In a secluded corner of the Mitsumine Military Industry complex, within a newly constructed laboratory spanning approximately 200 square meters, Hibari was currently researching his 'necromancy,' trying to see if he could successfully 'reclass' as a 'necromancer.'
However, judging by the scattered corpses and Hibari's displeased, gloomy expression, it seemed the 'reclassification' had 'failed,' yielding no significant results.
"Skeleton Revival Jutsu!" As if refusing to accept defeat, Hibari quickly performed hand signs in front of his chest, and his chakra surged.
Following his actions, a corpse lying on the ground before him quickly 'moved.' Something seemed to be trying to emerge from within the corpse. Sure enough, in the next second, a bloody skeleton burst through the corpse's flesh and stood up shakily from within.
On the surface, Hibari's 'Skeleton Revival Jutsu' seemed to have succeeded, but in reality, it hadn't. This Jutsu fell far short of Hibari's expectations. It completely failed to achieve the effects Hibari envisioned, only barely managing to make the skeletal frame stand up and possess some 'attack power.' However, this brittle skeletal frame had even less combat power than an ordinary person. After several experiments, a blunt object smashing into it would instantly cause it to fall apart.
Moreover, its movement speed was extremely slow, providing no significant utility whatsoever.
Forget about inheriting any Kekkei Genkai abilities; that was simply impossible!
"My nearly two weeks of effort, and all I got was this useless crap?! It's good for scaring people, but its practical benefit is almost zero!" Hibari grumbled angrily, reaching out and twisting the skeleton's spine. The skeleton quickly disintegrated into a pile of fragmented bones.
That's right, it had been fifteen days since Hibari's first experiment began. The war on the front lines was already in full swing, and it wasn't just the Land of Fire and Konohagakure fighting. The entire world, with the exception of the Land of Wind which remained quiet, had entered a state of heated warfare.
As this war, which swept across half the world, continued to escalate, some people began to give it a name, calling it the 'Great Ninja War'!
Currently, others didn't know, or rather, hadn't thought that far ahead, but Hibari knew very well that this was only the first one; there would be several more Great Ninja Wars to come.
However, these external affairs didn't affect Hibari's engagement in these wicked 'necromancy experiments.' Because the war on the front lines was progressing relatively smoothly, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, leading Konohagakure's elite combat forces through a very stable strategic approach, was steadily expanding their already existing advantages, squeezing Kumogakure's strategic space, and had already achieved two large-scale battle victories.
It was thanks to this that Hibari wasn't too affected, allowing him to calmly research his forbidden Ninjutsu without being conscripted to the front lines.
After dismantling the skeletal frame, Hibari finally let out a sigh of relief and calmed his somewhat irritable emotions. At this moment, he finally understood why his grandfather, Tobirama, could maintain a calm demeanor in any situation.
Presumably, Tobirama must have failed many times when he was engaged in various forbidden Jutsu development. To be able to emerge from so many failures seemed to have greatly benefited his state of mind, at least he wouldn't get overly frustrated no matter what happened.
He plopped down on a soft chair and reached for a book about Edo Tensei. He researched it again, constantly muttering with a frown, "It makes no sense. According to this theory, it should have succeeded. Why did this awkward situation occur? Could it be that I still need to use living sacrifices? Like capturing two living Kaguya clan members to try? But the problem is, living sacrifices are too troublesome and deviate from my original intention... I just want to create 'the dead' from 'the dead,' not revive 'the dead' with 'living sacrifices'... Sigh, could these damned souls really have such a great influence on the physical body?"
Hibari closed the book in his hand and glared angrily at the scattered bone fragments on the floor. In his estimation, this Jutsu shouldn't require souls. After all, he wasn't trying to truly revive anyone; he just wanted to activate the body's physical capabilities and Kekkei Genkai abilities.
But now it seemed that without a soul as a medium, it would be difficult to achieve his desired effects with just the theory of Edo Tensei alone. At best, he would just create some showy but useless skeleton soldiers...
However, if he actually used souls, then he would be back to square one. What would be the point of developing a new Ninjutsu then? He might as well just perfect Edo Tensei!
"Damn it... Is there no Ninjutsu that doesn't involve souls but can still allow a deceased body to exert some of its former abilities? If there is, could I draw inspiration from it???" Hibari muttered to himself helplessly once more.
But as soon as his words fell, he froze.
"Doesn't involve souls, yet can still exert some of the deceased's former abilities... It seems there really is such a Ninjutsu!!!" Hibari suddenly asked and answered himself.
If he remembered correctly, about four years ago, the scoundrel Kakuzu, who ambushed him in the Valley of Water in the Land of Water and almost killed him, his secret technique Jiongu (Earth Grudge) seemed to be a Jutsu that utilized the deceased's former 'hearts' to manifest their chakra nature Ninjutsu!
Although those hearts were still beating, the person was indeed dead. And this Jutsu, developed through the use of the heart as a bodily organ, actually held considerable potential for inspiration.
After all, bones were also a part of the body. While vastly different from the heart, there must theoretically be some common ground. If he could figure out this 'connection'... then he might truly be able to develop the 'Skeleton Revival Jutsu' that Hibari desired, based on Edo Tensei and Jiongu!
Thinking of this, Hibari became somewhat excited. The innovation and development of various Ninjutsu truly couldn't be separated from the word 'inspiration.' Just as the Rasengan drew inspiration from the Tailed Beast Bomb, learning new knowledge points from other Ninjutsu and innovating upon them was not a shameful thing. Therefore, Hibari was very willing to do so.
However, this excitement only lasted a few seconds before Hibari sighed again, his emotions settling somewhat.
Kakuzu, that scoundrel, was already difficult to find. After all, he was a mysterious missing-nin. In the past few years, whenever Hibari sought revenge, he had searched for him, but at best, he would only find some traces before the guy disappeared again.
Moreover, even if he found Kakuzu, the scoundrel might not show Jiongu to Hibari to let Hibari draw some new knowledge from it. After all, this thing was Kakuzu's secret technique, and putting that aside, Hibari and Kakuzu still had an old grudge!
Even if Hibari was magnanimous and extraordinary, willing to let go of their past grievances, Kakuzu himself was nearly beaten to death by his grandfather Hashirama back then. Whether he would be willing to let it go was also an unknown. As for capturing him and interrogating him... that possibility wasn't very high either.
"Tsk, this really is troublesome... But I can't give up now. I have to try and contact that guy again!" Hibari clicked his tongue, muttering unhappily.
He then tidied up the bloody laboratory, which was strewn with bone fragments, changed his clothes, locked the door, opened the barrier, and left the place. He planned to go to the Anbu to send some people out to inquire about Kakuzu's whereabouts.
What? Saying Hibari was abusing his authority? What a joke. He was enhancing his own strength, and if Hibari became stronger, then Konohagakure would naturally become stronger as well. Therefore, this was equivalent to enhancing the village's strength.
In that case, how was it an abuse of authority? It should be considered beneficial to the nation and its people!
In short, Hibari had a plethora of twisted rationalizations in his mind and paid no mind to these details.
As soon as he pushed open the Anbu door, he saw that there were a few fewer people inside. Without a doubt, they must have been conscripted to the front lines by Hiruzen to carry out some secret missions.
However, Hibari didn't ask much, nor did he feel curious. With a quick glance, he spotted that rigid Hyūga clan member, the 'number two,' and then asked, "How's that matter going, the one where I asked you to procure Kaguya clan corpses on the black market? It's been half a month now; there should be some progress, right?"
As soon as the guy heard Hibari's inquiry, he quickly replied, "Deputy Commander, I was just about to come tell you about this. There has indeed been significant progress. A mysterious individual, calling himself 'Kakuzu,' has collected thirteen Kaguya clan corpses these past few days. According to the current market price and our acquisition price, each corpse is worth three million ryo, so the total comes to thirty-nine million ryo. With the 'bulk discount' bonus, we should be paying a staggering sum of forty million ryo..."
At this point, the guy chuckled awkwardly, then continued, "For a normal amount, we'd just put it through Anbu accounting, but forty million ryo... that amount is a bit too large..."
Hibari was also stunned at this moment. What did he just hear? He heard the name 'Kakuzu'! He never would have thought that Kakuzu, that scoundrel, would so openly report his name and come to turn in the mission!
But upon second thought, Kakuzu wasn't doing anything major right now. He was just a small rogue shinobi from Takigakure. Calling him an obscure minor character wouldn't be an exaggeration, so whether he concealed his identity or not didn't seem that important, did it?
What Hibari didn't know was that Kakuzu had revealed his name so sincerely because he wanted to establish a connection with the financier behind this mission. Under normal circumstances, even if he were an 'unknown minor character,' he would still be very wary and not expose his identity.
"What's this about accounting? Am I someone who nitpicks over small gains? I'll pay for these forty million ryo myself..." Hibari glared at the guy somewhat indignantly.
The guy also breathed a slight sigh of relief. Despite Hibari speaking so righteously, at other times, he genuinely liked to 'nitpick over small gains.' Even Orochimaru's book bills were sent to the Anbu every month... Reimbursing through the Anbu's public funds, it was clear just how stingy he usually was.
However, it was fortunate that he occasionally spent lavishly, treating his Anbu colleagues to meals and drinks, and he was never 'stingy' at crucial moments. Therefore, his reputation within the Anbu was quite good, and others simply pretended not to notice his petty actions.
Tobirama received large amounts of tax revenue from the Mitsumine Group every month, so even if he knew about Hibari's 'petty gains,' he would just smile and let it pass.
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