When Orochimaru first announced the bounty mission, he had already learned from the Necronomicon that a Mi-Go's corpse would dissolve within a few hours of death.
However, for Edo Tensei, there was no difference between the dissolved remains and a complete body.
The substantial bounty offered was merely a ploy by him to lure bounty hunters. Ultimately, he planned to use the excuse of the Mi-Go's corpse dissolving to slash the payout.
After all, even for Orochimaru, the 80 million bounty was no small sum.
What he didn't anticipate was that the person taking on this bounty would be Kakuzu, notorious for his love of money.
Still, the outcome remained unchanged. He spent only 10 million to obtain what he wanted—and even gained an unexpected bonus.
"Orochimaru-sama, are you planning to summon the Mi-Go?"
Kabuto's tone was filled with disbelief as his wide eyes stared at him in shock.
Although he had never personally witnessed the Edo Tensei process, he had always assumed it could only be used on humans, given that Orochimaru's experiments with Edo Tensei had always involved human subjects.
But that wasn't entirely true.
Orochimaru unfurled the prepared scroll on the ground. While pouring the Mi-Go solution from the metal bucket into the blank space at the center of the ritual, he began to explain to Kabuto.
"Edo Tensei is, in essence, a type of summoning jutsu."
"It summons the soul of the deceased from the Pure Land of the afterlife back to this world through the Impure Land. To do so, a portion of the deceased's bodily remains is required."
"This is a prerequisite of Edo Tensei and absolutely indispensable."
As the viscous solution slowly poured out of the bucket, he continued explaining the next step.
"In addition to summoning the soul, Edo Tensei requires a vessel to host the soul. If the target is human, then a living body will suffice."
"But to summon the soul of a different species, a body of the same species must be prepared. And for summoning a Mi-Go, the host I've prepared is the Shoggoth."
Orochimaru placed both hands on the scroll, and a massive array suddenly emerged from the ground, enveloping the large, amorphous black Shoggoth.
This was a Primordial Shoggoth that Orochimaru had acquired from the masked man and cultivated over a long period with genjutsu.
Its unique trait was that it would consider the consciousness it hosted as its master and could transform, reorganize, and evolve within the boundaries of what the master's consciousness could comprehend.
These 'boundaries' referred to forms derived from the host's inherited memories and what the host could intellectually understand.
For example, a Primordial Shoggoth could automatically reshape itself into a human body for Anko because it had inherited such evolutionary experience directly from her genes.
Moreover, Anko's body could be reshaped based on her thoughts—its size, skin color, and even the sensitivity of her skin could be altered.
However, it couldn't spontaneously generate a Sharingan or Byakugan because these were bloodline limits beyond Anko's comprehension.
The Shoggoth couldn't transform into something the host couldn't mentally grasp.
In theory, though, a Shoggoth possessed the ability to transform and reorganize at the genetic level. If the original host had a bloodline limit like the Sharingan or the Byakugan, it could replicate them.
This extended even to the Wood Release of Hashirama.
It was precisely because of the Shoggoth's incredible transformative abilities that Orochimaru chose it as the host for the Mi-Go's Edo Tensei.
Theoretically, a Shoggoth could assume the form of any mortal creature.
"By preparing the original body tissue and the host, the next step of this technique is to locate the soul of the intended resurrection target in the Pure Land," Orochimaru explained.
"All living beings, based on their deeds—good or evil—are bound to their karmic consequences."
"These consequences manifest in six destinations, known as the Six Paths. These Six Paths represent the destinations for all souls in the world and constitute what we call the Pure Land."
Hearing this, Kabuto's heart skipped a beat, and a name immediately came to mind: The Sage of Six Paths
Orochimaru, sensing his thoughts, continued without hesitation. "You're correct. The Sage of Six Paths refers to these six realms of the Pure Land."
"It's said that he wielded an immensely powerful ocular jutsu called the Rinnegan and used its power to escape the cycle of reincarnation, thus achieving immortality."
"But that's just an exaggeration. The so-called 'Six Paths' of the Sage simply indicate that his power was vast enough to dominate all realms within the cycle of reincarnation. It doesn't mean the Sage truly achieved eternal life."
He outright dismissed the idea that the Sage of Six Paths had transcended reincarnation because escaping the cycle of life and death was Orochimaru's ultimate ambition. He would never acknowledge that someone achieved his dream millennia ago.
In his mind, the only true immortal who could grant him eternal life was 'Umr At-Tawil.
Orochimaru continued explaining the Six Paths to Kabuto.
"The Six Paths are: Deva, Asura, Human, Animal, Preta, and Naraka."
"Deva Path and Human Path are the virtuous paths, where beings whose good deeds outweigh their sins experience more joy than suffering."
Kabuto nodded, understanding this as the adage: Good deeds bring rewards.
"Asura Path is also a virtuous path, where beings enjoy the blessings of the heavens. However, their hearts are tainted by negativity, leading them to commit harmful deeds. As their blessings diminish, they eventually fall into the Human, Animal, or Naraka Paths."
"The Animal Path, Preta Path, and Naraka Path are the evil paths, driven primarily by greed, hatred, and ignorance."
"To summon the soul of a specific being, you must search for them in the appropriate realm based on their actions during their lifetime. However, the souls of the truly powerful are typically found in the Deva Path, Asura Path, or Naraka Path."
"For instance, someone like the First Hokage should be sought in the Deva Path. Conversely, Madara would likely be in the Naraka Path. And Tobirama, who despite being a brother to the First Hokage caused significant harm with his forbidden techniques, would likely reside in the Asura Path."
The 'harm' Orochimaru referred to stemmed from the development of countless lethal forbidden jutsu—classified as harmful acts of ignorance.
"But this time, I am summoning the Mi-Go's soul. An animal's soul should be located in the Animal Path."
With that, he formed the snake seal with both hands, closed his eyes, and began searching.
Moments later, his eyes snapped open in shock.
"How is this possible? It's not in the Animal Path?"
Orochimaru closed his eyes again, searching further. A few moments later, he opened them once more.
"Not in the Preta Path either?"
"Nor in the Naraka Path?"
"Not in the Asura Path?"
"Not in the Deva Path?"
"Could it really be in the Human Path?"
At that moment, Orochimaru's attempt to locate Mi-Go's soul hit an impasse.
The Mi-Go's soul was entirely absent from the Six Paths. This discovery once again shattered his understanding.
According to his years of research into ancient texts and ninjutsu, all beings in this world subject to birth, aging, sickness, and death would inevitably pass through the Six Paths upon entering the afterlife.
It was precisely based on this theory that his Edo Tensei had previously been successful. Whether it was the soul of a great villain or a great saint, they could always be found within the cycle of the Six Paths.
Although he was aware that the Mi-Go was not a creature native to this world, theoretically, any lifeform experiencing death should have its soul drawn into the Six Paths at the moment of death.
Yet now, after scouring the entire Six Paths, he couldn't locate its soul.
Could it be that Mi-Go has no soul? No! Impossible! Only a puppet could lack a soul! A Mi-Go must have a soul!
"Orochimaru-sama?"
Kabuto, observing from behind, noticed Orochimaru had remained motionless for a long time and asked with some concern.
"Wait a little longer."
Unwilling to admit failure in his demonstration, he performed the hand seals again and resumed his search within the Six Paths.
---
In the luminous white world, his body appeared slightly transparent, his weightless form drifting in the realm of reincarnation.
The Pure Land was a place that defied easy description. To enter the world of the Six Paths, one had to exist in a purely spiritual state.
Thus, his current floating form was not his physical body but his soul.
Should he search again in the Six Paths?
Under normal circumstances, if one had a 'personal token' from the deceased—such as some part of their original body—it would be very easy to locate their soul within the Six Paths.
Missing them was almost impossible. Except in one case: the soul was not in the Six Paths at all.
At this time, he had no knowledge of sealing techniques like the Reaper Death Seal, and naturally, he could not understand such situations.
So he could only search again to confirm whether the soul had truly been missed.
Just as he resolved to delve into the Animal Path for another look, a sudden white thread appeared in his field of vision, shooting straight toward his soul.
This thread rapidly expanded as it approached him, transforming from a single thread into a massive spider web.
"Ah!"
A startled cry escaped his soul as he turned to flee.
However, the spider web pursued him relentlessly, seemingly determined to trap him.
Frightened, Orochimaru kept glancing back at the web that was closing in on him.
Am I being punished by the heavens?
Orochimaru's Edo Tensei was undoubtedly a desecration of the dead—summoning deceased souls to the physical world and exploiting them. This not only violated the will of the deceased but also disrupted their journey into reincarnation.
Since the Six Paths represented a fundamental law of the world, those who defied it were bound to face consequences.
So he viewed the enormous spider web as his punishment.
No matter how fast his soul floated, it couldn't outrun the spider web. In no time, the web expanded rapidly.
"I am the one destined to unravel all the truths of this world! How could I end up in a place like this?"
"Ah!"
The spider web swiftly entangled his entire form. Once fragile in the real world, the web now felt as strong as a diamond, binding Orochimaru's soul tightly.
When his soul regained consciousness, he was shocked to find that the Pure Land around him had vanished entirely.
In its place was a city that appeared not far away.
This city floated in towering seas of clouds, and he found himself hovering above it.
Where is this?
Confronted by this dreamlike and unfamiliar world, he couldn't help but marvel in disbelief.
A strong sense of mystery surrounded the city, and even someone like him, who had unraveled many secrets through the Necronomicon, was compelled to sincerely admire the grandeur of this fantastical megacity.
Suddenly, he felt his body becoming weightless, a suffocating sensation akin to drowning overwhelming him. Yet, his physical senses told him he was in a state of accelerating freefall.
The descent made Orochimaru feel as though he had leapt into an endless void.
Around him, incomprehensible and terrifying shadows of invisible darkness flickered past, accompanied by radiant orbs of light and the manic laughter of winged creatures.
Then, a massive rift of light appeared along his descent, pulling his body into it.
Passing through this rift, the sensations of drowning and weightlessness vanished. He now felt his feet firmly planted on solid ground.
Looking around, he realized he was standing on a street. On either side of the street were humans dressed in bizarre clothing.
In the windows of the city's buildings, Orochimaru could see indistinct shadows swirling in the darkness. Yet the residents paid these shadows no mind, as though they were accustomed to their presence.
What would terrify people in the physical world seemed to be an integrated part of society in this world.
Then, he noticed an elderly man walking along the street, clad in a white robe and a towering hat.
The man's distinctive goatee immediately made Orochimaru recognize him.
Abdul Alhazred.
The elder brushed past him without so much as glancing at him, while Orochimaru stared at him unabashedly.
As the elder's figure moved farther away, he finally snapped out of his daze.
"Abdul!"
Hearing the name, the elder suddenly stopped in his tracks, turned, and looked at Orochimaru.
"Do you know me?"
"It's me! I'm Orochimaru! The ninja who once spoke with you!"
His face reflected the same fervent curiosity he had displayed in the past, but the elder's expression remained blank.
After a moment of thought, the elder smiled faintly, as if he had just understood something.
"Ah, I see."
"You're talking about that Abdul Alhazred, right?"
"I am not that Abdul. Although our are the same, I am me, and he is him."
Faced with this strange explanation, Orochimaru was momentarily stunned, but he quickly realized what the elder meant.
The name 'Abdul Alhazred' was not the identity of a single individual but a collective title shared by many.
The Abdul he had encountered in the Nameless City was not the same as the elder before him; they were two entirely different people.
Once he understood this, his expression became more composed. He then asked, "Is this place part of the Six Paths of Reincarnation?"
The elder first showed a look of surprise, then chuckled lightly.
"The Six Paths? No, this is the Dreamland."