"Living Corpse Reincarnation!"
That was the name Orochimaru had given to the forbidden technique he was currently researching.
A technique that had never existed before.
A completely original technique.
Its purpose was simple.
It allowed a person's soul to survive in another body. By switching souls, they could obtain a new body and a longer lifespan.
Ao hadn't expected to take part in researching the technique.
At that moment, he was seated in a chair in a bedroom deep inside the secret base. A one-meter-long wooden table stood in front of him, covered with more than a dozen scrolls of information Orochimaru had collected.
After studying them for four or five days, he had gained a rough understanding of how this world defined the soul.
He had made some progress during that time and submitted his findings to Orochimaru.
In the Naruto World,
the soul was a part of the body.
This was a completely new concept compared to his previous life.
When a person died—that is, when their lifespan reached zero—their soul left their body and went to the Pure Land.
Ancient texts recorded its full name as the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
It was a world for souls, created by the Sage of Six Paths.
In the spiritual world, the soul had a physical form that reflected the body's original appearance.
In the real world, it appeared as a beam of light or a translucent body.
It was composed entirely of spiritual energy.
It was also a part of Chakra.
Chakra itself contained a portion of the soul's power.
There were many forbidden techniques in the Ninja World that involved the soul, such as the Multi Shadow Clone Technique, Reaper Death Seal, Adamantine Sealing Chains, Spirit Transformation Technique, Mind Body Switch Technique, Soul Body Separation, Impure World Reincarnation, Rinne Rebirth, Kotoamatsukami, Tsukuyomi, and others.
The scrolls in front of Ao described four techniques: the Multi Shadow Clone Technique, Reaper Death Seal, Spirit Transformation Technique, and Mind Body Switch Technique.
All of them required the use of soul-related powers.
Orochimaru's idea was to create a technique devoted entirely to the soul—one that would let it attack other souls, devour them, and take over their bodies.
It was similar to body snatching in cultivation stories.
It required an immense amount of spiritual power.
However, the preparations for what came after taking over a body were incomplete. They hadn't rehearsed any of the possible complications.
For instance, failure to take over a body, damage to the soul, or failure of the spirits to merge.
They had no preparation for any of these problems, nor any countermeasures.
"Knock, knock, knock-knock."
A series of knocks sounded at the door.
They roused Ao, who had just dozed off.
He rubbed his eyes, got up, and opened the door.
Mitaraishi Anko stood there, looking fresh and lively, with a lunchbox in her hands.
"Morning. I heard from Sensei that you've been in your room for a day and a night, so I brought you something to eat."
Her gaze swept over Ao's tired face, and a little of the resentment she'd felt toward him faded.
"Your body belongs to Sensei. Don't wear it out carelessly and make him worry!"
"You're okay with rice dumplings, right?"
Anko handed over the lunchbox and opened it, revealing the dishes inside.
There were one meat dish and two vegetable dishes, along with red bean paste, stewed meat, and stir-fried greens. The main course was rice dumplings.
Her favorite food.
"Thanks."
Ao accepted it without hesitation and dug in. He really was hungry.
During his time at Orochimaru's place, Anko was always the one bringing him food.
Orochimaru didn't cook, either.
She handled most of the household chores.
Orochimaru also liked her cooking.
It was simple, but had a distinctive flavor.
Ao was used to working overtime, and he didn't keep regular meal times.
Aside from her somewhat short temper, Anko was a good person.
"In a few days, Lord Orochimaru will implant a Cursed Seal in us. Did you know? To ensure the experiment succeeds, we have to keep our bodies in peak condition."
Anko reminded him.
Watching Ao wolf down the food, a trace of delight flickered in her eyes. She loved seeing people enjoy the food she made.
It was the best praise for her cooking.
Orochimaru didn't like her food and often left some behind. Ao was the only one who finished every meal.
"I know. He told me when I got back."
"Are you sure you want to get one implanted? It's risky. This Cursed Seal has never been implanted in a person before."
Ao warned her.
The Cursed Seal had been his first suggestion. Compared to the seal Orochimaru had created himself using Natural Energy,
it had undergone many changes.
First, he had added the Reaper Death Seal's communication property. By figuring out how to communicate with the Death God and incorporating that into the seal, he had created a master-over-subordinate arrangement that allowed the primary soul to monitor the state of its splinter soul at any time.
This would prevent the splinter soul from replacing the primary soul.
Next, he had added the Spirit Transformation Technique's property of soul independence, allowing each Cursed Seal to escape on its own after its host died and return to the original body.
He had also added the Multi Shadow Clone Technique's property of soul division, reducing the cost of splitting the soul to a minimum.
This minimized the damage to the soul caused by creating the Cursed Seal.
Finally, he had used the unique soul-summoning aspect of Impure World Reincarnation to give the Cursed Seal the ability to summon its power. This allowed the power accumulated by a separated Cursed Seal to return to its host's body.
The price, however, was the death of the host.
The latest version of the Cursed Seal was, in effect, a prerequisite for the forbidden technique Living Corpse Reincarnation.
Its main purpose was to improve the qualities of the "vessel" and make it more suitable for reincarnation.
"I'm not afraid. As long as Sensei needs me, I'll cooperate without hesitation."
Anko answered without a moment's thought.
Her purpose in life was to meet every one of Lord Orochimaru's needs and carry out all his orders.
Even if it meant giving up her life, she wouldn't hesitate.
"I understand... Once this Cursed Seal is implanted, it'll be hard to change anything... Your soul will bear Sensei's mark, and you may eventually become a part of him..."
Ao was silent for a moment, but in the end, he still warned her.
The Cursed Seal carried a trace of Orochimaru's soul. Under the influence of Natural Energy, it would gradually assimilate Anko's soul, causing her personality and body to become more and more like Orochimaru's.
"Isn't that our duty as Sensei's direct disciples? To pass on his will."
Anko's eyes lit up as she heard that.
Ao fell silent. He knew Anko had probably misunderstood something, but there was no question of her loyalty to Orochimaru.
Still, he couldn't understand why, in the future, Anko hadn't defected with Orochimaru.
Even without the Cursed Seal, she wouldn't have betrayed him.
Three days later.
In the shadowy base,
the laboratory blazed with light.
Orochimaru formed Hand Seals, then calmly collapsed to the floor.
A spirit slowly floated into the air.
A body without its soul had no way to defend itself.
Uchiha Ao stood to the side, quietly watching.
At that moment, all it would take was a single thought for him to kill Orochimaru with ease.
But he didn't do it.
"Begin,"
Orochimaru ordered from his spiritual form.
He trusted his judgment. He had entrusted the experiment to Ao, believing Ao wouldn't let it fail just to kill him.
Uchiha Ao nodded.
A pale blue glow slowly appeared around his hands. It was a scalpel formed from his spiritual power, and part of his soul as well.
Using that intangible blade, he cut away a piece of flesh from the right arm of Orochimaru's spirit and sealed it inside a scroll.
The next moment,
Orochimaru's spirit returned to its original form.
It slowly merged back into the body on the floor, then staggered to its feet.
A gray-black snake slithered out of his sleeve and swallowed the scroll containing the sealed piece of his soul.
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