Naruto and Karin stayed in the "Uzushio Village" for more than two months, during which they managed to make rubbings of every stele, large and small, within the village.
During this time, they received several letters from Jiraiya.
Some urged Naruto to return to the Land of Fire.
Some requested that he attend the ceremony for Kakashi Hatake's inauguration as the Fifth Hokage.
There were also some miscellaneous messages.
Naruto rejected most of them.
The only exception was Kakashi's Hokage inauguration—Naruto summoned a shadow clone to attend and congratulate Kakashi. His real body, however, remained in the Land of Whirlpools, continuing his research on the stone inscriptions.
Most of the valuable artifacts had already been taken by other ninja villages.
What remained were largely "myths" and "history."
The stone inscriptions recorded that the "Uzumaki Clan" were descendants of the "Sage of Six Paths." After experiencing certain events during the Warring States Period, their clan leader, Uzumaki Ashina, led them to settle on this island, establishing a ninja village. They formed a friendship pact with the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, becoming allies of Konoha.
The "Shinigami" (Death God) was mentioned in the inscriptions as a being outside the Uzumaki clan's history.
It was an ancient deity discovered by the Uzumaki during the Warring States Period. A contract was formed with it, allowing summoners to use a jutsu that called upon the Shinigami to reap souls—at the cost of the user's own soul as a sacrifice.
It was extremely ancient.
The inscriptions did not specify the exact era the Shinigami came from, but one line explicitly stated that it was older than the Sage of Six Paths.
Staring at this line,
Naruto frowned. "The Sage of Six Paths... I think I've heard of that legend before."
"He was the first user of chakra."
"The one who brought chakra into this world."
Karin nodded.
That matched the myth she had heard about the Sage of Six Paths.
"If we follow that myth," Naruto continued, "then everything related to chakra came after the Sage of Six Paths."
"So the existence of the Shinigami... shouldn't predate the Sage."
Could the Uzumaki clan's records be wrong?
But the inscriptions clearly claimed the Sage of Six Paths as their ancestor.
It made no sense for them to be wrong about something concerning their own lineage.
What a pity...
The Land of Whirlpools was destroyed twenty years ago.
Otherwise, they could have asked the elders for direct clarification.
"In these written records, there's nothing related to the Reaper Death Seal technique," Karin noted as she sifted through the rubbings, eliminating irrelevant content. "The only possibly useful piece of information is this."
She pointed to a line.
"Those sacrificed to the Shinigami are devoured and stored in its belly, rather than passing on to the Pure Land like normal souls."
Though just a single sentence, it contained massive implications.
"Pure Land," Naruto read the term aloud.
Was that what this world called the resting place of souls?
It seemed...
Ninjas weren't as ignorant about the soul as he had previously thought.
They clearly had knowledge of it—just that such knowledge was rare and obscure, which was likely why he had never heard of it before.
More importantly...
This meant...
Souls consumed by the Shinigami are stored inside it.
So even if he found the "Pure Land," he might not be able to find his parents' souls there.
They were sealed inside the Shinigami's belly.
"Where are we heading next?" Karin packed the scrolls, sorted by importance, labeled, and sealed accordingly.
Naruto thought for a moment. "Let's first find out exactly what these deities are."
"Once we understand that, then we can track down this 'Shinigami' entity."
Karin paused. "Speaking of which, there are many shrines that worship deities like this."
"I saw a few when I was in the Land of Grass."
"The Land of Fire also seems to have plenty of such shrines and temples, right?"
Naruto nodded.
That reminded him—back when he was on D-rank missions in Konoha, he had seen several "priestesses" and "monks" coming from the capital of the Land of Fire to the village.
Their status was significantly higher than that of ninjas.
They could even speak as equals to nobles and wealthy merchants—sometimes even held in higher esteem.
"Then let's start by checking those places out," Naruto concluded.
They packed up and departed the Land of Whirlpools.
On the way, they revisited the small village Naruto had once saved.
Their lives hadn't improved much yet.
That little boy hadn't awakened chakra, but his body had visibly grown stronger.
While Naruto and Karin were on their journey—
In the Land of Rice Fields, in the Sound Village,
Inside a secret underground base,
Kabuto Yakushi stood before a white-haired boy.
"You didn't bring Sasuke back?" The white-haired boy looked at Kabuto, noting he returned alone. His tone was calm. "Truly useless, Kabuto."
"Don't be so harsh, Kimimaro." Kabuto, though scolded, maintained his usual smiling demeanor. "Sasuke wasn't swayed by Lord Orochimaru's power."
"I tried persuading him many times."
"I even snuck into the hospital after he was injured by Itachi Uchiha, risking detection by Konoha."
"Still couldn't convince him."
"He seems deeply distrustful of Lord Orochimaru."
The boy called "Kimimaro" narrowed his eyes, chakra surging. In a flash, he appeared in front of Kabuto and slashed at his throat with extended, blade-like fingernails, leaving a shallow cut. "Don't blame your failure on Lord Orochimaru."
Kabuto smiled as always, gently grabbing Kimimaro's wrist. "Then please forgive my incompetence."
"Shall I try again?"
"Konoha's security is tight right now. If I go in again, I'll need to wait until their defenses loosen."
Kimimaro retracted his hand and snorted coldly. "Lord Orochimaru can't wait that long."
He paused, glancing down at his own body. "Neither can I."
Kabuto squinted, the reflection on his glasses hiding his expression. "Shall we summon Lord Orochimaru back now?"
Kimimaro shot him a cold look without answering.
"Need my help?" Kabuto offered. "I am an excellent medical ninja, after all."
Kimimaro refused: "No need."
"I can do it alone."
He stepped into another room.
Kabuto narrowed his eyes, staring at the door, trying to recall.
That room—
It housed the "specimens" Orochimaru had collected from various regions.
Of course,
Orochimaru's "specimens" were not just natural materials—they included children with rare Kekkei Genkai (bloodline limits) he had "picked up" from across the lands.
Was that revival method something like "Living Corpse Reincarnation"?
I'd love to see it.
Inside the room,
Kimimaro scanned the "specimens" and picked a child with a cursed seal on his body.
He took a piece of flesh cultivated in a "nutrient chamber" and placed it over the cursed seal.
He then formed hand seals.
"Evil-Sealing Release!"
Chakra surged. The flesh twisted and rapidly grew into a snake's head.
The serpent opened its bloody maw.
A man crawled out of it.
"Kimimaro, give me a hand," said the man—none other than Orochimaru.
Kimimaro carefully reached out.
This was one of Orochimaru's survival techniques.
Each cursed seal contained a fragment of his consciousness.
As long as the seal was released, Orochimaru could be revived.
The only flaw in this technique—
Was that the Orochimaru consciousness within the cursed seal could not act on its own; someone else had to trigger it.
Like the ever-loyal Kimimaro—
Or someone perceptive enough to understand the seal's true nature.
"Lord Orochimaru, I—" Kimimaro began to report once Orochimaru stood.
Orochimaru shook his head. "I heard everything from within your seal."
"No need to repeat it."
"Such a pity Sasuke wasn't captured."
"I can't wait any longer either."
Kimimaro responded affirmatively.
He helped Orochimaru out of the room.
"Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto immediately stepped forward to greet him.
Orochimaru stuck out his tongue, licking his lips, speaking in a teasing tone: "Kabuto, your loyalty surprises me. I didn't think you were this devoted."
"I'm touched."
Kabuto forced a fake smile. "My loyalty to Lord Orochimaru is no less than Kimimaro's."
Orochimaru sneered: "No need for that kind of talk. Go prepare a new body for me."
"This one... is already unusable."
There were plenty of suitable bodies for reincarnation stored in the base.
One day later.
After modifying a new body for himself, Orochimaru sat in a wheelchair, pushed in front of a mirror.
His face was wrapped in bandages, hiding his expression, but his eyes were full of hate and resentment. "Third Hokage... what a move."
Even after reincarnating, his hands were still unusable.
The "Reaper Death Seal"—
A jutsu he hadn't even heard of before Hiruzen Sarutobi used it—had sealed the soul of his arms, cursing his very spirit. A new body couldn't undo that.
To fully recover, he'd need to find a way to undo that jutsu and release his arms' souls.
Kabuto stood silently behind him, his expression calm, trying to blend in like air.
"Lord Orochimaru," Kimimaro entered the room.
Orochimaru turned to look at him. "You should be resting right now."
"My body doesn't have much time left." Kimimaro's face was calm. "Kabuto examined me. Even if I do nothing, I only have a few months to live."
"Rather than die in bed,"
"I want to do more for Lord Orochimaru."
"Please grant me permission to go to Konoha and capture Uchiha Sasuke for you."
(End of Chapter)