052 The Djinn’s Unwavering Righteousness

“Why did you stop me? Wouldn’t it be perfect to let Fugaku conduct the illusion experiment?”
“There’s no need for that anymore.”
With a wave of his hand, the Lamp Genie summoned a translucent screen before Orochimaru. “Take another look at the soul strength parameter now.”
Orochimaru’s gaze sharpened. If he recalled correctly, the previous value was noticeably lower—by a full fifth, in fact.
He weighed his words, his tone faintly curious. “Didn’t you say that soul strength is a universal metric across all worlds—absolutely precise?”
A discrepancy of one-fifth was enormous. It was enough for Orochimaru to consider the Lamp Genie’s data panel nothing more than a worthless scrap of paper.
“Are you joking?”
The Lamp Genie sounded exasperated. “This isn’t an error on my part. Your soul strength has genuinely increased. Think carefully—what did you just do?”
Orochimaru’s brow furrowed as he retraced his steps—then his expression shifted abruptly.
Soul strength was too significant a statistic to have been improved by mere bickering with the medical staff. In truth, he’d only performed one other action.
“So, you’ve realized as well,” the Lamp Genie leaned in, a knowing smile playing across his face. “The Cursed Seal—or rather, the technique you use to split chakra—has actually segmented your soul too.”
If that was the case, his diminished soul strength was a consequence of his own actions.
Orochimaru’s frown deepened, and he fell silent.
“I’ve seen a great deal in my time. At your current level of existence, even a slight fracture of the soul would most likely leave you in a vegetative state, let alone dividing it. So, how did you manage it?”
The Lamp Genie stroked his chin and looked Orochimaru up and down. “Ah, it seems you’re unaware. That suggests it’s either an inherent trait of yours, or perhaps of the ninja form itself… Tsk, tsk, tsk. Chakra—who would have expected such characteristics to manifest so soon?”
The Lamp Genie was delighted. He knew all about Kaguya Otsutsuki’s resurrection method—how chakra and soul forms could be split and reassembled was nothing new to him.
But Kaguya was pure-blooded Otsutsuki, existing at a pinnacle of the Bloodline Web. For her, such feats were unremarkable.
But for someone like Orochimaru—a mere Kage-level ninja with neither bloodline nor standing—this was something well worth investigating.
Was this something any chakra-wielder could achieve, or was there something uniquely special about Orochimaru? If so, could this peculiarity, guided by the Lamp Genie’s hand, be replicated in future hosts?
The Lamp Genie found the prospect fascinating.
Just as a flexible moral baseline allows one to do what others cannot, so too could a soul that could be divided and reshaped open up a world of clever possibilities—
Especially in the early stages, when the host was still weak.
As the sun set and a gentle evening breeze swept by, Orochimaru stood on the fortress wall, lost in thought for a long while. Suddenly, he asked, “Compared to your previous hosts, how does my soul strength measure up now?”
“It’s still abysmal. If you must compare, it’s like the gap between an adult and a child.”
The Lamp Genie smiled. “Soul strength isn’t assessed by quantity alone—quality is even more important, and in that regard, you’re sorely lacking.”
“Though worlds differ and you do have your own peculiarities, splitting one’s soul isn’t something you should have done at your level.”
“It’s like a chair with a broken leg—you might put it back together and it can still be used, but can you really say it’s the same as before?”
“You seek immortality, yet if your soul is too flawed, perhaps in the end it will only be your body that survives.”
Orochimaru’s face grew grave. With his experience, he knew the Lamp Genie was not exaggerating, and a cold dread crept into his heart.
The Cursed Seal, and even the Living Corpse Reincarnation, were all attempts he’d made in his pursuit of eternal life.
The path ahead was shrouded in darkness; there were no trailblazers—he could only fumble forward on his own.
Some attempts, in hindsight, were indeed foolish. Some seemed correct, yet hid endless dangers unnoticed.
But Orochimaru had no other choice, nor did he regret it. One cannot be sated by the fifth pancake alone; the previous ones are necessary.
“Lamp Genie, is there a way to strengthen my soul and remedy the mistakes I’ve made?”
Orochimaru raised his head to look at the Lamp Genie. He was not alone anymore.
The Lamp Genie considered for a moment, then replied, “First, you must recover all the Cursed Seals you’ve scattered—at the very least, reclaim what was originally yours.”
Orochimaru nodded.
The Cursed Seal had been designed as a backup for his Living Corpse Reincarnation—a safeguard in case of an untimely death. Now, understanding the consequences of soul splitting, Orochimaru was determined to abandon this arrangement.
He sought true immortality, not a fragile mockery of it.
He had only left the Cursed Seal with a handful of trusted disciples, such as Anko—barely more than five in total.
After all, planting the seal had always weakened him; recovering them now would be easy.
“As for how to enhance your soul’s strength…”
The Lamp Genie stroked his chin thoughtfully. “In my experience from a previous world, a powerful body can, in turn, nourish the soul. That’s the most practical method. Of course, it’s also possible to devour large quantities of pure soul energy.”
At this, Orochimaru ran his tongue over his lips.
The first method, as the research into the First Hokage’s cells progressed, would advance naturally. But the second method intrigued him more.
Devouring soul energy—just the sound of it suited him perfectly.
And as it happened, Orochimaru already had a way to do so.
Strictly speaking, it was a byproduct of the Living Corpse Reincarnation. After all, in seizing another’s body, one had to consider how to deal with the original soul.
Devouring it was certainly an appealing option.
Orochimaru described his method, hoping the Lamp Genie would point out any flaws. But the Lamp Genie rejected it outright.
“Your method is atrocious!”
The Lamp Genie’s tone was righteous and stern, so much so that even Orochimaru was taken aback.
“When an ordinary person hunts a beast, they at least skin it and clean the innards before eating. Yet you just consume it raw? Truly barbaric.”
The Lamp Genie widened his eyes. “Do you have any idea how many impurities are in someone else’s soul? Can you really digest all that?”
Of course, if one wished to process a soul as one would game, Orochimaru had no such technique.
The ninja world only had methods for extracting one’s own soul from the body—like Spirit Transformation and Mind Transfer Jutsu—but there was no way to strip another’s soul from their body.
Did this mean the path of devouring others’ souls was a dead end?
Orochimaru’s brow knitted as he looked to the Lamp Genie. He doubted the Lamp Genie would suggest an entirely unfeasible path.
“You don’t need to hunt people for pure soul energy,”
the Lamp Genie smiled. “In truth, you’re quite fortunate. There’s a place in the ninja world that has been cultivated for over a thousand years—a realm saturated with unclaimed soul power.”
“The Pure Land. If you can reach it…”
“The damage from splitting your soul will be utterly insignificant.”