Thud…
The glass jar containing the Rinnegan was set upon the wooden table, making a faint sound.
Ye Zi silently sat down. He had already carved an illusion into his left Mangekyō eye, and was now preparing to transplant the Rinnegan into himself. After the transplant, he would still need some time to adapt and master it.
From the moment he placed the jar on the table to the moment he sat down, less than a minute had passed before he suddenly reached out his hand and directly gouged out the eye in his left socket.
With the expression of someone under anesthesia, his face remained calm as he took the Rinnegan out of the glass jar, adjusted its position, and pressed it into the bleeding socket.
Closing his left eye, the blood flowing out gradually slowed down as the wound began to heal.
Five minutes later, Ye Zi slowly opened his left eye, revealing the Rinnegan within.
"So this… is the power of the Rinnegan…"
Ye Zi muttered softly to himself in the empty room.
The five minutes were enough for the torn wound to heal, and after inserting the Rinnegan, it quickly fused with his body, allowing Ye Zi to sense some changes.
The sensation wasn't very pronounced, but it was indeed different, the flow of chakra was smoother.
After a moment of silence, Ye Zi activated Sage Mode. His right eye turned into a serpent's pupil, but the Rinnegan did not change at all.
He stretched out his hand, palm upward, and gathered chakra into a floating sphere. It was Minato's signature technique, the Rasengan.
When the Rasengan stabilized, threads of lightning spread through it, transforming the neutral Rasengan into a Lightning Release Rasengan.
After dispelling it, Ye Zi tried adding Wind and Fire Release properties to the Rasengan, both of which he managed to stabilize successfully.
After using lightning, wind, and fire, he attempted to add earth and water. He failed a few times at first but eventually managed to stabilize them as well.
"Two more chakra nature transformations... Earth and Water."
Dispelling the fusion, Ye Zi reflected. Originally, he had three nature transformations, though he mostly relied on lightning, rarely using wind or fire. Even with the addition of earth and water, it didn't mean much in practice, since he hadn't mastered many jutsu of those elements.
Compared to gaining extra chakra natures, Nagato's abilities were far more useful.
Ye Zi stretched his hand toward the wooden bed in the corner. With a mere thought, he activated the Rinnegan's power, Banshō Ten'in. The bed screeched across the floor before suddenly flying toward him.
"Hm?"
Ye Zi blinked. The bed's trajectory was off, it flew past him and smashed into the wall behind him, breaking into pieces with a loud crash.
He had intended to pull the bed toward himself, but his control had slipped, sending it off course.
After all, he had just transplanted the Rinnegan. It was impossible to master its abilities instantly.
Casting a glance at the broken bed, Ye Zi used the Outer Path technique of Gedo: Rinne Tensei no Jutsu to drag the remains into the ground, then recreated a new bed using Wood Release.
After setting the new bed in place, Ye Zi stored away the gouged Mangekyō eye and left the room to find Shin.
Walking alone through the corridor, his footsteps echoed heavily in the silence.
On both sides, the dim yellow lamps gave off faint warmth, barely illuminating the hallway.
It was the middle of the night. Most people in the base were asleep. With clones maintaining the outer perimeter, the Snake Squad didn't need to take shifts for guard duty.
After weaving through several corridors, he finally reached Shin's room without encountering a single person.
Ye Zi stood silently outside the door for a while, then knocked a few times before waiting quietly.
Moments later, faint sounds stirred within.
Creak…
The door opened.
Shin, wearing sleepwear, froze when he saw Ye Zi standing there.
He had thought it might be a member of the Snake Squad coming to ask something, but to his surprise it was Ye Zi himself—and in his left eye… the Rinnegan
"Lord Ye Zi?"
Suppressing his shock, Shin spoke.
"Let's talk inside," Ye Zi said calmly.
"Alright." Shin stepped aside.
Ye Zi walked in, and Jin closed the door behind him.
Shin didn't know why Ye Zi had suddenly come so late at night. As he was about to ask, Ye Zi suddenly spoke.
"I want to resurrect Kotoe."
Straightforward as always, Ye Zi never hid his intentions. He stated his purpose bluntly.
Shin's expression shifted, surprise and faint joy flashing in his eyes. He knew Kotoe had always been troubled by being an Edo Tensei body, constantly downhearted and sensitive about it.
He hadn't expected that Ye Zi would have a way to bring her back.
If Kotoe could be revived, she would no longer feel that insurmountable distance between herself and Ye Zi.
"There's a way to revive Kotoe?" Shin pressed eagerly.
"There is one method," Ye Zi replied, still facing the wall.
"What method?" Shin's eyes lit up.
"Rinne Tensei…"
Ye Zi suddenly turned, meeting Shin's gaze.
"Rinne Tensei?" Jin had never heard of such a jutsu.
"That's right." Ye Zi took out the glass jar holding the Rinnegan, pinched between his fingers.
Shin's eyes sharpened as he looked at the eye inside. The Rinnegan in Ye Zi's left eye and the one in this jar were a pair. Connecting this with the talk of resurrection, he immediately realized the link.
"Rinne Tensei is a forbidden technique that only someone with the Rinnegan can use. It can bring back anyone from the dead. But the cost… is the user's life." Ye Zi did not hide anything and revealed the price directly.
"…" Shin fell silent.
Ye Zi didn't speak further either. The room grew heavy with silence.
"To use Rinne Tensei, one must possess the Rinnegan. Not just anyone can adapt to it, but you can. A life for a life, that's the cost of this forbidden technique." Ye Zi's calm gaze fell upon the silent Shin. Death was something humans could never overturn. If one possessed the power to do so, it was only natural that the price would be so steep.
Because the conditions were so strict, Ye Zi had few choices. But he had things he must accomplish, things that would force him onto a path of no return, one where he would surely be destroyed. Before that day came, there were matters he needed to settle.
"This eye… it's meant for me, isn't it?" Shin finally asked, shifting his gaze back to Ye Zi. Even though Ye Zi hadn't said it outright, Jin understood.
To not hide the cost of Rinne Tensei and leave the choice directly in his hands… that was exactly Lord Ye Zi's way.
Shin's emotions grew complicated, tangled with hesitation.
At this moment, countless thoughts flooded his mind, entangling together like a knotted ball of yarn…
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Currently on Chapter 612 - The Ghost Appears On The Battlefield