Resurrection

What a shame. Before she died, she hadn't even gotten to have a proper conversation with Kabuto.

"What... is this person plotting? Why deceive Kabuto, and claim he can bring me back to life...?"

Nonō turned her gaze toward Naruto, feeling utterly disgusted.

As a medical ninja, she knew there was no way to resurrect the dead in the Ninja World.

This guy... had actually used her as a pawn to deceive and control Kabuto. He was every bit as despicable as Danzo.

"Come here!"

Naruto revealed his Rinnegan and beckoned to her with a command.

Nonō froze.

"Is he calling me? Surely not. In my current state, no one should be able to see me..."

As she thought this, Nonō realized her soul was flying toward Naruto against her will.

Naraka Path: King of Hell Resurrection!

The King of Hell was summoned. It opened its mouth and extended a long golden tongue with a hand at its tip, then took Nonō's body and soul into its mouth and chewed away.

A few minutes later, the King of Hell opened its mouth and spat out Nonō, her face pale.

"Director!"

Kabuto caught Nonō and felt her pulse. Joy surged through him.

The director was alive again!

But then he remembered that she wouldn't recognize him, and his face instantly fell.

Life... still had no meaning!

"Mm... You're... Kabuto!"

Nonō opened her eyes. The sight of Kabuto filled her vision, and she excitedly threw her arms around him.

Kabuto was even more excited than Nonō. The director remembered him!

Orochimaru was even more excited than Kabuto. It really was resurrection!

"How astonishing. First, a new Rinnegan, and then the ability to resurrect the dead... These gains are completely beyond my expectations..."

Even though he hadn't managed to get Kabuto, this trip had still been worthwhile.

Orochimaru had been researching immortality for years, and resurrection was an important—perhaps even crucial—part of it.

Yet he still hadn't found a perfect resurrection technique. He had even come to suspect that no such technique existed in the Ninja World.

But now it seemed... the answer lay in the Rinnegan.

"I need to learn more about the Rinnegan..."

Suppressing his excitement, Orochimaru concealed himself even more carefully and glanced at Naruto without making a sound, so the Rinnegan wouldn't notice him.

But Naruto possessed the Nine-Tails' ability to sense good and evil.

Orochimaru's concealment was like a firefly in the dark—impossible to miss.

"Stinking snake! Had enough of staring?!"

Naruto whipped around. His Rinnegan unleashed the Hell Viewing Technique, making Orochimaru's body stiffen.

Banshō Ten'in!

Orochimaru's body flew out from behind the stone pillar, beyond his control.

Nonō was startled. She quickly led Kabuto aside to hide.

Shadow's eyes darkened. She hadn't noticed anyone hiding nearby.

"You're too slow."

The General rebuked Shadow in her mind.

Shadow nodded in acknowledgment. "We really were too slow."

The General: "..."

What did this have to do with him? She was blaming him again, when she was the one in control of the body.

"So I've been found..."

Breaking free of the Genjutsu, Orochimaru instantly understood his situation. Rather than retreating, he lunged forward. His neck stretched like putty, and he opened his mouth to bite Naruto.

Shinra Tensei!

Boom!

Repulsive force slammed into Orochimaru, crushing his internal organs. He spat blood and crashed heavily into the stone pillar, becoming a corpse.

"Bastard, I admit you've disgusted me."

Naruto seemed even angrier. He rose into the air and looked down at Orochimaru.

"Cough, cough... A king? Is that your name, or a codename?"

A new Orochimaru crawled out of the corpse's mouth. He licked his lips, his face full of curiosity.

"The dead don't need to know so much."

Banshō Ten'in!

The stone pillars on the nearby ground broke free and floated into the air, circling Naruto.

Then he swung his arm down, and every stone pillar came crashing toward Orochimaru.

Boom, boom, boom...

The earth shook violently. Dust billowed up and blotted out the sky, obscuring what was happening inside.

After a while, the dust cleared, revealing a small mountain made of broken stone pillars.

Orochimaru emerged unscathed from a gap in the rubble and mocked him. "How barbaric. You don't have a shred of finesse."

That move would be deadly against a force of ninja, but for someone like him, who was skilled in Earth Release, it was just a matter of spending some Chakra.

"Is that so? Then I'll give you something with a little more finesse."

Naruto had only been training in ninjutsu for a month, so his technique was indeed rather crude.

But he had the Rinnegan.

The Rinnegan's ocular techniques could grant life to inanimate objects, and once alive, those objects would obey Naruto completely.

So Naruto's imagination ran wild. Could he grant life to Chakra, too?

The answer was yes.

The grassland formed from the Nine-Tails' Chakra inside the Sealing Space was proof.

However, since each person's Chakra contained their own unique will, that will had to be driven out before the Chakra would fully obey Naruto.

But Chakra was the foundation of a ninja's strength. Handing over one's Chakra for someone else to use...

A normal person wouldn't do that, nor would they be able to.

But there were two exceptions.

One was the Nine-Tails. The other was Naruto himself.

Granting life to his own Chakra with Kamimusubi... That was the hardware.

Then he used Ukanomitama to grant his Chakra a soul. That soul contained the methods, knowledge, and experience Naruto had gained from performing ninjutsu... That was the software.

With both hardware and software in place, Naruto only needed to move his thoughts—like pressing a switch—and any ninjutsu he had mastered would be performed automatically, without Hand Seals.

Yes, that was right. Only ninjutsu Naruto himself had already mastered could be automated.

Ninjutsu he hadn't mastered were out of reach, even if he had a scroll explaining them.

After all, not knowing how to do something meant not knowing how to do it. What good was knowing the answer if you didn't know the result?

So Naruto still had to study diligently. It wasn't time to slack off.

Back to the point.

In response to Orochimaru's mockery, Naruto had only to think, and his Chakra rapidly drained away.

Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!

Automation worked countless times faster than a person. In ninjutsu, that meant hundreds of fireballs appeared in an instant, with more continuing to form.

Before long, countless fireballs filled the sky and plunged toward the earth as one.

The air grew dry and hot. The temperature soared as light and heat blazed in full force.

"What rank of ninjutsu is this?!"

Watching the apocalyptic scene, as if the sun itself were falling, Orochimaru's pupils contracted. With no time to think, he immediately used Water Style: Water Wall Formation.

Sizzle, sizzle...

The wall of water evaporated, turning into steam and disappearing.

He used Earth Style: Earth Wall.

The stone wall charred. Cracks spread across it until it finally shattered.

Orochimaru's body reeked of roasted flesh. His expression darkened as his hands flashed through the seals.

Boar—Dog—Rooster—Monkey—Ram.

He slapped his palm against the ground.

"Summoning: Triple Rashōmon!"