Hikaru remembered very clearly that the One's Own Life Reincarnation Technique used the caster's own chakra to replenish the target's life force.
Once the caster's chakra could no longer bear the burden, the technique would naturally begin drawing directly from the caster's life.
The most typical example was Chiyo in the original story.
But what Orochimaru was doing now made even Hikaru feel somewhat incredulous.
Because Orochimaru had completely transferred the damage.
He was using another person's chakra and life force to complete the One's Own Life Reincarnation Technique.
What exactly is going on here?
Hikaru thought silently.
Everything Orochimaru was doing before his eyes had truly gone beyond his expectations.
Hadn't this man been constantly repairing and patching the technique because Chiyo herself had not perfected it?
How had he suddenly gone one step further and developed something like damage transfer?
Hikaru was genuinely stunned by Orochimaru's move.
He had never expected Orochimaru to pull off something like this.
He slowly closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, a brilliant azure light had already appeared in his pupils.
At that moment, he had activated the Jōgan.
He needed to observe every change in Orochimaru's technique more clearly and carefully.
Through his eyes, the Uchiha shinobi who had no life left in him—whose flame of life had already been extinguished—began to change.
With the help of the unlucky bandit's life, the dead man's bodily functions actually began to recover.
Most importantly, the flame of life that had long since gone out was beginning to reignite.
In the shinobi world, the simplest way to determine whether someone was alive or dead was to use Yang Release to examine the state of their life flame.
Unfortunately, in the original story, it seemed that only Naruto, after inheriting Six Paths power, could do something like that.
No one else appeared to possess that ability.
But now, Hikaru could see it.
He could do it as well.
During the Nine-Tails incident, he had used his control over the flame of life to keep Minato Namikaze alive, then allowed him to return to life by undoing the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
And now, he had the Jōgan.
With this pair of eyes, he could see the condition of the flame of life even more clearly.
As the green life force continued to pour in, the dry, withered corpse began to regain vitality.
The transformation was genuinely unnerving.
What was even more terrifying was that as this change took place, Hikaru seemed to clearly see a beam of light appear in space itself.
The beam fell from the sky and quietly shone upon the Uchiha corpse.
Under that illumination, Hikaru could see a figure slowly descending from above.
A soul?
Hikaru thought silently.
At that moment, he was certain that what he was seeing was a soul.
Unlike the light sphere he had seen from Minato last time, this time he was seeing a complete human soul.
He could even clearly see that the soul seemed to still be in a sleeping state.
"What a miraculous technique…"
Hikaru murmured under his breath.
He silently watched as the soul finally entered the body that had regained life.
Then, at that moment, he saw the soul begin to truly merge with the body.
Along with a strange yet clear fluctuation of chakra, the body had, in the truest sense, been resurrected.
Even if the man had not yet awakened.
Hikaru turned his head and looked at the bandit controlled by Orochimaru.
The next instant, he could not help frowning slightly.
In the original story, after Chiyo used One's Own Life Reincarnation, she did indeed die.
But her death had at least been peaceful.
The bandit in Orochimaru's hand, however, had died in a state that could not be described as anything so simple as miserable.
It was as if endless years had carved deep marks across his body.
His body aged visibly.
Not only had his hair turned completely white, but his body had also become abnormally shriveled.
His teeth had fallen out entirely.
His expression was twisted in agony.
Most importantly, the flame of life within him was completely gone.
It was difficult to imagine that less than a minute ago, this man had still been young and strong.
Now, it was as if he had lived through a hundred years in an instant.
"Is Lord Hokage satisfied with my technique?"
Although Orochimaru could not see as much as Hikaru could, he could sense that the Uchiha shinobi had come back to life.
He casually dropped the dried corpse in his hand, then looked at Hikaru with a smile.
"Although it is somewhat cruel, in terms of results, I believe it is already quite good. This man has indeed returned to life."
"I naturally know he has returned to life. But shouldn't Lord Orochimaru explain?"
Hikaru raised his head and looked at Orochimaru, then asked calmly.
"How much did you improve this technique? Or rather, how did you manage to use someone else's chakra to complete all of this?"
"I spent a tremendous amount of time and effort on this technique. From the very beginning, I noticed its flaw."
Orochimaru licked his lips.
Although being stared at by Hikaru's azure eyes made a chill crawl through his heart, he still remained calm and explained.
"That flaw is that this technique is, in essence, a life-for-life healing ninjutsu. I cannot agree with that. If you use your own life to save another, then won't you simply die yourself?"
The technique is literally called One's Own Life Reincarnation. Isn't using your own life the whole point?
Hikaru silently complained in his heart.
But he did not interrupt Orochimaru.
Instead, he signaled for him to continue.
"So I modified this technique from its source. Aside from perfecting the parts that were not yet fully complete, I also changed its method of activation.
"When I last met Lord Hokage, I had already nearly completed my research on life transfer. However, while modifying the technique, I caused a problem with its original core.
"That core was bringing a soul back from the Pure Land. That part is difficult. Extremely difficult.
"Without it, the value of this technique would only apply to the living.
"But as luck would have it, my research in another field made good progress, and so…"
At this point, Orochimaru smiled and stopped.
And in that instant, Hikaru understood everything.
So that was it.
Orochimaru had essentially altered One's Own Life Reincarnation from the ground up.
No wonder the effect of this technique was so different from Hikaru's original memory.
The key blueprint of Orochimaru's technique still relied on Chiyo's concept and foundation.
But his genius-level creativity and imagination had already allowed him to break free from Chiyo's framework entirely.
And Hikaru had to admit—
the technique created after Orochimaru's monstrous modification was far more practical.
Who would use their own life to exchange for and save another?
Hikaru absolutely would not allow that.
Otherwise, he would not have kept Hidan in Konoha.
"It seems you have truly given me an enormous surprise."
Hikaru sighed softly.
Orochimaru was indeed worthy of being one of the top scientists in the Naruto world.
In Hikaru's eyes, even if Orochimaru had no combat ability at all, his existence alone would still be strategic-level.
Nothing else needed to be said.
In the original story, his improved Impure World Reincarnation was already a strategic-level technique.
And now, it could be said that he had created yet another strategic-level technique.
A person like this was truly terrifying.
"You completed this technique through your research into Impure World Reincarnation, didn't you?"
"As expected, nothing escapes Lord Hokage's eyes."
Facing Hikaru's question, Orochimaru did not deny it at all.
He knew there was no point hiding such a thing.
"It was indeed through Impure World Reincarnation."
Speaking of this, Orochimaru's smile grew slightly deeper.
"Lord Hokage, would you like to meet the First Hokage and Second Hokage?
"After all, those two are both ancestors of the Senju Clan…"
…
Orochimaru's words immediately made Hikaru raise an eyebrow.
Then Hikaru looked at Orochimaru with an amused smile, the playful expression on his face obvious.
The meaning behind Orochimaru's words was very clear.
To put it plainly, he was testing Hikaru.
On one hand, he wanted to see what attitude Hikaru held toward Impure World Reincarnation.
After all, Impure World Reincarnation was a technique that disturbed the peace of the dead.
Especially since once the technique was used, the summoned dead could be controlled by the caster.
Although Hikaru had never opposed Orochimaru's research before, the First and Second Hokage were Hikaru's ancestors.
Summoning them might very well provoke Hikaru's disgust.
This kind of thing had to be confirmed first.
Orochimaru did not want to take risks.
Of course, aside from testing Hikaru's attitude toward the technique, he also wanted to test how much Hikaru understood about the jutsu—
and how much reverence he held toward those two Hokage.
Ever since Hikaru had displayed his might in the war against Kumogakure, wiping out an entire village-level army by himself, Orochimaru had felt safe under his protection.
But he had also felt a severe sense of crisis.
He truly did not want to spend his entire life hiding in Hikaru's shadow.
He wanted conditions that were more favorable to himself.
What made Orochimaru frown slightly, however, was that Hikaru did not seem to care much about what he had said.
Or rather, Hikaru's attitude was completely outside his expectations.
"The First and Second Hokage?"
After a long while, Hikaru suddenly smiled.
The teasing look on his face grew heavier.
"Then let's try it. After all, I'm curious about what the First and Second Hokage's power is like.
"I'm even more curious about the gap between myself and them.
"But Lord Orochimaru, are you certain the toys you summon can actually harm me?"
Hearing Hikaru's words, Orochimaru immediately understood.
Hikaru had definitely studied Impure World Reincarnation as well.
Even if his research was not especially deep, he absolutely understood the mechanism of the technique.
Otherwise, how could he instantly point out Impure World Reincarnation's flaw so clearly?
Orochimaru had only been testing him.
He did not dare actually attack Hikaru.
He simply did not have good enough materials.
The First and Second Hokage he could summon would never be able to display their true strength.
Against ordinary shinobi—even ordinary Kage—they might still be more than enough.
But now, their opponent would be Senju Hikaru.
There was no telling whether they would even be able to do anything before Orochimaru, the caster, was killed.
If Hikaru wanted, Orochimaru might not even have a chance to complete the summoning.
After all, Hikaru was extremely skilled in the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"Lord Orochimaru, Impure World Reincarnation was invented by the Second Hokage. Do you think I wouldn't understand this technique?"
Looking at the silent Orochimaru, Hikaru's smile grew even brighter.
He slowly walked to Orochimaru's side and patted him on the shoulder.
"Lord Orochimaru, let me give you a piece of advice.
"Do not do meaningless things like this.
"Perhaps once you obtain better materials, it would be more suitable to test me then.
"Also, since I want to resurrect the dead, how should I do that when the people I want to revive have already become bones?
"Has Lord Orochimaru truly not considered this problem?"
Orochimaru remained silent.
But his mind began racing.
In just an instant, he seemed to think of something.
"You mean… you intend to use Impure World Reincarnation to complete the final resurrection?"
Orochimaru thought it over and realized that this seemed to be the only method that was both reasonable and effective enough to truly revive a person.
One's Own Life Reincarnation used massive life force to revive a person.
Impure World Reincarnation created a body suitable for the summoned soul.
If these two techniques were combined, perhaps it really would be possible to undo the Impure World Reincarnation state, reconstruct the damaged body, reignite a true flame of life, and finally complete resurrection.
No wonder Hikaru was familiar with Impure World Reincarnation.
Aside from being a member of the Senju Clan, perhaps he had planned this from the very beginning.
"Correct. Although I have not tested it yet, that does not stop me from making the hypothesis."
Hikaru smiled and nodded.
His gaze shifted slightly, locking onto a wall.
Behind that wall was where Kabuto was.
"Especially since I knew Lord Orochimaru had been studying Impure World Reincarnation, I also began thinking about how to turn white bones back into living people.
"So I thought of this method.
"After thinking it over, it seemed to be the only viable approach.
"That is why I did quite a bit of research."
That statement was pure nonsense.
He had not done any research at all.
He was completely basing his theory on the way Uchiha Madara had been revived.
After all, resurrection was resurrection.
The Rinne Rebirth Technique summoned the soul and granted life force.
One's Own Life Reincarnation did the same.
If the compatibility between them was that high, then the effect they produced when applied to Impure World Reincarnation might not be too different.
Hikaru had to test it.
If it truly succeeded, then if an accident happened in the future and some idiot summoned him with Impure World Reincarnation, Hikaru might even be able to rescue himself.
"Enough. No need for more nonsense. I can give you some materials. Interesting materials."
Looking at the still-silent Orochimaru, Hikaru chuckled and spoke slowly.
"If you can reproduce and clone more of these materials, then perhaps in the future, you will be able to summon a Senju Hashirama with full power.
"But before I give you these materials, I need the original, true version of One's Own Life Reincarnation.
"And I also want your modified version.
"What do you think? Can this deal be made?"
…
Hikaru casually threw out a kunai and killed the Uchiha shinobi who had just opened his eyes in confusion and was instinctively greedily breathing fresh air.
Then he left Orochimaru's laboratory quietly with a large stack of documents.
Orochimaru, meanwhile, looked solemnly at the large white, flesh-like tissue in his hand.
What Hikaru had given Orochimaru was naturally the body of a White Zetsu that he had already squeezed of all value.
To someone like Orochimaru, this thing was absolutely priceless.
But Hikaru had no need to cut himself open and stuff these things into his own body.
As for Hashirama's power and the other powers inside White Zetsu, he could obtain them through other methods.
Naturally, he no longer needed these things.
Besides, these things could not be planted twice.
There was little meaning in Hikaru keeping them.
However, he did not give Orochimaru too much.
If he gave too much, there was no telling what other strange things Orochimaru might create.
Giving him a suitable amount for research was enough.
Of course, if Orochimaru could truly mass-produce them, then Hikaru would definitely thank him properly.
After all, Hikaru himself needed these White Zetsu bodies badly.
The more Orochimaru produced, the more Hikaru could hang them on trees.
Then, he could extract the powers he needed from them and integrate them, allowing himself to obtain tremendous improvements.
Using the Flying Thunder God Technique, Hikaru returned to Konoha.
After that, he began focusing on reading and studying the materials Orochimaru had given him.
He had specifically asked Orochimaru for two versions.
His purpose was clear.
One version was something he would keep for himself and would not use lightly.
Using another person's life to resurrect someone looked extremely evil.
Although Hikaru did not particularly care, he still had to carefully consider the consequences.
So Hikaru would not easily reveal this version.
Orochimaru was a smart man.
From the fact that Hikaru requested two versions of the technique, he immediately understood the meaning behind it.
Before escaping Hikaru's protection and control, Orochimaru would absolutely not leak this matter.
And once this matter leaked, Orochimaru himself would face no small amount of trouble.
This world did not have the exact story of "an innocent man is guilty because he carries treasure," but it did have similar logic.
Orochimaru had first been harshly taught a lesson by Hikaru's disguised identity.
Then he had witnessed the Rinnegan.
Finally, he had discovered that Hikaru had practically "returned to fifty years ago" and become a second Senju Hashirama.
He knew this shinobi world was anything but simple.
His strength was more than enough against ordinary people.
But in front of monsters like that, he could be killed in minutes.
So being too high-profile was courting death.
He would not bring such trouble upon himself.
"After all, Orochimaru has always been a smart man. Working with smart people barely requires reminders. You only need to do one thing, and they can guess what you intend next."
Having such an intelligent collaborator made Hikaru very pleased.
Of course, Hikaru's own subordinates were not bad either.
After all, he had the support of the Nara Clan.
Right now, Nara Shikaku had begun working with the Foreign Affairs Department to establish contact with Kumogakure.
As for that matter, Hikaru only needed to tell them what he wanted.
Everything else required no further attention from him.
The Foreign Affairs Minister was new.
In fact, this department itself was new, having been separated from other responsibilities.
So it was only natural that Shikaku assist them.
The results so far seemed fairly good.
Although Hikaru had not focused too much attention on this matter, it was still a major affair for Konoha.
However, this newly formed Foreign Affairs Department and Shikaku appeared to be cooperating quite well.
The news Hikaru received was mostly good.
Kumogakure had little intention of resisting.
Perhaps to them, ending this damned state of war as quickly as possible was the best possible outcome.
If the war continued and Konoha suddenly changed its mind, physically turning the Five Great Shinobi Villages into four, then Kumogakure would truly be finished.
Shikaku and the others had clearly noticed Kumogakure's abnormal attitude.
Since the negotiations were being held in Konoha, they immediately sought Hikaru's instructions.
Hikaru's reply was very simple.
As long as they ensured Konoha obtained everything he wanted, they could squeeze Kumogakure a little more where appropriate.
But they could not go too far.
After all, a Kumogakure with no fighting strength left would only allow other villages to take advantage.
That was not something Konoha wanted to see.
Shikaku understood this clearly as well.
Konoha's current condition was not perfect either.
Konoha needed stable development to make up for the losses caused by that night's purge.
After thinking it through, Shikaku quickly determined the most suitable degree of pressure to apply to Kumogakure.
Hikaru did not need to worry about any of that.
After spending many days, he finally fully digested Orochimaru's technique.
Afterward, he began roughly studying Impure World Reincarnation as well.
He did not ask Orochimaru for that technique, because he knew Orochimaru most likely would not be willing to give it.
Hikaru still needed Orochimaru, so naturally, he would not do something as foolish as killing the chicken for the eggs.
However, while studying Impure World Reincarnation, he also called Hidan over.
"For this period, you will stay here with me. Familiarize yourself properly with this technique."
Hikaru did not waste words with Hidan and spoke directly.
"Also, prepare yourself mentally. I intend to have the newspaper office publicize your situation somewhat.
"After all, your ability and everything you have contributed are indeed worth publicizing."
After ANBU established its Research Division, Hidan had already begun cooperating with those people on improving and researching medicines.
Who knew how many experiments those research maniacs had performed on him?
But Hidan seemed to enjoy the process quite a bit.
When Hikaru learned of this, he could only shake his head.
He had not expected Hidan to have such tendencies.
No wonder that brat stabbed himself so happily in the future.
So he had been enjoying all of it.
"This is the resurrection technique Lord Hokage wants to study?"
Hidan was extremely obedient in front of Hikaru.
Who knew if Hikaru had left too deep a psychological shadow on him back then?
Of course, Hidan's life had also changed completely.
To some degree, he had already integrated into Konoha.
He now enjoyed life in Konoha.
Especially since he had even made some friends.
Hikaru knew about these things, but he did not interfere too much.
After all, forming bonds was a good thing.
"Yes. This is the resurrection technique."
Hikaru nodded.
"Watch carefully. Learn properly. I am looking forward to the day you produce an outstanding result."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Hidan nodded heavily and said seriously, "I won't disappoint you!"
…
Time quietly moved from Konoha Year 51 into Konoha Year 52.
When the thick snow covering Konoha melted under the sun, the breath of spring swept through the entire village.
Standing atop his own newly carved face on the Hokage Rock, Hikaru looked out over Konoha.
At that moment, his face was filled with a smile.
Throughout Konoha Year 51, Hikaru had completed the integration of power.
After defeating Kumogakure, he had finally ascended to the peak of authority in Konoha.
And during the second half of Konoha Year 51, he had pushed forward reforms while negotiating with Kumogakure.
The result of the negotiations did not exceed Hikaru's expectations.
Kumogakure had no intention of resisting at all.
After all, they were facing someone comparable to Senju Hashirama.
No matter who faced such an existence, their heart would turn cold.
So during the negotiations, aside from holding firm to the bottom line of Kumogakure's own interests, they gave Konoha whatever it demanded.
However, toward Iwagakure, they were slightly tougher.
Although Iwagakure was also a victorious nation, in Kumogakure's eyes, Iwagakure had merely followed behind Konoha and picked up scraps.
But even that toughness had limits.
They had already suffered tremendous losses on the Konoha battlefield, so naturally, they did not want to drag things out too long because of Iwagakure.
And under Ōnoki's control, Iwagakure did not go too far either.
It was acceptable for Konoha to take the largest share.
After all, Konoha had earned that through strength.
Iwagakure truly had taken advantage of the situation. Sometimes, knowing when to stop after gaining benefits was enough.
Moreover, Konoha had not excessively weakened Kumogakure's overall strength.
Its future potential still existed.
If Iwagakure offended Kumogakure too ruthlessly, it was hard to say whether something unpleasant might happen in the future.
Thus, Ōnoki merely seized a large portion of mission shares from the surrounding villages and stopped making things difficult for Kumogakure.
For Iwagakure, that was already a huge profit.
"That Ōnoki really is restrained enough. Smart enough, too."
After learning about this, Hikaru could not help privately commenting on it during small meetings with Kakashi, Nara Shikaku, and Hiruzen Sarutobi.
In his view, Ōnoki was truly smart.
Hikaru had actually hoped Ōnoki would offend Kumogakure to death.
That way, there would be a good show to watch in the future.
In Hikaru's previous life, there had been many cases of potential countries being offended too harshly, weakened, and exploited to the extreme.
The most typical example was after World War I, when the so-called Allied Powers treated Germany like livestock and butchered it viciously.
Calling it bloodsucking was already mild.
It was practically killing the chicken to take the eggs.
And what was the result?
Germany could not repay its debts.
So, enraged and driven to madness, they produced a certain little mustached man.
If I can't repay the debt, then I'll kill the creditors. Then I won't need to repay anything, right?
Although this kind of thing was not unique—some figure in the Middle East had done something similar—their starting points were different.
Kumogakure surrendered directly.
Their war reparations were also continuously being delivered to Konoha.
And in the Land of Hot Water, Kumogakure's shinobi had completely withdrawn.
Konoha's forces had begun stationing troops there.
In other words, under Hikaru's control, Konoha's sphere of influence had expanded significantly.
Naturally, this made the entire village boil with excitement.
With the newspaper office's propaganda, Hikaru's reputation reached a new peak.
"But now is not the time to think about these things. I still have more important matters to handle."
Hikaru stretched slightly.
He glanced at the stone face beneath his feet, then could not help smiling and shaking his head.
This face had started construction in Konoha Year 51.
But because the craftsmen were not shinobi, it had taken longer than expected.
It was only in March of Konoha Year 52, after Hikaru celebrated another birthday in this world, that the statue was officially ready for use.
However, this statue also made Hikaru want to complain.
Because it seemed the sculptors had deliberately adjusted his appearance to look older.
According to them, looking a little more mature would give people a greater sense of security.
At first, Hikaru had supported this explanation.
There was no helping it.
Back then, he had not yet come of age, so he did not mind them making him look slightly more mature.
But when he inspected the finished product, he realized this was not "slightly more mature" at all.
They had basically carved him to look over thirty.
"Thankfully, the general outline is still the same. They just adjusted the gaze to make me look older. But did they need to make me look that old?"
Hikaru could now be considered an adult.
Before this, he had not really calculated his own age.
After all, as a transmigrator, his mental age was much older than his physical age.
Constantly calculating his biological age did not feel very realistic.
Besides, Hikaru was busy.
He was too lazy to celebrate his own birthday.
In his own mind, he had assumed he was still relatively young.
But during his birthday in Konoha Year 52, countless former classmates came to visit.
Only after reminders from Senju Shōma and Kakashi did he realize that he had already become an adult.
"Time really passed without me noticing. Interesting."
Hikaru sighed softly, then stretched slightly.
With a surge of chakra, he vanished instantly.
When he appeared again, he had silently arrived at ANBU headquarters.
Looking at everything familiar around him, Hikaru felt some pride in his heart.
He had risen from ANBU, so naturally, he had some feelings for the place.
Even though he had been forced to join ANBU back then, this place now bore his mark completely.
And likewise, ANBU had left its mark on him.
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