A few minutes later, Gaara and Kimimaro were reborn from the blood pool.
Calling it rebirth was actually just changing into a new body.
After the Jashin Religion's attack on the Hidden Leaf Village, the religion's reputation surged. Simu also raised his level because of this, drastically improving his soul strength and computational capability.
Through his research into various secret techniques of the Hidden Leaf Village and Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation, he already possessed an ample understanding of soul reincarnation.
Manufacturing a body exactly identical to the original based on the genes provided by Gaara and Kimimaro was not a difficult task at all.
What Simu needed to do was merely use an improved version of Living Corpse Reincarnation to transfer their souls into the new bodies.
Furthermore, this soul-based technology could also be applied to other people.
This meant that as long as Simu's subordinates could protect their own souls, they theoretically would not die.
Of course, the natural degradation of the soul was temporarily outside the scope of consideration.
This undoubtedly increased everyone's survival rate massively.
However, executing it in practice still presented some difficulties.
After all, within a few minutes after the death of the physical body, the soul would automatically dissipate and head toward the so-called Pure Land.
Moreover, weapons had no eyes on the battlefield, and enemies would not just watch blankly as you carried away your comrade's body.
But this issue could be handled by letting the transportation-type insects developed by Simu replace them.
In short, relying on this technique to form a viable immortal army system still required more technical support and further planning.
Simu's reflection lasted only an instant under his powerful computational capability.
He stood before the blood pool. Following a surge in the pool, Gaara and Kimimaro walked out completely unscathed.
This was not the first time Gaara had transferred his soul, so he appeared extremely well-adapted. After a brief warm-up, he could freely control this new body.
Kimimaro was somewhat stiff at first. However, due to his formidable combat talent, he likewise adapted to his body rapidly.
Yet, what brought him pleasant surprise was that he could clearly feel this body was much lighter. The burden brought by his Kekkei Genkai, the Corpse Bone Pulse, had been swept away completely. Kimimaro felt unprecedentedly healthy and light!
"Lord Simu, this is..."
Kimimaro looked at Simu with a face full of pleasant surprise.
Simu nodded, confirming his thought. "Your guess is correct. In the future, as long as you regularly replace your body, the side effects brought by the Corpse Bone Pulse can be virtually ignored."
Although it did not show on the surface, a monstrous wave had already erupted within Kimimaro's mind.
He had carried powerful strength ever since he grew old enough to understand things. Behind this strength lay a fate unimaginable to anyone else.
That was the fate of dying as a combat weapon.
Because even if they did not die on the battlefield, they would still pass away from the aftereffects generated by combat.
Yet now, Simu suddenly told him that he did not have to walk toward that certain-death conclusion. He could possess a normal lifespan like an ordinary person and live like a regular human being.
How could this not make Kimimaro feel ecstatic?
"Hmph, it's just living a few years longer, what is there to be happy about."
Sasuke could not understand Kimimaro's feelings. To him, as long as he could kill Itachi, destroy the Hidden Leaf Village, and avenge his clan, it would not matter even if his own life was wiped out immediately.
But Kimimaro was different. He ignored Sasuke's words, knelt down toward Simu, and said with a firm tone, "Kimimaro will pledge loyalty to Lord Simu until eternity."
Simu could feel the fluctuations on Kimimaro's soul. This statement contained no falsehood whatsoever.
But then again, it was only natural for a child who had been treated as a war weapon since childhood to make such a statement upon meeting someone who personally changed his fate.
Kimimaro kept his head lowered. Just as his heart felt a bit anxious, a broad, warm palm rested on his head.
"I accept your loyalty."
Simu's calm voice echoed, and he subsequently announced an order.
"Kimimaro formally becomes the third Divine Son of the Jashin Religion."
Gaara and Sasuke did not react much to this. They had already guessed it back when Simu arranged for Kimimaro to spar with them.
After all, manufacturing a body specifically for someone took a lot of time and resources.
If it were not someone Simu thought particularly highly of, it would be absolutely impossible to conduct this level of sparring.
Kimimaro's performance and potential indeed matched the title of Divine Son.
Meanwhile, Simu's steps to gather talent did not stop there.
Soon, he brought Sasuke and the other two to a church located within the borders of the Land of Water.
This place was likewise a stronghold of the Jashin Religion.
The style of the church remained a minimalist blend of geometric shapes and lines, similar to the church in the Land of Rain.
The main purpose of establishing it here was to distribute free food to the surrounding towns.
As long as the residents here believed in the great Lord, they could receive a loaf of bread from the church every day.
Although it was just a single loaf of bread, to many people, this was their hope for survival.
"Why do we have to take on this kind of boring work?"
Sasuke complained with dissatisfaction while handing out bread to the residents.
His mind was currently filled entirely with thoughts of how to cultivate and grow stronger, and then seek revenge against the Hidden Leaf Village and Itachi. What was the point of distributing bread here?
In comparison, Gaara, who also carried hatred, appeared much calmer.
He did not believe the shopkeeper would do pointless things. Therefore, he just followed instructions without needing any other distracting thoughts.
Kimimaro held an even more blind faith toward Simu, actively explaining to Sasuke, "Lord Simu said that we are here to wait for the arrival of the destined one."
Sasuke's brow furrowed. "The destined one? Who is the destined one?"
Kimimaro shook his head and did not answer.
Since this town had far too many people in need of relief, they stayed busy until late at night before ending today's work.
Given the constitutions of these three, this kind of labor was nothing. The key was the psychological fatigue brought by repetitive actions.
"Finally time to pack up, truly boring."
Sasuke was still complaining.
Gaara and Kimimaro quickly packed up the stall instead, moving the tools they used back into the church.
Right at this moment, a slender and small figure emerged from the darkness.
"Excuse me, is there any bread left?"
A clear, cold voice echoed, carrying a hint of frailty and wariness.
Sasuke looked over at the newcomer. It was a small girl with long black hair, looking frail and exhausted.
"The bread is all gone."
He responded flatly, not feeling much pity for the newcomer.
During his time in the Jashin Religion, his character had already undergone a transformation. He was no longer that innocent young master of the Uchiha Clan.
The girl did not say anything either, merely nodding her head.
"Sorry to bother you."
Her gaze lingered around the church for a moment.
Amidst the spreading darkness, only this church could provide a bit of light.
Unfortunately, this bit of light did not belong to her.
She turned around swiftly, returning to her own dark alley.
But the moment she stepped into the alley, danger suddenly arrived.
A pair of strong and powerful arms locked fiercely around her neck. The immense strength made these arms resemble iron pincers tightly choking her throat.
Her breathing slowed down, and the vision before her began to blur gradually.
Relying on her last shred of clarity, the girl used her hands to complete a hand sign.
A wisp of cold air drifted from her hand, rapidly condensing into a sharp ice spike. Like a sharp blade, it pierced clean through the abdomen of the person behind her!
Blood spurted out along the wound.
The intense pain forced the opponent to loosen his arms. The girl seized the opportunity to break free and retreated swiftly.
Meanwhile, the man whose abdomen had been stabbed through collapsed powerlessly to the ground after a few struggles.
"As expected of a sinner carrying the blood of wickedness, to think you can already master this power so skillfully."
Another dark figure emerged from the depths of the alley.
The girl stared fixedly at this figure, her clear, cold voice becoming as low as a wild beast's.
"Why won't you just let me go?"
She questioned.
She had clearly run very far away, yet these people kept pursuing her relentlessly, forcing her to kill time and time again.
And the sole reason for all of this was because she had awakened a Kekkei Genkai!
The newcomer smiled faintly. "Those carrying wicked blood must perish."
He drew a ninja blade from his waist, charging rapidly toward the girl to kill her.
His speed was simply too fast, so much so that before the girl could form hand signs, the blade's edge had already arrived in front of her.
This is fine too...
The girl simply closed her eyes.
If she could end her unfortunate life like this, it would be fine too.
However, the anticipated death failed to arrive for a long time. Instead, a sharp metallic clashing sound echoed.
The boy who was just distributing bread had appeared in front of her at some unknown point, using the kunai in his hand to block the falling ninja blade.
The firelight generated by the collision lit up the alley.
"Hmph, another brat has come?"
Sensing the opponent's impressive strength, this assassin of unknown origin chose to cautious retreat a step.
But Sasuke did not want to waste time. He closed in directly. After his significantly shorter body twisted forcefully in mid-air for a full rotation, his leg whipped out like a lash, striking the opponent's cheek.
This heavy strike caused the opponent to see stars.
Immediately after, Sasuke pressed his advantage. Just as the opponent regained his senses and prepared to counterattack, he opened his eyes only to meet a pair of crimson eyes spinning slowly in the darkness.
Relying on his two-tomoe Sharingan, Sasuke easily controlled the opponent using genjutsu.
"Who are you, and what did you come here for?"
Sasuke spoke flatly.
After falling into the genjutsu, the assassin in front of him posed absolutely no threat to him anymore.
Furthermore, if nothing unexpected occurred, those two fellows, Gaara and Kimimaro, should also be watching this place right now.
Under the control of the genjutsu, this assassin poured out all the information he knew in one go.
His name was Miyata, a rogue ninja. This time, he was dispatched by an aristocratic lord to hunt down this youth named Haku.
As for the reason for the hunt, it was merely because Haku had awakened the Ice Style Kekkei Genkai.
Under the shroud of the Blood Mist, the citizens of the Land of Water were extremely repulsed by Kekkei Genkai. In some places, rumors had even spread that Kekkei Genkai was the blood of demons, causing many Kekkei Genkai clans to suffer persecution. Haku and his mother were among them.
However, what brought the greatest shock to Sasuke was that this fellow with a pure and cute appearance was actually a boy!
Sasuke looked at the other party with some bewilderment.
Haku's face blushed as he explained, "It's just because I usually don't have time to take care of my hair, so..."
"Fine, you don't need to explain."
Sasuke interrupted his explanation, turning to ask instead, "This person, should I kill him?"
Haku took a glance at that assassin, then nodded his head firmly.
Sasuke shrugged, driving his kunai into the opponent's throat with a casual movement.
It was hard to imagine that two children who looked under ten years old would display such composure toward killing, but in this world, such things appeared completely normal.
After resolving the enemy, Sasuke turned around, preparing to leave.
"Thank you."
Haku spoke to Sasuke's back.
Sasuke curled his lip. "I was only following someone's orders."
Haku's eyes lit up. "Someone told you to come save me?"
Sasuke nodded. "They said you might be that destined one or whatever."
"The destined one... is it?"
"You've hidden for so long, can you come out now?"
Sasuke suddenly looked toward an eye hidden above the alley. That was an eye made of sand.
As soon as these words were spoken, Gaara and Kimimaro indeed dropped down from above the alley.
They had arrived here long ago, precisely to observe Sasuke's combat.
However, the result left them quite disappointed because the opponent was too much of a weakling, completely unable to force out Sasuke's true strength.
"Are you certain he is the destined one?"
Sasuke asked with considerable annoyance.
He had only come to execute this mission just now because he lost a game of rock-paper-scissors against these two fellows.
Kimimaro nodded slightly. "He should be. He might become the fourth Divine Son."
Hearing this sentence, Gaara and Sasuke finally pulled themselves together, reassessing this boy with looks as delicate as a girl's with formal gazes.
This fellow had the potential to become the fourth Divine Son standing shoulder to shoulder with them?
Facing the doubts of the two, Kimimaro merely shrugged. "It's just a possibility."
Subsequently, he turned his gaze back toward Haku.
"Your name is Haku, right? Follow me."
After saying that, Kimimaro did not even wait for the other party to accept or refuse, walking directly toward the church.
Sasuke and Gaara did the same, leaving Haku to follow along in utter confusion.
Although Haku did not know their intentions, judging from the strength Sasuke had displayed just now, regardless of what plans they had, he did not seem to have any room for resistance.
Approaching the brightly lit church once more, a wave of warmth washed over him.
Opening the main doors of the church, beneath a faceless god statue, Simu, dressed in a white long robe, was watching him with a smile.
"Child, you must be hungry. Eat a bowl of noodles first."
Following the direction of Simu's palm, a steaming bowl of noodles was sitting quietly on the table.