Before long, as instructed, an Ame-nin delivered a corpse into the sealed chamber.
Inside waited two people: Hanzō, and Yakushi Nonō.
Once the Ame-nin left, the two immediately began their preparations.
"Let me say this first," Nonō warned calmly.
"Dead Soul Jutsu has a distance limit. At most, you can control the puppet from one hundred meters away."
She continued:
"After the technique is applied, the corpse can temporarily regain certain biological functions—heartbeat, breathing, muscle tension."
"But there's one exception."
"Chakra."
"The puppet must be fueled entirely by the chakra you infuse into it. Whether it moves, fights, or performs jutsu, it consumes that single reservoir of chakra. Once it runs out, the puppet collapses back into an ordinary corpse."
"Of course, depending on the amount and nature of what you infuse, the puppet can use some of your ninjutsu. How powerful it becomes depends on how skillfully you can manipulate it."
Hanzō nodded.
"Understood. I'll leave the rest to you."
"Then I'll begin."
"First, I'll restore its physiological functions. When that happens, inject your chakra immediately."
"Ninja Art: Dead Soul Jutsu."
As Nonō performed the technique, the corpse gradually lost its lifeless pallor.
Heat returned to its flesh, faint traces of color rose beneath the skin, and—finally—its heart began to thump again.
"Hurry. Inject your chakra."
"I know."
Hanzō pressed his hand against the corpse's chest, sending chakra into the reanimated flesh.
But suddenly Nonō's eyebrows pulled together tightly—then her eyes widened.
"Stop. Stop immediately."
Hanzō quickly withdrew his hand.
"What happened?!"
Nonō inhaled sharply, then placed her glowing hand over the corpse, performing Chakra Scalpel Extraction.
A small pebble-like fragment—barely the size of a fingernail—slid out of the corpse's tissues.
"Your chakra is… wrong."
"The chakra I used to restart the corpse's body was completely disrupted—no… corroded—by yours."
She looked at him, seeking an explanation.
Hanzō replied honestly:
"My chakra contains senjutsu. If mishandled, it can petrify ordinary chakra—and flesh."
"That's likely what caused this."
"Senjutsu…"
Even Nonō—the legendary "The Wandering Miko"—was stunned.
But she calmed herself quickly.
"Then that explains it."
"To reanimate a corpse, its body must be jump-started with ordinary chakra. But now…"
She shook her head.
"There's no time for you to learn that step yourself."
Hanzō frowned.
"My Sage Mode can't be turned off… So there's no workaround?"
Nonō thought for a moment, then offered:
"Perhaps… if I infuse your body with a trace amount of senjutsu chakra first, your own chakra will acquire a slight resistance to mine."
"Then your chakra might no longer overload the corpse during the ritual."
Hanzō considered it.
"That makes sense. But isn't senjutsu dangerous?"
Nonō shook her head.
"Not the way I'll do it. I'll only inject a tiny amount of senjutsu chakra—far too little to cause petrification."
"Your task is simply to keep your own chakra in balance: physical-spiritual-natural energy three parts, senjutsu chakra one part."
"That's all Sage Mode really is—controlling the ratio. You're skipping the hardest step: sensing natural energy."
Then, remembering Jiraiya's imperfect Sage Mode expression, Hanzō added:
"I'll run the chakra flow of my Sage Mode through your body once. Memorize the route. It's the structure best suited for human physiology."
Moments later, as Hanzō injected senjutsu chakra into her body, Nonō's expression slowly changed.
"My body feels… lighter. Even my cells feel stronger."
"Don't lose focus. Memorize the chakra circulation pattern."
"Right."
...
Half a day later
Hanzō folded his arms behind her.
"I didn't expect your talent to be this high. If you learned how to sense natural energy, you could probably enter Sage Mode on your own."
Nonō rolled her eyes.
"That's the hardest part. I can't rely on calling you every day, can I?"
Hanzō coughed lightly.
Nonō continued:
"Anyway, your chakra should be far less corrosive now. I should be able to perform Dead Soul Jutsu properly."
"But… another problem has appeared."
"To craft a puppet identical to you, I need to infuse the corpse with your chakra."
"But to keep my chakra resistant, I need your senjutsu chakra infused into me."
"Which means: one of your chakra types must be infused into me, and the other into the corpse—simultaneously."
"That requires split-focus on a near-impossible level—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
Because Hanzō had already formed a Shadow Clone.
Nonō exhaled.
"...Fine. Let's begin."
"Ninja Art: Sage Style: Dead Soul Jutsu."
The corpse regained color once more.
Its heartbeat pulsed strongly in its chest.
"Steady your chakra! Even with my guidance, this body cannot withstand heavy senjutsu erosion."
"Understood…"
Beads of sweat rolled down Nonō's temples.
Even Hanzō's face had become serious.
The two worked in silent concentration.
---
Two hours later
Both finally released a long breath.
"It's done."
The corpse's original appearance had vanished—and in its place stood a perfect replica of Hanzō of the Salamander.
Under Hanzō's control, the puppet slowly rose to its feet.
Chakra circulated through its network, blood flowed, the heart pounded vigorously.
It looked… alive.
Nonō inspected it.
"Excellent. Perfect."
"This corpse contains senjutsu power. Its combat ability surpasses what it had before death. Your control range should also be doubled."
Hanzō nodded, but something still bothered him.
"It's missing one thing."
"My venom sac. The puppet has no toxin organ."
Nonō waved her hand dismissively.
"That's easy. I can implant a regular salamander venom sac with Chakra Scalpel. Your senjutsu chakra will protect you from contamination."
But Hanzō shook his head.
"Not enough."
"Can you seal my own poison gas into it?"
Nonō hesitated.
"Seal your original toxin into the artificial sac…?"
"Yes."
She thought for a long moment.
"…It will be difficult. But possible."
"Then I'll leave it to you."
...
By the time it was done, an entire day had passed.
"All right," Nonō finally said, stretching her back.
"I should return. Those students will be wondering where I've gone."
"Thank you. Truly."
Nonō departed.
Hanzō looked at the puppet in silence.
"This will guarantee my safety. Now… let's see what Konoha plans."
A cold smile tugged at his lips.
"Konoha needs to suffer a little."
"Maybe I should have Suna coordinate with me…"
—
Back in his office, Hanzō picked up a sheet of paper and quickly wrote a message.
"Hattori Murakami."
A masked Ame-nin knelt.
"Here."
"Send this to Sunagakure via hawk. Encrypt it."
"Yes."
As the messenger vanished, Hanzō leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowing.
"Trying to scheme against me huh?"
"Unless Konoha pays in blood, I'll kill them myself."
"Let's hope the 'gift' they prepared for me… isn't too disappointing."
-----------------------------///
150 Powerstones - Bonus Chap
300 Powerstones - Bonus Chap
500 Powerstones - Bonus Chap
700 Powerstones - Bonus Chap
1000 Powerstones - Bonus Chap