeable sensei knew little about it, like a newborn.
Thinking of this, Orochimaru sighed.
At this rate, how long would it take him to achieve a breakthrough?
Unless...
Orochimaru's pupils contracted as if he had thought of something. He shook his head, discarding that extremely dangerous idea.
Although he was reclusive, he couldn't bring himself to do something as wantonly manipulative of life as that.
"Orochimaru, what's wrong?"
Jiraiya saw that he seemed to be troubled and became concerned.
Among his companions, he had to keep a close eye on his only remaining single best friend.
If that little girl took advantage of him one day, wouldn't Jiraiya be the only one left single?
"Nothing."
Orochimaru brushed him off. Even he was startled by such a dangerous thought.
Jiraiya was skeptical but wisely chose not to press for details.
Because it was late, and he was surrounded by a group of unfamiliar men, a bored Jiraiya could only continue to make desultory conversation with Orochimaru.
"You know, besides sealing Moryo, are there any other ways to deal with this troublesome Moryo?"
"If there were, the successive Priestesses wouldn't have had to sacrifice their lives to seal Moryo every time," Orochimaru shook his head, echoing the Priestess's words: "Even if Moryo is killed, it will be reborn somewhere else in the world, and then it won't be so easy to find.
"If Moryo were to lie dormant during this time, constantly absorbing negative emotions and growing, then it would be troublesome.
"Therefore, choosing to seal Moryo is the best option."
Jiraiya sighed, and then, as if a light bulb went off in his head, a flash of inspiration struck him: "You said Moryo can be resurrected indefinitely; is that related to its soul?"
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, signaling him to continue.
Jiraiya continued: "Perhaps what we usually call 'death' is actually a relatively narrow definition of death."
"Narrow?"
Hearing that word, Orochimaru couldn't help but chuckle: "I never thought you, Jiraiya, could occasionally utter a decent word or two."
Jiraiya felt slighted and grumbled unhappily: "What do you mean 'a guy like me'? Why don't you explain yourself more clearly?"
Orochimaru's eyes twinkled with a smile: "I think I've already made it quite clear..."
Jiraiya gnashed his teeth: "Indeed, you and I really don't get along..."
Orochimaru asked: "So what exactly did you mean by 'narrow' just now?"
"Oh-ho, you want to know?" Jiraiya put on a sly expression: "Beg me and I'll tell you."
Orochimaru simply said "Oh" with a rather indifferent air.
Jiraiya froze; why wasn't Orochimaru acting normally?
As if seeing through Jiraiya's thoughts, Orochimaru said with a hint of a smile: "Compared to me wanting to know, Jiraiya is the one who wants to speak even more, isn't he?"
This bastard guessed right...
This was a rare opportunity, and Jiraiya eagerly wanted to show off in front of Orochimaru: "You really do understand me. Honestly, if you were a woman, maybe I'd pursue you."
Orochimaru shifted his leg back slightly, looking at Jiraiya with a strange glint in his eyes: "Although I'm not interested in women, I also don't have that kind of need for men."
Jiraiya loudly corrected him: "I said 'if you were a woman'!"
Orochimaru glanced at him and continued: "But if you didn't have some thoughts about me, you wouldn't have had that thought, would you?"
Orochimaru's reasoning was sound, and Jiraiya began to doubt himself.
Could it be that I really have feelings for Orochimaru?
He's a hidden...
Jiraiya: !!!?
This thought was too dangerous...
Jiraiya jumped, quickly coughed twice, and changed the subject: "Let's go back to the topic we were discussing."
Orochimaru nodded slightly.
Jiraiya organized his thoughts: "Normally, when we say we kill a person, it actually refers to destroying a person's physical body.
"But when it comes to the soul, we can't actually kill it even if we wanted to, because we haven't mastered a method to destroy souls."
Orochimaru thought for a moment, his mind quick, and he immediately understood Jiraiya's idea:
"If we define it by whether a soul can be killed, then 'killing a target' in the narrow sense means destroying the creature's physical body, while in the broad sense, it means destroying both the creature's physical body and soul, right?"
Jiraiya held up a finger: "That's my line of thinking, and if we follow this definition, we'll find an interesting phenomenon."
"An interesting phenomenon?"
"Yes, you wonder why the Priestess specifically separated Moryo into soul and body. On the surface, it was to weaken Moryo's immense power, but there's actually something deeper."
Orochimaru, with a slight hint, analyzed: "If you directly kill the body, without the restraint of the body, the soul would be impossible to seal, right?"
Jiraiya clicked his tongue and complained: "Can't you let me show off a little?"
A smile appeared on Orochimaru's lips: "Interesting. If this hypothesis is correct, the physical body might not just be a simple container for the soul. To some extent, the body also has a certain restrictive power over the soul."
Jiraiya nodded: "Probably so..."
Orochimaru looked at Jiraiya: "But what good does knowing this do?
"As far as I know, there doesn't seem to be any ninjutsu in this world meant to kill souls, right?"
Jiraiya's mind worked in mysterious ways, and he shifted his perspective: "What about absorbing or devouring, then?"
Upon hearing that, Orochimaru couldn't help but laugh, as if he'd heard a good joke.
Jiraiya froze: "What are you laughing at?"
Orochimaru said somewhat speechlessly: "First of all, setting aside whether there's such a ninjutsu for devouring souls in this world, even if there was, with a soul like Moryo that's a collection of countless negative emotions, do you think a normal person who absorbed Moryo would still be normal?
"It'd be good if they didn't become a second Moryo, and it's even possible they could become something even more terrifying than Moryo."
Jiraiya, who spoke without thinking, scratched his head: "That's true."
"However..."
Orochimaru paused slightly, as if something had just occurred to him.
Jiraiya asked curiously: "However what?"
Orochimaru chuckled: "If a person possessed such a terrifying ability to absorb souls, then that person themselves wouldn't be a normal human, would they?"
"This is too much trouble. Forget it, dealing with Moryo should be left to the professionals. I shouldn't meddle."
The more he talked, the more complex it became, so Jiraiya gave up on how to deal with Moryo.
As he was speaking, he suddenly felt an intense stomach ache. He knelt down, clutching his stomach with both hands, letting out a painful sound.
Orochimaru saw him acting so convincingly and thought he was trying the same trick again: "Jiraiya, the same petty trick won't work on me."
"Do I look like I'm joking right now?"
Jiraiya's face was strained with bulging veins, pale, and covered in large beads of sweat.
Orochimaru noticed something was wrong and his expression turned serious.
At that moment, an unfamiliar, smug laugh came from nearby: "Has the medicine finally started working?"
Orochimaru turned his head and saw a familiar face; it was the soldier who had just offered him the rice ball.
Clearly, the person who poisoned him was this very individual. There was no time for surprise or questions.
Orochimaru quickly performed hand signs, summoning several shadow clones to guard him.
He himself rapidly pulled out the special antidote Tsunade had prepared for him from his pouch.
This antidote could counteract most poisons in the world, and even if it didn't completely cure, it could at least alleviate some symptoms.
After quickly dealing with everything, Orochimaru immediately spoke a few words to Katsuyu, who was perched on his shoulder, telling her to notify Tōshirō for backup.
Meanwhile, the Land of Demons soldiers realized what had happened and quickly pointed their spears at the traitor: "You're not him! Who are you?"
"Hmph, a quick response, aren't we?" The soldier grinned, revealing an evil smile: "But not fast enough."
As soon as he finished speaking, as if receiving a command, a series of explosions erupted around them. The Land of Demons soldiers who couldn't dodge in time were instantly blown to pieces.
Orochimaru located the sound, looked up, and saw one black shadow after another streaking across.
In the dim light, Orochimaru clearly saw their attire, and an extremely surprised expression appeared on his face: "Sky Ninjas..."
"While it would be interesting to admire your shocked expression right now, I have more important matters to attend to."
The enemy had a strong purpose. After saying this, he ran straight towards the shrine's main hall, using the Sky Ninjas as cover.
"Don't even think about it!"
Orochimaru raised his arm, summoning a summoned snake that flew out and tightly coiled around the enemy.
The enemy's pace slowed. He looked at the large python coiling around him and roared, "Get out of my way!" then forcefully tore the summoned snake apart.
Orochimaru was greatly surprised.
What a powerful individual! He managed to break free from the bind of Hidden Shadow Snake Jutsu with pure brute force alone.
The enemy, having broken free from the Hidden Shadow Snake Jutsu, didn't waste time. He kicked open the heavy stone door. The interior of the door was dark, with occasional chilly drafts drifting out. The only light source was the torch on the wall.
The enemy turned back and gave Orochimaru a defiant look: "Follow me if you dare."
With that, he plunged into the darkness.
The enemy's abilities were still unclear, so Orochimaru, out of caution, chose to send a shadow clone to pursue him.
Firstly, to slow down the enemy's progress.
Secondly, to gather information and gain enough intelligence for Tōshirō when he returned, helping him secure a victory.
In this battle, he had a clear understanding of his role: not to fight, but to await backup and protect the poisoned Jiraiya.
The shrine was a distance away. Tōshirō was fast and would arrive quickly after Katsuyu's notification.
"This is..."
Several of Orochimaru's clones chased along the stone steps, reaching the entrance, when a bright light suddenly appeared in their dim vision.
Following the light, they gazed into the distance and saw a circular pattern floating in mid-air far ahead, emitting a radiant glow.
Directly below the glow were six towering pillars, encircling a large gate. On the gate was a massive stone tied with a straw rope.
"This is..."
The straw rope tied to the massive stone was called "Shimenawa," a cultural symbol of purification. It easily led to thoughts of what it was purifying with such elaborate measures.
"Moryo..."
Orochimaru uttered two words.
(End of Chapter)
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