Chapter 67: Breaking the Dead Demon Consuming Seal

Putting aside his thoughts of researching Naruto, Orochimaru turned his attention back to Uchiha Izumi.

Naruto immediately shook his head.

"Uchiha Izumi is off-limits too."

"Then I suppose that leaves Sasuke."

Orochimaru wasn’t disappointed.

Uchiha Izumi wasn’t his only option.

She had merely been an alternative.

Seeing that Orochimaru was still thinking about Sasuke, Naruto could only say,

"Orochimaru, give up on Sasuke too."

He couldn’t be bothered to explain. He simply made Orochimaru abandon the idea.

Orochimaru was far more useful than Sasuke.

Naruto would rather sacrifice Sasuke than lose Orochimaru.

One was a fighter, while the other was a scientist.

Naturally, Naruto chose the scientist.

The problem was that Orochimaru couldn’t deal with Sasuke.

A reincarnation of Indra’s chakra wasn’t someone who could simply be possessed.

And the Sage of Six Paths wouldn’t allow it either.

"Since Sasuke-kun is also your friend, then I’ll forget about him."

Orochimaru didn’t argue and immediately gave up.

His mind had already begun considering other suitable vessels.

Seeing this, Naruto reminded him,

"You could try White Zetsu."

"White Zetsu?"

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.

Of course, he knew about White Zetsu.

It was a tool used by the Akatsuki to gather intelligence.

But wasn’t it far too weak?

Understanding what Orochimaru was thinking, Naruto explained,

"White Zetsu possesses the First Hokage’s cells. You can capture a few of them, inject them with Hashirama’s cells to strengthen them, and then choose the one you think is the most perfect vessel to experiment with."

Orochimaru was now his subordinate.

Naturally, Naruto had to think about Orochimaru’s interests.

The stronger Orochimaru became, the more help he could provide Naruto.

"Good! Thank you for the information, Naruto-kun! Is there anything you need me to help with?"

The moment he heard that White Zetsu could withstand Hashirama’s cells, Orochimaru immediately became interested.

As for why Naruto knew such secrets, Orochimaru didn’t find it strange.

He was Naruto’s subordinate now.

Wasn’t it perfectly normal for Naruto to know more than him?

Seeing how cooperative Orochimaru was being, Naruto secretly nodded in satisfaction.

"There is, actually. Do you have any bases nearby? One that has experimental subjects."

"The bases near Konoha have all been abandoned. The ones with experimental subjects are in the new shinobi village I established. Naruto-kun, are you interested in experiments as well?"

It was as though Orochimaru had suddenly found someone who shared his interests, and he became somewhat excited.

Naruto knew about Hashirama’s cells.

He knew about White Zetsu.

He had even reminded Orochimaru to strengthen White Zetsu with Hashirama’s cells.

Naruto must have extensive knowledge of human experimentation as well!

"Take this. How long will it take you to get back? I’ll come find you directly once you arrive."

Naruto had no idea what Orochimaru was imagining.

He simply handed him a Flying Thunder God kunai.

"I can get there immediately through Reverse Summoning. In that case, I’ll await your arrival at my shinobi village, Naruto-kun!"

After taking the kunai, Orochimaru immediately used the Reverse Summoning Technique and disappeared.

Seeing this, Naruto turned toward Uchiha Izumi and gave her a signal.

Uchiha Izumi nodded and created a Shadow Clone to return.

Naruto then took her with him and activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, disappearing from the spot.

Inside the Uzumaki Clan’s abandoned hideout.

Naruto and Uchiha Izumi entered a shrine filled with masks.

Looking at the masks hanging on the walls, Naruto asked inwardly,

"Father, do you know which one is the Shinigami mask?"

Through the seal, Minato Namikaze sensed the masks for a moment.

"Second row. Third from the left."

Having once used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal himself, he was extremely sensitive to the Shinigami mask.

Naruto didn’t approach it himself.

Instead, he created a Shadow Clone and had it take the Shinigami mask down.

It was too dangerous.

There was no need for him to touch it personally.

Who knew whether the Shinigami mask might have some hidden danger?

"Was this why you asked about the Shinigami mask, Naruto? Are you planning to break the Dead Demon Consuming Seal?"

Minato’s voice sounded again.

Naruto replied inwardly,

"Yes. It’s time to fulfill the promise I made to Kurama back then."

Ever since Naruto had asked about the Shinigami mask, Kurama had vaguely guessed what he was planning.

But afraid that he might have misunderstood, Kurama had kept his eyes closed all this time.

Only his ears kept twitching as he listened carefully to Naruto and Minato’s conversation.

"Is that really true, Naruto?"

Now that he heard Naruto say it himself, Kurama could no longer hold back.

Naruto smiled.

"Of course. Orochimaru possesses a forbidden technique that can summon souls from the Pure Land. Father and I promised to help you retrieve the other half of your body. Now the conditions are finally right."

To Kurama, those words were nothing short of heavenly music.

Then another thought occurred to him.

Could Naruto’s use of Kotoamatsukami on Orochimaru just now have been for the sake of helping me retrieve the other half of my body?

The more Kurama thought about it, the more moved he became.

"Thank you, Naruto."

Naruto smiled and shook his head.

"Alright. Let’s break the seal first."

With that, Naruto took Uchiha Izumi and his Shadow Clone and activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.

The Sound Village was extremely far from Konoha.

A single long-distance Flying Thunder God teleportation caused Naruto to clearly feel that he had consumed a considerable amount of chakra.

The scene before his eyes shifted.

The group appeared inside a gloomy underground laboratory.

"Welcome to my laboratory, Naruto-kun!"

Believing that Naruto was another scientific fanatic, Orochimaru had deliberately chosen to wait for him inside the laboratory.

He had been thinking that once Naruto arrived, he could directly show him around.

However, after Naruto swept his gaze across the laboratory, his mood immediately soured.

One naked experimental subject after another was immersed in containers filled with formalin.

Naruto covered Uchiha Izumi’s eyes and turned toward Orochimaru.

"Let’s find somewhere more spacious where no one will disturb us."

"I didn’t expect Naruto-kun to be the type who cares about women."

Orochimaru’s straightforward remark inadvertently gave Naruto an assist.

Uchiha Izumi couldn’t help but blush.

Under Orochimaru’s guidance, the group arrived at a spacious hall.

Naruto said,

"Orochimaru, I need you to help me break the Dead Demon Consuming Seal."

Orochimaru regretfully shook his head.

"I’m very sorry, Naruto-kun. I don’t know how to break the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. Perhaps I can look through some records first."

At this point in time, Orochimaru had yet to begin researching the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.

Naruto gestured toward the mask in his Shadow Clone’s hand.

"You only need to arrange for two disposable experimental subjects to come here."

"Alright."

Orochimaru nodded and formed a series of hand seals, apparently using some method to send out a message.

Before long, Kabuto Yakushi arrived with two experimental subjects.

"Orochimaru-sama."

Kabuto glanced at Naruto and Uchiha Izumi, but didn’t ask any questions. He respectfully stood behind Orochimaru.

Orochimaru gestured invitingly.

"Naruto-kun, you can begin.

I’m also very interested in seeing how the Dead Demon Consuming Seal can be broken. You don’t mind if I stay and watch, do you?"

"That’s fine. Everyone, keep your distance."

Naruto didn’t refuse.

His Shadow Clone immediately placed the Shinigami mask onto the face of one of the experimental subjects.

Suddenly, the experimental subject began trembling violently as though it had been subjected to some kind of stimulation.

A Shinigami that no one else could see emerged from behind the experimental subject.

It wore a white ceremonial robe, held a string of prayer beads in one hand, and had a sharp dagger clenched between its teeth.

Its face was sinister and eerie.

Naruto immediately activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and used a Sharingan genjutsu to control the experimental subject.

The subject picked up a kunai and swiftly drew it across his abdomen.

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