After several minutes of searching through the underground laboratory, Tsunade finally located what remained of her brother Nawaki's body among the rows of specimen containers.
What she discovered was heartbreaking, not a complete corpse, but fragments of muscle tissue that had been preserved in various culture dishes. The flesh had turned pale and waterlogged from prolonged immersion, no longer resembling human tissue.
If not for the nameplate reading "Senju Nawaki" beneath one of the culture dishes, perhaps no one would have recognized these specimens as belonging to a human being.
"Damn you, Danzo!"
Tsunade's hatred for Shimura Danzo intensified yet again.
If I had known it would come to this, I wouldn't have killed that bastard so quickly. His death was far too merciful! He should have suffered the agony of being torn apart piece by piece!
Victor stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Now it seems that if we want to resurrect your brother, we'll need to use Edo Tensei to reincarnate him first."
The Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique required the deceased's body to be within range of the jutsu to achieve true resurrection. However, the corpse also needed to maintain at least seventy percent physical integrity for the technique to succeed.
If the body's completeness fell below that threshold, resurrection became impossible.
Fortunately, Edo Tensei could provide a suitable substitute body for the resurrection process.
This was precisely why Victor needed to learn the forbidden technique, most of the people the chat group members wished to revive no longer possessed intact remains.
"Resurrection? Is that truly your objective, to bring Nawaki back to life?" Jiraiya asked in astonishment, his voice filled with disbelief.
Mitokado and Utatane Koharu also regarded the pair with expressions of surprise and curiosity.
"But how could such a thing be possible?"
They had lived for decades yet had never heard of any method capable of truly resurrecting the dead.
Even Edo Tensei merely summoned the spirits of the deceased back to the living world, it could hardly be called genuine resurrection.
"Wait here. I'll retrieve the Scroll of Seals."
Tsunade ignored the protests from behind her. Upon learning that Edo Tensei was necessary to facilitate the resurrection, she didn't hesitate to head for the Hokage Building to obtain the forbidden scroll containing the technique.
"Wait, Tsunade!"
Learning of Tsunade's intention to bring forth the Scroll of Seals, Mitokado and Utatane Koharu immediately became resistant.
"How can you so casually reveal something as precious as the Scroll of Seals?"
"And to hand it over to outsiders?"
As they spoke, both elders cast wary glances toward Victor and Krul.
They had already learned some information about the duo from Jiraiya earlier.
From what they understood, both possessed strength comparable to Tsunade herself, individuals they dared not offend lightly.
However, if the Scroll of Seals were to be entrusted to these strangers, Mitokado and Utatane Koharu would absolutely refuse such action.
After all, the scroll contained numerous forbidden-level jutsu.
The consequences of such knowledge falling into the wrong hands would be catastrophic!
Observing the two elderly councilors blocking her path, Tsunade erupted with overwhelming killing intent, her voice turning ice-cold, "No one will stop me today. Anyone who dares stand in my way will die!"
Utatane Koharu trembled and stumbled backward two steps, her face draining of color.
Only Mitokado remained standing, though he swallowed hard with obvious fear. Despite his terror, he still managed to speak in a quavering voice, "Only the Hokage has the authority to decide who may view the Scroll of Seals!"
His meaning was clear, if Tsunade wanted access to the scroll, she would need to become Hokage first.
With Shimura Danzo dead and Root's forces decimated, combined with the village's recent attack causing heavy casualties, Konoha's military strength had declined dramatically.
This was precisely the time when they needed a powerful leader to take charge!
Previously, he might have considered either Tsunade or Jiraiya suitable for the role.
But after witnessing Tsunade's true power firsthand, there was no doubt she represented their best option.
Most importantly, Tsunade appeared to have connections with these two formidable individuals.
If Tsunade became Hokage, perhaps she could draw them into Konoha's camp, or at the very least, secure their friendship for the village!
Mitokado's calculations were undeniably sound.
Tsunade wasn't foolish; she could see exactly what the elder was thinking.
She first glanced at Victor, and seeing that he offered no objection, she finally responded, "Fine. I'll become the Hokage."
Although Tsunade detested these two old councilors from the depths of her heart, her hatred hadn't quite reached the point where she wanted them dead.
If it truly came to violence, she probably wouldn't be able to bring herself to kill them.
As for her previous declaration that she wouldn't become Hokage even if she were a dog, well, the situation had changed, and it really did smell quite appealing now!
Hearing her acceptance, Mitokado breathed a sigh of relief and stepped aside to clear the path.
Before long, Tsunade returned carrying the Scroll of Seals.
She extended it directly toward Victor.
However, Victor made no move to take it.
"Please upload the contents to the chat group instead. I'll purchase the technique directly from there."
Rather than spending time slowly learning from the physical scroll, it would be far more efficient to upload the jutsu to the chat group and acquire it instantly.
This method would save considerable study time.
"Of course! How could I forget?" Tsunade suddenly realized her oversight.
For a moment, she had actually forgotten that the chat group allowed direct knowledge acquisition.
She immediately began uploading all the jutsu contained within the Scroll of Seals to the chat group.
Victor purchased Edo Tensei as soon as it became available.
With the enlightenment provided by the chat group system, he mastered the forbidden technique instantaneously.
He then carefully extracted the piece of Nawaki's preserved tissue from its culture dish.
Next, he retrieved one of the Six Paths Pain puppets he had obtained earlier to serve as the reincarnation medium.
Victor combined the tissue sample with the puppet and pressed his palms together.
"Edo Tensei!"
Under everyone's watchful gaze, the puppet's appearance began to transform.
The middle-aged man with long orange hair shifted into a young teenager with short brown hair.
"Nawaki!"
Seeing that familiar face again after so many years, Tsunade couldn't prevent tears from welling up in her eyes.
As if responding to his sister's call, the sleeping boy slowly opened his eyes.
"Big sister? Is that really you?"
Nawaki gazed with confusion at the familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar figure before him.
"Yes, it's me!" Tsunade nodded emphatically, her voice thick with emotion.
She started to step forward and embrace her brother, but Victor's voice interrupted her movement.
"Don't get excited yet. The true resurrection is only just beginning."
Upon hearing this, Tsunade suppressed the overwhelming impulse in her heart.
"Resurrection? So you're planning to bring me back to life?"
After processing Victor's words, Nawaki, who had initially been confused about his circumstances, suddenly displayed an expression of amazement.
However, Victor offered no explanation.
He pressed his palms together once more.
"Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique!"
Drawing from his previous experience, Victor carefully regulated his spiritual power output this time, avoiding the spectacular light show that had occurred before.
Even so, the spiritual energy he released remained incredibly potent in the perception of Jiraiya, Mitokado, and Utatane Koharu.
The overwhelming pressure made breathing difficult for all three observers.
Fortunately, this surge of spiritual power came and went quickly.
Simultaneously, Nawaki's reincarnated body began transforming into genuine flesh and blood at a pace visible to the naked eye!
"Nawaki!"
Tsunade could no longer contain her longing. She rushed forward and pulled her brother into a tight embrace, tears streaming freely down her face.