063 Do Not Place Your Hopes in My Flexible Moral Boundaries

The Third Hokage truly misunderstood Orochimaru. If not for his warning, Orochimaru would never have considered this possibility. Who could have foreseen that performing too brilliantly in the battle against the Hidden Cloud would itself create problems?

Previously, in plotting the Reanimation Jutsu, Orochimaru and the Lamp Spirit had devised another approach. It’s worth mentioning that the Lamp Spirit suggested using the same trick again—just as they threatened Danzo before—to pressure the Third Hokage into granting the Reanimation Jutsu by leveraging the competition for the title of Hokage. But Orochimaru firmly refused. Unlike with Danzo, Orochimaru could not bring himself to do such a thing in front of the Third Hokage and Jiraiya, and he rejected even the Lamp Spirit acting on his behalf.

The Lamp Spirit had no choice but to abandon the idea of forcing the matter; after all, they had plenty of schemes and did not lack for options. Yet neither of them could have expected that, before they even set their plan into motion, events would unfold on their own.

Orochimaru’s eyes narrowed, shimmering with surprise and delight. Compared to the method requiring another round of machinations, this overwhelming momentum was far more decisive—just as the Lamp Spirit had said, the old man could only choose the lesser of two evils.

Under Orochimaru’s gaze, Hiruzen Sarutobi was deep in thought. Granting a forbidden technique to offset his contributions, Orochimaru had provided a viable path, but did it have to be the Reanimation Jutsu? As Hokage, Hiruzen was intimately familiar with every forbidden jutsu in the Book of Seals, each as familiar to him as his own possessions.

Yet forbidden jutsu differ among themselves. Some are dangerous to the user’s life, such as the Dead Demon Consuming Seal or mutual explosive tags. Others demand extraordinary ability: the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique requires immense chakra, and the Flying Thunder God technique, if mishandled, can shred one in the fabric of space. The Reanimation Jutsu falls into the final category, touching on ethical dilemmas.

Of these, granting Orochimaru the first two types would raise no objections; indeed, for a ninja of the “Three Legendary Sannin,” training in forbidden techniques was only natural. If following this line of thinking, it was inevitable to bestow upon Orochimaru a forbidden jutsu of the third type—and none of the others were any better than the Reanimation Jutsu. Besides, if given something else, Orochimaru might not cooperate.

Looking at Orochimaru, the Third Hokage’s wrinkled face revealed a bitter smile. Just as before, his disciple had once again cornered him, and Orochimaru was about to get what he wanted.

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s feelings were complex, tangled between resignation and relief. The Third Hokage sighed, “Very well, if you wish for it, I will give you the Reanimation Jutsu.”

“In addition to the Reanimation Jutsu, I want the Spirit Transformation Technique, as well as the insights left by the previous users who trained in it,” Orochimaru said, his eyes narrowing as he smiled. “I can make a promise: I will not use the Reanimation Jutsu on any ninja from the Hidden Leaf.”

The Third Hokage waved his hand, uncertain whether he believed the promise or not—or rather, Orochimaru’s nature ensured he would not be bound by notions of good or evil. If the benefits were great enough, this promise would be little more than self-comfort.

...

Emerging from the Hokage’s archive, the night had grown late. Bathed in moonlight, Orochimaru’s pale face wore a look of joy. He hadn’t expected to obtain the Reanimation Jutsu so smoothly, far earlier than he anticipated.

In front of the Hokage building, Jiraiya followed him, pressing, “Orochimaru, what do you plan to do with this forbidden jutsu?”

“You want to know?” Orochimaru turned to look at Jiraiya and smiled. “Before that, tell me—how far have you gotten with the breathing technique you secretly learned?”

“Secretly learned? I heard it fair and square!” Jiraiya put on a shameless expression, but under Orochimaru’s cold gaze, his carefree smile faded, and his demeanor grew rare in its seriousness.

“That breathing technique is indeed effective. I don’t know where you found it, but with a bit more practice, I may enter Sage Mode without the help of the two great sages.”

“Where did I find it?” Orochimaru caught the implication, his face showing some displeasure; though it was true, Jiraiya’s words clearly underestimated him. Still, it wasn’t the time to quibble. Orochimaru said, “Make a record of your insights into the breathing technique and give it to me. Kakashi and the others are training in it as well; it might be useful to them.”

Jiraiya nodded slightly—he had met those three before, all promising young ninjas of the next generation. If it contributed to their growth, there was no reason to withhold it.

After agreeing on a date, Jiraiya asked again, “So, what are you going to do with the Reanimation Jutsu?”

“Summoning Technique. I’ll be researching that area soon,” Orochimaru smiled, cutting out part of the truth and piecing together another story. “Setting aside ethical concerns, the Reanimation Jutsu is just another summoning technique—only instead of ordinary beasts or objects, it summons souls from the Pure Land.”

Jiraiya frowned, thinking for a moment. “Is that all?”

“Heh, if things go well, I will indeed summon the souls of powerful ninjas and gain knowledge from them,” Orochimaru played with the scroll in his hand, sounding regretful. “Unfortunately, the technique developed by the Second Hokage is still far from that level. Like the rigid puppets of the Hidden Sand, they can only be controlled to carry out suicidal tasks.”

Jiraiya opened his mouth, but Orochimaru cut him off.

“I promise not to use the bodies of the village’s ninjas for experiments right now; the jutsu isn’t perfected, there’s no need. The lifeless puppets could be anyone.”

Jiraiya immediately caught the implication. “So, if your research is successful, you would summon the village’s ninjas too?”

Orochimaru smiled, not answering directly. “That depends on whether there’s a need.”

He understood what Jiraiya and the Third Hokage cared about—the bonds within the village. Desecrating the bodies of fellow ninjas violated the unwritten rule of not harming one’s comrades amid chaos. But from a broader perspective, desecrating the dead itself seemed to trouble no one.

The Lamp Spirit called this double standards: the moral code of ninjas was narrow, as if only their own countrymen, only their own village, were truly people. The so-called moral bottom line was just self-comfort, and to be bound by it was laughable.

“So, do you intend to stop me?” Orochimaru watched Jiraiya’s darkening expression, licked his lips, and smiled. “It’s simple—just make me feel that summoning them isn’t worth it.”

“But can you manage that? Compared to this, perhaps searching for your Child of Destiny is more important.”