"Why stop me? Wasn't the illusion experiment supposed to be Fugaku's job?"
"That's no longer necessary."
The Djinn waved his hand, and a transparent light screen shimmered into view in front of Orochimaru. "Take a look at your soul strength stat."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. He clearly remembered the previous value—and this one was a full twenty percent higher.
After a moment's thought, his voice turned sharp. "Didn't you say soul strength is a universal stat across all worlds? That it's extremely precise?"
A difference this large? He might as well throw the Djinn's data sheet in the trash.
"Are you messing with me?"
"Absolutely not," the Djinn snapped. "It's not an error. Your soul strength genuinely increased. Now think carefully—what did you do just now?"
Orochimaru's brows furrowed as he retraced his steps—until realization struck, and his expression shifted.
Soul strength was no trivial matter. It wouldn't change from arguing with doctors in the medical bay. Which meant there was only one possibility…
"Ah, so you've figured it out too."
The Djinn leaned forward slightly, a sly smile playing on his lips. "The Curse Seal. Or more accurately, the way you extracted and separated chakra. You didn't just split chakra—you split your soul."
If that was true, then Orochimaru's initially low soul strength wasn't inherent. It was self-inflicted.
Orochimaru fell silent, deep in thought.
"I've seen a lot in my time," the Djinn continued. "At your current level of existence, even minor soul damage should leave you comatose. But you not only survived—you function as if nothing's wrong. So how did you manage that?"
He stroked his chin and gave Orochimaru a long, assessing look. "Oh? Judging by your face, you don't even fully understand it yourself. That means it's either something unique to you… or something inherent in how ninja exist."
He clicked his tongue. "Chakra… who would've thought it had such properties?"
The Djinn was genuinely excited now.
He already knew how Kaguya Ōtsutsuki manipulated chakra and soul to resurrect herself. That was expected—she was pureblood Ōtsutsuki, born at a higher tier of existence with mastery over Bloodline Limits beyond limits.
But Orochimaru? A mortal Kage-level ninja with no ties to Ōtsutsuki blood… and he could divide his soul? That was worth serious investigation.
Could any ninja do this through chakra? Or was Orochimaru a rare exception?
And more importantly: could the Djinn extract this quality and pass it to his next host?
It opened endless possibilities—especially in early stages, when hosts were typically weak. A fragmented soul, flexible morals, experimental methods… all excellent tools for someone willing to operate in the shadows.
The sun dipped below the horizon. The wind was cool and quiet atop the fortress wall.
After a long pause, Orochimaru asked, "So then… how does my soul strength compare to your previous host?"
The Djinn chuckled.
"Still terrible. If I had to compare… it's the difference between a child and an adult."
He added, with a grin, "Soul strength isn't just about quantity—it's about quality. And on that front, you're not even close."
"Even though this world is different—and you have your share of peculiarities—splitting your soul is still far beyond what someone at your level should be doing," the Djinn said calmly.
"It's like a chair with a broken leg. Sure, you can piece it back together, and it might even stand, but can you really say it's the same as before?"
"You're chasing immortality. But if your soul is full of flaws and cracks, then perhaps only your body will live forever—while your mind slowly rots."
Orochimaru's expression turned grim. With his knowledge, he knew the Djinn wasn't trying to scare him for no reason. The warning struck a nerve.
The Curse Seal… even the Reanimation Technique—these had all been his past experiments in pursuit of eternal life.
The path ahead was murky, uncharted. No one had walked it before. He was entirely on his own.
Some attempts, in hindsight, seemed foolish. Others appeared promising, yet held hidden dangers still undiscovered.
But Orochimaru had no other choice. He didn't regret the journey. After all, no one gets full by only eating the fifth cake—every layer of effort mattered.
"…Djinn, is there a way to restore my soul? To recover what I've lost?" Orochimaru finally asked, looking up at the being before him. He wasn't alone anymore.
The Djinn thought for a moment before answering. "First things first—you need to recover all the Curse Seals you've scattered. At the very least, return your soul to its original state."
Orochimaru nodded without hesitation.
The Curse Seals were backup vessels for his Rebirth Technique—failsafes in case he died unexpectedly. But now that he understood the long-term toll of soul-splitting, he was ready to abandon them.
What he sought was immortality, not a fragile imitation of it.
He had only planted Curse Seals in a handful of individuals he truly valued—like Anko. No more than five in total.
Besides, Curse Seals drained his own power. Reclaiming them would actually strengthen him.
"As for increasing your soul strength…" the Djinn continued, stroking his chin. "Based on what I learned in my last world, the most effective methods are: one, strengthening your physical body to nourish your soul in return—and two, consuming large quantities of pure soul energy."
At this, Orochimaru's tongue flicked across his lips.
The first method? Feasible. He was already progressing through his research on Hashirama's cells.
But the second method—devouring souls? Now that sounded like something he could work with.
He already had a technique for that.
Strictly speaking, it was a side effect of his Rebirth Technique. After all, to take over a new body, one had to first deal with its original soul.
Devouring was the most straightforward solution.
He explained his method to the Djinn and asked for feedback—only to be immediately shut down.
"Your method is garbage!"
The Djinn stood tall, voice full of righteous fury. "When ordinary people catch wild animals, they at least skin and clean them before eating. And here you are—gulping down raw soul energy like a caveman!"
Orochimaru's face twitched.
"You have no idea how many impurities exist in another person's soul," the Djinn said, eyes blazing. "And you're just swallowing them whole. Have you even digested them properly?"
Orochimaru frowned. In the ninja world, techniques that separate the soul from the body—like the Spirit Transformation or Mind Transfer Jutsu—did exist. But stripping someone else's soul cleanly? That was another matter entirely.
Did this mean his method of soul devouring was inherently flawed?
He looked toward the Djinn, who didn't seem like the type to suggest an impossible solution.
"You don't have to devour people for pure soul energy," the Djinn said, his grin returning. "In fact, you're in luck. There's a place in this world—one that's been shaped and refined by countless years of human belief. And in that space, unclaimed soul energy drifts freely."
"The Pure Land."
"If you can reach it… the damage from splitting your soul will seem like nothing at all."
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