[Sponsored] Chapter 79: Powerful Soul

[This chapter is proudly sponsored by "Gustavo Cunha." Please join me in expressing your thanks in the comments! If you're interested in sponsoring a chapter, consider joining the Patreon.]

The waves crashed down, soaking the ground.

As they were about to hit Naruto, they were split by an invisible barrier, flowing off to the sides.

Terumi Mei didn't have this ability and had to dodge through the splashes to avoid getting wet.

"Thank you, Naruto," Terumi Mei waved at him and blew a kiss. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to communicate with the Three-Tails."

Naruto turned to her, "Tailed beasts are surprisingly simple creatures."

"They're like mirrors."

"Whatever attitude you show them, they'll reflect it back to you in their emotions."

Terumi Mei was taken aback, her memories stirred.

The Fourth Mizukage never said anything like that, but he had expressed something similar.

Aren't tailed beasts just tools?

She pondered.

Naruto headed back towards the Mist Village.

Karin stepped in front of Terumi Mei, hands on her hips, "Naruto is only thirteen!"

Terumi Mei smiled and pinched Karin's cheek, "You're such a cute little girl."

Karin glared at her.

Terumi Mei waved it off and pulled her along to catch up with Naruto.

In the inner world.

The Nine-Tails' eyes glimmered with a peculiar light.

It was still communicating with the Three-Tails—although it was mostly berating Isobu, calling it nosy and troublesome, saying that keeping quiet wouldn't hurt.

But its mood wasn't as bad as its "foul mouth" suggested.

Naruto and Karin stayed in the Mist for a long time.

For the first few days, Terumi Mei accompanied them, dutifully acting as their guide.

But once she confirmed that as long as Naruto wasn't provoked, he posed no danger, she handed the "guide" responsibilities over to Chojuro, a boy with short blue hair, black-rimmed glasses, a seemingly gentle demeanor, but with chakra levels comparable to a Jonin.

He was a bit nervous about the task.

After all, he was dealing with someone as powerful as "Uzumaki Naruto."

But his anxiety was unnecessary.

In the following days, Naruto rarely went out, spending most of his time indoors with Karin, studying the contents of the scrolls.

The Land of Water had taken many valuable things from the Whirlpool Village.

Although the sealing techniques were not complete, there was a lot of related knowledge.

There were even some records of the "Reaper Death Seal," though they were not detailed, only fragments. But even those fragments allowed them to glimpse the "tip of the iceberg" of this technique.

Naruto and Karin were somewhat disappointed that among these records, there was a sealing technique called the "Four Symbols Seal."

This was the technique used to seal the Nine-Tails within Naruto's body.

But like the "Reaper Death Seal," it was also only partially recorded.

They stayed in the Mist for a month before saying their goodbyes.

Afterward, they traveled around the Land of Water, focusing on visiting shrines and temples.

They had expected to find some traces of "gods" in this remote area, but it was no different from the Land of Fire, where only some stories passed down by word of mouth remained.

They took a boat back to the Land of Fire and then headed straight to the Land of Rice Fields.

When they saw Orochimaru again, his bandages were gone, and his body modifications were complete, making him look like he did when they first met in Konoha.

Handsome but with a face as cold as a snake's, though his arms still hung limply at his sides.

"Naruto-kun, long time no see, almost a year, right?" His demeanor had calmed down over time.

"I found some information related to the Reaper Death Seal in the Land of Water." Naruto didn't engage in small talk, getting straight to the point, "Though there's no specific technique."

"But it should have some value."

He pulled out a scroll and placed it in front of Orochimaru.

Kabuto unrolled it.

"It seems Naruto-kun has been working hard," Orochimaru said softly after reading it. "But I haven't been idle either."

He signaled Kabuto with his eyes.

Another scroll was placed on the table.

Naruto opened it.

"I've also discovered a few things during this time," Orochimaru explained quietly. "Seeing the information Naruto-kun brought back from the Land of Water reassures me that my research direction was correct."

"Do you remember the records you gave me at the beginning?"

He paused briefly and summarized, "The Shinigami is an ancient god who made a contract with the Uzumaki Clan, allowing its summoner to call it forth by sealing their own soul and the soul of their enemy as sacrifices for it to consume."

He stopped again.

"That description reminds me of some rather unpleasant things."

"I have a summoning beast that's quite unruly."

"Its nature is similar to this Shinigami; every time I summon it for battle, it demands a living sacrifice."

Naruto looked up at him, frowning involuntarily.

"A living sacrifice," that sounded utterly malevolent.

"Because I thought of that summoning beast, I started to wonder..." Orochimaru continued, "Could this be a special summoning technique, summoning a unique creature?"

"I tried to reverse-engineer the technique using a reverse summoning method."

"And I've made some progress."

Naruto finished reading the content on the scroll, then lifted his head and added a conclusion: "But it wasn't successful."

He stared at Orochimaru's hands. If it had succeeded, he wouldn't believe that Orochimaru would hold back from reclaiming the souls of his hands and instead wait for him to come and share the research results.

"Yes, it wasn't successful," Orochimaru licked his lips, his expression bright and not discouraged. "But it's not a problem with the technique."

"It's a problem with the vessel."

Naruto repeated the word, "Vessel?"

"You need to make a pact with the Shinigami to use this technique," Orochimaru continued. "So to release the liberation technique, doesn't it also require a corresponding vessel?"

Naruto spoke, "So, it needs a pact with the Shinigami?"

"I didn't obtain this in the Land of Water."

"Of course you wouldn't," Orochimaru shook his head. "Don't forget, the last person to use this technique was my dear teacher, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen."

"So, that pact is in Konoha." Naruto stared coldly at Orochimaru. "Are you trying to urge me to retrieve the pact from Konoha?"

Orochimaru licked his lips, his eyes gleaming as if he were anticipating something.

"I will verify your results," Naruto's tone was calm. "I will keep this scroll for now."

He was eager to unravel the "Reaper Death Seal" technique.

But he didn't want to become someone else's tool because of it.

He formed a seal and put the scroll away.

Orochimaru let out a raspy laugh: "Naruto-kun, you still don't trust me enough."

He then changed the subject, suddenly bringing up another matter: "I heard you've been searching for gods and myths recently?"

"You know?" Naruto asked him.

Orochimaru shook his head, "It's no secret."

"Everyone who's been paying attention to you knows this."

Naruto looked at him, seemingly deep in thought: "So, do you have some reliable information and intend to trade it for something from me?"

"I don't have time to study these things," Orochimaru shook his head. "I'm not young anymore, and I don't have enough time to allocate."

"But this matter—"

"Naruto-kun, have you considered asking the toads of Mount Myoboku?"

Naruto was puzzled, "The toads of Mount Myoboku?"

"It seems Jiraiya hasn't introduced them to you. He's such a careless teacher," Orochimaru sneered. "The toads of Mount Myoboku aren't ordinary toads."

"Jiraiya once told me—"

"The Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku has the ability to foresee the future."

Naruto nodded, deep in thought: "Orochimaru, you wouldn't be this kind-hearted."

Orochimaru stared at Naruto, licking his lips, with a hint of greed in his eyes: "I underestimated the two Word Techniques (Spells?) you gave me."

"They're truly wonderful things."

"They're simple yet precise, leaving me unable to research much from them."

He paused.

"I have information on a holy place as renowned as Mount Myoboku, the Ryuchi Cave," Orochimaru restrained some of his desire. "The White Snake Sage there, though not possessing the same foresight ability as the Great Toad Sage, is also an ancient monster that has lived for a thousand years."

"Maybe you could get some useful information from its mouth."

"Do you want to make this trade, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto pondered.

Orochimaru, on his own, opened his mouth and spat out a sticky scroll.

"Since you've already signed a pact with Mount Myoboku, it wouldn't be appropriate to sign one with Ryuchi Cave." The scroll landed on the table with a thud, and Orochimaru continued, "But not having a pact doesn't mean you can't go there."

"After all, they exist in this world."

"This records the location."

Naruto asked him, "At most, I'll give you two more."

"Of course, no problem," Orochimaru agreed.

Naruto thought for a moment.

This time, he wrote down the serial numbers Eight and Ten of the Kido, recorded them in the scroll, and handed it to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru smiled contentedly, grinning widely.

Karin took out a ninja tool pouch that had not been used for a long time and disinfected the scroll that Orochimaru had spat out before putting it away.

"A pleasant cooperation. Won't Naruto-kun stay a little longer?" Orochimaru squinted his eyes, cheerfully bidding farewell to the standing blond-haired boy.

Naruto shook his head and left with Karin.

Kabuto whispered, "Orochimaru-sama, wasn't it a bit too cheap to trade those two techniques for something so precious?"

Orochimaru silently grinned, "Kabuto, you don't understand their value."

"It's just an address for Ryuchi Cave."

He looked at the scroll on the table.

These techniques.

Not only brought him the convenience of "Words Chanting."

But also the power contained within.

Although weak, and no matter how he researched it, he couldn't enhance the power of the soul.

"Naruto-kun is not just physically and chakra strong," Orochimaru said, speaking words that Kabuto didn't quite understand, "His soul is also very powerful."