093 The Most Urgent Task

After resting for several hours, Orochimaru compiled the three Snake Maidens’ experiences with "Sage Art: Transfiguration and Body Shaping" into a referenceable set of information. It took him several more days to barely develop a version suitable for human use.

As for its actual effect, it was merely passable; at the very least, he failed to establish a connection with the myriad snakes, unable to successfully implant the link. This was not solely due to the incomplete nature of the sage art but also because Orochimaru himself was not a snake. If the attempt were made on a human body, perhaps the results would be somewhat improved.

With the completion of this sage art, Orochimaru felt no further attachment to Ryuchi Cave and promptly bid farewell to the White Snake Sage. With the white snake scale in his possession, his practice of sage techniques and enhancement of physical abilities through breath techniques would not be hindered by his presence or absence in Ryuchi Cave.

The White Snake Sage had no objections; in fact, Orochimaru’s haste to return to the village and study the transplantation of the God Tree’s power aligned more closely with her interests. After all, human lifespans were but a fleeting moment—one careless lapse, and they would vanish altogether.

...

The next day, around midday, Orochimaru returned to Konoha after a long journey. He slept at home until dusk, replenishing his energy, and then retrieved a scroll from the hidden compartment in his room.

Sealed within was a chakra soul body summoned from the Pure Land, along with a fragment of his own soul. Turning the scroll over in his hands, Orochimaru’s expression was solemn.

While training sage techniques in Ryuchi Cave, he had vaguely sensed that the maximum amount of sage chakra was so low that it would be depleted after only one or two uses—not merely because he was a beginner, but likely due to his own incomplete chakra soul body.

Despite the abundance of chakra in his body and his deft control over it, whenever the sage chakra within him surpassed a certain threshold, it would begin to dissipate outward. It was like a barrel with a hole in its side—no matter how much water you pour in, the water level could never rise above the hole.

Completing his chakra soul body could not be delayed any longer.

Orochimaru turned his head toward the figure behind him. “Lamp Spirit, I’ll leave the investigation to you.”

The seal on the scroll could not be released at will, or else the soul would be drawn back to the Pure Land. Before confirming the extent of the curse mark’s erosion, Orochimaru would not let it leave.

“No problem.”

The Lamp Spirit poked his head out from behind Orochimaru and plunged into the seal. Within a few breaths, he withdrew.

His expression was peculiar as he spoke, “You can go ahead and undo the seal. The chakra soul body inside has already disappeared.”

“Disappeared?”

Orochimaru looked at the Lamp Spirit in surprise, then no longer hesitated and placed a sealing mark on the scroll.

The black script receded like a tide, and a cluster of white light floated out from the scroll. Orochimaru absorbed it into his body and instantly understood—the ninja’s soul body had been completely depleted, leaving only the curse mark within the seal.

The cause was unclear, but the consciousness within his curse mark had nearly watched as the ninja’s consciousness was erased and gradually dissipated.

“What could be the reason for this?” Orochimaru pondered for a long time, unable to find an answer, and turned his gaze to the Lamp Spirit.

“Perhaps the reason is unexpectedly simple,” replied the Lamp Spirit with a shrug. “For example, that ninja was dead, and you are alive. That’s why the curse mark’s soul didn’t dissipate in the same way.”

“That’s all?” Orochimaru could not accept this.

“Chakra quantity, soul body strength...” The Lamp Spirit counted off several characteristics on his fingers. “From what I can sense, the chakra soul body you separated isn’t much different from that ninja’s—if anything, it’s slightly weaker in quantity. Yet his vanished... Aside from the difference between life and death, I can’t think of any other explanation.”

Orochimaru frowned at this.

He’d long known that the Lamp Spirit was not omniscient; if he were, there’d be no need to rely on Orochimaru to gather knowledge. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment.

Researching ninjutsu was not daunting because of difficulty, but because of confusion—when the obstacle itself is elusive, progress is impossible.

Just as it was now.

“Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask,” the Lamp Spirit said after a moment’s contemplation. “Why not use a curse mark to erode a ninja, then kill him? That way, you could hitch a ride, so to speak.”

“The curse mark isn’t that powerful.”

Orochimaru shook his head. “A ninja’s death doesn’t carry away the curse mark—like a shadow clone, the curse mark dissipates after the ninja dies, and the chakra returns to the original body.”

“So, the curse mark erodes the physical body, or rather, its erosion is rooted in the flesh...” the Lamp Spirit mused. “Then why did you try to erode the soul body with a curse mark?”

Orochimaru’s expression remained unchanged as he replied calmly, “It was merely an experiment.”

The soul was a blind spot in his knowledge; in the Lamp Spirit’s words, the chakra soul body was treated as another form of life, even mentioning places like the Soul Society, where souls live as ordinary people. Naturally, Orochimaru would attempt to probe in this direction.

But as things stood, the experiment was destined to fail—the Pure Land soul body could not endure long enough for the erosion to be completed.

As for whether the curse mark could erode chakra soul bodies, it had yet to be verified.

Perhaps more research was needed, including fully utilizing the Reanimation Jutsu to extend the existence of the Pure Land soul body by using a vessel.

Hearing Orochimaru’s thoughts, the Lamp Spirit suddenly spoke, “Maybe there’s another direction—erode the soul body of a living person. In other words, erode the soul body of someone who had mastered the Spirit Transformation Technique.”

Orochimaru’s eyes lit up; that was indeed an excellent idea.

Compared to the previous method, eroding the soul body of someone who practiced the Spirit Transformation Technique would test the curse mark’s erosion effect on soul bodies before anything else.

It would save the trouble of painstakingly creating a Reanimation vessel, only to discover that the curse mark could not erode chakra soul bodies.

That would be rather amusing.

Of course, finding a ninja capable of using the Spirit Transformation Technique was not easy—an S-rank jutsu was not something just anyone could master.

But for Orochimaru, the difficulty of ninjutsu training was secondary. He was confident in his ability to teach; the key lay in the ninja’s aptitude.

“...”

Knock knock knock...

Suddenly, a series of knocks echoed from outside.

Orochimaru snapped out of his thoughts and looked toward the door. The visitor’s aura was very familiar—it was Fugaku, head of the Uchiha clan.

After successfully mastering sage techniques, his senses had improved; within a certain range, they could rival the Byakugan.

He put away the scroll on the table and opened the door to let Fugaku inside, smiling, “Clan Leader Fugaku, I didn’t expect you to come so soon after my return. What urgent matter brings you here?”

At these words, Fugaku’s expression grew somewhat awkward—for truthfully, sending people to monitor the home of one of the ‘Three Legendary Ninja’ was rather inappropriate.

But he could not be bothered with such concerns; the new dōjutsu bloodline that Jinjo had seen was far too important—a hope for the clan’s prosperity. He had to get answers.

He had just begun to speak, but Orochimaru stopped him, “It seems your matter will have to wait, Clan Leader Fugaku.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than a ninja in ANBU attire landed in the courtyard.