Eternal Bodies and Souls

"Thank you all for your hard work, don't worry!" Shuichi patted his chest and said, "As long as I have enough energy, you can be reborn with a new look every day."

He picked up a shumai from a plate and popped it into his mouth. "Mmm, it tastes pretty good. Did you add a little extra soy sauce this time? I've noted it down; I can make some changes next time."

The Third Hokage glanced at the large amount of food on the table: steamed buns, shumai, sushi, milk, and more. Each item looked very appealing and made their mouths water.

"How come you still have time to research how to make food?" He sat down, somewhat speechless. The aroma wafting through the Villa was making him hungry. "If you can, I'll have some too."

Shuichi waved his hand generously. "It's a rare treat for the Lord Hokage to be here in person, so of course you can eat whatever you want. There'll be plenty more later if you're still hungry."

"Ninjutsu is truly a wonderful thing. Once I learn one dish, all my clones will master it as well," he remarked. "Then, when they're cooking, they can tweak the recipe according to their own inspiration, so I can enjoy different flavors every day and record the best ones."

Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't know how to refute his point of view. Chakra was for fighting, after all. But this bun was really delicious. One bite and the soup burst out. Mmm... it was really fragrant!

"But your actions might corrupt the atmosphere of Konoha," the Third Hokage said, somewhat annoyed. "Besides, you've made too much of a fuss. Those whistleblower letters have already demonstrated the problem, and many ninjas will probably feel resentful."

Upon Shuichi immediately retorted, "I'm setting a goal for the village ninjas, okay? It'll motivate them to work harder on missions and earn money. Seeing my life will give them the drive to strive!"

"And don't think I don't know, the village's revenue has definitely increased a lot recently, which means the ninjas are spending money faster, which is more beneficial to the village's cash flow system."

"..."

The two sides debated while eating, but the Third Hokage quickly found himself at a disadvantage, as recent changes seemed to be entirely in Konoha. Whether this would lead to a decline in everyone's morale in the long run was unknown in the short term, since ninjas could not be judged by common sense.

After finishing their meal, the two finally reached a preliminary agreement. Shuichi knew that he couldn't be too arrogant in Konoha, so he agreed to the Third Hokage's several conditions and said that he would keep a low profile in the future.

The Third Hokage tacitly allowed him to continue living here, but the surrounding walls and the exterior of the Villa needed to be somewhat concealed, as they could not maintain such a glamorous appearance year after year.

In other words, on the surface, the buildings will be "assimilated" to resemble those in the village, but no one will care about the interior spaces.

He is now preparing to proactively meet with some promising young ninjas, urging them to focus more on training and missions rather than on enjoying themselves, and to avoid learning Shuichi's bad habits, so as to prevent a significant decline in the combat quality of Konoha Ninja in the future.

Young people still need to experience hardship and shouldn't be too indulgent...

"Because of your actions, my workload has increased again, so you must cooperate with the Security Force to carry out patrol duties during normal times." Sarutobi Hiruzen felt his hair falling out faster. Hokage is really not easy; there are so many miscellaneous and troublesome things to deal with.

In the blink of an eye, more than half a year has passed.

Since Iwagakure's failed invasion last year, other countries in the Shinobi World have realized that Konoha remains a formidable force and is not to be trifled with, and that everyone needs a long period of recuperation. As a result, friction among neighboring small countries has decreased significantly.

In Konoha, Shuichi patrols the streets wearing his favorite Sky Blue Denim Outfit, with a Shuriken symbol printed on the back.

These are the badges of the second and third squads of the Security Department. They're basically just the old billiard paddles that were removed from them. The so-called third squad still only has him.

It took quite some time for the villagers to get used to the differences between the two Security Department, and the frequent minor conflicts that had occurred before have improved.

After communicating with the Third Hokage last year, Shuichi often participated in village security missions even when he wasn't on a mission, setting an example for many young ninjas. Even after moving to a better house, he still maintained a hardworking attitude.

Otherwise, if he doesn't show up often, everyone will definitely speculate that he's having a blast in his big Villa, which will inevitably make more people want to enjoy themselves, and the Third Hokage's lectures won't have much effect.

"Sigh, I never thought I'd be exploited one day!"

Shuichi didn't receive a single penny for his patrol work. In the words of the Third Hokage, "You can afford such a nice house, so that little bit of salary is nothing. You might as well just give up on it."

He was carrying a book and reading as he walked. He quickly and skillfully made his way to the location of the Barrier Team. The staff there had become familiar with him and handed him a report after greeting him.

"Lord Shuichi, this is a summary of chakra reaction frequencies for every direction within the village. Please take a look."

Shuichi took the document and glanced at it. There was nothing unusual about it. It seemed that the other party had learned his lesson. If he was really stubborn and kept trying to squeeze into the village, he would not be able to keep it from the Third Hokage of people anymore.

"Hmm?" Shuichi had just put down the report when a thought struck him. Sensing something, a smile appeared on his lips as he said to the ninja on duty beside him, "I have some missions to complete. Excuse me, I must take my leave now."

As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished from the spot, clearly having used the Flying Thunder God Technique to leave. This gave the remaining personnel a little topic of conversation, and everyone was still speculating about what Shuichi's urgent mission was.

Not far from the Forest of Death, a number of Konoha Ninja could be seen walking around.

Aside from the main city protected by the city walls, Konoha's controlled area is quite large, with many surrounding areas serving as important facilities for the village, such as various training grounds and exercise fields.

Beneath a large tree, a white object rose from the overgrown ground; upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a white figure possessing a human body.

After it appeared, it surveyed the surrounding area and then focused its attention on the Konoha Ninja, especially the staff members who were relatively isolated.

Where are you looking?

Suddenly, a mocking laugh came from behind, accompanied by an immense amount of chakra that could be easily sensed.

"Not good..."

White Zetsu realized the situation was bad and tried to retreat underground to escape, but its movements were ridiculously slow in the eyes of its opponent. It only felt a breeze blowing from its side before its neck was tightly gripped.

With Shuichi yanked the entire thing out of the ground and then Hand Seals to completely control it with Genjutsu.

"What incredible luck today! We actually managed to catch a White Zetsu at this surveillance point."

Since the new Barrier in Konoha began operating, he has captured a total of two White Zetsu.

The process always involves first receiving a notification from the Barrier Team, and then flying directly to the coordinates.

During his report, he concealed something from the Third Hokage, explaining that the suspected perpetrator of the Nine-Tails' Rampage was trying to infiltrate Konoha again, and might have sensed his chakra approaching, so he ran away without showing himself.

It seems that White Zetsu also discovered something, and he did not reappear for a long time until today when he was seen by his Super Beast Imitation Drawing.

"Brush!"

Shuichi left the scene with the White Zetsu, completely unaware of the danger, and the nearby staff had no idea that they had just narrowly escaped death.

Somewhere underground, White Zetsu, connected to Black Zetsu, said somewhat dejectedly, "Konoha's defenses are too tight right now. Another one has lost contact. It seems Obito's release of the Nine-Tails has made them more vigilant."

"Then let's suspend surveillance of Konoha for now and set up spies outside," Black Zetsu's hoarse voice came from the side. "They can't maintain this level of search indefinitely. Let's wait and see."

Shuichi, unaware that his accidental discovery had interfered with Zetsu's judgment, carried his spoils and effortlessly entered Orochimaru's Laboratory, tossing the White Zetsu to the ground. "Sensei, I'm in luck today; I caught another one alive."

Orochimaru looked at White Zetsu with some excitement. "It seems this thing is mass-produced. I'd really like to know the detailed manufacturing process."

Shuichi, it's probably best not to, that would be the moment the world is destroyed, well... actually, the unlucky ones are the ninjas with a lot of chakra, ordinary people might still be able to live normally.

"Any new ideas about the research on immortality?" Shuichi asked. "I've used the Cursed Seal a few times recently and found that its effect is starting to weaken. It seems to be nearing its limit."

"Really?" Orochimaru had a premonition, but he was still slightly surprised. "At your age, and now entering a period of rapid growth in strength, I'm quite interested in your physical talent."

Shuichi: "..."

In the Shinobi World, teenagers develop a bit earlier than in the previous life, but the development time is roughly the same, with the peak period of physical development being between 12 and 16 years old.

Currently, the system's first skill quadruples Life Energy. After more than half a year, the increase in his chakra is quite noticeable. If observed with the Byakugan, it would be a visible increase in strength.

Shuichi had gained a fairly clear understanding of the Cursed Seal after using it multiple times.

The current Cursed Seal are different from those in the original work. If you have to make a comparison, the Shuichi's body is actually the same as the many Cursed Seal monsters created by Orochimaru. That is, it only has an on/off function, and it is also difficult to control.

The process involves breaking the seal there, allowing the Cursed Seal to alter the physical characteristics, and then Natural Energy will forcefully enter the body.

For someone like Shuichi, whose chakra control and chakra reserves are incredibly strong, he can easily manipulate these Natural Energy to create Senjutsu Chakra.

Moreover, it was consumed at an extremely fast rate; a few large-scale Ninjutsu were all it took to deplete its Natural Energy, and then the erosion of the Cursed Seal was suppressed by the powerful Life Energy.

However, for those with weaker abilities, the Natural Energy that invades their bodies is like poison. If they can't suppress it, they will turn into monsters, similar to the failed stone frogs of Mount Myōboku, with irreversible consequences.

Therefore, after analyzing the original text, he quickly guessed the truth with a high degree of accuracy.

The finished Cursed Seal in Orochimaru's version must have appeared after he was reincarnated as the White Phosphorus Snake. That Cursed Seal was actually for the purpose of getting used to the reincarnation vessel.

Orochimaru infused a portion of his soul and Senjutsu Chakra into the recipient's body, essentially giving the Cursed Seal bearer two souls, though Orochimaru's portion usually remained dormant.

The reason they can freely control the Cursed Seal to enter State One or State Two is because their main soul subconsciously issues commands, and Orochimaru's soul, sensing these commands, helps them create Senjutsu Chakra.

The difference lies in the fact that Shuichi uses his own Life Energy and Mental Energy, Sound Five and Sasuke use their physical energy and Orochimaru's Mental Energy. Essentially, Orochimaru helps them control the flow of Natural Energy.

Orochimaru was certainly not a kind soul working for them for free. Every time he used the Cursed Seal, it was also the time when Orochimaru's soul, which was hidden within them, became active, and the souls of the two would inevitably merge.

Therefore, the more you use those finished Cursed Seal, the easier it is to lose yourself.

The longer the time, the more suitable they become as vessels, and the less rejection this body will have when Orochimaru undergoes reincarnation.

When Shuichi asked about the plan for immortality, Orochimaru thought for a moment and said, "It's not completely decided yet. Danzo has recently prepared a lot more test subjects, so we can continue the experiments."

"Considering the increasingly rare occurrence of the White Monster, this living one is extremely valuable, and I need to prepare for a while longer."

To achieve immortality, one must simply work on both the soul and the body; ideally, both should be accomplished simultaneously.

With current technology, creating an immortal physical body is virtually impossible because the number of times a normal human Cell Division is limited. Therefore, pursuing the path of spiritual immortality seems more feasible.

In the original story, Orochimaru probably only started researching White Zetsu after his reincarnation. Now, Shuichi has found several White Zetsu for him years in advance, so of course he wants to extract as much value from them as possible.

For Danzo, his goal was to use Hashirama Cells to create Wood Release Ninja, and if the technology matured, he would definitely use it on himself.

Orochimaru, however, valued the enduring Life Energy of Hashirama Cells. Since the soul needs a physical body to sustain it, the path to immortality was bound to be risky, so he needed to thoroughly research all aspects before making a decision.

"This is a record of the results from the last experiment; you can take a look."

Shuichi took the document and read it. Orochimaru had used White Zetsu's body to create an improved version of the First Hokage Gene Fluid, which he injected into many test subjects. The survival rate was quite high, but basically no one could use Wood Release; at most, their Life Energy was significantly enhanced.

Because the first White Zetsu was completely destroyed, the excessive Life Energy turned it into a large tree.

Having learned his lesson, Orochimaru became much more conservative in his methods, and due to a lack of resources, he could only choose to gradually increase his strength.

"Then you can take your time with your work. Just let me know if anything comes up."

After reading all this, Shuichi left the lab. He couldn't leave his post for too long during work hours, but he was quite curious about the future. "Could it be that Konoha will have several more Wood Release Ninja in this lifetime?"