"You're overestimating me. I can only bring souls into this Genjutsu world and use my control over it to prevent them from acting recklessly."
"But that's all. Controlling those souls to follow my will is absolutely impossible."
After all, while this broken system is abstract, it still follows certain rules. Sometimes, the rewards it gives seem completely illogical, but most of the time, it doesn't break major laws.
Of course, those laws refer to the ones on Earth.
The 'Summon the Dead' ability is indeed powerful and has few restrictions, but it doesn't forcefully control souls.
Even if the summoned souls can be restrained using the authority of the mental network, they still have the choice to refuse cooperation and simply lie down and do nothing.
After listening to Uchiha Kai's explanation, Orochimaru pondered for a moment before saying, "If it's not about forcefully controlling the summoned souls to do anything bad, then I believe Tsunade would be overjoyed to see Nawaki again. It might even help her regain her will to fight."
Deep down, Orochimaru also felt that this might bring him some comfort—but he didn't say that part out loud.
Uchiha Kai nodded immediately, deciding that they would proceed with the plan. However, they needed to test it first to see if Nawaki could truly be preserved in the mental network for the long term.
After all, while the theory of exploiting this loophole seemed feasible, they wouldn't know for sure until they put it into practice.
Before long, the two left the mental network. Uchiha Kai stayed at home and waited. Not long after, Orochimaru arrived in person, bringing something with him.
An old, damaged Konoha forehead protector.
It was Nawaki's relic—something Orochimaru, his former teacher, had kept all these years.
With this, they could use "Summon the Dead" on Nawaki's soul. This was also something Uchiha Kai had Orochimaru bring.
At that moment, Uchiha Kai ordered Uchiha Chiri to take people outside and stand guard. Then, holding the forehead protector, he re-entered the mental network world together with Orochimaru.
After that, Uchiha Kai immediately activated the "Summon the Dead" technique.
In an instant, strange data invaded the mental network world, but it did not cause any damage.
Before their eyes, a deep, dark void gate slowly opened. The thing pulling it open was a terrifying skeleton.
Judging from this, the skill's special effects were quite impressive.
Then, from within the void gate, a small figure emerged. The moment the figure appeared, the void gate instantly vanished, leaving only that person standing there with his eyes closed.
From the outside, he looked no different from a normal person. His clothes were the same as when he was alive, without the cracks and eerie presence of Edo Tensei, nor did he carry the lifeless aura of the dead.
In this mental network world, the summoned dead were truly indistinguishable from the living.
For Orochimaru, it was as if he had traveled back in time—back to that day years ago, a day that had haunted his nightmares countless times.
The day Nawaki died!
At that moment, the summoned person—Nawaki—showed a slight change in expression. Then, he slowly opened his eyes, blinking forcefully a few times before rubbing them.
Finally, his blank gaze landed on Orochimaru.
After a moment of hesitation, he asked uncertainly, "Orochimaru-sensei? Uh… I remember… wasn't I blown to pieces? Where is this place? Is this the Pure Land? Wait… does that mean you're dead too, Orochimaru-sensei?"
By the end of his words, the dazed look on his face had disappeared, replaced by confusion and surprise.
However, his words were so "filial" that Orochimaru, who had just been preparing to experience an emotional reunion with his disciple, immediately darkened. His face stiffened, and the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
For Nawaki, his memory stopped at the moment of his death.
As for what happened after his soul returned to the Pure Land of the Ninja World, he had no idea, because the soul was in a dormant state in the Pure Land.
This was the conclusion Orochimaru drew after summoning Nawaki.
Yes, even though seeing Nawaki again caused a strong emotional reaction in Orochimaru, the world's leading scientist in ninjutsu, he instinctively began to analyze the situation.
Then, Orochimaru walked up to Nawaki, and while the little boy looked confused, Orochimaru carefully examined Nawaki's condition. He even took a small amount of blood from him, startling the just-resurrected boy.
However, the boy didn't ask what Orochimaru was doing. Instead, he nervously waited for Orochimaru to speak, showing silent trust in his teacher.
He also realized that the situation was unusual and understood that he had been summoned by the unfamiliar man standing nearby.
This was a skill provided by the system, which directly imparted relevant information to the summoned soul.
Its purpose was convenience, eliminating the need for the summoner to waste time explaining the summoning process.
All the summoned person had to do was think for a moment, and the necessary information would automatically appear in their mind.
Nawaki was experiencing this now. Once he realized that he had indeed died and was summoned by a stranger as a deceased person, his feelings were a mixture of panic and confusion.
But, with his teacher Orochimaru there, the boy felt a sense of support and wasn't too afraid. Instead, he felt at ease.
After checking everything, Orochimaru asked Nawaki a few more questions, which the boy answered truthfully. Only then did Orochimaru confirm that it was indeed Nawaki.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Uchiha Kai, but such an unbelievable event had to be handled rigorously.
After all, even if Uchiha Kai wasn't deceiving him, could the other party not be fooled by such an extraordinary ability?
As a researcher, one must always maintain a rigorous attitude towards everything.
After this, Orochimaru spoke at length with his disciple. This was Orochimaru's way of expressing his longing, but due to his nature, he couldn't say anything heartfelt.
His words came out more like a report, with a bit of a test for his disciple mixed in.
Most people would think they had done something wrong when faced with Orochimaru acting this way, and they would panic and feel uneasy.
However, Nawaki, who was Orochimaru's most treasured disciple, understood his teacher very well. He wasn't fooled by Orochimaru's indifferent tone.
Instead, he could sense his teacher's concern and showed a goofy smile similar to that of the future Naruto Uzumaki, carefree and chatty with his teacher.
But this attitude made Orochimaru's heart even more unsettled. In the end, he said with a downcast voice, "Sorry, Nawaki. It's because I failed to protect you back then…"
Nawaki froze for a moment upon hearing this, then quickly put on a serious expression.
"No, Orochimaru-sensei. This isn't your fault. I've never blamed you. After all, no one wanted the Ninja War to happen. So many people lost their lives because of it. I was just one of the many unfortunate ones."
"So, Orochimaru-sensei, this isn't your fault. Please don't feel bad about it. Besides, I was summoned to this amazing Genjutsu world, wasn't I?"
"Though I can't go outside, this world, as you described it, Orochimaru-sensei, is truly incredible. To be here is a thousand times luckier than most."
By the end, Nawaki lay back, hands behind his head, wearing a completely carefree, goofy grin.
The more Nawaki acted this way, the more it affected Orochimaru.
The man, often referred to as the cold-hearted lord in many fanfictions, opened his mouth as if to say something, but being bad at showing emotions, he simply reached out and patted Nawaki's head without saying anything more.
For Orochimaru, this was an incredibly rare show of care, one that could only be seen in the Boruto era, when even he, the Snake Aunt, could express such 'gentleness.'
In a way, Nawaki could be considered Orochimaru's white moonlight, and even more so, a deceased one, his buff maximized.
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