"Is that Duanti Lian really Anko's reincarnation? Are you sure you haven't made a mistake?" Sasuke asked in surprise as he and Naruto sat on the rooftop railing.
Naruto nodded. "There's no way I could be mistaken. Anko died protecting me, but her consciousness separated from her soul and stayed by my side. Later, when I met the Light Sacred Dragon, he sealed her consciousness inside this Crystal Pendant. But it only contains her consciousness, not her soul. The Light Sacred Dragon told me that once I encountered the reincarnation of her soul, the consciousness inside the Crystal Pendant would recognize her reincarnated body."
"So you just have to unseal that crystal and merge Anko's consciousness with her reincarnation, and then Anko can come back to life, right?" Sasuke asked.
Naruto nodded. "Yes, but..."
"Looks like it isn't that simple," Sasuke said. "Go on. What else is there?"
"The Light Sacred Dragon and the Dark Demon Dragon told me that Anko's soul and consciousness were badly damaged. If anything goes wrong during the merger, not only will Anko's consciousness be lost, but Lian'er will be in danger too."
"That shouldn't be the main reason you're treating her like this," Sasuke said. "The merger might be dangerous, but that doesn't mean there's no solution. You have the Rinnegan. Merging consciousnesses with the power of the Human Path should be easy. So that can't be the main reason, though it must be part of it. What's the real reason?"
Naruto smiled helplessly. "I really can't hide anything from you. You're right. If the merger itself were the only problem, I wouldn't back down. There are two main reasons. First, if I merge Anko's consciousness with hers, whose consciousness will take control-Anko's or Lian'er's? There's no way around it. Only one consciousness can