Chapter 362: The Second Hokage's Devotion for Madara
It was time to harvest the fruit.
Since it was "harvesting", it naturally required hands, or tools.
Sasuke did not engage in any arguments with Naruto.
Naruto, trapped inside the genjutsu these past days, could only wait helplessly.
Sasuke's genjutsu was just an ordinary illusion, not Tsukuyomi, so he couldn't alter the flow of time.
However long passed in the illusion was exactly how long passed outside.
And no matter how Naruto tried to talk to Sasuke within the illusion, Sasuke never told him why he was using it.
In the end, Naruto compromised. He said, fine, if it had to be genjutsu, then at least give him something decent inside the illusion.
For example, some limited-edition ramen to eat, or a few manga and novels to pass the time.
Sasuke still refused.
Because according to Orochimaru's theory, he had to ensure that when Naruto provided Asura's power, his focus was solely on Sasuke.
So even within the illusion, Naruto couldn't be given anything else that might distract him.
During these days, Orochimaru would occasionally send over various items.
For example, fur from the Two-Tails, a piece of shell from the Three-Tails, mucus from the Six-Tails, and a packet of scale powder from the Seven-Tails.
After being revived, Rin Nohara had undergone a full physical examination. She was perfectly healthy, with no defects.
Based on his earlier ideas, Orochimaru adjusted the "fusion sublimator" used when Hanabi entered Tenseigan Mode and created a new one for Rin.
This new Tailed Beast fusion sublimator could use Naruto Uzumaki's body as a "Tailed Beast relay station", allowing Rin to utilize the power of other Tailed Beasts.
This included using other Tailed Beasts' chakra for Baryon Mode, extending its duration and enhancing its power.
However, to achieve this, the prophecy had to be fulfilled first, Naruto needed to possess the chakra of all nine Tailed Beasts simultaneously.
At present, Naruto already had the original Nine-Tails, and later the Eight-Tails and One-Tails had been added.
As for things like the Two-Tails' fur, these were parts of Tailed Beasts that could be collected. Orochimaru handed them to Sasuke, telling him to insert them into Naruto as well.
The remaining Four-Tails and Five-Tails belonged to Iwagakure. Unless they actively sought them out, they wouldn't be obtainable for the time being.
Although their alliance with Iwagakure had been formed early, it was useless in this regard.
Those two jinchūriki were in a semi-defected state and didn't listen to the Tsuchikage at all.
Aside from Tailed Beast materials, Orochimaru also thoughtfully sent Sasuke some tools.
As mentioned before, "harvesting" required hands, or tools.
Orochimaru had provided the tools.
A gentleman is not born different; he is simply skilled at making use of things.
If you want to drink milk, naturally you need a cup.
At the same time, inserting Tailed Beasts was like unclogging a pipe, so Orochimaru also provided a device specifically for inserting Tailed Beast materials.
And so, Sasuke finally got what he wished for, his mouth filled with childish satisfaction.
But this was only the beginning.
Orochimaru made it clear that even Uchiha Madara, who had bitten off a piece of the First Hokage's flesh and grafted it onto himself, only awakened the Rinnegan when he was on the verge of death.
So the probability of activating it in one go was extremely low.
However, unlike Uchiha Madara, Sasuke could trigger a qualitative change through quantitative accumulation.
He could use a "high-dose infusion therapy."
Continuously absorb Asura's chakra.
This method would be far more efficient than Uchiha Madara's approach.
Speaking of Uchiha Madara, over the past few days, Senju Tobirama had been working tirelessly, though his reanimated body didn't actually need to eat or sleep.
In short, Tobirama used the Flying Thunder God Technique to travel all across the shinobi world, gathering materials for Uchiha Madara's reanimation sacrifice.
He had promised his elder brother that after reviving Madara through Impure World Reincarnation, he wouldn't do anything to him. Therefore, anything he wanted to do had to be completed beforehand.
After working with Orochimaru for so long in research and experiments, Tobirama had gained considerable knowledge in genetics.
With Orochimaru's current genetic technology, it was already possible to create a perfect Sage Mode individual, like those seen in the Boruto era.
That was the power of genetic refinement.
But Tobirama intended to do the opposite.
From Akimichi Ryoko, the most overweight member of the Akimichi clan, he extracted high blood lipids, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar.
From Rock Lee, he extracted the inability to use ninjutsu.
From preserved cell samples left behind by Kurama Yakumo before she recovered, he extracted her frailty.
Likewise, he extracted disease traits from the samples of Kaguya Kimimaro and Ameyuri Ringo.
Tobirama even personally went to a mass grave of the Kaguya clan, where he found the most severely osteoporotic remains and extracted that condition.
Then, he tracked down Jiraiya, who was training in Sage Mode, and extracted kidney deficiency and swamp discharge.
He found the semi-retired Ōnoki and extracted cognitive impairment.
Originally, as the Tsuchikage, Ōnoki firmly refused when Tobirama approached him for that.
But the moment Tobirama mentioned it was for preparing a body for Uchiha Madara, Ōnoki immediately agreed.
And so, after traversing mountains and rivers, tirelessly moving across the shinobi world, Tobirama finally completed his collection.
He even prepared two sets of all materials.
One for cultivating the Impure World Reincarnation sacrifice body, and another to implant after the reanimation to ensure effectiveness.
"Tobirama, you've worked hard."
Senju Hashirama was deeply moved as he patted his younger brother on the shoulder.
He had witnessed all the effort his brother had put in over these days for Madara's reanimation.
Even if an Impure World Reincarnation body didn't feel physical fatigue, the heart could still grow weary.
Even during earlier experiments with Orochimaru, there had always been a balance between work and rest.
But these past few days, he hadn't stopped even once.
That Hyūga girl named Hanabi had even slandered his brother, saying something like, "When people are doing bad things, they don't feel tired."
That was too much.
His brother had clearly let go of hatred and conflict.
He was wholeheartedly preparing a suitable body for Madara, so that Hashirama could have a proper conversation with him and guide him back to the right path.
Outside the village.
Another open field.
Senju Tobirama took a deep breath and slapped his hand onto the ground.
"Impure World Reincarnation!"
A coffin slowly rose from the ground.
Senju Hashirama watched it with anticipation in his eyes.
Shiromo, Nagato, and Konan were also observing nearby.
There were also a few children watching for fun.
Nagato had come in person. He wanted to see with his own eyes this legendary shinobi he had never met, yet who had shaped his entire life.
At the same time, he wanted to see what expression this legendary figure would have upon discovering he could use Limbo.
Thud.
A sound came from inside the coffin, as if someone had kicked against it.
The coffin trembled slightly, then fell still again.
"He was trying to kick the lid open, right?"
"Yeah, it seems like he failed."
"Was the coffin made with Wood Release by the First Hokage?"
"Doesn't seem like it."
"..."
(End of this chapter)