Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 307 Soul Devouring (Two Chapters Combined)

The country of ghosts and ancestral halls.

Jiraiya squinted, lazily yawned, and grumbled at the stone shrine in front of him: "How boring. Why do I have to look at this piece of junk?"

"Stop complaining."

Orochimaru leaned against a pillar, arms crossed: "After tonight, our mission will be over."

Jiraiya's legs were getting a little sore from standing, so he squatted down and said, "Orochimaru, do you think that bastard Aokiji thought we were in his way, so he deliberately sent us away so he could have some alone time with Tsunade?"

Orochimaru wanted to deny it, but then he thought about it and nodded, his voice hoarse: "It's not impossible."

Tsunade chuckled, revealing an "I knew it" expression, confidently summarizing the matter: "I knew it."

Orochimaru: ...

Jiraiya slowly stood up, crossing his hands behind his head: "Damn it, after this mission is over, I'm going to make him apologize to me properly."

Orochimaru shook his head speechlessly and closed his eyes to rest.

"Would you like something to eat?"

A voice came from beside him. Orochimaru opened his eyes and glanced over. A soldier walked over and handed him a rice ball.

Orochimaru thanked him but politely declined, saying, "I'm not that hungry."

When you're out and about, eating anything given to you by strangers can cause problems.

As a ninja, one must have this level of vigilance.

It's not that these ninjas from the Land of Demons would use poison, but rather that sometimes enemies would take advantage of such kindness.

This is what is known as good intentions leading to bad deeds.

Jiraiya leaned closer: "Since you're not eating, I'll eat. I happen to be hungry."

After saying that, he took the rice ball handed to him by the soldier and ate it with relish.

Then'……

After eating only a few bites, he squatted down, clutched his stomach, and showed a pained expression.

Orochimaru's eyes widened, as if facing a formidable enemy. He assumed a fighting stance, looked around warily, and his expression became alert.

Jiraiya suddenly laughed and said, "Haha..."

Orochimaru realized something and frowned.

"Just kidding..."

Jiraiya smiled and stood up as if nothing had happened.

Orochimaru: ...

Having successfully tricked Orochimaru, Jiraiya teased, "Orochimaru, you're too nervous..."

Orochimaru pondered for a moment and said, "At this moment, if Tsunade were standing in front of you, you would already be completely crushed."

Jiraiya looked shaken, apologized, and said he wouldn't do it again.

Orochimaru snorted coldly.

Jiraiya scratched his head and steered the conversation toward a topic that Orochimaru was interested in: "By the way, according to the Miko Miko, the shrine behind us is sealed with the soul of a demon, right?"

Orochimaru looked at him, puzzled, and asked, "Why did you bring this up?"

Jiraiya chuckled, "It's nothing, I was just suddenly curious. What do you think would happen if the Reaper Death Seal was used to seal the demons?"

"The Corpse Demon Sealing Technique?"

The Corpse Demon Sealing Technique is the ultimate sealing technique originating from the Uzumaki clan. After use, it can summon the Grim Reaper to seal the target's soul inside his stomach, making it impossible for anyone to escape.

Orochimaru was quite interested in the question of what would happen if the Grim Reaper were used as a vessel to seal the soul of a demon.

In fact, it's not just this matter; Orochimaru is interested in anything related to the soul.

He hopes that by studying these things, he can one day bring his deceased parents back to life.

The things concerning the soul are too mysterious, and even his knowledgeable mentor was as clueless about them as a newborn infant.

Thinking of this, Orochimaru sighed.

At this rate, when will he finally make a breakthrough?

unless……

Orochimaru seemed to realize something, his pupils contracted, and he shook his head, discarding this extremely dangerous idea.

Although he is a reclusive person, he would never do something as recklessly trampling on and playing with life as this.

Orochimaru, what's wrong with you?

Jiraiya noticed that he seemed to have something on his mind and became concerned.

Among his companions, his best friend, who is still single, is someone he should keep a close eye on.

If that little brat had taken advantage of him that day, wouldn't he, Jiraiya, have been the only one left single?

"It's nothing."

Orochimaru gave a casual, dismissive reply, startling even himself with such a dangerous thought.

Although Jiraiya was skeptical, he wisely refrained from pressing for answers.

Because it was late at night and he was bored, surrounded by a group of strangers, Jiraiya could only try to strike up a conversation with Orochimaru every now and then.

"Tell me, besides sealing the demon, is there any other way in this world to deal with this troublesome demon?"

"If there were a way, the priestesses of each generation wouldn't have had to sacrifice their lives to seal away demons every time." Orochimaru shook his head, repeating the priestess's words verbatim:

"Even if you kill the demon, it will randomly regenerate in some corner of the world, and then it won't be so easy to find it."

"If the demons lie dormant during this period and continue to absorb negative emotions to grow, then things will get complicated."

"Therefore, sealing away the demons is the best option."

Jiraiya sighed, then suddenly, as if a lightbulb had struck him, a flash of inspiration struck him: "You said that the ability of the demon to resurrect infinitely, is it related to its soul?"

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, signaling him to continue.

Jiraiya continued, "Perhaps, the death we usually talk about is actually a narrower definition of death."

"narrow sense?"

Upon hearing this word, Orochimaru couldn't help but smile: "I didn't expect that you, Jiraiya, could occasionally utter a decent word or two."

Jiraiya felt slighted and snorted unhappily, "What do you mean by 'a guy like me'? You might as well explain yourself more clearly."

Orochimaru smiled, his eyes crinkling. "I think I've made myself very clear..."

Jiraiya gritted his teeth: "As expected, we really don't get along..."

Orochimaru asked, "So what exactly did you mean by 'narrow sense' just now?"

"Heh, you want to know?" Jiraiya revealed a sly expression: "I'll tell you if you beg me."

Orochimaru gave a nonchalant "oh," appearing not particularly bothered by the situation.

Jiraiya was taken aback. Why was Orochimaru acting so unpredictably?

As if reading Jiraiya's thoughts, Orochimaru smiled and said, "Jiraiya is the one who wants to know more than I do."

That bastard guessed it right...

Seeing this as a rare opportunity, Jiraiya was eager to show off in front of Orochimaru: "You really know me well. To be honest, if you were a woman, I might pursue you."

Orochimaru shifted his leg slightly, took a step back, and looked at Jiraiya with a strange look in his eyes: "Although I am not interested in women, I also do not have that kind of need for men."

Jiraiya loudly corrected him, "I meant if you were a woman."

Orochimaru glanced at him and continued, "But if you didn't have some feelings for me, you wouldn't have those feelings, would you?"

Orochimaru's words were reasonable and well-founded, causing Jiraiya to begin to doubt himself.

Is it rare that I actually have feelings for Orochimaru?

He's a hidden talent...

Jiraiya: !! !! ?

This idea is far too dangerous...

Jiraiya was startled and quickly coughed twice to change the subject: "Let's go back to what we were talking about earlier."

Orochimaru nodded slightly.

Jiraiya organized his thoughts: "When we say we kill someone, we usually mean we destroy their physical body."

"But as for the soul, we can't actually kill it even if we wanted to, because we don't know how to destroy it."

After a moment's thought, Orochimaru, quick-witted as ever, immediately understood Jiraiya's idea:

"If we define it according to whether or not a soul can be killed, then in a narrow sense, killing a target refers to killing the physical body of a living being, while in a broader sense, it means destroying both the physical body and the soul of the living being, right?"

Jiraiya held up one finger: "That's my line of thinking, and if we follow this definition, we'll discover an interesting phenomenon."

"An interesting phenomenon?"

"Yes, you want to know why the priestess deliberately separated the spirit into a soul and a body. On the surface, it's to weaken the spirit's powerful strength, but there's something deeper behind it."

After a brief reminder, Orochimaru analyzed the situation: "If the physical body is killed directly, the soul cannot be sealed without the body's restraint, right?"

Jiraiya clicked his tongue and complained, "Can't you let me show off a little bit?"

Orochimaru smiled and said, "Interesting. If this hypothesis is correct, the body may not be just a container for the soul. To some extent, the body also has a certain binding force on the soul."

Jiraiya nodded: "I'm afraid so..."

Orochimaru glanced at Jiraiya: "But what good will knowing this do?"

"As far as I know, there doesn't seem to be any ninjutsu in this world that's used to kill souls."

Jiraiya, with his unique way of thinking, tried a different approach: "What if it's absorption or devouring?"

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru couldn't help but laugh, as if he had heard a funny joke.

Jiraiya was taken aback: "What are you laughing at?"

Orochimaru said somewhat speechlessly, "Let's not even talk about whether there is such a ninjutsu as soul devouring in this world. Even if there is, a soul like a demon that gathers countless negative emotions, do you think a normal person would still be a normal person after absorbing a demon?"

"It would be good enough if it didn't become the second Wraith; it might even become an existence more terrifying than the Wraith."

Jiraiya, who had spoken without thinking, scratched his head and said, "That's true."

"but……"

Orochimaru seemed to have thought of something and paused slightly.

Jiraiya pressed on curiously, "But what?"

Orochimaru laughed and said, "If someone possesses such a terrifying ability to absorb souls, that person isn't exactly a normal human being, is he?"

"This is really troublesome. Forget it, let's leave the subduing of demons to the professionals. I'd better not get involved."

The more he talked about it, the more complicated it became, and Jiraiya gave up on figuring out how to deal with the demon.

As he was talking, he suddenly had a terrible stomachache, knelt down, clutched his stomach with both hands, and let out a painful cry.

Orochimaru, seeing that he was putting on a convincing act, assumed that the other party was using the same old tricks again: "Jiraiya, the same old tricks won't work on me."

"Are you kidding me, looking at me like this?"

Jiraiya's face contorted with veins, his complexion turned pale, and beads of sweat appeared on his face.

Orochimaru sensed something was wrong and his expression hardened.

Just then, a strange, smug laugh came from nearby: "Is the drug finally taking effect?"

Orochimaru turned his head and saw a familiar face—the same soldier who had just handed him the rice ball.

It was obvious that the person who poisoned him was the one in front of him; there was no time for surprise or questions.

Orochimaru quickly formed hand seals and summoned several shadow clones to protect him.

He then quickly took out the antidote that Tsunade had specially prepared for him from his package.

This antidote can neutralize the vast majority of poisons in the world, and even if it doesn't work, it can at least alleviate some of the symptoms.

After dealing with everything urgently, Orochimaru immediately spoke a few words to the slug perched on his shoulder, instructing it to relay a message to Aokiji seeking assistance.

On the other side, the soldiers of the Land of Demons noticed one of them make a judgment and quickly pointed their spears at the traitor: "You're not him, who are you?"

"Hmph, quick response, huh?" The soldier grinned, revealing a wicked smile. "But not fast enough."

As soon as he finished speaking, as if he had received some kind of command, a series of explosions rang out around him, and the soldiers of the Land of Demons who could not dodge in time were instantly blown to pieces.

Orochimaru used the sound to pinpoint the location, looked up, and saw one black figure after another flash by.

In the pitch black, Orochimaru made out the flying figures in the sky and looked utterly surprised: "Sky Ninja..."

"While it must be amusing to see your shocked expression right now, I have more important things to do."

The enemy had a clear objective. After saying this, they took advantage of the cover provided by the Kong ninja and ran straight into the shrine hall.

"Don't even think about it."

Orochimaru raised his arm and summoned a summoning snake that flew out and tightly coiled around the enemy.

The enemy slowed their pace, glanced at the large python on their body, roared "Get out of the way!" and forcefully tore off the spirit snake on their body.

Orochimaru was greatly surprised.

What a formidable fellow! He managed to break free from the Snake Shadow Hand's restraints using only brute force.

The enemy, having broken free from the serpent's shadow, didn't rest. He kicked open the heavy stone door, revealing a dark interior with occasional chilly drafts. The only source of light was the torches on the walls.

The enemy turned around and looked at Orochimaru with a provocative gaze: "If you've got the guts, come and get me."

After saying that, he plunged into the darkness.

With the enemy's abilities still unclear, Orochimaru, out of caution, chose to send shadow clones to pursue them.

Firstly, it slows down the enemy's progress.

Secondly, we need to gather intelligence so that when Aokiji returns, we can obtain enough information to help him win.

He had a very clear understanding of his role in this battle: it wasn't about fighting, but about waiting for support and protecting the poisoned Jiraiya.

The shrine is some distance away, but Aokiji is fast and will arrive quickly after being notified by the live slug.

……

……

"here it is……"

Several of Orochimaru's clones chased after him along the stone steps until they reached the doorway, where a bright light suddenly appeared in their dim vision.

Following the light, I looked into the distance and saw a circular graphic floating in mid-air, radiating a bright light.

Directly below, bathed in light, stood six towering pillars surrounding a large gate, upon which rested a massive stone bound with hemp rope.

"This is..."

The hemp rope tied to the huge rock is called a "shimenawa," which has a cultural symbol of purification. It easily evokes associations: what exactly is being purified that warrants such a grand effort?

"Wraiths..."

Orochimaru uttered two words.

(End of this chapter)