"Hokage-sama, are you saying Rin and Obito might both be summoned by Orochimaru through [Impure World Reincarnation]?" Kakashi understood Tsunade's concern.
"That's right," Tsunade nodded.
She couldn't help but think how unfair the [Impure World Reincarnation] technique was—after all, the corpses of the deceased had to be cremated.
Izumi felt frustrated—the trail tracking Itachi had gone cold again.
Then Tsunade issued a series of orders:
Including cleaning up the battlefield, rebuilding houses, investigating Orochimaru's whereabouts, and promoting the cremation policy throughout Konoha...
And especially that last one—even if the people of Konoha didn't like it, she'd make sure they followed through.
Leading by example, she started with her own elders and relatives.
Starting the next day, Tsunade led people in cremating the bodies of Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Mito Uzumaki, Nawaki, and others...
Hiashi: "Hokage-sama, it might be difficult to get everyone to accept this."
"They'll have to accept it, like it or not—especially those clans," Tsunade replied calmly. "If they refuse, then ask them to leave Konoha."
As Kaguya said, even more difficult regulations would come later. For now, changing burial customs was nothing significant.
Hiashi silently nodded. "Understood."
Kaguya witnessed all of this, but offered no opinion.
To her, no matter how many reincarnated corpses there were, they could always be dealt with using a single All-Killing Ash Bone.
In her eyes, those people were nothing more than energy sources—posing no real threat to her at all.
---
Another messenger frog appeared at Orochimaru's base.
Easily accepting what it brought him, Orochimaru couldn't help asking, "Whose body tissue is this?"
"The sender didn't have time to tell me."
After the frog disappeared, Orochimaru retrieved previously collected samples from Minato.
[Impure World Reincarnation]!
An unknown ninja's body trembled as it transformed into Namikaze Minato's appearance.
When he opened his eyes, Minato let out a quiet sigh.
"Welcome back, Minato," Orochimaru smiled with delight.
Minato remained expressionless. "Orochimaru, don't summon Kushina."
"Don't worry," Orochimaru shrugged nonchalantly. "I have no interest in Kushina."
---
Moon.
"Obito Uchiha has died," Kaguya stated.
"Obito?"
"Yes. He's the one who controlled the Three-Tails to attack you. Although it was actually the Fourth Hokage who defeated him."
"He died so soon?" Hiroki murmured, struggling to believe it.
If Kaguya hadn't said it herself, he wouldn't have believed that someone like Obito could be taken out so soon.
"Do you think he'll come back alive someday, like Madara Uchiha did?"
"I wonder how the Akatsuki will react to this."
"We're already making progress with [Flying Thunder God]. As for [Impure World Reincarnation], there's really no need to master this technique."
Shaking his head, Hiroki walked toward where Toneri was seated.
Toneri remained cross-legged beneath the large Tenseigan, eyes tightly shut—as always, except when eating to maintain his physical energy.
Above him, the yellow glow of the giant Tenseigan had noticeably dimmed.
As if sensing something, he suddenly opened his eyes. The pale blue light within them unusually brilliant.
Meeting Hiroki's slightly excited gaze, Toneri dutifully removed the pair of Tenseigan eyes.
Blood slowly trickled down as Toneri closed his eyes again, extending the eyeballs in his hand toward Hiroki.
"Is it done?"
"Yeah." Toneri nodded calmly.
Without hesitation, Hiroki pressed them into his eye sockets, returning the previous Sharingan to Toneri.
Obtaining a stable Tenseigan from Toneri made Hiroki quite happy. Although it wouldn't make him invincible throughout the Ninja World, at least he finally wouldn't have to be just an observer anymore.
When Hiroki returned to Konoha, Kaguya had nearly finished absorbing the energy from the Grel Mine and had also come back to Konoha.
That place's energy wasn't extremely abundant for her, but already comparable to that of a single Tailed Beast.
Besides the Grel Mine, there was another location full of energy in the Land of Wind—the Dragon Vein within the ruins of Louran.
But this location was too special; Kaguya hadn't touched it yet, leaving White Zetsu to guard it instead.
A place that could transcend time and space was inherently unpredictable.
Kaguya understood plenty about spatial matters, but when it came to time, she couldn't say for sure.
Moreover, the current situation was already favorable for her; there was no immediate need to activate the Dragon Vein and create uncertain variables.
It had been several days since the night of Minato and Obito's great battle. The villagers' fragile hearts had already been soothed.
Konoha had regained its former tranquility, looking mostly unchanged aside from some newly built houses that appeared particularly clean.
Standing atop a rooftop, Kaguya silently watched everything below, with Hiroki standing beside her.
"The power Toneri mentioned regarding restoring environments is actually the Yin-Yang Release jutsu of the Tenseigan."
Suddenly approaching Hiroki, Kaguya placed a hand on his head, directing his view toward the people below. Glancing at his eyes, she continued, "Now you possess such power too."
"With Yin and Yang, creation arises from nothingness. Once you master the Yin-Yang Release jutsu, you can create anything that pleases you at will, and they will obey you unconditionally."
"Now look at these people below—no matter how beautiful their appearances are, would you still feel stirred? You could create life identical to them anytime."
"It's not beauty I'm after—it's life, vibrant and alive," Hiroki glanced at her and replied.
Kaguya paused, saying nothing further.
Hiroki kept observing below for a while longer until spotting a familiar figure.
Izumi Uchiha, with a white cloth covering her eyes, passed right before him.
"Is that Izumi? Why is she covering her eyes with a white cloth? Has she gone blind?"
"Her vision has been deteriorating, and now she's trying to adapt to life in the future."
"Although vision loss is irreversible, supplementing her Power should help relieve this condition."
"She might not want to. She's alive too," Kaguya remarked with a raised eyebrow.
"..."
-----------------
In the Land of Wind.
After finishing his work, Rasa returned home. Ten-year-old Kankuro and eleven-year-old Temari joyfully rushed forward. "Father!"
Nodding slightly, his gaze shifted toward a quiet room as he asked, "How has Gaara been lately?"
"He..." Kankuro and Temari exchanged glances before Temari finally answered, "Gaara still has a terrible temper, but he doesn't get angry quite as easily as before."
Rasa inwardly nodded in satisfaction.
The sealing techniques from Konoha were superior to those of the Sand ninja. After adding another seal on Gaara using Konoha's method, Gaara no longer had to stay awake all the time or constantly fight off Shukaku, and even his mental fatigue had improved significantly.
The next day, inside the Kazekage's office.
Rasa summoned Baki, an elite Jonin of the village, and Gaara.
Pulling out a document from among many others, Rasa handed it to Gaara and said, "Gaara, I have a mission for you—deliver this file to Kumogakure."
Turning his gaze toward Baki, he continued, "Baki will lead the mission as team captain—his status as a Jonin ensures our safety."
"Let me leave the village?" Gaara murmured.
"Can't you handle it?" Rasa asked.
Gaara gave him a cold look, snatched the document, turned around without a word, and walked out of the office, waiting for Baki.
Rasa calmly withdrew his gaze. "Count on you, Baki."
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