Deep within the forest, a few scattered stars twinkled silently, making the atmosphere eerily quiet—too quiet.
But for the dead, this kind of environment was perfect—undisturbed and peaceful.
After properly burying Shimon Hiruko, Seiki activated his Sensing Barrier and unsealed the Shinigami Mask from a scroll he carried on his person.
His right hand glided across the mask, and soon a spirit with lifeless eyes floated out.
He had delayed leaving the tent slightly after Mizuki just to capture Shimon's soul.
After all, Shimon was a rare research talent in the ninja world. It would be a waste to let him die completely.
Dazed and disoriented, Hiruko muttered, "Is this... the Pure Land?"
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but we're still in the living world."
A gentle voice came from the side, snapping Shimon to attention.
Turning his head, he gasped in disbelief, "How could it be you?"
Seiki smiled warmly. "Didn't expect to see me again, did you?"
"I just didn't expect..." A bitter, pained smile appeared on Shimon's face as he continued, "The Light of Konoha—the man praised as the embodiment of virtue—actually traffics in souls now!"
Seiki shook his head lightly. "I have no interest in tampering with your soul. If anything, I'm here to fulfill your wish."
"My wish?" The glow of Shimon's spirit flickered excitedly as he stared at Seiki. "You mean… you're giving me the chance to continue my work on the [Chimera Technique]?"
Seeing how thrilled Shimon was, Seiki almost felt a bit guilty.
Draining every last bit of someone's value in life was one thing—but even in death? Even the capitalists from his previous life were better than this.
Still, for Shimon, this should count as... a blessing, right?
At that thought, Seiki calmed himself down. "I do want to use your abilities, but in my opinion, your [Chimera Technique] hasn't been truly successful yet."
Hearing his research criticized by a so-called outsider, Shimon immediately flared up in anger despite his current helpless situation. He snapped, "What do you know? The [Chimera Technique] can transform ordinary ninjas into ultimate forms! It's the ultimate Ninjutsu!"
Seiki remained calm and responded reasonably, "And what exactly is 'true perfection'? Have you ever seen a perfectly perfected ninja?"
Shimon fell silent, then retorted somewhat bitterly, "So you're saying you've actually seen a perfect ninja then?"
Seiki shrugged innocently and argued, "I never said anyone could become a perfect ninja!"
This time, Shimon had no counterargument. After a moment of silence, he spoke hesitantly with a mix of yearning and doubt, "Wouldn't an immortal ninja who could learn all jutsu count as perfect?"
Seiki kept arguing, "Then why are you so sure your [Chimera Technique] can grant immortality?"
"Fine, this is admittedly just a hypothesis." Shimon's eye twitched slightly as he reluctantly admitted his claims might have been exaggerated, though he still stubbornly held on.
"But this hypothesis isn't baseless. Every ninja knows chakra is the combination of physical and spiritual energy. Complete chakra depletion means death. But what if we could absorb natural chakra and convert it back into physical and spiritual energy?"
Seiki asked with great interest, "You mean one's life force could also be replenished?"
Shimon nodded excitedly, "Infinite life force means any fatal injury could heal instantly. Whether it extends lifespan remains uncertain, but my Immortal Body will definitely become reality!"
Seiki nodded thoughtfully, "But what does this have to do with your Chimera Technique?"
Shimon proudly replied, "Achieving the Immortal Body requires two conditions: absorbing natural chakra and reversing chakra to its origin. Both require understanding chakra's essence. My Chimera Technique forges relationships of mutual generation and restraint among the Five Elements within the body, thus comprehending the principles of all things!"
Seeing Seiki seemed impressed, Shimon nodded satisfied and continued explaining, "Actually, this is similar in principle to Kekkei Genkai and Kekkei Tota—both involve fusing chakra natures. But this power completely surpasses them since it contains the complete Five Elements forces!"
Shimon looked smugly at Seiki, expecting admiration and amazement. Instead, all he got was a slightly disappointed sigh, "Only the Five Elements? What about Yin and Yang?"
Frowning, Shimon retorted, "Are you kidding? Yin-Yang and the Five Elements are completely different attributes. How could they possibly..."
Watching the forest blossoming in Seiki's palm, Shimon murmured in shock, "Wood Release? No, I can sense it even clearer in soul form. The power within is clearly Yang nature chakra."
"This is truly unbelievable, practically incomprehensible!" Shimon muttered, his eyes burning with excitement as he stared at Seiki. "How did you do it?"
The forest in Seiki's palm rapidly withered and rebirthed before crumbling into dust, "This is my achievement in researching Yin-Yang Release. You don't need to dwell too much on it. I'm just showing you the true way forward."
There's no denying Xiaobai's body indeed holds infinite mysteries.
During this year, although he made no progress in developing Yin-Yang Release techniques, his understanding of Yin and Yang had reached an extremely high level.
The fruits of Yin Release research were evident in his Shinigami Mask, while Yang Release achievements advanced his Wood Release (False) to the perfected Wood Release (True) stage.
Of course, this was also thanks to his innate expertise in Yin and Yang forces.
"The true way forward, huh?" Shimon wasn't discouraged at all; rather, he became more excited. "Dying was the best decision I ever made. How else could I have accessed the truth of this world?"
Seiki slightly nodded. "See? That's what people call a blessing!"
"If you didn't consider integrating Yin Release, then why did you steal the Sharingan?"
Shimon Hiruko remained silent for a moment. "The Kekkei Genkai of the Five Elements are each formed by the fusion of two chakra natures, satisfying the conditions of the five elements. In theory, only three Kekkei should be necessary."
"I acquired the Sharingan mainly for the final ritual. The final ritual is extremely important; I must control every last drop of chakra or there won't be a chance of success. Achieving that requires relying on the observational power of the Sharingan."
"I see," Seiki replied. He paused briefly before asking, "What's the principle behind the heaven, earth, and human aspects required for your ritual?"
"This ritual requires an enormous amount of chakra. The only idea I've come up with is borrowing the power of nature itself!" Shimon explained. "From my observations, a solar eclipse seems to be when natural chakra becomes most active. As for Mount Sumi, it's the place I've found where chakra concentration is strongest."
"The most active chakra?" Seiki pondered silently. "The moon was created as a seal by the Sage of Six Paths to imprison Kaguya. Could it be that the seal weakens during a solar eclipse?"
Unaware of Seiki's thoughts, Shimon continued speaking after noticing Seiki's silence. "Dealing with the Five Elements' Kekkei Genkai isn't difficult, but Yin Release's bloodline trait is a Dojutsu, while Yang Release's bloodline limit is physical constitution-related. No one in shinobi no sekai has seen a constitution-type bloodline representing Yang Release in centuries!"
"You don't need to concern yourself with that anymore. Next, I will temporarily seal you until the appropriate moment arrives to release you," Seiki said solemnly.
"I understand." As he spoke, Shimon fixed Seiki with a deep gaze. "Possessing knowledge and secrets surpassing those of shinobi no sekai, even recruiting someone like myself—what exactly do you intend to do?"
Seiki smiled slightly. "Does it matter?"
Shimon hesitated, then laughed as well. "Indeed, it doesn't matter. As long as I can continue my research and witness the completed form of [Chimera Technique] with my own eyes, what you want to accomplish has nothing to do with me."
"It's so much easier dealing with intelligent people," Seiki shrugged lightly. "However, there's one thing I must warn you about: I'll alter your identity and part of your memories to preserve this secret. From now on, you'll appear in this world under a completely new identity."
"A new identity, huh?" Shimon responded calmly. "Names and appearances are just accessories of who you are. As long as I follow my heart, those things mean nothing."
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