Chapter 56: The Price of Resurrection and Shinnō's Twisted Test
Meeting Tsukasa's sincere gaze, Mei Terumi felt her heart skip a beat.
Her face flushed slightly, and without hesitation, she raised her head, gazing intently at Tsukasa with her clear emerald eyes.
"I'll definitely be there."
Tsukasa nodded, his expression focused. He continued observing the dozens of enemies on the walls below with his Sharingan, carefully memorizing their positions.
Soon, a slight frown crossed his face—not because the enemy's numbers made them formidable.
Rather, he suddenly realized his Sharingan had become capable of seeing farther and more clearly.
The rapid rotation of the tomoe enhanced his dynamic vision and frame-by-frame perception abilities, similar to bullet time.
Tsukasa's heart sank with the feeling that something was off.
He immediately tried to check his status.
At this moment, Shinnō, who had been silently observing Tsukasa, folded his arms and approached. With a sneer, he asked:
"You've noticed, haven't you?"
"The heart beating in your chest—while it gives you life, it's also become your shackle."
Tsukasa raised his eyebrows, gave him a cold look, and decisively opened his status panel.
[Name: Uchiha Tsukasa]
[Title: Heaven-Sent Warrior]
[Abilities: Heart of Steel (SSS), Sharingan - Dual Tomoe (A-), Combat Intuition (Proficient, S+)]
[Special Equipment: Earth Grudge Fear Heart (Earth): Upon equipping, grants the ninjutsu Earth Release: Earth Spear. This heart negates all other chakra nature attributes, allowing only Earth Release techniques. Retraining other chakra natures can acquire additional hearts with those attributes.]
[Techniques: Uchiha Style - Transcendent Shuriken Manipulation (Mastered, S-Rank), Absolute Encirclement Formation (Mastered, S-Rank), Fire Release Techniques (Forbidden), Wind Release - Gale Palm (Forbidden), Water Release - Water Fang Blade (Forbidden), Earth Release - Earth Spear (Beginner, B-Rank)]
[Special Techniques: Fire Release - Chakra Mode (Forbidden), Forbidden Technique - Physical Regeneration (Proficient, S-Rank), Secret Technique - Earth Grudge Fear Stitching (Beginner, A-Rank)]
[Mental Fortitude Stacks (Expandable)]
[Insurance Status: Active]
Seeing the situation on his status screen, Tsukasa's frown deepened.
From this, he could tell he'd survived because Shinnō had replaced his heart with Kakuzu's Earth Release Earth Grudge Fear heart.
The side effects were obvious.
Due to the special nature of the Earth Grudge Fear technique, each heart could only be used for ninjutsu of one specific nature.
This created a problem.
His ninjutsu arsenal was now severely limited, with only Earth Release remaining. He couldn't use Fire Release, Water Release, or Wind Release—including the self-destructive Fire Release: Chakra Mode.
This reduced him from a versatile jutsu user to a close-combat specialist limited to Earth Release, specifically the defensive Earth Spear technique.
However, instead of feeling discouraged, Tsukasa felt conflicted.
He'd become stronger! More durable!
After all, lost chakra natures could be regained through practice and acquiring new hearts.
But Earth Release: Earth Spear...
This technique was among the absolute top-tier conventional ninjutsu in the shinobi world—an advanced version of Earth Release: Hardening.
This technique hardened the body to diamond-like consistency, maximizing defense while simultaneously increasing the destructive power of physical attacks.
Aside from Lightning Release techniques with proper nature transformation, virtually no conventional ninjutsu could break through Earth Spear.
In other words, as long as he could withstand the technique's extreme physical demands, Tsukasa could easily become a master of close-quarters combat.
Thinking of such a scenario, Tsukasa fell silent, momentarily unsure how to respond to Shinnō's question.
Shackles? What shackles?!
He only knew he was terrifyingly powerful now!
Shinnō observed Tsukasa's conflicted expression, raised his eyebrows, and an irrepressible satisfaction rose in his eyes.
He chuckled darkly, put on a stern expression, and spoke ominously:
"Well? Do you feel that emptiness?"
"All the ninjutsu you've trained so hard to master have now become worthless."
"All your efforts until now have betrayed you."
"Do you understand what reality means now?"
Tsukasa: "..."
He had no idea how to respond to Shinnō's questions.
Should I thank him profusely for not only clearing out the trash techniques but also thoughtfully equipping me with a legendary-tier upgrade?
"Hmph." Shinnō sneered, crossing his arms with the demeanor of a master, and whispered coldly into Tsukasa's ear:
"Why do you think I saved you?"
"I want you to sink step by step into this world of endless suffering."
"To recognize the cruelty of this world, and then honestly abandon your ridiculous ideals."
After saying this, Shinnō fell silent for a moment.
He patted Tsukasa's shoulder and sneered:
"The shinobi world isn't so naive that it can be ruled by a fool like you."
"Shinobi from the Bloody Mist aren't worthy of your trust."
"Now go home and grow up, little brat."
On the cliff, the cold morning breeze swept past, carrying a few green leaves with it.
Tsukasa narrowed his eyes slightly, slapping Shinnō's hand off his shoulder.
He then looked at him and asked coldly:
"Why are you telling me all this?"
Shinnō frowned slightly, then replied calmly: "Do you even need to ask?"
"Now that you've lost everything, what can you possibly do?"
"Continue being stubborn?"
"Or keep clinging to your meaningless ninja way?"
"Oh, you don't think I'm pitying you, do you?"
Shinnō scoffed, then added:
"Unfortunately, I don't pity dead men."
"When you copied my Forbidden Technique: Physical Regeneration and used it, your fate was sealed."
"It's called forbidden because it consumes the human body's life force."
"After using it, you only have three to seven years left to live."
"I might as well tell you—the only way to avoid the cost of this forbidden technique is to find a substitute that can pay the price."
Shinnō sneered, revealing the cruel truth.
"And that substitute is a Tailed Beast!"
Tsukasa frowned at him. He'd already guessed at this lifespan cost.
The foundation of Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation technique came from the Forbidden Technique: Physical Regeneration perfected by this man.
Before Orochimaru used proper vessels, he'd used imperfect test subjects. Within three years, those bodies began rejecting him.
Previous vessels also began rejecting Orochimaru, forcing him to abandon them after about seven years.
Using unsuitable bodies caused deterioration that could only be temporarily repaired with Physical Regeneration until eventual failure and collapse.
The solution to this side effect was either to seize Tailed Beast power like Shinnō attempted, or to engage in research like Orochimaru and avoid the cost through constant body replacement.
Shinnō's eyes narrowed as he spoke, almost interrogating:
"Now—have you faced reality?"
"Having lost all your techniques except that one that nearly burned you to nothing."
"Do you think you can grow to Kage-level power within three years?"
"Or do you think you can risk igniting a shinobi war to defeat and capture Tailed Beasts from the major hidden villages?"
Shinnō's questions cut to the heart of the dilemma—addressing both Tsukasa and his own former self.
But back then, Shinnō had chosen to escape, to forge a different path by researching the incomplete Zero-Tails.
In that process, he'd gradually discovered the dangers of the Zero-Tails' dark chakra, leading him to wander the shinobi world seeking solutions—which ultimately brought him to the Land of Hot Water.
And now, in this very moment, he desperately wanted to know:
Facing the same—if not even more difficult—predicament, what would this arrogant brat Tsukasa choose?
Would he flee like Shinnō had, or face this despairing reality head-on?
Shinnō's smile gradually twisted, his expression becoming almost eager. He pointed to the bottom of the four-hundred-meter cliff and whispered in Tsukasa's ear:
"Well? Do you want to prove something to me?"
End of Chapter 56
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