It's a pity that in this world, Pakura has already passed away, her fragrance vanished forever. From start to finish, she never had a single encounter with Hiruko, which is truly regrettable. Otherwise, if Hiruko could have brought her back, having two identical women kneeling side by side before him—just thinking about that scene makes one feel incredibly invigorated.
Now, he can only settle for "retrieving" Tsunade. Pity, pity.
For now, the world seems largely devoid of major deviations; the settings of the shinobi world basically conform to the norm. However, it is mixed with elements from the movie versions, which is a genuinely unexpected surprise.
Hiruko scrutinized the data he had compiled, his heart full of excitement. Whether it was Sasori's regeneration technology or Lady Chiyo's One's Own Life Resurrection (Kishō Tensei), he had studied them all. In his view, Chiyo's ultimate secret of life was no longer confined to the simple scope of Yang Release.
This Kishō Tensei did more than just grant one's own fundamental life force to the wounded; it had a thousand threads of connection to the soul. It could breathe a soul of life into an object, following a principle akin to "Equivalent Exchange"—directly swapping a soul out of the Pure Land using one's own soul as currency.
If I use the Spore Technique to plant tens of millions of White Zetsu clones across the lands, and then leverage Kishō Tensei...
Could I use that effect to swap every powerhouse in the history of the shinobi world out of the Pure Land?
Hiruko began mulling over how to exploit this "bug" again. After all, finding exploits was a traditional art in the Naruto world. The defenses between Yin and Yang here were truly lax; the boundary was far too thin. There were no official management bodies like the Nine Nether Realms here. As long as one learned enough, there was always a chance to fish people out of the "underworld."
Well, not the underworld—it's called the Pure Land.
While powerful, Kishō Tensei had one basic restriction: the corpse had to be intact. If the bones had rotted away, even with the caster's life force, the result wouldn't be the original person but a new life gestated from the remains. At that point, you might end up with something strange—perhaps even a skeletal lifeform similar to the Undead.
After all, the jutsu could bring puppets to life. It was like "Enlightening" a monster or "Creating Life" in a world of cultivation; chakra truly was omnipotent.
However, if combined with cloning technology—cloning a perfect physical body first, then applying the principle of Kishō Tensei... Use flesh containing the deceased's DNA as a beacon to tether the soul from the Pure Land, and finally inject the Kishō Tensei for the soul swap—that should allow for precision resurrection.
The Naruto world was full of bugs. Reanimation (Edo Tensei) was the biggest loophole and most bizarre backdoor. Then there was the Reaper Death Seal; after the Fourth War, Orochimaru used his "non-human" nature to exploit the Death God himself.
The only question was whether the Sage of Six Paths would become an obstacle.
Hiruko stroked his chin, lost in thought. Unlike a rigid computer program, the Sage of Six Paths had maintained his consciousness and watched over the world for a millennium. He wasn't someone to be easily fooled. To the Sage, this world was a carefully tended garden. Hiruko? He was a "home-invading thief."
In Hiruko's eyes, this place was his laboratory. But he couldn't forget it had a landlord.
To Hiruko, the so-called "Pure Land" was just a simple gathering place for souls—not a true paradise, but a destination for souls after all things on the planet withered. He perceived the Pure Land as a malformed byproduct of an alien-tier entity like the Sage of Six Paths interfering with the world's souls. It could extend soul preservation and allow souls to come into close contact with the planet's origin. Powerful consciousnesses could even touch the deep-seated power of the globe.
In American comic book terms, the Sage was a sorcerer who discarded his physical shell to enter a vacant dimension attached to the planet. He interfered with and operated within it until he stole enough authority to become the "Agent" or "Owner" of that dimension—a Dimension Lord.
However, he was a fragile Dimension Lord, ruling only a graveyard. Perhaps that was why Reanimated ninjas had "infinite chakra." The souls summoned were naturally connected to the planet's main ley lines, creating the illusion of infinite power.
Hiruko curled his lip, indifferent. Even if he caused trouble, could this world's Sage chase him back to his original world?
With zero scruples, he planned to go big in this new world. In his original home, he had to be cautious, but here, he intended to play hard. If he didn't make some waves, he'd be wasting the trip. If Orochimaru could eventually resurrect people at will, why couldn't he, Hiruko, pluck some wool from the Sage of Six Paths?
It's just stealing some veggies from his garden. What's the big deal?
But to make something of this, he had to contact his old friend Orochimaru. He needed a partner to help replicate Edo Tensei precisely, and he was curious about how far the "Future" Orochimaru had perfected it. His own version was too crude.
Thus, three days later, the "Dream Realizer" Kabuto (his "good son") and the Orochimaru who had ambushed Sasori in this timeline were summoned together.
In the high tower, Sasori was immersed in absorbing new knowledge and modifying puppets. Meanwhile, Hiruko stayed in his lab, using his own methods to collect DNA for cloning. Driven by the massive power of the Dragon Vein, he "forced" a batch of Fourth Raikage Clones with shallow consciousness.
Hiruko didn't use low-quality clones; his were as fragile as porcelain with extremely short lifespans. But under his accelerated maturation, they possessed about 10% of the original Raikage's physical strength. For "tool-man" purposes, they were excellent.
He compared the DNA from this world's Sasori with his own samples and found no difference. DNA-wise, they were identical. This meant his stockpile from home was valid here.
As for the four captives, they were restricted by Sasori and Hiruko's methods, serving as research subjects. Under Hiruko's "care," they were being poked and prodded until they were becoming quite "plump" in the data logs.
Hiruko also observed the interaction between the two Sasoris. They were fascinated by each other; aside from the occasional mockery the "Future" self aimed at the "Past," they were quite submissive. Hiruko was pleased with their pragmatism. Their biggest chance for true transcendence lay with him.
Even the veteran puppeteer Chiyo was overwhelmed by the technology and Sasori's "Future" developments. After learning about parallel worlds, she was shocked to have a second "grandson," eventually settling into a quiet resignation. She spent her days staring at the two Sasoris with a look that said, "I'm not doing anything, I'm just watching you," which annoyed Hiruko's Sasori to no end.
Then there was Sakura. After the "bladder incident," she was initially terrified and timid. Hiruko, lacking female company and feeling the "pressure," had intended to use her as a toy. But the girl cried so pitifully, promising to "help with her mouth" instead. Hiruko agreed, thinking any outlet was fine for now.
Of course, Hiruko would get bored in a few days and wouldn't let her off that easily. Did she really think it was that simple? Hilarious.
In these final days, Sakura found that while Hiruko looked terrifying, he was surprisingly gentle in person. Learning he was a Konoha ninja from another world who knew her master, Tsunade, emboldened her. To gather intel on these intruders, she even proactively cooperated with his research.
In the traditional shinobi mindset, as long as "the seal" wasn't broken, one was still pure. Sakura felt a bit more at ease. She tried to use her "wit" to fish for info, performing well enough. Hiruko watched her with a faint smile, knowing he'd never leave her behind. He'd eventually clash with this world's Tsunade and pack Sakura up to take home—maybe with a few other "souvenirs."
Sakura eventually became his research assistant. Her chakra control was impeccable, saving him a lot of trouble in the lab. Hiruko wasn't actually impressed by her "advice"—in a world of illiterate ninjas, someone with her level of book learning was rare, but not genius. However, her courage to speak up and her medical knowledge made her useful.
Assistant by day; "mouth-assistant" by night.
However, Hiruko's work began to push past the limits of Sakura's morality. When she saw the massive vats of Raikage embryos and the way flesh was harvested, she snapped.
"Senior Hiruko, if you are a Konoha ninja, why are you doing this?!"
Sakura was pale, her stomach churning as she watched the machine pump nutrients into infant-sized embryos. Her voice trembled. She had grown up in a stable home with two parents. The "darkness" she knew was limited to Sasuke's defection and Orochimaru's invasion. In Team 7, she was the only one who wasn't an orphan. Her father was a mediocre ninja; her mother a nagging housewife. She was essentially a modern girl in a ninja skin.
She hadn't seen her family slaughtered or felt the ostracization of an entire village. She was, at this stage, a "love-brain" obsessed with Sasuke's looks. She didn't even mind being detained by Hiruko that much, as his looks rivaled Sasuke's. She had a maternal pity for Sasuke, but she didn't truly understand his pain the way Naruto or Kakashi did.
Human experimentation was a bridge too far. Of course, Tsunade had seen it all, but Sakura was a "flower of the sun" seeing the cruelty and malice of the world for the first time. Her worldview was in a tailspin.
"Why shouldn't I?" Hiruko asked, genuinely surprised. "And why can't a Konoha ninja do this? You've met Orochimaru—wasn't he a Konoha ninja too?"
"Of course!"
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