Hope of the Ninja World 2

The Luck Cultivation System? I've never heard of it!

They had all assumed Uchiha Naro was going to spout the usual nonsense about founding an organization or being some child of destiny. They hadn't paid it any mind; Nagato had even been about to leave. But when they heard it was a new cultivation system, they were all drawn in.

"The traditional shinobi system relies on chakra," Naro began explaining. "The amount of chakra you have, how precisely you can control it, the interplay between its different natures... all of it depends on your talent and aptitude. Some people are born with a lot of chakra, while others are born with very little. Some are born able to awaken the Sharingan, while others can never awaken it in their entire lives. This system is fair by nature, and unfair by nature, too."

He paused.

"But the Luck Cultivation System doesn't require chakra. Its core is gathering and using an entire nation's 'fortune' for cultivation."

"Fortune?" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"A nation has land, people, resources, and culture. When all of these things come together, they produce an intangible power called fortune," Naro explained. "The stronger a nation becomes, the stronger its fortune. Fortune can be bestowed upon its ruler, increasing his strength and blessings. When the ruler grows stronger, the nation grows stronger, and its fortune flourishes. It's a positive cycle."

The three of them fell silent. They understood his words, but couldn't quite grasp the concept, because the word "fortune" had never appeared in the Ninja World before. They understood each character on its own, but put together, the word left them at a loss.

Seeing the question marks practically swirling above their heads, Uchiha Naro felt a headache coming on. He could only continue explaining. "Taken separately, 'qi' refers to the elements that make up everything in the Ninja World, while 'fortune' refers to the laws governing how everything in the Ninja World changes. Combined, the simplest and most direct explanation is that it refers to a long-term, ongoing trend that influences the fate of a nation, clan, or individual."

"You mean you can change the fate of a nation, clan, or individual through cultivation?" As the most widely read and well-studied among them, Orochimaru was the first to understand Uchiha Naro's explanation. He hadn't grasped it entirely, but at least he understood some of what Naro meant.

"More or less. The fortunes of a nation, clan, and individual all affect one another; no type of fortune exists in isolation." Seeing that someone had finally managed to follow his train of thought, Naro breathed a sigh of relief and continued. "For example, a ruler can bestow his nation's fortune upon anyone within it, increasing their cultivation speed and combat strength. The entire ruling class can benefit from fortune's enhancement."

"But... what does that have to do with chakra? We're all shinobi. We can't just give up ninjutsu," Orochimaru said. He had followed some of Naro's reasoning, but still didn't fully understand.

"Think of wind and fire," Naro said, shaking his head. "Chakra is fire. It belongs to the individual. Those with talent are strong, and those without it are weak. Fortune is wind. The stronger a village, clan, or nation's fortune becomes, the stronger everyone within it becomes. Wind and fire are different elements, but wind can fan the flames."

"This system gives everyone a chance. Even if your chakra talent is terrible, as long as you choose a sufficiently powerful nation, you can receive enough fortune to become a strong fighter who's no less capable than any genius."

Tsunade furrowed her brow. "Isn't that still relying on talent? A nation's strength depends on its ruler and ruling class. If the ruler is incompetent, its fortune will be weak, and everyone will be weak."

"That's why the core of the Luck Cultivation System isn't the individual. It's the collective. It forces people to unite and build their nation together. One person being strong is useless. What matters is the strength of the whole nation."

Tsunade stared at Naro for a long moment before finally speaking. "Even if this fortune system you're talking about is real, what does it have to do with us?"

Orochimaru nodded as well, his golden, slit-pupil eyes appraising Naro. "You're just a young Uchiha who created a new cultivation system. That's certainly surprising. But you didn't call us here just to give us a lecture, did you?"

Nagato said nothing, but his eyes made it clear that he had the same question.

Naro set down his teacup and smiled. He knew it was no small thing that people from three different factions had listened to him ramble for this long. Now it was time to give them something substantial.

"Don't rush. Before I answer that, let me show you the truth—something you've all been longing to learn."

He turned to Shisui, who stood behind him.

"Shisui, you don't need to hide it anymore."

Uchiha Shisui nodded slightly. Then his body began to change. The eyes on his handsome face gradually sank inward, as if something had gouged them out, leaving only two empty, bloody sockets. Savage wounds appeared across his face, neck, and hands. Some looked like cuts, others like burns; they crisscrossed his body in a horrifying sight.

His clothes changed, too. The dark fabric became tattered rags stained with blood, revealing the mangled flesh beneath. Blood still seeped from the wounds, dark red trails running down his body and dripping to the floor with a sizzling sound.

Most unnerving of all was the aura that emanated from him—cold, evil, and full of malice. He seemed like a vengeful ghost crawling out of the depths of hell, carrying with him endless hatred and pain. The aura washed over them, making even the air feel thick and sticky.

Shizune cried out and backed away several steps, clutching Tonton, her face deathly pale. Tsunade's pupils contracted sharply, and she instinctively took half a step back. Her hemophobia had improved considerably, but she still found Shisui's appearance hard to stomach.

Orochimaru's slit pupils shrank to pinpoints, and the smile vanished from his face. He had seen plenty of strange things, but this... It didn't look like ninjutsu or genjutsu. It seemed more like a real "ghost."

Nagato's Rinnegan glimmered faintly as he stared at Shisui, seemingly deep in thought. Behind him, Konan had already placed a hand on her kunai, paper petals drifting around her.

"This... this is..." Tsunade's voice was tight.

"This is what Shisui truly looks like," Naro said calmly, as if he were talking about something perfectly ordinary. "An evil spirit. The resentment he felt in life didn't dissipate after his death. He kept absorbing more resentment until he became a vengeful ghost. Someone gouged out his eyes, and his body is covered in fatal wounds. He died horribly."

Shisui stood motionless behind Naro, his two empty eye sockets facing the three of them. The evil aura kept pouring off him. It had become so dense that everyone could see wisps of black smoke rising from his body, making them all deeply uncomfortable.

"He died from his grievous injuries after Shimura Danzō ambushed and surrounded him," Naro said. "I used the fortune of the Uchiha Clan to keep his soul by my side. Otherwise, his soul would have been drawn into the Pure Land and turned into someone else's puppet."

"An evil spirit? Fortune? It can do that?" Orochimaru's voice was a little hoarse. He was now extremely interested in Uchiha Naro's cultivation method!

"At a certain level, cultivating fortune allows you to interfere with the netherworld." Naro stood up, walked over to Shisui, and patted him on the shoulder. Shisui's true form as an evil spirit slowly returned to that of an ordinary person. The empty sockets became his handsome face again, and the wounds disappeared.

But the evil aura lingered in the air long after, refusing to dissipate.

"The Canonization Technique," Naro said. "By drawing upon fortune, you can keep the souls of the dead in the mortal world in the form of 'spirits.' They can't do everything a living person can—for instance, they can't eat—but at least they don't have to be bound by the Pure Land or exploited by the one behind the scenes."

"The one behind the scenes?" Tsunade had now completely overcome her hemophobia. She was intensely curious about Shisui's existence. Her mind had returned to the days when she was one of the Sannin, and she immediately caught the hint in Naro's words. "What do you mean?"

Naro nodded inwardly at Tsunade's question and continued explaining. "Before I get to that, I'd like to ask Orochimaru-senpai a question."

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. "What question?"

"You've already developed Impure World Reincarnation, haven't you?"

Orochimaru's expression changed slightly. Impure World Reincarnation was a forbidden jutsu devised by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. In theory, it could summon the soul of the dead back from the Pure Land and place it in a living person's body, allowing the dead to be resurrected. He had indeed studied the jutsu, and had successfully conducted experiments with it.

"How did you know?" Orochimaru neither admitted nor denied it. Instead, he asked Naro a question in return.

"I guessed." Naro nodded. Orochimaru's question had already told him a lot. "You're interested in every forbidden jutsu. There's no way you wouldn't study one as important as Impure World Reincarnation. And judging by your reaction, I'd say you've already succeeded, haven't you?"

Orochimaru neither confirmed nor denied it, but his silence was answer enough.

"Then let me ask you something else. Do the people you bring back with Impure World Reincarnation remember the Pure Land? Do they know what they experienced there?"

Orochimaru was taken aback. He had never paid attention to such minor details. He began recalling the experiments he had conducted. Those he'd brought back with Impure World Reincarnation had their memories, personalities, and fighting abilities from when they were alive.

But... he had never asked about their memories of death or anything concerning the Pure Land, and they had never brought it up. All those summoned by Impure World Reincarnation had only their memories from before they died. They knew they had died and been resurrected, but no one had ever said what happened in between. It was as if, for their souls, that span of time had been completely frozen.

"No," Orochimaru replied. "It's as if they have no memory of being in the Pure Land. They don't remember anything about it."

Naro nodded. "That's the problem."

He turned to the three of them, his voice growing serious.

"While researching the Method of National Fortune, I discovered something extraordinary—the cycle of reincarnation in the Ninja World has gone wrong."

Tsunade frowned. Uchiha Naro had brought up yet another theory they knew little about, so she asked outright, "Reincarnation? What does that mean?"

Looking at the five people before him, Naro sighed aloud for the first time in front of them, lamenting the Ninja World's skewed and suppressed knowledge.

"Go back and learn more about the history of the Ninja World. Shinobi haven't always existed. Before the age of shinobi, people in the Ninja World actually practiced the Yin-Yang Way. Even now, there are still some surviving teachings and ruins from the Yin-Yang Way. Even the Senjutsu practiced in the Three Great Sage Regions originated from it."

"According to the teachings of the Yin-Yang Way, after death, a soul has two choices. Those who practiced the Yin-Yang Way go to the divine realm of the deity they worshipped, where they continue their cultivation. Ordinary people go to the Netherworld. After passing through certain procedures, they reincarnate and begin a new life. This is a law of the world, and it has existed since ancient times."

Naro paused to give them time to digest this buried history.

"But that law has now been broken. Knowledge of the Netherworld has been buried and replaced by a place called the 'Pure Land.' After souls enter the Pure Land, they don't reincarnate. They're forcibly kept there and slowly worn away over endless ages. As for what the master of the Pure Land does with those souls, I don't know—and I don't want to know."

They were still trying to digest what reincarnation meant. But as soon as they heard Uchiha Naro mention the Pure Land, they immediately sensed something was wrong. Their expressions changed.

"You think the Pure Land has a master?" Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, his voice low. Of them all, he had studied death the most—and he was also the one who most wanted to escape it.

"It does." Naro nodded, agreeing with Orochimaru's suspicion. "And that master is far more powerful than we are. He controls the souls of all the dead. The cycle of reincarnation across the entire Ninja World is in his hands alone."

"That's impossible..." Tsunade instinctively argued. "Who could control what happens after someone dies?"

"Tsunade-sensei, you must have seen the Second Hokage's Impure World Reincarnation." Naro looked at Tsunade, who was still clinging to a faint hope, and dispelled it with the most straightforward example. "What is the jutsu's essence? It pulls souls back from the Pure Land. If the Pure Land has no master, why is there a 'place' specifically for storing souls? If no one controls it, why can't those souls return on their own?"

Tsunade opened her mouth, about to argue again, but Naro raised a hand to stop her and continued with another example. "Your grandmother was from the Uzumaki Clan. She must have known an Uzumaki Clan forbidden jutsu called the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. Even if your grandmother never told you about it, Naruto's mother, Kushina Uzumaki, should have. Just as the jutsu's records describe, not long ago Uchiha Fugaku used it to summon the Death God and seal Shimura Danzō's arms and eyes."

"So, Tsunade-sensei, have you ever heard of the Death God in the history of the Ninja World? The history you've studied was passed down orally by the various clans, then compiled later. Much of it reflects the storytellers' personal views, and it has long since lost a great deal of the truth. I recommend looking through the libraries of the various nations' daimyō. They rarely suffer the destruction of their clans and the loss of their traditions."

"And while searching for the truth, I discovered something else." Seeing that Tsunade had fallen silent, Naro returned to what they had been discussing.

"Right now, only two people in the entire Ninja World can reincarnate. One keeps being reborn into the Uchiha Clan; the other keeps being reborn into the Uzumaki or Senju Clan. The most recent reincarnations, from the past few years, are..."