Notes on Researching an Immortal Body

Viscous blood soaked into the stone platform as the cultists' slaughter drew to a close.

On the platform, only a few lonely children remained, trembling where they stood. Pale yellow liquid continuously dripped down their pant legs. Yet despite being terrified to this extent, they still could not move an inch.

A mysterious force had restrained their movements.

At the very brink of life and death, Rinto's desperate will to survive erupted, allowing him to move a little.

Rinto's lonely head lay tipped over on the ground, his unblinking eyes fixed on those pitiful children.

Am I going to die? Sigh, how tragic!

Countless thoughts involuntarily surfaced in his remaining head.

They said death was a return to a warm embrace, that death was the source of all peace.

Hurry up and end my suffering!

Take me to the beautiful Sea of Spider Lilies!

Take me to the vast banks of the River of Forgetfulness!

Let me taste some delicious Meng Po's Soup!

Eh? Was Meng Po an old granny or a beauty again? Why did I remember that, in the manga I used to read, Meng Po was a tsundere blonde loli?

No, no. Meng Po should not be a blonde loli. At the very least, she should be a gentle, busty mature beauty.

Suddenly, Rinto froze. The corners of his mouth twitched awkwardly on his lonely head.

"W-Why am I not dead yet? Where's the Sea of Spider Lilies I was promised? Where's the River of Forgetfulness? Where's the beautiful Meng Po? Damn it, I'd already mentally prepared myself to kick the bucket!"

Rinto looked at his headless corpse in front of him, feeling a little awkward.

So... even after my head and body got separated, I still didn't die?

More than that, he could even vaguely sense his headless corpse. Other than his distorted sense of space, he could still control every part of that body.

As long as he wanted, he could make his headless corpse stand up, grab his own head, and sprint five hundred meters.

Rinto pursed his lips and came back to his senses. A name suddenly appeared in his mind—Hidan.

That guy seemed to worship some Jashin Cult. Damn it, could this be that Jashin Cult?

Rinto strongly suspected that the mysterious Jashin Cult Hidan had joined was this very one.

The killing on the stone platform had stopped. The only surviving child had been scared unconscious.

Even so, the child remained standing and could not move in the slightest.

A cold voice rang out from below the platform.

"Take away the 'gift.' Chop up all the rest and throw them into the blood pool to prepare for next time."

"Yes, Messenger!"

Rinto could no longer lie still on the platform.

Chop them up?

I can survive without a head, but how am I supposed to survive after being ground into meat paste?!

Seeing Ineyū carrying the child toward the passageway, Rinto could no longer stay put!

Damn it, getting captured was still better than dying! A bad life was better than a good death!

He had originally planned to play dead and leave this hellhole, hoping to escape disaster. Who would have thought this Messenger would be so devoid of Martial Virtue!

Ignoring everything else, Rinto desperately shouted.

"Wait!"

His voice echoed through the cave, and the entire place fell silent.

Rinto controlled his headless corpse and shakily climbed to its feet like a drunkard. It clumsily picked up his head, and with an awkward smile at the corner of his mouth, he spoke weakly.

"Um... uh... big brother, could you take me with you?"

The cultists were dumbfounded as well. Though they were executioners who killed without batting an eye, the sight made their backs run cold and chills race through their bodies.

Seeing these fierce-looking men staring at him timidly, Rinto sheepishly hid his head behind his back. With a silly grin, he took unsteady steps and stumbled after Ineyū.

Time flew by, and more than half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

Underground, in a sealed room piled with scrolls, Ineyū sat cross-legged on the floor. A massive scroll lay before him.

March 24.

Experiment: The effects of cutting on the immortal body;

Method: Blade cutting;

Conclusion: Separating bodily tissues could not cause substantial harm to the target. After suturing, the target could still move freely; after being chopped into pieces, the target's tissues displayed a tendency to gather and regenerate, though the process was extremely slow.

Remarks: 1. The target could not be killed through ordinary cutting; 2. There were no signs of enhanced strength in any of the target's bodily tissues; 3. The target had not lost its sense of pain and continuously screamed and cursed throughout the experiment.

March 26.

Experiment: The effects of burning on the immortal body;

Method: Fire Style;

Conclusion: Like ordinary test subjects, the immortal body possessed no resistance to flames. Its tissues temporarily lost activity after exposure to high temperatures; however, even if all tissues were carbonized, the target's tissues would regain activity and gather together again. It could not be killed.

Remarks: The target's body showed a powerful tendency toward self-restoration. As long as sufficient nutrients were available, any part could regenerate.

April 18.

Experiment: The effects of freezing on the immortal body;

Method: Ice Style Kekkei Genkai;

Conclusion: The target's tissues were no different from those of ordinary people. They showed nothing unusual when exposed to freezing; however, once the freezing was removed, the body regenerated itself.

Remarks: The target appeared extremely sensitive to cold and cursed especially fiercely! It is recommended to use an Ice Style shinobi for sealing.

June 1 to October 1.

Experiment: The effects of starvation and desiccation on the immortal body;

Method: Wind Style;

Conclusion: Desiccation was completely ineffective against the immortal body, but starvation would slowly cause it to wither and die. It was estimated to take one year.

October 2.

Experiment: The utilization value of the immortal body's tissues;

Method: Implantation into other test subjects;

Conclusion: Experiment failed. All two hundred and thirty-one test subjects died. The target's tissues possessed extremely powerful corrosive properties, and no method could stop them from killing the test subjects.

Remarks: The immortal body seemed not to be a gift from Lord Jashin, but a curse.

October 10.

Experiment: The effects of lightning on the immortal body.

Method: Lightning Style;

Conclusion: Lightning Style not only could not cause harm, but would also greatly stimulate the target's bodily tissues, accelerating their regeneration and causing the target to experience intense hunger.

Remarks: Lightning Style is not recommended;

Final conclusion: The immortal body could not be killed through sealing, flames, lightning, or low temperatures. It could only be slowly eradicated through starvation. Other than this, the test subject possessed no special traits and could not have Chakra extracted from it.

Final recommendation: Starve it to death!

After confirming that the scroll had reached its end, Ineyū furrowed his brows tightly and slowly raised his face, which was covered in vicious scars.

"Where is the only surviving 'gift' besides the immortal body?"

As soon as he spoke, an old man in a white coat emerged from the darkness. He stood humbly before Ineyū and said, "Messenger, according to custom, the gift has been fully brainwashed and named Haruto. As long as we obtain the blood of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, we can activate the Forbidden Jutsu: Blood Binding and trade one life for another!"

"Very good." Ineyū nodded, his expression unchanged.

"Take good care of the 'gift.' No! Take good care of Haruto. He will be the most lethal pawn in our hands!"

The Old Man in White Coat knew that this Messenger greatly enjoyed shogi. Understanding Haruto's status in the Messenger's heart, he secretly decided to take better care of Haruto after returning.

"What about the immortal body?" the Old Man in White Coat asked curiously.

"..."

Ineyū froze at once. His brows, which had only just relaxed somewhat, immediately knitted into a tight knot again.

He knew that Rinto's existence had become a burden on the organization. Relying on his immortality, the guy demanded a big bowl of Ration Pills every meal. If they did not feed him, he would desperately dig at the walls with his hands and raid other cells for food. In less than a year, he had already dug through an entire row of cells.

After a long while, Ineyū shot this tactless subordinate an annoyed glance and let out a heavy breath.

"Has he been brainwashed?"

At those words, the Old Man in White Coat's face instantly turned incomparably bitter. He replied awkwardly, "He has, but the results are strange."

"Hm?" Ineyū raised a brow.

"Uh... the immortal body seems to believe that he has become Lord Jashin's incarnation in the Shinobi World. He beats and curses people at the slightest provocation!"

The old man seemed to want to continue pouring out his grievances, but Ineyū raised a hand and interrupted him.

"Enough. From now on, use the immortal body as a test subject for the power of ninjutsu!"

"And have the preparations for the sacrifice three days from now been completed?"

The old man's expression turned solemn. "Everything is ready!"

After speaking, he closed the scroll and hurriedly turned to leave.

Watching Ineyū depart, the Old Man in White Coat thought once more of the monster known as the immortal body. He sighed helplessly, turned away, and kept muttering under his breath.

"Sigh... if you ask me, we should just starve that guy to death. He stuffs himself to death just because he can't be stuffed to death. Do Ration Pills grow on trees? My experiment budget has been cut in half because of him!"

As the person in charge of this base, the Old Man in White Coat knew Rinto's appetite all too well.

Without exaggeration, all the test subjects in the entire base consumed only one or two hundred Ration Pills a day.

But Rinto ate three meals a day, and every meal was a huge bowl. His daily food intake matched the combined intake of every test subject!

Furthermore, Rinto loved visiting other cells. The once quiet and peaceful dungeon had been turned into a bustling marketplace by him.

Most importantly, judging by all the surveillance results, this guy was a thoroughgoing fanatic. Quite a few cultists in the base had already expressed dissatisfaction with keeping Rinto imprisoned.

Simply put, not only had he gotten chummy with the guards, he had also become an enormous burden on the entire organization.

At that thought, the Old Man in White Coat's eye twitched nonstop, and he felt utterly exhausted.

"Damn it. After this sacrifice, seal that monster away!"

Inside the cell, the protagonist, Rinto, leaned leisurely against the iron bars, grinning as he bragged to the guard outside the cage.

"Jin-kun, I haven't seen you in months. Did you go out on a mission?"

Hearing this, the guard outside the cage shook his head with a bitter smile. "Isn't it all because of you, you glutton? I heard more than half the brothers in the base were sent out to make money!"

When the guard named Jin said he ate too much, Rinto openly rolled his eyes and shot the guard a disdainful look.

"I'm telling you, Jin-kun, you're far too narrow-minded.

If an organization can't even guarantee that its people will be fed, how is it supposed to win their hearts? Hm?

Take our Jashin Cult, for example. If it can't even feed me, Jashin's incarnation, how can it convince everyone to submit?"

"Oh, give it a rest! You're clearly a curse. Lord Jashin is sick of your big mouth!" the guard immediately shot back.

Rinto had said that he was Jashin's incarnation countless times. At first, when the guards saw him insulting their faith, they all tried to teach the prisoner a lesson.

After using countless methods of torture, the exhausted guards, who had racked their brains, came to a despairing conclusion: this guy could not be killed. Thus, a small portion of the fanatics began to believe Rinto's words.

In their not-so-bright minds, only an incarnation of Lord Jashin could possess such power!

And the Jin-kun Rinto spoke of was among those whose faith was not quite as firm.

Clang, clang! Jin-kun lazily knocked on the cage, preparing to end the chat and continue his patrol.

"Wait." Rinto reached out through the bars, grabbed Jin-kun's sleeve, and narrowed his eyes with a grin.

"Jin-kun, let's talk some more!

Why has everyone come back this time? I saw Captain Kawapo yesterday too. Wasn't he always out making money for the base?"

Jin-kun pulled back his sleeve, then swung his baton and struck Rinto's tightly clenched fist. "I don't know. Don't ask me," he said irritably.

With that, he walked into the dark passage without looking back.

"Tch, cheapskate!"

Rinto withdrew his arm, now swollen with a red welt. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly as he tightly clenched a golden key in his palm and sneered inwardly.

In that brief instant, Rinto had removed the key from the guard's waist. He did not know which cell it belonged to, but that did not matter.

The Jin-kun Rinto mentioned had returned from outside not long ago and taken up guard duty over this row of cages. The ring of keys at his waist was for this row of cells.

It did not matter whether this key belonged to his own cell.

Using food theft and freeloading as excuses, he had long since punched through the earthen walls separating this row of cells. At first, the guards tried to repair the large holes between cells, but every time they filled them in, Rinto would dig through them again within days. The guards became tired of it, and since no major problems had arisen, they simply gave up repairing the holes in the walls.

At first, quite a few withdrawn prisoners hated Rinto's habit of visiting other cells.

But after an adult prisoner who had bullied Rinto had his throat bitten through one night, no prisoner dared bully this monster who looked only seven years old but could not be killed.

After all, the monster did not need sleep even if he did not die. They did.

As a result, Rinto could freely visit every cell in this row.

As long as he had one key, he could try the doors one by one until he found the matching cell door.

In a corner, Rinto gritted his teeth, his little face twisting as he forcibly tore open his abdomen and placed the brass key inside.

Then, enduring the discomfort of having a foreign object inside his body, he pressed down on the wound.

Before long, the wound healed. Rinto slowly raised his head, and a strange white light shone in his pitch-black eyes.

"Freedom!"