Tobirama's eyes burned with rekindled flames.
Shinju saw that blazing enthusiasm, but he didn't rush to hand over the vast and intricate authority of the Divine Court's management to him just yet.
"Before we talk about designing any system, Tobirama-dono," Shinju said calmly, "there's a place I want to show you. I believe you will understand its value better than anyone."
He turned around and led the slightly tense and curious Tobirama through several layers of barriers woven from precise and complex sealing runes, all the way to an elevator hidden in the deepest part of the Divine Court's headquarters.
Shinju simply stood in front of the door; the elevator doors slid open on their own, clearly some kind of chakra-sensing mechanism.
"After you."
Tobirama stepped inside, secretly astonished.
This kind of refined response to chakra already surpassed any ninjutsu he knew of.
The elevator plunged downward at high speed, yet was so stable he could not feel the slightest bump.
In the absolute silence, Tobirama relied on his senses to roughly estimate the depth.
A kilometer… this was already deeper than any underground facility in Konoha, even deeper than the fortresses of Iwa. Even in wartime, there was no reason to dig so far down.
What is Shinju hiding underground?
The sensation of falling suddenly ceased, and the doors slid open.
What entered his sight was row upon row of enormous glass containers.
Within the transparent liquid floated all kinds of biological tissues. Dense networks of pipes and cables connected each container to precision instruments of strange and unfamiliar shapes.
Tobirama had always considered himself well-informed, yet he could not identify the purpose of a single one of these devices. But his instincts as a scientist told him at a glance: the technology here surpassed this era.
The surrounding walls were huge light-screens. Streams of data raced across them—complex genetic maps, simulations of cell division, and curves showing detailed analyses of chakra properties. A flood of information converged and was processed here.
"And this place is…?"
A man who thirsted for knowledge had barged straight into a temple of knowledge. Tobirama could feel his own fanatic excitement rising.
In this moment, he forgot Shinju standing by his side, forgot the issues of order and systems—those were all secondary now.
"This is the Forbidden Technique and Technology Fusion Research Institute," Shinju continued. "At the same time, it's also the new home I've prepared for you—and for another colleague."
Before he could finish, Tobirama shot forward like an arrow.
His figure flickered between the massive containers, moving so fast he left afterimages behind.
His interest was instantly hooked by a particular cultivation tank.
Inside, a "Jiongu (Earth Grudge Fear)" heart was rhythmically contracting.
What drew Tobirama's attention, however, was not the heart itself, but the system that maintained its vitality.
It was a chakra circulation device constructed from the Uzumaki clan's Yoton fūinjutsu (Yang Release Sealing Technique), integrated with several delicate instruments.
He reached out, fingertips lightly pressing against the glass.
"Perfect. This is art," he breathed, words tumbling out in incomplete sentences. His eyes shone as he instantly grasped the core principle. "Use the Uzumaki clan's Yoton fūinjutsu (Yang Release Sealing Technique) to construct a life field and lock the cells' activity. Then use these instruments to perform microsecond-level modulation with Inton chakra (Yin Release chakra). Whose idea was this?"
Tobirama snapped back around, gaze locking on Shinju.
This method of combining ninjutsu with unknown technology had already leapt beyond the boundaries of his knowledge.
Shinju walked over to an even larger black sealing pillar not far away. He placed his hand on the core node of the column and quickly formed seals.
"Kai (Release)!"
Golden sealing formulas flared to life across the surface of the pillar. The one confined inside was Orochimaru.
The moment he appeared, Orochimaru immediately saw Tobirama.
"Second Hokage-sama?! Why are you here?!"
"About… that last time I used Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation) without authorization to summon you back from the Pure Land… I must apologize."
Tobirama didn't care about that at all. If anything, he was faintly dissatisfied at how crudely his technique had been used.
Very quickly, however, his attention was completely consumed by this laboratory. Its experimental conditions were utterly different from those of his own era, and the person who had built these foundations was anything but simple.
His own research data had been systematically organized and optimized, projected on the light-screens in three-dimensional simulations. Every project underway here touched the deepest desires in his heart.
The shock on Orochimaru's face gradually faded, replaced by the feverish excitement of having found a like-minded soul.
He now looked at Tobirama with a completely different gaze, full of the anticipation that only exists between fellow scholars.
"Here, you don't have to worry that any kinjutsu (Forbidden Technique) you develop will be used by ambitious men for war, or recklessly abused by future generations," Shinju said solemnly. "All of your wisdom will serve a greater purpose: to push the world forward, and uncover the final mystery of life itself."
"Your first project will be a perfected version of Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation)."
"A technique that grants the reincarnated their full free will and emotions, allows them to draw on the entirety of their power from when they were alive, and can be dispelled at any time in the safest way possible, with the utmost respect to the dead—a true 'Eiyū Sairin no Jutsu (Hero Reappearance Technique)'."
"'Eiyū Sairin no Jutsu (Hero Reappearance Technique)', hm? That is indeed an interesting project."
When Tobirama first created Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation), his original intent had been to win wars with minimal sacrifice. But the jutsu's flaws and the consequences of its abuse had become the stain of his life. Now Shinju had given him a chance—a chance to personally correct that stain and turn it into a miracle.
He looked at the treasure trove of knowledge before him, at these nearly limitless research resources, then glanced at Orochimaru at his side. This man, though he had always regarded him as a degenerate walking the evil path, was undeniably the greatest biological researcher of this age.
One the creator of the kinjutsu (Forbidden Technique).
The other, its abuser.
Together with the transcendent platform Shinju had built for them…
Tobirama had found an undertaking to which he could devote his entire life—a cause even greater than the seat of Hokage itself.
Here, he was not a village leader, but a pure scholar—a pioneer free of all chains, able to explore the unknown to his heart's content.
"I take back everything I said before," Tobirama declared.
"What you are creating is a brand new civilization."
"I, Tobirama, am willing to offer my strength as the cornerstone of this new civilization."
From this moment on, the legendary master of forbidden techniques, Konoha's Second Hokage, fully and completely pledged himself to Shinju.
Under Shinju's banner, a dreamlike lineup now had its most crucial piece set into place.
The supreme speed and jikū ninjutsu (Space-Time Technique), the uncrowned king of the battlefield—[Golden Flash] Minato.
The Uzumaki clan's sealing arts and life force, the strongest "lock of the jinchuriki"—[Red-Hot Habanero] Kushina.
The greatest genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami (Distinguished Heavenly Gods), silently twisting causality itself—[Shunshin (Body Flicker)] Shisui.
The ninja world's apex in kenjutsu and assassination arts, the fangs lurking in the darkness—[Konoha's White Fang] Sakumo.
And now, the sharpest mind in the ninja world, the creator of countless kinjutsu (Forbidden Techniques)—[Ninjutsu Professor] Tobirama.
Add to that the already-seated heads of each division: Chief of Medical, Tsunade; Chief of Intelligence, Jiraiya; and Chief Technical Advisor, Orochimaru…
A "legendary legion" composed of the top masters from every era had taken shape.
They would be the sharpest blade in Shinju's hand, the weapon that would sever the shackles of the old world.
(End of Chapter)
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