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"Could the reason for immortality not be human experimentation, but rather the effect of some kind of jutsu?" Akio was slightly surprised.

Altars of this sort usually served one of two purposes. For example, the Wind Altar in the Land of Wind or the Dragon Vein's altar both acted as sealing mechanisms. But this one before them was clearly designed to harness or amplify the effect of a certain jutsu.

"If it really is a jutsu, it might be even more powerful than the Impure World Reincarnation." Akio frowned.

The two people beside him had already gone ahead, inspecting every corner of the place. The green glow reflected in Orochimaru's eyes made Akio pause for a moment.

"So that's it… No wonder Orochimaru volunteered for this mission. He must be eyeing the Hidan cult's immortality technique."

Akio stepped forward. "Orochimaru, have you discovered anything?"

He was genuinely worried that Orochimaru might one day create some kind of immortal army—an entire squad of little Hidans charging at him sounded like a nightmare.

Orochimaru blinked, then shook his head. "Nothing useful."

Akio gave him a look and sighed helplessly. He honestly couldn't tell if Orochimaru was telling the truth.

"An immortal army… whatever. My 'Optimus Prime' fears nothing."

After thoroughly checking every corner of the chamber, aside from a much larger "Jashin" statue than usual, there was nothing of particular note.

In the end, the three of them turned their gaze to the altar itself.

Akio glanced around and smirked. "Jiraiya, you go check it out."

Jiraiya rolled his eyes. This place screamed "ominous," and he wasn't stupid.

Still, after a moment's hesitation, he sat down cross-legged. Akio immediately sensed natural energy rapidly gathering toward him.

"You're going to scout in Sage Mode?" Akio was amused. He'd only been teasing Jiraiya, assuming that the strongest of them should take the lead. He hadn't expected Jiraiya—now in his thirties—to suddenly become so "considerate" of his elders.

"Or maybe," Akio added with a grin toward Orochimaru, "he's just trying to protect his buddy."

To his surprise, Orochimaru mirrored Jiraiya's actions.

"Heh… these two are something else." Akio also sat down cross-legged, waiting for them to do their thing. He might as well get a good look at both of their Sage Modes.

About two minutes later, Orochimaru was the first to enter Sage Mode.

His already pale skin became even paler, and white scales formed on his face.

"What did the Snake Sage do to him?" Akio thought to himself. The scales looked almost identical to those of the Snake Sage.

He could've sworn Orochimaru glanced at the still-meditating Jiraiya with a faintly disdainful look.

"This idiot learned senjutsu before Orochimaru did, yet he's slower to enter Sage Mode. No wonder he's getting mocked."

Still, it was for the best. Akio trusted Orochimaru's survival instincts more than Jiraiya's when it came to stepping onto the altar.

He watched as Orochimaru stepped onto it… and the scales on his face began to flake away.

About two minutes later, Orochimaru emerged, his scales completely gone, Sage Mode disengaged.

"There's some strange energy in there that erodes senjutsu chakra… or maybe the senjutsu chakra is resisting it," he explained.

By then, Jiraiya had also entered Sage Mode, his face taking on toad-like markings—and a rather sour expression.

"Orochimaru, why do you gather senjutsu chakra so quickly?"

"Idiot."

"You—!"

"Enough," Akio cut in. "Jiraiya, you'll need to work on your Sage Mode withdrawal speed. At this rate, you'd barely last five minutes in combat."

Jiraiya was talented, but sometimes he got "lazy," prioritizing… let's say, field research over training.

Jiraiya stepped onto the altar next. The same thing happened—his markings faded quickly—but…

Even after his Sage Mode dissipated, he didn't step back. He seemed intent on testing the energy with his body alone.

Two seconds later, a flicker of discomfort crossed his face, and Akio used gravitational force to pull him back.

"What's wrong?" Akio asked.

Truthfully, he wasn't all that concerned. If even children could survive standing there long enough to gain immortality, then Jiraiya—whether or not he believed in Jashin—should be fine.

Jiraiya caught his breath, still puzzled. "It's strange. It felt like a direct pressure on my soul."

"A jutsu that affects the soul?"

Akio stood. It seemed he would have to test it himself after all.

Without activating Sage Mode, he stepped onto the altar. He doubted that, with his level nine Yin-Yang attributes, any technique could affect his body or soul.

Sure enough, he only felt a force pressing on his soul, trying to bind it tightly to his body—but it couldn't shake his soul in the slightest.

"So the soul and body are forcibly bound together. As long as the body doesn't decay, the soul won't leave. Is that the secret behind immortality?" Akio realized. He'd expected something more complicated, but the truth was surprisingly simple.

"Unfortunately for me, even if I don't resist, this force can't grant me immortality. It can't budge my soul. For weaker souls, though, there's a small chance of complete fusion with the body…"

"A crude technique… wait, a technique?" Akio's expression shifted. Even while standing at the center of the altar, he felt no chakra fluctuations whatsoever.

"This isn't ninjutsu, nor is it a sealing technique… what is this?" His interest was piqued. Had he just stumbled upon another power system within the shinobi world?

"I'm going to become a cultivator," he muttered, glancing at his status screen in hopes of finding a new "Qi Cultivation" skill.

The result was disappointing—no changes.

"Forget it. Back to science." Akio sighed.

He stepped down and looked at Orochimaru and Jiraiya. "Stand back."

"Earth Release: Opening Earth Rising Excavation!"

The ground beneath the altar surged upward, shattering it completely.

"Hey, old man, we haven't—" Jiraiya began, but trailed off.

Akio waved him off, focusing on the unearthed soil.

Several chunks flew toward him, and he caught them in his hands, frowning.

"Not what I thought?" He'd half-expected another grand revelation—that this strange energy might be caused by some kind of metallic radiation.

His mouth twitched as he looked at the shattered remains of the altar. He almost regretted destroying it… almost. A glance at Orochimaru made him think, "Better this way. Hopefully, he didn't get anything out of it."

"Let's go back," Akio said. Then he suddenly felt as if he had "learned" something.

"Come on… show me a Qi Cultivation skill!"

He scanned his skill list and finally noticed something under special abilities: Curse Removal.

"Curse?"

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