Chapter 46: Secrets of the Shrine
With a heavy boom, the stone door to the shrine was pushed open, and Naruto was the first to rush in.
When he saw the row of Tailed Beast masks, his eyes lit up. "Whoa! These masks are so cool! I really want this fox one!"
As he spoke, he reached out to grab it.
"Don't touch it!"
A voice suddenly came from the shadows in the corner.
"Who is it? Who's there? Come out!" Asuma immediately threw a kunai in the direction of the voice, while glancing at Neji, who had his Byakugan activated.
Neji shook his head. His Byakugan was useless inside this secret chamber.
"Don't be so tense, Asuma." Orochimaru slowly walked out.
"Orochimaru?" Asuma's nerves instantly tightened. His chakra blades were already in his hands, ready for battle.
"Hmph. Quite a crowd," Orochimaru's gaze swept over the group. "I didn't expect you all to find this place so quickly."
"Relax. I'm not your enemy. Especially you, Sasuke."
"I've lost interest in your body."
The moment Orochimaru finished speaking, Sasuke activated his Sharingan. "Hmph. You think I'd believe you?"
"Sasuke, you're still so wary. But... the current you holds no value for me anymore."
"My target now isn't a simple physical body, but the soul."
"What? Orochimaru, you don't just want Sasuke's body now? You want his heart, too?" Shino Aburame, who had only spoken one line in the entire story so far, suddenly piped up.
The tense atmosphere in the shrine instantly turned awkwardly weird.
Asuma's grip on his blades faltered. Even Sasuke, who had maintained his icy vigilance, froze for half a second, clearly not expecting the always-serious Shino to say something like that.
Orochimaru blinked, then burst into a sharp, rasping laugh. "Heart? I didn't expect a stiff kid like you to say something like that. What kind of strange things are in your head?"
"I don't want something as ethereal as a 'heart.' I want the soul, the vessel that carries the origin of a shinobi's power. Do you think a ninja's strength lies only in their flesh? Wrong. The true essence lies deep within the soul."
Sasuke's Sharingan widened, the black tomoe spinning rapidly, his eyes filled with disbelief and alarm. "Soul? What do you plan to do to my soul?"
He had always thought Orochimaru only coveted the Uchiha body and the Sharingan. He never imagined the snake's ambition extended to the soul itself. It made every hair on his body stand on end.
"Orochimaru, you're targeting souls now? Konoha will never permit such a violation of nature, such a blasphemy against life!" Kakashi finally spoke up.
He had been trying to determine Orochimaru's purpose here. He had seen Orochimaru enter Konoha with Jiraiya with his own eyes.
At the time, Jiraiya had told him Orochimaru meant no harm, and he had actually believed Orochimaru might have changed.
But hearing this now, he realized the essence of this evil scientist hadn't changed at all.
Kakashi's hand was already on his headband, ready to lift it and reveal his Sharingan.
Orochimaru ignored Kakashi's movement and continued, "Kakashi, you're still so rigid. How is researching the soul blasphemy against life?"
Naruto suddenly jumped in. "Forcefully stealing someone's soul is blasphemy!"
At this point, Orochimaru realized they had misunderstood him.
He just wanted to research the phenomenon of future memories. How did that turn into him being a soul-stealing villain?
"Are you all misunderstanding something? When did I say I was going to steal anyone's soul? I am Konoha's Special Advisor now, thank you very much."
The atmosphere in the shrine suddenly became awkward again.
Orochimaru spread his hands helplessly. "It seems my image in Konoha is... deeply rooted."
He slowly pulled a scroll from his robe and unrolled it with a flick of his wrist. "This is an appointment letter signed by the Third Hokage himself. It also bears Tsunade's seal. Do you want to check it, Kakashi?"
Kakashi carefully examined the chakra seal on the scroll. "It's authentic... but that doesn't mean your research is ethical."
"My research has always been in pursuit of the truth."
"And I am researching souls because of an interesting phenomenon."
"Recently, I've discovered that certain ninja suddenly possess fragments of memories that don't belong to this time..."
"So, I don't need to say more, do I?" Orochimaru said, glancing pointedly at Naruto.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Is anyone out there? I'm suffocating in this bag!" The sack in Kiba's hand suddenly shook violently.
"Shut up!" Kiba slapped the bag, eliciting cries of pain from Hidan's head inside.
Orochimaru shifted his gaze from Naruto to the wriggling bag in Kiba's hand. "It seems our guest is impatient."
He took a terrifying demon mask from the wall. The mask was pitch black, with only the eyes glowing an eerie red. The mouth was split to the ears, revealing ghastly white fangs.
He walked to the altar in the center of the shrine and put the mask on.
"This Soul-Devouring Demon Mask is a ritual tool the Uzumaki used specifically to seal immortal bodies."
He prepared to begin the sealing.
"Wait!" Kakashi suddenly stepped forward. "Are you sure this mask can seal Hidan? If something goes wrong..."
"Heh heh heh..." Orochimaru chuckled darkly. "Why do you think I came here ahead of time? To ensure nothing goes wrong."
"Do you know why no one had heard of the cult of Jashin twenty years ago?"
"No." Everyone shook their heads.
"Then let me educate you."
"The Soul-Devouring Demon Mask was designed by the Uzumaki clan specifically to counter immortal bodies. For nearly a thousand years, they played the role of sealing away the Jashin cult."
"Only with the destruction of the Uzumaki did the cult of Jashin become active again."
Orochimaru's voice echoed in the dim shrine. The mask on his face glowed with a strange red light.
Hidan's head in the bag suddenly went quiet, seemingly sensing a fatal threat.
"The Jashin cult..." Kakashi's visible eye narrowed. "You're saying this cult is older than we thought?"
"Of course." Orochimaru placed his hand on the center of the altar. "The Uzumaki didn't master sealing jutsu just because they liked it."
"Uzumaki brat. Lend me a drop of blood."
"Huh? Why m—"
Before he could finish, Orochimaru's fingernail flashed across Naruto's fingertip.
The moment the drop of blood hit the altar, the entire shrine shook violently. A massive, spectral image of the Soul-Devouring Demon Mask appeared behind Orochimaru.
"Now!" Orochimaru shouted. "Throw that noisy head over here!"
Kiba hurriedly opened the bag.
The moment Hidan's head was exposed to the air, he let out a blood-curdling scream. "No! This is Lord Jashin's—GAAAH!"
The Soul-Devouring Demon Mask on the altar suddenly opened its bloody maw, and a tongue shot out, wrapping around Hidan's head.
Under everyone's horrified gaze, the twisted face was dragged inch by inch into the mask.
"Bastards! You will all... Argh!"
The final curse was cut short.
"Is... is it over?" Tenten stared in disbelief at the now-silent altar.
"Of course not," Orochimaru said. "Naruto Uzumaki. Stand up here."