Chapter 342: The Revival Plan Begins
Naruto, well, Naruto and the Nine-Tails, continued their endless "take off" in the desert.
If it had been anyone else, they would've probably given up long ago. Even if they didn't, their body wouldn't have been able to endure it.
But this was Naruto.
His persistence and determination when it came to a single task were exceptionally strong, and his body could keep up with that level of endurance.
For others, this might have felt like torture. But for Naruto, Shiromo choosing to compete in a battle of stamina felt like stepping right into his comfort zone.
And this time, that comfort zone was actually quite comfortable.
A full day passed.
On Shiromo's side, the shopping was done, the movie was over, dinner had been eaten, and the outing had wrapped up.
Watching the girls head back to their respective homes, Shiromo let out a sigh.
This damned ninja world forces people to mature far too early, mentally speaking.
Even someone like Hanabi, a well-protected young lady from a major clan, not even ten years old yet, already carried herself like a little adult.
There was no way for Shiromo to experience things like Shiroko's 'Awoo Awoo,' Phoebe's 'Chibi-Chibi,' or Xiang Qie's 'Gugu-Gaga'.
This cursed ninja world simply didn't have those cute, pet-like little girls.
Oh, wait.
Actually, it did.
They were just all little boys pretending to be girls.
That realization somehow made things even more depressing.
"What's wrong?"
Nohara Rin looked at Shiromo in confusion.
"Nothing. Let's go."
Shiromo shook his head.
After everyone else left, only the two Impure World Reincarnation "good sisters" remained.
It was finally time to begin the revival plan.
The reason he hadn't started earlier was because he needed to give Orochimaru time to prepare.
Now that a day had passed, all the key tools and equipment were ready.
The three of them arrived at the underground laboratory.
Yes, this time, it was underground.
The revival process didn't involve dangerous energy surges, so it wouldn't affect the outside. In fact, the fewer external disturbances, the better, making an underground setting ideal.
"Shiromo-kun, I've placed everything here. The equipment manuals are on the table. If there's anything you don't understand, ask Director Nono."
"Shiromo-kun, since your ability can compensate for the shortcomings of this technology, I won't continue researching this area for now. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving."
After explaining everything, Orochimaru hurried off.
In the past, a new method of revival would have fascinated him greatly.
But now, he has completely lost interest in it.
For him, having the Living Corpse Reincarnation was enough. If he transferred into a White Zetsu body, even lifespan would no longer be a concern.
Any additional revival methods would only benefit others.
Of course, it wasn't that Orochimaru was selfish or unwilling to revive others.
It was just that, after his research, he realized that the time and effort required for revival didn't match the practical benefits.
In terms of boosting combat power, there was a difference between Impure World Reincarnation and true revival, but it wasn't that significant.
The only major difference appeared at the level of figures like Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.
Aside from that, the drawback of Impure World Reincarnation was that the resurrected couldn't train or grow stronger, they were locked in place.
The increase in combat power between the two methods was similar, but the required effort was worlds apart.
Even after repeated attempts by Orochimaru and his team, revival still had countless technical issues.
However, according to Shiromo's plan, reviving Nohara Rin, the Three-Tails' former Jinchūriki, was necessary.
Others could wait, but she had to be brought back.
So Orochimaru shifted his approach. Since large-scale revival was too difficult, what about lowering the standard, attempting a one-time or limited-use, high-cost method?
Still not feasible.
That was, until Shiromo appeared.
Shiromo's new ability could grant life, not like Tsunade's method of transferring life force as energy, but truly granting 'life.'
After Shiromo demonstrated it, this bug-like ability instantly solved all the problems.
Even issues that had already been resolved could now be ignored entirely.
The only drawback was that anyone who wanted true resurrection would have to rely on Shiromo.
But that didn't matter.
The plan only involved reviving Rin. Even if others were revived in the future, it would only be on an individual basis.
Shiromo never intended to revive everyone who had died in the ninja world.
In short, since this method was sufficient for now, Orochimaru immediately halted further research in this area and redirected his efforts.
There were too many other things for him to explore.
For example, the idea he had just recently, using Naruto's body as a relay point to connect the chakra of the Tailed Beasts, combined with Baryon Mode.
That was why Orochimaru left in such a hurry.
In the room, there were four people.
Nohara Rin, Uzumaki Kushina, the "tool person" Yakushi Nono, and Shiromo.
"Shall we begin?"
Shiromo looked at Rin.
As for his bet with Naruto, Shiromo had already assumed Naruto lost.
To begin with, Naruto's chances of winning were less than 0.1%.
But then again, Naruto was known as the most unpredictable ninja.
Come to think of it, most shounen protagonists are like that, Ash Ketchum from Pokémon is the same.
In any case, no miracle had happened this time, and none would.
If Naruto had somehow won, Shiromo would have honored his promise and revived Kushina first.
The reason was simple, before reviving the crucial Rin, it would be safer to test the process on someone else to avoid accidents.
Kushina would definitely have agreed.
But now, that wasn't necessary.
"…Okay."
Rin glanced at Kushina, hesitated for a moment, then nodded firmly.
She wanted Kushina to be revived alongside her.
But then she thought about it, this first revival might be dangerous.
And her revival was part of the plan, her responsibility and mission.
This wasn't the time for emotional decisions.
It had to be said, Rin truly lived up to her reputation. Even after becoming the Three-Tails' Jinchūriki, she chose death rather than risk harming the village.
A true saint.
"Then, lie down inside."
Yakushi Nono pressed a button, and a cultivation chamber filled with viscous liquid opened.
Rin had just stepped one foot inside when her face suddenly flushed red.
"Do I need to take off my clothes?"
"Uh…"
Nono hadn't expected that question.
"What's the point of taking off your Impure World Reincarnation clothes?"
An Impure World Reincarnation body regenerates automatically, including the clothes it was summoned with.
That said, it was rumored that when Orochimaru and Kabuto first modified the Impure World Reincarnation technique, there were a few cases where the resurrected ninja appeared without clothes.
(End of this chapter)