Resurrection

It was such a pity that before she died, she hadn't managed to have a proper conversation with Kabuto.

"This person... what exactly is he plotting? Why deceive Kabuto and claim he has the ability to resurrect me..."

Nonō cast her gaze toward Naruto Uzumaki, feeling a deep sense of disgust in her heart.

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

The guy before her... actually using her as a pawn to deceive and control Kabuto, he was a bastard just as detestable as Danzo.

"Come here!"

Naruto revealed his Rinnegan, issued a command, and beckoned to her.

Nonō was stunned.

Is he calling me? That shouldn't be right; after all, in my current state, no one should be able to see me...

Thinking this, Nonō suddenly found her soul flying toward Naruto, completely beyond her control.

"Naraka Path: King of Hell Resurrection!"

The King of Hell was summoned, opening its massive mouth and extending a long, golden tongue tipped with hands. It pulled Nonō's corpse and soul into its maw, chewing incessantly.

A few minutes later, the King of Hell opened its mouth wide, spitting out a pale-faced Nonō.

"Director!"

Kabuto caught Nonō, and upon feeling her pulsing heartbeat, his heart surged with wild joy.

The Director had come back to life!

However, the thought that the Director might not remember him caused his expression to dim instantly.

Life... was still meaningless after all!

"Mmm... you are... Kabuto!"

Nonō opened her eyes, and as Kabuto's face came into view, she excitedly pulled him into an embrace.

Kabuto was even more moved than Nonō; the Director remembered him!

More moved than Kabuto was Orochimaru; it was truly a resurrection!

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

Even if he couldn't obtain Kabuto, this haul was by no means a loss.

Orochimaru had been researching immortality, and resurrection was an important, perhaps even critical, subject within that field.

Yet, until now, he had never found a perfect resurrection technique, leading him to doubt whether such a thing even existed in the Ninja World.

Now it seemed... the answer lay within the Rinnegan.

"I need to know more about the Rinnegan now..."

Suppressing his excitement, Orochimaru hid himself deeper, watching Naruto stealthily and without a trace, careful not to be detected by the Rinnegan.

However, in front of Naruto, who possessed the Nine-Tails' ability to sense malice and goodwill, Orochimaru's concealment was like a firefly in the dark—conspicuous to the point of absurdity.

"Stinking snake! Have you seen enough?!"

Naruto whipped his head around, the Rinnegan releasing the Hell Viewing Technique, causing Orochimaru's body to stiffen.

--Banshō Ten'in!

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

Seeing this, Nonō was startled and quickly hid to the side with Kabuto.

Shadow's eyes darkened; she hadn't even realized someone was hiding nearby.

"You are too slow."

General chided Shadow in her mind.

Shadow nodded in admission, "Indeed, we were too slow."

General: "..."

What does that have to do with me? You're shifting the blame onto me again, even though you're the one in control of the body.

"So I've been discovered..."

Breaking free from the Genjutsu, Orochimaru instantly realized his predicament. Instead of retreating, he lunged forward, his neck stretching like modeling clay as he opened his mouth to bite Naruto.

--Shinra Tensei!

Boom!

Orochimaru's body was struck by the repulsive force, his internal organs shattering as he vomited blood and slammed heavily into the rock pillar, becoming a corpse.

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

Naruto seemed even more enraged, his body rising into the air as he looked down at Orochimaru from above.

"Cough, cough... King? Is that a name or a codename?"

A brand new Orochimaru crawled out from the mouth of the corpse, licked his lips, and revealed a look of curiosity on his face.

"Dead men don't need to know so much."

--Banshō Ten'in!

Rock pillars on the nearby ground snapped, floated into the sky, and circled around Naruto Uzumaki.

Then, he swung his arm downward, and the rock pillars smashed toward Orochimaru in their entirety.

Boom, boom, boom...

The earth trembled violently, and the churning dust and smoke blotted out the sky, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.

After a while, the dust dissipated, revealing a small mountain piled up from the shattered rock pillars.

From the crevices of the small mountain, Orochimaru crawled out unscathed and mocked, "How barbaric, there isn't a shred of technique to it."

That move was a sure-kill against ninja squads, but to someone like him who was proficient in Earth Style, it was merely a matter of consuming some chakra.

"Is that so? Then this King will show you something with technique."

Having only practiced ninjutsu for a month, Naruto Uzumaki's ninjutsu technique was indeed not very high.

But he possessed the Rinnegan.

The Rinnegan dōjutsu could grant life to inanimate objects, and objects granted life would obey Naruto Uzumaki's commands completely.

And so, Naruto Uzumaki had a brainstorm: could he grant life to chakra?

The answer was yes.

The meadow transformed by Nine-Tails Chakra within the Sealing Space was proof of this.

However, because everyone's chakra contained a unique personal will, that personal will had to be expelled for the chakra to obey Naruto Uzumaki's commands completely.

Yet, chakra was the foundation of a ninja's existence, and handing one's own chakra over for others to use...

Normal people would not do it, nor did they have the ability to do so.

But there were two exceptions.

One was the Nine-Tails, and the other was Naruto Uzumaki himself.

By casting Kamimusubi on his own chakra to grant it life... this was the hardware.

Next, by casting Ukanomitama on his own chakra to grant it a soul, the soul containing the methods, insights, and experience of the ninjutsu Naruto Uzumaki had cast... this was the software.

With both hardware and software ready, Naruto Uzumaki only needed a single thought, equivalent to pressing a switch, and all the ninjutsu he had mastered would be cast automatically without the need for hand seals.

Yes, that's right, it had to be ninjutsu that Naruto Uzumaki himself had already mastered to be automated.

Ninjutsu he hadn't mastered would be useless even if he had the scrolls.

After all, if you don't know it, you don't know it; knowing the answer without knowing the result is useless.

Therefore, Naruto Uzumaki still had to study diligently; it wasn't time to slack off yet.

Back to the main topic.

Facing Orochimaru's mockery, Naruto Uzumaki moved his mind, and his chakra flowed away rapidly.

--Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!

Automation was countless times faster than human effort, and when applied to ninjutsu, it meant hundreds of fireballs appeared in an instant, and they were still continuously increasing.

Before long, an immeasurable number of fireballs emerged in the sky and fell toward the earth in unison.

The air became parched, the temperature rose rapidly, and light and heat bloomed to their fullest.

"What level of ninjutsu is this?!"

Watching the apocalyptic scene that looked like the sun itself was falling, Orochimaru's pupils constricted. With no time to think, he immediately cast Water Style: Water Wall Formation.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...

The water wall evaporated, turning into steam and disappearing.

He cast Earth Style: Earth Wall.

The rock wall was scorched, cracks spread and expanded, and it eventually exploded.

With his body roasted by the flames until it smelled of cooked meat, Orochimaru's face turned grim, and his hands flew.

Boar-Dog-Bird-Monkey-Ram.

He slammed his palms onto the ground.

"Summoning: Triple Rashōmon!"