The two Hollows, after locking eyes, immediately began to grapple, relentlessly biting and tearing at each other, devouring each other's flesh and blood like famished wolves that had just spotted food.
Naruto, watching from the side, secretly shook his head and muttered to himself:
"As expected, it's still no good. The conversion rate for Genin is too poor. The amount of chakra in their bodies is too low to withstand the invasion of Reiatsu; they only turn into Hollows."
"Hollows can become stronger through devouring, perhaps reaching a new level, gaining Shinigami powers from their Hollow form. But such a process is too lengthy, and I currently don't have the resources to support these kinds of experiments."
Naruto's soliloquy was, in essence, also meant for Orochimaru's ears.
Sure enough, upon hearing unfamiliar terms like "Hollow" and "Reiatsu," the science fanatic Orochimaru's eyes lit up.
He could no longer contain his inner excitement and stepped out from his hiding place.
Rustle. His feet made a sound as they stepped on the grass.
Naruto looked over and saw the strange woman he had found suspicious earlier.
She was dressed in a light purple kimono, with long, dark hair, her face deathly pale. A discordant, sinister smile hung on her lips, and her aura was exceptionally cold.
So, Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, has a penchant for cross-dressing, huh? The thought flashed through Naruto's mind, and then he put on an extremely warm smile.
"Oh my, we have a guest."
Orochimaru looked at the gentle Naruto, then at the two Hollows still tearing each other apart, and felt an extreme sense of incongruity.
According to the information he'd received from Danzo, Naruto had a refined and gentle personality, had inherited the Will of Fire, and yearned to protect Konoha and his important people.
But now, it seemed that wasn't the case at all.
Naruto was a person of considerable shrewdness.
Orochimaru revealed a perverse smile, his voice full of magnetism.
"A pleasure to meet you, Naruto-kun. I am Orochimaru. I'm very interested in your research."
Sensing the cold aura emanating from Orochimaru and his obsession with research, Naruto's smile grew even brighter.
He gently thrust Kyoka Suigetsu into the heads of the two Hollows and slowly withdrew it.
The Hollows dissipated into nothingness.
Naruto said calmly,
"I've been expecting you for a long time, Orochimaru."
"Hmm?" Orochimaru narrowed his snake-like pupils, a hint of confusion in his eyes. The wantonly arrogant aura he had been exuding was also reined in.
He had imagined Naruto's reaction upon seeing him.
Shock, fear, astonishment.
After all, he was a Kage-level powerhouse, renowned for a long time, and an enemy of Konoha.
He would only need a split second to kill a fledgling Genin like Naruto.
But Naruto's reaction was too strange.
Calm? Confident?
As if he truly meant what he said – that he had been waiting for him for a long time?
Could it be that he had sensed me long ago?
Orochimaru's expression shifted slightly.
He decided to test the waters.
He offered a smile and said, "I'm very curious, Naruto-kun, did you sense me much earlier?"
Facing Orochimaru's question, Naruto sheathed Kyoka Suigetsu and nonchalantly stepped over the pool of blood. "Mm, you could say that."
Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Orochimaru was quite surprised.
Aside from his status as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto's talent was also exceedingly astonishing, perhaps even surpassing Uchiha Sasuke's.
No wonder that fellow Danzo kept emphasizing "don't touch Naruto."
Such a young body… if it could become my vessel, that would also be quite wonderful.
A pity he's a Jinchuriki.
Orochimaru's gaze passed over Naruto, landing on the dissipated Hollows and the corpses. A smile that he considered charming, but was in reality sinister and chilling, appeared as he said politely, "Naruto-kun, may I ask if that just now… was a soul?"
Seeing Orochimaru's eyes burning with the thirst for knowledge, Naruto nodded.
Orochimaru immediately pressed on, his voice urgent, "How did you make the souls visible? Why did the souls mutate? Is this your Kekkei Genkai? Could it be that your Kekkei Genkai is related to the Pure Land?"
The barrage of questions made Naruto look at Orochimaru in a new light.
He hadn't expected to have underestimated Orochimaru's dedication to research. He used Shunpo to arrive beside a rock, cleaned it with a Water Release jutsu, then sat down and elegantly gestured towards Orochimaru.
"I didn't expect Mr. Orochimaru to have such profound knowledge regarding souls as well. If you don't mind, we could exchange some ideas."
Seeing Naruto's actions, Orochimaru didn't overthink it. He directly used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Naruto and sat down gracefully, without any airs, seemingly having already forgotten his original purpose for coming.
At this moment, his eyes were blazing, and the way he looked at Naruto was more like gazing upon a rare treasure.
The two sat side-by-side, the blood near the rock still flowing, the air thick with its coppery scent. Large, ferocious beasts occasionally emerged from the forest, but before they could even get close, Orochimaru's shadow clone dealt with them effortlessly, without making a sound.
Naruto and Orochimaru chatted enthusiastically, like old friends.
"This is my Kekkei Genkai, a power originating from the Pure Land. I call it Reiatsu," Naruto said candidly, extending his hand. An indescribable energy coalesced in his palm.
"A Kekkei Genkai from the Pure Land?" Orochimaru looked skeptical. He immediately used his chakra to probe the Reiatsu in Naruto's hand, and his expression gradually turned solemn.
In his past decades of soul research, he had discovered that just as humans are composed of cells, souls are also composed of a peculiar substance. This substance does not exist in the living world and might originate from the so-called Pure Land.
It was because the soul's own properties contradicted those of the living world that it would travel to the Pure Land.
And previous researchers had made considerable progress in studying the dead.
For example, Edo Tensei.
By extracting a certain amount of a deceased person's flesh and using a living person's body as a vessel for the deceased's soul, the soul could then be summoned from the Netherworld Pure Land to the living world, with the deceased retaining their consciousness from when they were alive.
In past experiments, subjects brought back by Edo Tensei exhibited different behaviors.
One type of soul retained memories from their life and knew clearly how they had died. They possessed lingering attachments from their lifetime, so after being reincarnated by Edo Tensei, they clearly understood they were already dead; they had merely been revived by some special means.
Another type of soul also retained memories from their life, but for them, their worldly wishes had already been fulfilled. So, their experience after being reincarnated by Edo Tensei was simply: they died, and the next thing they knew, they opened their eyes here. This implied their souls had fallen into a deep sleep after death.
But judging from Naruto's methods, these souls that should have gone to the Pure Land had instead undergone varying degrees of mutation due to the energy of the Pure Land, becoming irrational monsters.
And according to Naruto's words, these were all failed products.
So, what would successful experimental subjects be like?
If they could retain their consciousness from life, would this be another form of immortality?
To be able to ruthlessly experiment on ninja souls… it seems Naruto isn't as gentle and amiable as the rumors say, nor does he seem like someone who has inherited the Will of Fire.
Looking at the smiling Naruto, Orochimaru suddenly felt a long-absent excitement stir in his otherwise calm heart.
It was the excitement of recognizing a kindred spirit.
He looked at Naruto, his tone quite urgent:
"Why does your Kekkei Genkai cause souls to mutate? If the experiment is successful, what will happen to the soul?"