"A good experiment to perform, then."

"Thank you."

She nods, and goes about her business.

Cam very shortly thereafter gets a message from Sasuke.

I am serious about wanting to stop Orochimaru somehow. He's maybe not the prime cause of misery on this continent, but he's the one I know about, and he makes people miserable in ways resurrection and immortality might not fix. I'd like some demon's help; it doesn't have to be yours.

What kind of plan do you have in mind? Also, if you plan to be on the field yourself I'd like to first set up someone with circles for me (and Mrindeh) in case you die.

Least violent is bribing him, as I've mentioned. He'd probably want to talk to be in person, would probably attack me if he got bored or decided not to agree, and at the stage I'm at might be successful in killing or capturing me if I was alone. A set up backup circles is reasonable, though I'll be trying to minimize risk to myself.

My plan is to complete the resurrection technique first, though, and see about breaking the Death God's seal to get at least my prior incarnation to help, if not also the other ones sealed there. Even Orochimaru would balk at that kind of opposition.

I'm hoping to approach Orochimaru with the bribe initially. If we can resolve this without violence, I'm fine. If he refuses, I plan to take whichever resurrected I've recruited, kill him, destroy his back-up bodies, destroy his other known methods for self-resurrection, and then possibly arrange for Sound to be taken over by someone with functioning morals. Possibly me, possibly a resurrected, possibly someone local. I'd rather not me, since I hate politics, but if I kill Orochimaru his followers will respect me enough that I can lead.

My current minimizing-risk plan involves sending in a shadow clone with a resurrected as a guard. Shadow clones are chakra constructs; they have their creator's memory and personality, and their memories return to the creator on their destruction. Orochimaru might still try to hunt me down, though.

Sounds like you've thought it through. Your demon assistant would be a bodyguard, or your supplier?

Plan was supplier. Bodyguards should probably be shinobi. Able to work at our speeds, familiar with our signals and culture. And sometimes having a weird power present is escalatory on its own. The resurrected would be a statement, but they're a statement within a framework everyone's familiar with.

Once precautions are precautioned I'll be happy to outfit you.

Thanks.

I should have figured out the resurrection as used by Orochimaru by sundown. I'll need other files on what he had on breaking the Death God's seal, though.

He names the relevant scroll.

Cam gets it in electronic format and emails it.

Very shortly thereafter:

This is fairly simple, but I don't know if it works. There's a specific mask within a specific shrine, both of which are named. Apparently if you put that mask on a living person, they will have a mantle of the Death God's energy, and if you cut their stomach open their life will be exchanged for the lives sealed. I have no idea how that works.

I have no idea if a mindless body relevantly counts, though if they count for the resurrections at all they should count for this.

Well, I can provide one if you want to try it. If you have a way to source suicidally depressed people you could probably talk me around on those too.

I'll want to try going for Tobirama first, I think, which means the whole complicated thing with the mask. I'll need two bodies ultimately, though only one initially, the mask, and separately some of Tobirama's genetic material. Preferably, neither body should be genetically identical to him, as I don't know if that will interfere oddly. Might be best to try this tonight. I can have something ready by then.

I don't have a way to source suicidally depressed people. Probably suicidal shinobi would volunteer, that's in line with our culture, but I'd rather it not get out prematurely that I'm doing this.

He also names the mask and the shrine (it's in the form of 'the third mask from the left on the second row from the top in the Uzumaki shrine in the Leaf'. Apparently the Uzumaki involved themselves in a lot of weird things).

Do you want me to try making the mask or does it seem likely that it's supposed to be the exact same one?

I'd like to try with a copy, first. I should be able to tell if the mantling happens, and if it doesn't I'll use the body to summon someone else. Stealing from the Leaf might complicate diplomacy, and they're unlikely to hand it over.

Legit. Should we go out a ways into the snow so if there are unexpected side effects we don't mess up the building?

I can't think of anything specific that might happen, but that's probably smart. The dead won't care, anyways.

They're convenient that way. Meet you in the atrium?

Sure.

And, a bit after moon-rise, he's there, a scroll tucked under one arm.

"Evening."

Out they go. Cam flies rather than hike or bother with the shuttle.

Sasuke keeps up. It's more a leisurely stroll.

And when they're sufficiently far away, he comes to a stop, clears a rockier area of snow, and pulls out his notes to double-check them.

Cam lands. "Say when."

He finishes the double checking, tucks the scroll into a belt pouch, resettles his knife, takes a deep breath, and says, "Now."

One of the standard healthy basement-dwellers used for med school.

Mask.