Resurrection, Schemes!

Hiruko initially suspected Black Zetsu, that great filial son, but later felt it was unlikely. Black Zetsu had never monitored him from beginning to end.

Hiruko later suspected that old Sage of Six Paths, but he had no good way to keep the old man under surveillance.

Besides, he had contingencies of his own. At worst, he could flee the ninja world, grow stronger, then come back and crush the bastards trying to scheme against him.

What he needed most right now was to perfect the Chimera Technique.

Before the ritual was completed, the Chimera Technique could only devour four sacrifices to gain power and make up for his own shortcomings.

As for the fifth sacrifice, it could only be added on the day of the Golden Ring Eclipse.

Though the transformation was crucial, Hiruko had no intention of directly devouring living people with self-awareness.

He chose to clone his own somatic cells and cultivate embryos without activating their consciousness.

He then fused those embryos with ninja cells possessing special traits that he had collected over the years, transforming them into artificial humans to serve as sacrifices for the Chimera Technique.

Those who successfully survived the experiments and possessed special abilities were implanted with tiny fragments of Hiruko's soul, allowing him to attune to and control them.

Once the time was right, he could devour those individuals in one stroke and strengthen himself.

In a sense, Hiruko's obsession with immortality was no less intense than Orochimaru's.

The laboratory where Hiruko was currently staying lay three thousand meters underground.

A cramped laboratory was hidden there.

Rows of specialized high-tech cultivation tanks lined the room, each containing a different individual with Hiruko's face but a distinct style.

Special tattooed curse marks were branded onto their bodies. This was how Hiruko identified and controlled them.

Hiruko had secret laboratories hidden not only in Konoha, but throughout every corner of the ninja world, each preserving large numbers of such individuals.

They were both backup vessels for Hiruko's devouring plan and contingencies he had left behind in case he was suddenly killed.

To be honest, Hiruko and Orochimaru were truly very alike.

Killing Hiruko for good was extraordinarily difficult.

As for this method of resurrection, Hiruko had modeled it after Orochimaru's approach.

Kill one, and I still have thousands upon thousands more.

Even Orochimaru, whose ninjutsu was still incomplete, could not compare to Hiruko in terms of survivability. His survival ability was MAX.

Once Hiruko's body left in the outside world died, he would use his modified and perfected Soul Transformation Technique, with a soul fragment as the catalyst, to resurrect himself in a new body.

This method made Hiruko almost pseudo-immortal.

Over the years, Hiruko had been researching how to break through the limitations of the Chimera Technique so that he could accept every ability without restraint.

Unfortunately, although the Chimera Technique had become increasingly refined over the past decade or so, and his biological technology and expertise had steadily improved,

he still had no clue how to make a breakthrough in the mystical aspect of the Chimera Technique.

Perhaps only by traveling to different worlds and acquiring more knowledge could he make a breakthrough.

Minato then said seriously to Hiruko, "Please do not tell any more people about this matter, Senior Hiruko."

For Konoha, Kushina was the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki. Her pregnancy could not be kept hidden from everyone, but the fewer people who knew, the better.

Hiruko nodded. "Don't worry. Aside from Tsunade, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and a few others, I do not have many friends in Konoha. Even if I wanted to tell someone, there would be no one to tell."

Minato then asked, "As for the money, I will send it over as soon as possible. But is it really alright for Kushina to receive the injection directly?"

He sounded somewhat worried.

Hiruko answered calmly, "If old men like Danzo use it, there is over a fifty percent mortality rate.

"It also requires additional calibration and cellular regulation techniques to further reduce the risk."

"Young people naturally have no problem. Kushina's vitality is far too strong! The success rate is one hundred percent! If you are worried, she can receive the injection at my laboratory!"

"Ah, well... Lord Third probably would not agree to that," Minato said awkwardly.

Minato naturally held no wariness toward Hiruko, but the Third and the others would never place complete trust in anyone.

Hiruko did not mind.

"By the way, Minato, I want to open a factory. Do you know what procedures I need to go through?" Hiruko asked.

"Senior Hiruko, what kind of factory are you planning to open? Some industries cannot be established freely in Konoha," Minato asked cautiously.

"Oh, I want to open a salt factory. The Research Department needs to find ways to secure its own funding, so..." Hiruko replied casually, seemingly unaware of the problem.

Minato immediately revealed an awkward expression and explained, "Lord Hiruko, salt is monopolized by the Land of Fire's daimyo and nobles. It will probably not be easy for Konoha to get involved..."

There was a trace of helplessness in his voice. Konoha wanted Orochimaru and Hiruko to develop new things, yet did not want to invest any money.

That was undoubtedly an attempt to reap benefits without paying, and now they would not even let them open a factory to make money.

"If we can consolidate the entire salt industry of the Land of Fire, that would be good too." Hiruko seemed not to understand the deeper meaning in Minato's words at all and still insisted on his idea.

"Senior Hiruko, there have been some unusual movements from the Hidden Cloud Village recently. It would not be good for us to make too much noise," Minato tried to make Hiruko understand the current situation.

"It is fine. Discuss it with the Third Hokage. With a salt factory, many of our plans can be set in motion. We might even have a chance to unify the ninja world!" Hiruko said confidently.

"Th-this... I will discuss it with Lord Third." Minato was briefly speechless, unsure how to respond.

He then changed the subject and asked, "By the way, Senior Hiruko, I heard that you once proposed building transportation infrastructure to connect the entire world.

"The proposal included not only railway and train projects, but also ideas for air transport and even spatial transportation of objects.

"What I want to ask is, can these things truly be realized?"

Minato had discovered those words by chance while reviewing documents submitted over the years.

That document had actually long since been discarded as trash, but Minato had developed a strong interest in its contents.

The future world depicted in that document was simply too wonderful, so wonderful that it was unbelievable. It would allow every civilian in the ninja world to eat their fill, wear warm clothes, and receive an education.

It was far too unreal, so unreal that no one was willing to believe it could be true.

In any case, the bottom of the document was filled with criticism from old fools condemning Hiruko for his wild fantasies.

But could the things written in that document truly be realized?