Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 348 Soul Ritual Witchcraft

Deep within the underground palace, the laboratory was filled with an indescribable odor.

The smell is a mixture of formaldehyde, chakra residue, or some kind of humic substance.

What might be unbearable for ordinary people is nothing new to Shisei Aburame and Orochimaru; they are already accustomed to the smell and can even ignore it.

For several months, the two devoted almost all their energy to the research of soul ninjutsu.

From the sealing techniques of witches to the soul structure of demons, from the soul return to the Pure Land to the contract mechanism of evil gods, each link was disassembled, analyzed, and recombined, ultimately forming a complete theoretical system.

"Finally... finally it's complete."

Orochimaru's technique, which is based on the Eight-Headed Serpent, relies on purifying the core of the soul, devours soul fragments and emotions, eliminates the residue, and splits into soul seal clones, has finally been completed.

That's right, Orochimaru still hasn't given up on splitting the soul this time, but unlike before, he has changed his approach: he will never touch the core of his own soul, and will even continuously strengthen it.

The Eight-Headed Serpent Technique no longer twists the soul into an eight-headed serpent, but rather adds the skin of an eight-headed serpent to the original soul.

This Yamata no Orochi can devour souls, spiritual power, and even various negative energies without limit; after a series of transformations and purifications, it injects pure soul energy into the soul of its own body.

The impurities remaining in the body of the Yamata no Orochi will concentrate within its body and be systematically separated through its desire for purification.

Once the impurities accumulate to a certain extent, they will be separated and transformed into curse seals, which will be sealed into the bodies of each of his subordinates.

This is not just about eliminating impurities and making use of waste, but also about preparing the body to digest negative emotions, negative energy, and impurities in the soul.

The more cursed seals his subordinates use, the purer and closer the memories within the soul cursed seals become to the original body, and they also become the most suitable vessel for Orochimaru.

Of course, these subordinates also benefit: their physical condition is greatly improved, and most importantly, they can use phased immortal techniques.

However, Orochimaru has shifted his research to other areas and will not easily use his physical body, much less allow his main body to die easily.

Especially now that his physical lifespan has reached 150 years, he has plenty of time and can even research cloning technology.

He also discovered that as his soul changed, his body was also subtly changing, seemingly becoming more in line with the state of his soul.

As for Aburame Shisei, based on Orochimaru's theory, he also improved and created a technique called "Soul Return Ritual".

In theory, this technique can pull a soul that has just left the body back from the Pure Land, and can even snatch a soul back from the evil god before the evil god's contract takes effect.

Of course, this is just theory. For a soul under the strict watchful eye of a deity, the difficulty would be extremely high. Therefore, this ninjutsu should more accurately be considered a witchcraft ritual, and is not yet fully perfected.

"Theoretically speaking? Then we need a test subject." Orochimaru appeared next to the laboratory, licking his lips and smiling.

Caught between the two, Huang Quan, who was doing odd jobs and acting as an assistant, was instantly drenched in sweat and lowered his head even further.

Yu Nu Zhicheng glanced at him and shook his head. He had noticed recently that Huang Quan had good learning abilities and a serious work ethic, making him a good intern, but he was just too easily stressed.

The subjects they selected for their experiments had to be people who had just died and whose souls had not yet completely dissipated; of course, it was best if the person's soul was strong enough to withstand the pulling force during the ritual.

"No rush. I'm not familiar with witchcraft yet, and there are some parts that need to be modified and improved." Aburame Shicheng turned around, intending to continue to refine this art.

Just then, a communication insect on his waist began to vibrate.

Aburame Shisei removed the communication insect and injected chakra into it.

The insect's abdomen lit up, projecting an image—the Hokage's office in Konoha.

In the scene, a masked ANBU ninja is kneeling on the ground, reporting the situation to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The mother insect of this communication insect has been planted in the heart of Konoha for three years. The person responsible for looking after the mother insect is a spy disguised as a logistics personnel, codenamed Winter Insect.

Dongchong never provided any valuable information, and Aburame Shisei never contacted him proactively.

This is a piece that needs to lie dormant for a long time and cannot be used lightly, but today, the winter worm has taken the initiative to initiate communication.

In the image, Hiruzen Sarutobi is no longer wearing his iconic Hokage robe, but a plain-colored kimono. He is sitting to the side of the Hokage's desk, not in the center.

Sitting right in the center was a blond young man, Minato Namikaze.

Aburame Shisei's lips curled up slightly; indeed, the trajectory of history eventually repeats itself.

"What's wrong?" Orochimaru noticed the change in his expression, leaned closer, and smiled knowingly.

In the scene, Minato Namikaze is signing a document. His movements are practiced, clearly indicating that he has adapted well to the position of Hokage.

Beside the desk was the Hokage's hat, and below the hat was a brand new, custom-made cloak. Upon closer inspection, one could see the words "Fourth Hokage" on it.

"It seems the third generation has abdicated."

"That old man... he actually let go!" Orochimaru's voice was both surprised and complicated, but more than anything, it was a sense of indifference.

The communicator continued to transmit the images.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up, walked to the window, looked at the bustling street outside, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

He said to Koharu, who was sitting next to him, "I don't want to care about anything, and I won't care about anything. It's enough for me to just hold the title of principal at the Ninja Academy. It's enough to watch the children grow up day by day and for Konoha to prosper."

Koharu Utatane suddenly said, "Hiruzen, your abdication was too sudden. I think it would be better for you to step down and join the elders' council, since there's currently a vacancy for one of the elders' positions."

Mitokado Homura chimed in from the side, "Yeah, Hiruzen, you've found a qualified successor. You can be a hands-off manager with an easy job."

"You can do the same as me," Hiruzen Sarutobi turned around and smiled. "The elders are still here, but the decision-making power has been handed over to Minato. The young people have their own ideas, and we old guys should retire when it's time to retire."

……

"Heh, you make it sound so easy!" Orochimaru's tone was full of sarcasm. He had already seen this disgusting hypocrisy before.

Aburame Shisei also found it boring and turned off the communication.

"Zhicheng-kun, although I really wanted to stay here, my ninjutsu is finished, it's getting late, and I should head back."

"See you later!"

"Hehe, goodbye!"