Chapter 186:
How exactly Danzo managed to get his hands on the Scroll of Seals remained a mystery. Did he steal it, or did he acquire it through sheer influence? Orochimaru didn't care; what mattered was that the scroll was in front of him now.
After a quick glance around the room to confirm there was no surveillance equipment, Orochimaru's golden eyes shifted to a deep scarlet as his Sharingan activated, scanning the contents of the scroll he had coveted for so long.
Forbidden techniques were powerful but inherently dangerous, often unfinished, which meant they couldn't be copied and used directly, even with the Sharingan. However, the eye's photographic memory was more than sufficient to record everything. Understanding the jutsu and mastering it could come later.
The first technique he encountered was the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu. Orochimaru recognized it immediately as the first significant jutsu Naruto had learned in the original timeline. A remarkable clone technique, far superior to the basic Clone Jutsu, it allowed users with high chakra reserves to create thousands of clones without any medium. Each clone retained the user's experiences, feeding them back once dispersed.
If fewer than four clones were summoned, it was known simply as Shadow Clone Jutsu, but anything beyond that was classified as Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu. However, the potential feedback from the dispersed clones could overwhelm a user unprepared for it. For Orochimaru, though, this technique wasn't particularly appealing. He preferred fighting on his own terms and only used clones when absolutely necessary. Even then, Wood Clones were more effective for battle.
With just a quick glance, his Sharingan recorded the technique, and he moved on to the next.
Reanimation Jutsu—there it was. This forbidden technique utilized living sacrifices to summon the souls of the dead and bind them to the world, granting them physical bodies to fight. Its strength lay not only in the summoning but in the fact that the resurrected were nearly immortal, possessing unlimited chakra and resilience. Killing them by conventional means was impossible; only sealing them could end their presence.
The technique could potentially raise an invincible army, limited only by the skill of the summoner and the quality of the sacrifices. The best sacrifices were, of course, infused with the cells of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, who embodied the ideal of the "Sage body."
The technique was also influenced by the caster's power and skill level, more adept practitioners could bring back the deceased with a strength closer to their original state. Additionally, the summoner had control over how strong the resurrected person would be. Too weak, and they'd be useless; too strong, and they could become uncontrollable. Orochimaru knew he'd need to refine the technique further, but even in its current state, it was groundbreaking.