A flood of information poured into Zenji's mind—more detailed hand seal sequences, additional Fire Release and Earth Release techniques.
Filtering out the irrelevant data, he opened his glowing blue eyes.
"The Third Shinobi World War hasn't been going on for long. Namikaze Minato's name hasn't spread yet, and Obito is still alive."
He let out a slow breath. There was still time.
"But Konoha's really pushing it, deploying a member of the Hyuga Main House to this battlefield."
The primary forces clashing between Konoha and the Hidden Mist were the Hyuga and Uchiha clans. Uchiha Fugaku was somewhere on this front, and his eldest son Itachi was barely a year old.
"The Third War started around Year 47 and ended in Year 50, if I'm remembering correctly." Zenji recalled a timeline he'd once seen online. "In the later stages, when things were relatively safe, bringing a four-year-old to observe the battlefield actually made sense."
"But would the Hyuga Main House really deploy to a combat zone?"
His eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
A name surfaced in his memory: Ao of the Hidden Mist. The man had obtained a Byakugan during the Third Shinobi World War.
"Byakugan..."
Greed stirred in Zenji's chest—not for power itself, but for the experience and survival advantages it represented.
He raised a hand to his forehead. The dim purple-blue chakra surrounding him shifted.
The eerie aura vanished completely, replaced by something warm and radiant.
His chakra turned blue-white, brimming with vitality and positive energy. The complete opposite of the Yin Release chakra filled with curses and death—this was Yang Release chakra, saturated with purification and life.
The Reverse Cursed Technique. The second-fastest technique he'd learned.
"This really is a perfect match for the Tiger Talisman," he murmured, recalling how easily he'd grasped it.
Even so, it couldn't compare to his natural talent for Barrier Techniques.
Activating Idle Transfiguration with Yang Release chakra, his body began to shift and squirm. For a moment, he appeared to be transforming into Uchiha Seisho's likeness.
But the blue chakra light grew unstable. Zenji's expression changed.
He halted the transformation immediately and reverted to his original form.
"Still doesn't work." He took a deep breath, his gaze turning solemn.
Just now, he'd attempted to use Idle Transfiguration to alter his physical body—not just cosmetically, but at the cellular level. He'd tried to replicate the structure of a native's one-hundred-thirty-trillion-cell body.
The result: massive chakra consumption and accelerated cellular destruction. Worse, it had destabilized his Yin-Yang balance, pushing the Tiger Talisman to its limits.
"It's not the genuine article, after all. I have to rely on myself."
He shook his head slightly, abandoning the idea of restoring his body through direct transformation. The path forward still required creating a Horcrux and performing the Incarnation technique to claim a new life.
"This body has flaws, but its ability to store chakra has tremendous research value."
"I could use my own flesh and blood as a base template, then integrate the cellular structure of a native ninja's body. Ideally, I'd incorporate the physical talents of multiple experts to create the strongest possible vessel."
His thoughts drifted to the Byakugan and Sharingan—two dojutsu capable of evolving to their absolute limits. He even considered the Six Eyes.
Then there was the Sage Body, and various physical Kekkei Genkai...
"To achieve the perfect body, I'll need corpses from powerful ninjas." His mind returned to the Byakugan.
"Fortune favors the bold... but the bold can also lose everything."
"I need to be fully prepared."
He turned and walked out of the wooden cabin.
Directly opposite, at the valley's edge, a cave entrance waited. That was where Zenji actually lived.
Inside the cave, he sat cross-legged and focused his perception on his own soul.
With Idle Transfiguration mastered, the secret technique of fragmenting the soul was no longer impossibly difficult.
In fact, it had become relatively simple—though still dangerous.
"I need a safe fragmentation method that won't destroy my internal balance."
His attention shifted to the Tiger Talisman floating in his consciousness.
If any safe method existed, it would involve the Talisman's divine power.
The entry for the Tiger Talisman in the Book of Ages shattered, flooding his mind with detailed information.
After meticulous analysis and deduction, Zenji formulated a logically consistent plan.
"Time to experiment."
Of course, he wasn't foolish enough to test directly on his own soul. No matter how confident he was, that would be reckless beyond reason.
First, he ventured outside the barrier and captured several animals. Using the Tiger Talisman's power, he attempted to divide their Yin and Yang.
"Yin Release chakra can split the soul. Yang Release chakra can split the physical body. But performing both simultaneously is impossible."
At his feet, two identical rabbits lay on the ground. Above them floated two identical rabbit souls.
One lunged aggressively while the other scrambled to escape.
"No problems with animal trials. Next step: humans."
Zenji glanced beyond the barrier. The ninja world had one advantage—bandits and mountain robbers were plentiful.
After a few hours outside, he returned with a captured bandit.
His hand flashed purple-blue as he reached forward. The man's soul was instantly wrenched free.
Under the Tiger Talisman's divine power, the bandit's soul split in two.
The two bewildered halves stared at the scene in shock—then reacted completely differently.
"Ninja lord, spare me!" The soul glowing blue-white collapsed to its knees, weeping. "I was forced into this life! I know I've done wicked things. I'll accept any punishment—just please don't kill me!"
The purple-black soul beside it flew into a rage, pointing at its counterpart. "Bastard! Coward! Stand up!"
"So what if we die? I've had my fun. Go ahead and kill me if you've got the guts!"
"Good and evil were indeed separated." Zenji observed the two souls, his gaze lingering on the kneeling one.
The blue-white soul appeared pure, but subtle resentment flickered deep in its eyes. Zenji noticed.
"Not thorough enough, though. This must be the gap between the pendant and the genuine article."
Fortunately, he only needed a safe fragmentation method—not perfect separation of good and evil. The limitation didn't matter.
Converting his Yin Release chakra to Yang Release, Zenji directed his hand toward the bandit's corpse.
White light blazed across the body. It jerked and squirmed as two heads sprouted from the shoulders. Then the light flared blindingly bright.
When it faded, two bandit corpses lay on the ground.
Ignoring the shouting souls, Zenji knelt and began examining the bodies.
He researched continuously for seven days. The two fragmented souls showed no abnormalities whatsoever.
That was enough to prove the method's safety.
Zenji casually activated the divine power, merging the two souls back into one, then withdrew his Idle Transfiguration. The reunited soul dissipated instantly.
"Time to create the Horcrux."
Cursed Object sounded too unpleasant. He preferred the other term.
Black-purple chakra surged into the Tiger Talisman. Divine power acted upon his soul.
His consciousness split. His soul divided into two.
One half bore a youthful face—Zenji as he'd appeared just after transmigrating.
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