Visualizing the Heavenly Crystal

By the time Sarutobi Toru left Orochimaru's laboratory, it was already afternoon.

The success of the Path of the Ghost Immortal soul experiment put Sarutobi Toru in an excellent mood, and he returned home beaming.

The moment he got home, Sarutobi Toru eagerly created a Shadow Clone while his Main Body entered the Reincarnation Warehouse.

The Reincarnation Warehouse had changed drastically. Iron posts, iron dummies, barbells, and weights surrounded the Heavenly Crystal Sword, turning the entire warehouse into a small Training Ground.

After putting on the weights, Sarutobi Toru ran two laps and pumped some iron, getting his body warmed up.

Of course, considering that the weights and barbells were measured in tons, an ordinary ninja would probably die just trying to warm up like that.

After warming up, Sarutobi Toru sat cross-legged before the Heavenly Crystal Sword and activated the Spirit Transformation Technique. In an instant, his Golden Spirit Body left his Physical Body.

Then Sarutobi Toru activated the Soul Training Method, and his entire spirit body began to transform!

This was a product of combining the Visualization Method with the Spirit Transformation Technique. Normally, the Visualization Method involved visualizing something within one's mind and using the false to cultivate the true. Now, he simply transformed his entire spirit body into the object of visualization, allowing for a far deeper experience.

At profound levels, the Path of the Ghost Immortal did indeed have methods that turned one's thoughts into objects of visualization. He was merely using the Spirit Transformation Technique to employ them ahead of time.

Dan Katō's object of visualization was an ordinary Buddha. In Sarutobi Toru's estimation, Orochimaru's was most likely the Eight-Headed Serpent. As for Sarutobi Toru's own object of visualization? Wasn't there a ready-made one right in front of him?

With a treasure like the Heavenly Crystal Sword before his eyes, its visualization effect was far stronger than an ordinary Buddha statue or an Eight-Headed Serpent that existed only in imagination!

As Sarutobi Toru focused his consciousness, his spirit body slowly took on the shape of a sword. Its form gradually overlapped with the Heavenly Crystal Sword, every pattern and every curve drawing closer to it.

In the end, a golden, illusory Heavenly Crystal Sword appeared beside the Heavenly Crystal Sword, like the sword's soul, floating in midair.

In that instant, Sarutobi Toru felt as though his soul had fallen into a hot spring. The azure-blue radiance around the Heavenly Crystal Sword flowed slowly, soothing his soul.

At the same time, as his soul transformed into the shape of the Heavenly Crystal Sword, thoughts of benevolence, righteousness, fairness, and sacrifice continuously welled up in his heart.

Sarutobi Toru guarded his heart and remained unmoved. Such thoughts were external demons in the method of Soul Cultivation. Just as Dan Katō, when transforming into a Buddha during cultivation, would have thoughts of compassion and equality emerge in his heart, if one failed to guard one's mind, one would instead be assimilated by the object of visualization.

When that happened, someone visualizing a Buddha might truly believe himself to be a Buddha, while someone visualizing the Heavenly Crystal Sword might truly believe himself to be Nuwa.

A moment later, Sarutobi Toru felt his mental strength run dry. Exhausted, he reverted to his original human form.

After resting briefly, Sarutobi Toru felt full of energy again. The light emitted by the Heavenly Crystal Sword was clearly highly effective on the soul as well.

However, while visualizing, the Heavenly Crystal's light continuously radiated positive emotions, increasing the difficulty of the visualization. Otherwise, he would not have been able to visualize for such a short time.

"The difficulty has increased, but the visualization effect should improve considerably too. I'll cultivate the Visualization Method here from now on!"

After cultivating for two or three hours, Sarutobi Toru was still full of energy, yet he felt a weariness that came from deep within. Knowing he had reached his cultivation limit, he began training his Physical Body instead.

Although the Human Immortal Martial Way was stuck at the peak of Grandmaster, he could continue improving his raw physical strength. People in the One Piece world could achieve an Indestructible Vajra body through nothing but pumping iron. Sarutobi Toru, who possessed the physique of a human from that world, was naturally no exception.

After training for a while longer, Sarutobi Toru's body jolted as he received the information sent by the Shadow Clone outside when it automatically dispelled.

He opened the exit to the Reincarnation Warehouse and appeared in his room, just in time to hear the sound of someone opening the door outside.

After mastering the Spirit Transformation Technique, Sarutobi Toru had gained sensory abilities as well. He now knew that Tsunade was the one opening the door.

Well, no one besides Tsunade had the key to his home anyway.

When Tsunade pushed open the door, she saw Sarutobi Toru, who had just finished training. His upper body was bare, revealing perfectly sculpted muscles, while glistening sweat clung to his skin. Her face immediately reddened.

"Toru, you were training again?" Tsunade stepped closer and immediately caught the scent of sweat. A faint blush appeared on her face as she looked at Sarutobi Toru, her eyes revealing a trace of infatuation.

The Hormone Fruit's ability had brought Sarutobi Toru's charm to its peak at that moment.

"That's right. I was working out at home for a while," Sarutobi Toru answered with a smile, though he was already considering bringing Tsunade into the Reincarnation Warehouse as well.

After all, the truly important secret was his identity as a transmigrator. He could simply say that the Reincarnation Warehouse was something he had obtained through a fortuitous encounter. Jiraiya had found Mount Myōboku merely by practicing a Summoning Technique, so it was perfectly normal for someone proficient in Space-Time Ninjutsu to discover a strange little world.

Taking out a towel from the bathroom, Tsunade gently began wiping Sarutobi Toru's sweat. "I heard your mission was completed. You didn't go to the hospital today either. Did something happen?"

"Orochimaru's soul experiment achieved a major breakthrough," Sarutobi Toru replied. "So I went to take a look."

Tsunade was well aware that Orochimaru had become obsessed with experiments concerning the soul. Back when they were developing Artificial Bloodline, she had visited the Ninjutsu Research Department as well. Her laboratory was still kept there.

"What about you? Why weren't you at home keeping Grandma Mito company?" Uzumaki Mito did not have much time left, so Sarutobi Toru had assumed Tsunade would remain at the Senju Estate during this period.

"I missed you." Tsunade threw a direct hit without hesitation. "You came back from your mission and didn't even come see me."

Sarutobi Toru did not mention that the two of them had met every day over the past few days thanks to the Flying Thunder God Technique. He simply hugged Tsunade and said, "It's all my fault. I forgot about our Princess Tsunade."

After the two were intimate for a while, Tsunade made Sarutobi Toru a hearty dinner. He had fully inherited the huge appetite of One Piece world humans, so his portions far surpassed those of ordinary people.

Just after finishing dinner, Tsunade, who had drunk a little, cheerfully pulled out a set of gambling tools. "Hey! Toru, let's play a round!"

Tsunade's gambling habit looked adorable enough in the anime, but in reality, it was utterly disastrous. Combined with her curse of losing every bet, she was the perfect example of being terrible at something yet hopelessly addicted to it.

After repeated attempts at educating her proved useless, Sarutobi Toru used his ultimate move: the Hormone Sealing Technique!

Put simply, he adjusted Tsunade's hormones so that whenever she gambled, she would enter a sage-like state where everything felt dull and joyless. He also told her that it was his unique sealing technique, one that no one could undo.

Well, two months later, Tsunade began throwing tantrums and rolling around on the floor, pestering Sarutobi Toru every day to make him remove the seal.

Unable to bear it any longer, Sarutobi Toru could only lay down three rules: Tsunade could only gamble with him, and once the gambling was over, he would seal her again.