"That day, I used a forbidden technique called Gathering Earth into a Mountain. With myself as the center, all the natural energy in the surrounding area rushed toward me."
Crack. Crack.
"At that time, my body was already about to be blasted apart by the surging natural energy. And before I used that technique, I had already released an ultimate move that exceeded my physical limits. My body was full of earth-attribute chakra."
Crack. Crack.
"At that moment, the two types of energy clashed violently inside me, and then I saw my body slowly turning into a stone statue."
Crack. Crack.
Crack. Crack.
"Keep going! Don't stop!"
Hyūga Hiyasu said.
"That's it."
Four faces froze in shock.
"That's it?"
"What happened after that? After the two energies collided?"
"How did you recover?"
"And how did you gain your current power?"
We still have a ton of unanswered questions. You just stopped halfway—are you trying to die?
"It really ends there. After I turned into a stone statue, I lost consciousness. How would I know what happened? When I woke up, I was covered in something sticky and disgusting. Then I saw a bunch of slugs playing cards, and all kinds of games. I knew you must have been there, so I came straight to find you."
"Damn. So you didn't know anything—and you still learned that insanely cool technique, Heaven's Reach?"
Hyūga Hiyasu looked completely unable to believe it.
So dying once can give you that much? Should I try it too?
"Not just that. Ryoha, grab Hideki for a second."
"Alright."
"Hideki, don't blame me if it hurts."
Inuzuka Ryoha flashed a malicious smile. He had long wanted to hit this bastard.
Unfortunately, he hadn't had time earlier because he was listening to the story.
And now the story turned out to be a lie.
Old grudges and new ones—settled together.
Clang. Tear.
A metallic impact rang out.
Inuzuka Ryoha looked at his own left hand and swung it toward the ground.
The ground immediately split open with a crack.
"I'm fine. It's Hideki who's strange."
"Hideki must have refined something similar to the First Hokage's Sage Body, but his is specialized for defense. His entire body has become as tough as rock."
"Wow!"
"Wow!"
"Wow!"
Uchiha Kamito and Hyūga Hiyasu both turned to look at the last person who exclaimed "wow"—Inuzuka Ryoha.
"Aren't you also a Sage Body? Why are you surprised?"
"Who said mine is a Sage Body?"
"Such extraordinary regeneration—if that's not a Sage Body, what is it?"
"What kind of logic is that? Just because someone has strong recovery doesn't mean it has to be a Sage Body. That's your bias. Mine is a Sage Mode I trained myself. I'm at least Tsunade-sama's disciple. Developing a Sage Mode version of the Hundred Healings Technique isn't a problem, right?"
Aburame Shiken suddenly had an idea flash through his mind.
"Sage Body… Sage Mode… natural energy…"
"You guys keep talking. I've got something to do."
After saying that, he turned into a mass of parasitic insects and scattered.
That startled Senju Hideki.
"What the heck was that?"
"Get used to it. Last time he went to avenge you, his heart got stolen by the big boss, so now he's hiding like crazy. The ones we usually see are probably insect clones."
"Uh…"
Hideki didn't know how to respond.
If the math circled back to him, that would be awkward.
"So what do we do now? Go home and sleep?"
"It's broad daylight."
"Cloudless sky, blazing sun—perfect weather for sleeping."
"Come on, I just got back. Let's have some fun. How about mahjong?"
"Alright, I'll play with you."
"Honestly, we didn't really want to play—but since you asked…"
...
In Orochimaru's underground research lab,
A mass of insects gathered together and transformed into Aburame Shiken's form.
"Orochimaru-sensei! Orochimaru-sensei!"
Orochimaru, who had been working, set down the equipment in his hands and looked at him.
"Shiken? What happened?"
"Orochimaru-sensei, I've come up with an idea."
"What idea?"
Orochimaru became interested. He knew that if Shiken was this excited, it must be related to immortality research.
"Hideki has returned from Shikkotsu Forest ."
"Hideki? Oh, that Senju boy. He disappeared for so many years—why did he suddenly come back?"
"That's not important. What's important is that he has refined something similar to the First Hokage's Sage Body."
"What?"
Orochimaru paused.
If this were true, then the Hidden Leaf Village would shake.
Senju plus Sage Body—what did that mean?
Ordinary villagers might not understand, but high-level officials knew exactly how heavy that combination was.
In other words, if Senju Hideki wanted to become Hokage, even Minato would have to step down.
"And it's different from the First Hokage's. Hideki gained powerful defensive abilities. What does that mean?"
"It means the Sage Body isn't innate—it can be cultivated. If the body can use natural energy to train into active Sage Mode and passive Sage Body, then the soul can too. If the body can grow strong through natural energy, then the soul can as well. The idea of 'the flesh is weak, but the soul is eternal' is no longer empty talk."
Orochimaru's eyes grew brighter as he spoke.
The worst thing about research is having no direction—no idea whether your efforts are right or wrong.
But now there was concrete evidence.
Even if it was only partial evidence.
As long as you could see the path ahead, you could keep moving forward.
"Shiken."
"Orochimaru-sensei."
"Let us strive for immortality."
...
Night fell.
Senju Hideki yawned as he returned to the Senju clan grounds.
Hmm.
Extremely clean. It seems the clan has lived well in my absence.
Thud.
A sound echoed in the quiet night, unusually clear.
"Who's there?"
"Is that you, Clan Leader?"
Clan Leader?
Oh, right. I'm already the Senju clan leader.
"That's right. I, Senju Hideki, am back."
"Wow! The Clan Leader is back! Hideki-sama is back!"
"Everyone, come out!"
"Everyone, come out!"
At the loud call of a Senju cleaning staff member, over a hundred clan members stepped outside.
Hideki looked at their faces—some familiar, some completely new.
"Everyone, I'm back."
"Waaah… Clan Leader, you finally returned."
"Hey, hey, don't cry. Were you wronged? Tell me—I'll help you get justice."
"No, no! Hiyasu-sama, Shiken-sama, Kamito-sa-ma, Ryoha-sama, the Fourth Hokage, and many others have taken great care of us. We're just so happy to see you again, Clan Leader."
"Don't worry. Now that I'm back, I won't leave again. Starting tomorrow, we'll make the Senju clan rise to the peak once more."
"Clan Leader!"
"Clan Leader!"