Shinju didn't take the Hatake father and son to the [God Court] base, nor to the Hokage office.
He simply reached out and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.
"Close your eyes."
Kakashi and Sakumo obeyed and closed their eyes.
Their senses faded away. The boundary between time and space turned hazy and indistinct.
When they were allowed to open their eyes again, they were already standing in a world completely unknown to them.
Before them rose a hall so vast and magnificent that words could not possibly measure it.
The dome soared overhead, dotted with countless points of light that flickered on and off like a real starry sky.
Huge stone pillars held up the hall. Intricate runes were carved into their surfaces — symbols they had never seen before, yet from them they could feel an ancient, overwhelming power.
At the deepest end of the hall stood several tall thrones.
Some of those thrones were already occupied.
The Fourth Hokage, Minato.
His wife, Kushina.
And Uchiha Shisui, the genius of the Uchiha clan famed as the "Body Flicker".
"Welcome back," Shinju said.
Sakumo stood there in a daze, staring at the scene before him.
The Fourth Hokage… Kushina… Uchiha Shisui…
Shinju's will moved across a glowing interface in the air, making his selection without the slightest hesitation.
He locked onto the option labeled [Preliminary fusion of Sage Body constitution].
The cold, mechanical voice of the system rang out again, issuing a final confirmation.
[ Ding! Consume 25,000,000 correction points to perform "Preliminary fusion of Sage Body constitution" for heroic spirit Minato? ]
[ Yes / No ]
"Yes."
Shinju confirmed in his heart.
The instant he made his choice, the entire Hall of Heroes trembled once more. This time, the tremor had a very clear target.
Beneath Minato's feet, countless ancient runes lit up, weaving together into a complex array.
From the very top of the dome, the brightest of all the stars cast down a pillar of light that enveloped Minato precisely.
Minato did not resist. He trusted his son completely.
He could feel a pure, boundless energy continuously pouring into his soul-body through the array beneath his feet and the pillar of light above his head.
"This is… natural energy." Minato felt the nature of that power.
Kushina, Shisui, Sakumo, and Kakashi all stepped back a little, watching the changes in the center of the hall with tense expressions.
They saw green motes of light separate out from the pillar, like fireflies, constantly merging into Minato's body.
His body began to tremble — first slightly, then more and more violently, until he let out a muffled groan, clearly enduring considerable agony as the process continued.
"Minato!" Kushina, anxiety written across her face, instinctively took a step forward to support him.
But a hand stopped her.
Shinju stood in front of her and shook his head. "Don't worry. This is a necessary part of the fusion. The First Hokage's cells possess overwhelming vitality — Father needs time to adapt."
At the words "First Hokage," everyone present, except for the already-informed Kushina, felt their hearts quake.
Sakumo stared fixedly at Minato, who was wrapped in light, and murmured to himself, "The power of the First Hokage… I see. So you're granting the Sage Body to the Fourth Hokage?"
Shisui was just as stunned.
No one knew better than the Uchiha how terrifying the source of Senju Hashirama's near-infinite chakra and monstrous regeneration truly was.
Sakumo's brain had almost completely stopped functioning.
Everything he'd witnessed today — reviving the dead, gathering legends, and now granting them power on par with gods — had completely shattered his understanding of ninjutsu, of life and death, and of the world itself.
The transformation in the center of the hall grew even more intense.
The green radiance was no longer scattered motes, but had gathered into a thick, liquid energy that wrapped around Minato completely, forming a huge green cocoon of light. From within it came an ever-strengthening pulse of life.
With every beat, the entire Hall of Heroes seemed to resonate.
Time lost all meaning here.
No one knew how long had passed when that violent throbbing finally began to calm, becoming steady and powerful.
Thin cracks appeared on the surface of the light cocoon.
Then a second crack, a third…
The fractures spread like a spiderweb across the whole cocoon.
At last, with a clear, ringing sound, the cocoon shattered completely, breaking into a shower of light that drifted away into the air.
Minato still looked like the same gentle man with golden hair and blue eyes.
But everyone could feel that the aura around him was completely different.
Minato lifted his right hand and carefully sensed the changes in his body.
The chakra in his body was more abundant than ever before — several times what it once had been. His chakra pathways were tougher and wider, and the speed at which chakra circulated had jumped several levels.
Most importantly, he could clearly "hear" the sound around him.
He could sense it with his body — with every cell of his being.
There was no longer any need to spend long periods motionless, gathering natural energy — a method that was always limited in real battle.
"This feeling…" Minato clenched his fist, feeling the surging power inside him. "Chakra just keeps welling up. Every cell in my body is cheering. So this is the Sage Body constitution?"
"This is only a preliminary fusion," Shinju's voice came. "But it's already enough to free you from the limitations of chakra volume, and it will let you enter Sage Mode more easily and more perfectly."
Minato nodded.
"Thank you, Shinju."
"This is only the beginning," Shinju replied. His gaze swept over each person present. "Every upgrade to the Hall of Heroes means that all of you will have the chance to grow stronger."
He turned his eyes to Uchiha Shisui.
"Shisui, I've already solved the cooldown issue for your Kotoamatsukami (Distinguished Heavenly Gods), but its biggest limitation is the number of uses. If that limit is erased, it will become the most efficient and most direct tool of order."
Shisui's heart gave a fierce thump. He had never imagined that even such fundamental rules, engraved into the very essence of his eye technique, could be changed.
Shinju's gaze then shifted to Sakumo.
"Sakumo-sensei, your Hatake-ryu Kenjutsu (Hatake Style Swordsmanship) has reached its peak, but your body is still flesh and blood. If your body is strengthened, your blade will be able to cut through anything."
Sakumo's hand closed around the hilt at his waist.
He had spent his whole life pursuing the ultimate in swordsmanship. If he truly could reach what Shinju described, his strength would rise to a height even he had never dared to imagine.
Finally, Shinju looked at his mother, Kushina.
"Mother, you're the princess of the Uzumaki clan and a master of powerful fūinjutsu (sealing techniques). I'll restore the entire sealing legacy of the Uzumaki to you — and I'll optimize your Kongō Fūsa (Adamantine Sealing Chains) so your chains will be able to bind gods."
Kushina looked at her son, then at her newly transformed husband, and nodded firmly.
Kakashi stood quietly off to the side, listening to all of this.
Among those present, he was the only one who was not a resurrected heroic spirit, and he had only come because he was accompanying his father.
He looked at these legendary figures before him, each one on the verge of gaining even greater power, and suddenly he understood Shinju's plan.
What Shinju wanted was not simply to revive the strong.
He wanted to personally forge an army made up of "gods."
An invincible army capable of suppressing the entire ninja world and establishing absolute order.
And he, Hatake Kakashi, had the privilege of standing here, witnessing the beginning of it all with his own eyes.
Seeing the anticipation and excitement on their faces, Shinju once again sank his consciousness into the enhancement panel.
The astronomical amount of correction points had only been slightly diminished by Minato's upgrade; the remaining balance was still vast.
His gaze moved back and forth between the enhancement lists for Shisui and Sakumo.
Shisui's Kotoamatsukami (Distinguished Heavenly Gods) had immense strategic value — a way to control those in power and change everything without shedding blood.
Sakumo's physical enhancement, on the other hand, was pure destructive force — the spearhead that would break any stalemate on the battlefield.
After weighing them for a moment, he made his choice.
"Shisui."
"Yes," Shisui responded immediately.
Shinju's will moved, and he opened Uchiha Shisui's enhancement list.
Among the myriad options, one stood out with the highest cost, radiating an almost irresistible allure.
[Kotoamatsukami Upgrade: Multiple Targets]
(End of Chapter)
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