"So, you're saying both your 'Spirit Transformation Technique' and the 'Shinigami,' which essentially possesses the Sage's Body of the Six Paths Sage, originate from physical beings transformed into spiritual forms. The intermediate process is essentially the same—spiritual materialization?"
Tsunade quickly noticed the commonality between the two things Haseo had mentioned.
"Roughly speaking, yes, though not exactly identical. The Spirit Transformation Technique is relatively straightforward. However, the process by which the 'Shinigami' becomes the Shinigami itself is far more complex. After all, the materials and purposes differ," explained Haseo.
In reality, upon learning the truth about the "Shinigami," Haseo's first thought was of the Spirit Transformation Technique—the similarities were quite obvious.
"But I plan to use them in opposite ways. The 'Shinigami' naturally serves as a spirit body, while the spirit formed through the Spirit Transformation Technique will function effectively as a 'physical' entity, after all, it's my own spirit."
After employing the Spirit Transformation Technique, the "he" that separated from Haseo's body was undoubtedly a spiritual form, yet fulfilled the role of a tangible being...
"It sounds a bit complicated when said like this, but everything will become clear once we actually do it."
"I understand. You're talking about the difference between the sealing vessel and the sealed object."
"Precisely. In fact, I already developed such an approach before leaving Konoha, but the risks involved are immeasurable. The theoretical methodology and feasibility aren't problematic; however, seizing power from the Six Paths can never be that simple.
It's like the saying—ants may dream of swallowing elephants, but even then, not in a single bite."
Haseo's explanation might have been slightly exaggerated. Truthfully, his target wasn't the original Six Paths himself, but merely some residual powers left behind. The difference between him and the Shinigami wasn't nearly as massive as he made it sound. Otherwise, he wouldn't even consider attempting this.
"Therefore, to avoid being overwhelmed, gradual consumption may prove a better choice. The problem, however, is that this isn't something easy to nibble at bit by bit—like eating noodles."
At this point, Haseo looked somewhat grim.
He had always kind of had a thing for mental purity—he really liked staying "original" and keeping things at "factory settings." If someone dies and gets sealed into another vessel, that's manageable. But sealing a dead person into yourself? Honestly, that seriously tested Haseo's sense of personal limits...
That's why lately, Haseo had been giving himself repeated psychological suggestions, convincing himself that the Shinigami was just an alternative form of chakra or natural energy, similar to the tailed beasts.
"So then, what method did you come up with?"
"Well, now we get to the third piece of the puzzle… Originally, solving this would've taken me forever. But while randomly wandering around the Shoe Religion's hideout, I found something interesting—an item that could work."
As he spoke, Haseo placed a file in front of Tsunade.
Tsunade skimmed through it casually, and her expression immediately changed.
"This is... the 'Immortal Body'? Hmm... Definitely nothing legitimate."
Tsunade, being a doctor, had a much deeper understanding of this kind of research than Haseo did.
"It was originally Shoe Religion's research anyway. It's already great that they possess such a scientific spirit. Do you really expect them to follow moral ethics?
When inappropriate things fall into the hands of improper people, isn't it exactly 'fitting'?
Splitting consciousness and chakra throughout different parts of the body, allowing the body to maintain vitality through additional chakra stimulation even when severely injured... The theory might be correct, but in actual practice, due to excessive independence of mental aspects, a normal person's body would become like a living corpse, with dulled senses as an inevitable outcome.
This is no longer human; it feels more like manipulated puppets."
Tsunade's frown deepened as she read. These things clearly contradicted medicine and normal life sciences.
"Don't focus solely on ethical issues. You just can't let go of that old medical mindset, huh? Let's just look at the technology—specifically, the high-density slicing of chakra and mental consciousness, precise distribution control, and the technique of sinking consciousness layers.
Ultimately, achieving this Immortal Body means allowing each part of the body to survive independently while maintaining consciousness... Naturally, the smaller those 'individual parts,' the better. Ideally, down to below cellular level.
From a biological perspective, nothing replaces the brain's function. However, distributing chakra could achieve decentralized deployment of consciousness... Thus preventing consciousness gaps caused by organic damage."
"You seem pretty impressed by this. You're just sounding more and more like you're describing zombies."
"Because this genuinely solves the problem... Later methods using this Immortal Body for attacks are just minor gimmicks, merely jutsu disguised with mystical rituals. But this method of cutting, dispersing, and sealing truly represents an innovation."
"So... you're planning to test this on yourself?"
"...That does sound slightly awkward.
"Of course not. Why would I perform surgery on myself? Although it's chakra and consciousness rather than physical body getting cut, I certainly won't go that far against myself."
"Then... what do you mean?"
"Naturally, it's about slicing up 'Shinigami.' If you can't swallow it all at once, just make it into soup, right? Even if the quantity remains, changing the approach reduces absorption risks to minimum.
This special method of dispersion and preservation—we'll temporarily call it [Unorthodox Seal Method]. After all, it comes from Shoe Religion.
With [Spirit Transformation Technique], [Dead Spirit Sealing], and [Unorthodox Seal Method] combined, doesn't everything become clear?
"I understand your idea. These methods indeed have practical feasibility, but what about the risks involved?"
"They must be controllable. The critical point lies in... although enormous energy exists, ultimately it's still inert material.
Inert material naturally allows itself to be manipulated. 'Shinigami' lacks subjective resistance capability."
A huge dead whale still doesn't stand a chance against one live person.
The risk was definitely there, but Haseo believed it remained within a manageable range—his actions were fundamentally aimed at evolving the Sage Art once more.
By now, Haseo could no longer be a normal person under normal conditions. Therefore, he could only live normally while remaining superhuman… Life was simply that frustrating.
"I've already made my decision. As a ninja, one must always strive forward. How could I hold myself back just because I've stepped down?"
"…"
Whatever the reasoning, once Haseo made up his mind, there was absolutely no stopping him… When the time came for decisiveness, one had to be decisive. Everything was already in place—moving forward was the only logical step. Hesitation and stagnation were sheer foolishness.
Tsunade couldn't talk him out of it. From beginning to end, Haseo had always been someone who made his own decisions… She knew risk probability might be low—as Haseo claimed—but if anything went wrong, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Then when are you planning to take action?"
"The sooner, the better—within these few days. Once I'm fully ready, I'll begin… There's no need to delay something like this."
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