"You all know the news from the Hidden Cloud Village."
Her gaze settled on the Third Hokage.
"Why didn't my great-uncle check more thoroughly back then? And what's the situation with Uchiha Madara's grave now?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's brow furrowed even more deeply. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke, his voice aged and heavy.
"Lord Tobirama did examine him at the time, and we saw Uchiha Madara's body buried with our own eyes. Seals, barriers, the coffin, guards-every precaution was taken.
"We simply don't know how Uchiha Madara revived himself. According to the intelligence, he not only came back to life but regained his youthful body, and he even has a Rinnegan. I just went to Uchiha Madara's secret grave with an ANBU squad. His body was gone..."
He stopped there.
Tianyi lifted his cup of cold tea, took a sip, and slowly set it down before calmly picking up where he had left off. "I know the jutsu Uchiha Madara used. It was the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique."
"The Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique?" Uchiha Fugaku's voice came from across the table, unmistakably grave.
"I never imagined the Rinnegan could bring the dead back to life!"
Tianyi set down his teacup and interlaced his fingers on the table, explaining at an unhurried pace.
"The Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique is a forbidden jutsu that draws the dead back from the underworld at the cost of the caster's life force.
"The longer the target has been dead, and the stronger they were, the more life force it consumes.
"To revive someone on Uchiha Madara's level-"
He paused.
"The caster will inevitably die."
The air in the conference room grew abruptly tense.
Jiraiya shot to his feet, bracing both hands on the table and leaning forward, his gaze fixed