Outside Konoha
Shamu and Orochimaru traveled quickly.
Before long, they had circled around to the back of Konoha.
This place was rarely visited, with towering trees and dense woods.
Shamu followed an old map from the Uchiha clan as he made his way forward.
Before long, he spotted a dilapidated building.
It was a remnant structure of the Uzumaki Clan.
The Mask Hall.
Who knew how long it had been since anyone had come here.
The pillars throughout the Mask Hall were covered in cracks and holes, while half of one side had collapsed.
The roof was riddled with holes, and on the front wall hung three rows of masks.
There were twenty-seven in total.
"We're here."
Shamu looked up at the masks.
Orochimaru stepped forward, looked them over, and casually removed the correct mask.
"Shamu-kun, what are you planning to do next? The Dead Demon Consuming Seal kills people. Only I can fool the Death God."
Orochimaru asked with great interest. To him, Shamu was an enormous treasure trove.
Whether it was the research topics, ideas, or foreknowledge of the future he had brought—
all of it was incredibly mysterious.
Yet Shamu had told him that he could revive the dead, truly revive them.
That only deepened Orochimaru's desire to investigate.
For the sake of working better with Orochimaru in the future, Shamu needed to give him a relatively believable explanation.
He had already drafted it long ago during this period.
"You know that I awakened the ability to foresee the future."
Orochimaru nodded. Some of the research topics Shamu had brought possessed the nature of prophecy; they were things that should not have been researched in this era.
"But my ability isn't limited to foreseeing the future."
"After changing certain people's predetermined paths, I can obtain their original