Plop.
The entire chamber was suddenly illuminated.
Orochimaru had turned on the brightest lights in the laboratory.
This was the lighting he typically used for human dissections, and under its glow, the crystal coffin in the center of the room shone brilliantly.
Inside the crystal coffin lay half of a preserved corpse.
Under the intense illumination, the blood vessels within the corpse became faintly visible, their translucent appearance intertwining with the exquisite engravings on the coffin's surface.
A breathtaking sight.
The characters etched into the coffin became unmistakably clear—messages carried across a thousand years, whispering secrets from an ancient past.
Messages that seemed capable of allowing those who read them to peer into a long-gone era, into the lives and struggles of their ancestors.
"To those who come after me..."
"If you are reading this final message..."
"It means you have reached the pinnacle of human research. It seems you are about to touch upon the realm of death. Perhaps my story may serve as some reference."
Orochimaru read aloud, his tone carrying a faint arrogance, nodding to himself as if affirming that he had indeed reached such a stage in his own research.
"Summoning Jutsu."
"A standard technique used to summon creatures from another dimension through a chakra contract..."
"Humans, too, possess souls."
"A human soul also contains chakra."
Orochimaru's fingers traced the engravings, his voice slow and deliberate.
"Then, is it possible to use summoning techniques to call forth souls from the afterlife and resurrect the dead—to save those in grief who have lost their loved ones?"
Yakushi Kabuto, standing beside him, listened intently.
As an intelligent man, Kabuto quickly recalled the story Orochimaru had just told him—of the Second Hokage reviving Emiya Shigen.
"So..."
"This is the origin of the Reanimation Jutsu..."
"Not just that. The truth is even more astonishing than you think."
Orochimaru's grin widened, his amusement growing as he watched Kabuto's shock.
"Would you like to read further yourself, Kabuto?"
Kabuto hesitated.
He was well aware that learning too much could be dangerous, but his curiosity—especially toward knowledge lost to time—was too overwhelming to resist.
Moreover…
Orochimaru had ordered him to capture a test subject for this very moment.
Slowly, Kabuto reached out his hand.
As Orochimaru's research assistant, he was intimately familiar with human anatomy, and soon, he began deciphering the hidden meaning behind the coffin's engravings.
"In order to communicate with the afterlife..."
Kabuto read aloud, his voice trembling.
"I obtained the remains of the Sage of Six Paths."
"..."
Orochimaru let out a delighted chuckle, watching Kabuto's reaction with satisfaction.
"Surprised?"
"Keep reading. The real revelations are yet to come."
Kabuto nodded, his fingers moving cautiously over the coffin's inscriptions.
"I took the Sage of Six Paths' eyes..."
"I transplanted those eyes—those Rinnegan—into my own sockets..."
"These eyes hold the power to alter life and death..."
Kabuto's breath hitched as he read the next line, his pupils dilating in disbelief.
"To atone for my great mistake, I truly brought the dead back to life..."
Orochimaru observed his subordinate with amusement.
"Do you still want to continue reading?"
"Even if the next words may reshape your understanding of history?"
Kabuto swallowed hard but pressed on.
"Reviving the dead..."
"Always comes with a price..."
"My own life ended as a result of that resurrection."
"To endure the pain that others cannot, to heal the suffering of the world... Perhaps this was always my destined end."
As he finished reading, Kabuto's expression shifted from awe to contemplation.
"No wonder they say Emiya Shigen was the greatest medical ninja in history..."
"What a noble fool."
Orochimaru sneered.
"He didn't need to sacrifice himself. The people he saved should have died, and yet he used divine power to bring them back..."
A man obsessed with eternal life, Orochimaru found himself at complete odds with Shigen's ideals.
Despite admiring Shigen's knowledge, he had no respect for his selfless philosophy.
Because that was precisely what he planned to exploit.
"I will resurrect Emiya Shigen."
Orochimaru turned his gaze to the half-intact corpse inside the crystal coffin.
"I will use the Reanimation Jutsu to bring this ancient medical ninja back to life."
Kabuto was unfazed.
"Has your body started failing, Orochimaru-sama?"
He understood Orochimaru well enough to know he only acted when there was a personal gain involved.
"Or is this about the Rinnegan?"
"Clever as always."
Orochimaru chuckled.
"A bit of both, actually."
"First, I want to know more about the Rinnegan."
"Since joining this mysterious organization, I've witnessed its leader's power firsthand."
"But I'm still too weak to seize those eyes for myself. I need more knowledge first."
His face darkened.
"Second, my body is indeed deteriorating."
Not just deteriorating—he was dying.
Orochimaru had discovered a fatal flaw in his pursuit of immortality.
The Living Corpse Reincarnation technique allowed him to transfer his soul into new hosts, achieving a twisted form of eternal life.
However, constant transfers had left his soul increasingly fragile.
This was not something ordinary medical techniques could resolve.
Even Tsunade wouldn't be able to help him.
Only someone who had studied the very fabric of the soul itself could offer a solution.
And Shigen had done just that.
Shigen had studied both souls and the Rinnegan.
His research aligned perfectly with Orochimaru's needs.
The only problem was…
Shigen was known for being an actual good person.
Orochimaru suspected someone with such moral integrity would not take kindly to his methods.
But that didn't matter.
He was confident he could manipulate Shigen just as he had manipulated countless others.
"Let's begin."
Orochimaru placed his palm on the crystal coffin.
Crack!
The coffin shattered.
A priceless relic, revered for a thousand years, was broken.
Kabuto, as a medical ninja, felt a deep sense of loss.
But Orochimaru was only focused on the corpse inside.
His eyes immediately darted to Shigen's empty eye sockets.
Disappointment flickered in his expression.
"No Rinnegan..."
Someone in the past had removed them.
Perhaps to harness their power.
Or perhaps, out of reverence, believing those eyes had caused Shigen's tragic fate.
"What a pity..."
Orochimaru sighed but quickly moved on.
"Kabuto."
Kabuto dragged a bound and gagged shinobi forward—a terrified Sunagakure chunin.
"Here's the vessel."
The Reanimation Jutsu required two things:
First, a sample of the deceased's remains.
Second, a living sacrifice as a vessel for their return.
Orochimaru's resources were limited, so a chunin had to suffice.
As Kabuto carefully arranged Shigen's remains and positioned the unwilling sacrifice, the Sunagakure ninja squirmed desperately.
"Mmmph! Mmmph!"
Kabuto smiled reassuringly.
"No need to struggle. This is an honor. Emiya Shigen's medical ninjutsu likely saved your life at some point."
"Mmmph! Mmmphhh!"
The man thrashed harder.
"Kabuto, step back."
Orochimaru formed the necessary seals and slammed his palm onto the ground.
"Reanimation Jutsu!"
Dark seals spread across the floor.
The dust began to swirl.
A figure started to form.
"Did it work...?"
Kabuto held his breath.
"It worked."
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with anticipation.
"Wake up... Emiya Shigen."
The reanimated man slowly opened his eyes.
And within them—
A pair of Rinnegan.
Orochimaru's breath hitched.
Shigen took in the sight of Orochimaru's robes and smiled faintly.
"So, I've been revived again..."
"Well then..."
"Shall we begin?"
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Powerstones?
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