Chapter Thirty: Finally Leaving the Realm of Death

...

Whether Orochimaru was truly dead left Kabuto and the others locked in a strange standoff.

Kabuto and Kimimaro insisted from the depths of their hearts that Orochimaru was alive. Kabuto was relatively calm, for he knew for certain Orochimaru had not died. Kimimaro, however, was on the verge of furious transformation.

To claim Orochimaru's death in front of him was akin to stroking a tigress in front of the tiger himself.

Guren and the four Sound Ninjas also adamantly insisted Orochimaru was alive, but their eyes flickered with odd intent—they were merely probing.

In the center, surrounded by five Pains, a newly awakened Yahiko was confused. He remembered dying; so why did it seem as though he had returned?

The black rods had been pulled from Yahiko’s body, blood flowed from his wounds, leaving him extremely weak as he sat on the ground.

He glanced around. Five figures dressed in red-clouded black cloaks stood around him, and he seemed to be wearing the same cloak himself. What was happening? He didn't recognize any of them.

A throbbing headache struck Yahiko—had he lost part of his memory?

But he distinctly remembered dying; surely a dead man shouldn't possess memories.

He was lost, unaware the five Pains before him were puppets controlled by his friend Nagato.

“Yahiko…”

At last, the Pains spoke, all five voices and movements in perfect synchronicity. Nagato could not multitask with such precision, his emotions in turmoil.

Yahiko startled; these people knew him?

Since they all wore the red-clouded cloaks, Yahiko assumed they must know him, yet wondered why they spoke as one.

Moreover, their eyes resembled those of his old friend.

“I am... Nagato. I brought you back,” the five Pains declared, again in unison.

Yahiko’s heart skipped, filled with questions, but seeing Orochimaru’s “corpse” beside him and observing Kabuto and the others outside watching, he kept silent.

He had once led the Akatsuki; he was no naïve child. Questions could be asked in private—this was not the place.

“All right,” Yahiko replied.

He had no fear that Nagato would harm him; they were childhood friends, worthy of trust with his life.

One Pain stepped forward, hoisted Yahiko onto his back. After a brief storm of emotion, Nagato regained enough composure to control all five bodies simultaneously.

The five Pains prepared to leave the Sound Village, but Kabuto and the others objected.

“Stop!”

“What have you done to Lord Orochimaru?!”

“You can’t leave!”

Kabuto and his companions blocked their way.

Kabuto intervened mainly to ensure Orochimaru could deal with the matter himself upon resurrection.

Kimimaro’s intent was to kill; he believed Orochimaru lived, but the fact that Orochimaru was motionless and devoid of breath was undeniable—anyone who harmed him must die!

Guren and the Sound Four also encircled them, intent on learning the circumstances surrounding Orochimaru’s “death,” to determine if it was genuine.

Nagato, troubled by Yahiko’s revival and overwhelmed by emotion, found his vexation intensifying upon seeing Yahiko alive.

Just when he needed an outlet, Kabuto and the others blocked his path...

...

In the realm of the dead, Orochimaru had developed two new jutsu.

Though still in their infancy, they were usable.

Orochimaru rose, gazing at a nearby slumbering soul. He formed seals with both hands—Tiger, Snake, Dragon, Dog. The character representing immortality appeared on his brow.

His gaze sharpened. From the mark came an irresistible suction, drawing the sleeping soul within.

The essence of immortality lay in nine Rashomon Chambers, so the captured soul was confined in the outermost chamber.

This was Orochimaru’s first new jutsu: the Soul Seizure Technique!

Henceforth, any soul upon death could bypass the realm of the dead and be imprisoned directly within Rashomon.

Because it was removed from the dead realm, it lost the “slumber” effect of the Rinnegan, and the soul began to awaken.

“Hmm?” Orochimaru’s brows furrowed.

The Rashomon had no doors. As the soul awoke, curiosity and caution drove it to explore its prison, and it was about to escape.

That would not do. Orochimaru formed hand seals. Five elemental powers appeared at his fingertips, which he pressed to his brow, sealing Rashomon.

The soul could not escape, but this was not a permanent solution.

Orochimaru formed more seals, using his spirit to perform a summoning technique. Three Rashomon Gates appeared—Rashomon’s three great doors.

He approached one gate, pressed his palm to it, and with the Rashomon in his brow as anchor, the giant gate vanished with a bang, merging into his brow and combining with Rashomon.

Repeating the process, all three gates returned to their proper places, perfectly aligning with the outer chambers.

“That should do it,” Orochimaru murmured.

He began to observe the soul’s state within Rashomon.

His purpose in creating the Soul Seizure Technique was not mere imprisonment, but rather to study souls.

What, truly, is a soul?

Orochimaru had conducted experiments: he weighed a person with precise instruments, then killed them and weighed again—discovering a loss of 21 grams.

Thus, the soul weighs 21 grams.

Souls are intangible and visible only under special circumstances. For now, Orochimaru’s research was limited to their weight.

But with the power of immortality now able to influence souls, he was determined to explore this field thoroughly.

“How, exactly, is death defined?” Orochimaru mused, suddenly uncertain whether his own immortality—or even Kaguya Otsutsuki’s—was truly immortal.

Perhaps it was simply that no technique yet targeted the soul.

Orochimaru cast his gaze toward the center, where the Sage of Six Paths dwelled, floating in meditation with closed eyes.

Changing the world might provoke the old man’s intervention, so research into souls was urgent.

Suddenly, the Sage’s brows twitched, about to open his eyes. Above, the immense Rinnegan in the sky shifted slightly.

Orochimaru glanced upward—it was time to leave.

He closed his eyes, sensing his physical body in the world of the living. His spirit dissolved into luminous fragments.

...

“Hmm…”

The Sage of Six Paths awoke, opening radiant eyes. The colossal Rinnegan in the sky relayed every scene in the realm of the dead.

“Nothing amiss, but why does my heart flutter?” he wondered, baffled, attributing it to an odd dream.

It’s a common phenomenon: when sleeping peacefully, one’s body suddenly jolts, startling oneself and those nearby.

The Sage supposed this was his case.

Now awake, he didn’t intend to return to sleep immediately. He decided to visit the world of the living and see how far his two sons’ reincarnations had come.