Reaching For A Dream by Noodlehammer

Chapter 27

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Nearly three days passed before Naruto managed to drag himself out of his depression enough to continue finding a solution to his most pressing issue at the moment. It was a ridiculously short time considering the fact that he'd simultaneously lost five people who had been dear to him, but the constant sense of urgency he felt over his diminishing life force was unaffected by his grief. Coupled with his belief that all five women truly were in a better place now, it allowed him to function again. He would miss them, but he had known that their loss was inevitable ever since he had chosen to become immortal.

So here he was, speaking to Orochimaru about a matter of considerable importance.

"Orochimaru, do you know of any scrolls about the Mokuton that the Shodai might have left behind?"

"There may have been some in the Hokage's vault, but those would have almost certainly been destroyed along with the tower." The snake Sannin answered after a moment's thought.

"So I'm going to have to figure it out for myself then?" Naruto muttered to himself with a slight grimace. Ever since he had gained the Mokuton, he had felt something, like a strange pseudo connection to nature...different, but similar to Senjutsu. His gut was telling him that it was important somehow. Normally, he would have been perfectly happy to figure it out for himself, as it was his preferred method of doing things, but he didn't have time for that in his current situation. hell, even using the scrolls would take too long, but it was better than nothing.

"Well, there is one other option." Orochimaru offered cautiously. He was leery of making the blond any more powerful than he already was, but in the current situation, their lives were tied together. If Naruto died, than so would he and that was something that the snake Sannin definitely didn't want. He had no idea if he could trust the blond to keep his end of the bargain in regards to teaching him that natural energy absorbing trick, but even he had to admit that Naruto had always been very straight forward, so maybe he was actually serious.

Instantly, gold-orange eyes focused on his own yellow ones with frightening intensity, demanding that he explain that cryptic statement.

"There is a shrine hidden in the outskirts of Konoha, far enough away that it may have survived the destruction. This is the Uzumaki Mask Shrine and inside it, the Shinigami Death Mask was kept hidden."

"Why is this mask important?" Naruto questioned with interest.

"Whoever wears it becomes the avatar of the Shinigami and more relevantly, they can release any souls trapped in its stomach if they cut open their own stomach while wearing the mask."

Naruto's mind instantly latched onto the fact that the souls of every Hokage except for Tsunade were inside in the Shinigami's gut. The Yondaime and Sandaime because they had used the Reaper Death Seal and the first two Hokage because the Sandaime had taken them with him during Orochimaru's invasion of Konoha years ago.

If the Shodai could be released, then he could be summoned using the Edo Tensei and Naruto could learn about the Mokuton directly instead of using a scroll. The only problem was that the reincarnated dead weren't obligated to speak. They could be compelled to act as long as the summoner was strong enough to force them, but they couldn't be forced to speak.

Somehow, Naruto doubted that the Shodai would be eager to spill all his secrets. Aside from that, even if he was willing, it would still take a lot longer than he was comfortable with. Not as long as scrolls, but still too long.

Fortunately, there was an alternative. It was a line of research he had pursued and abandoned during the training trip with Jiraiya, believing it to be too risky. Since he was already living on borrowed time though, he was willing to chance it.