Chapter 330: Resurrection and the Afterlife?
"My young friend Amamiya, it has been a long time."
When Amamiya Kenichi found Amado, he was having a meal with his daughter. To be more precise, though, it was less a meal and more an attempt to make the Edo Tensei Akebi seem more human.
Still, what Kenichi was more curious about was whether Edo Tensei Akebi could actually digest food after eating it. Personally, he doubted it.
He had researched Edo Tensei himself before. Although those brought back by it appeared alive, in essence they had very little need for food. That was one of the biggest differences between them and the truly living.
"Long time no see, Mr. Amado. Where's Deidara?" Kenichi asked as he looked around curiously.
Amado had probably spent most of his recent time trying to research a true method of reviving his daughter, yet he could still spare the effort to help Sasori solve problems. That alone was enough to show how capable he was.
Still, Kenichi was more concerned about where Deidara had gone. He planned to have Deidara take Uchiha Hikari out for a walk. Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to discuss future matters with Amado.
Hikari was very important.
Although she did not possess much secret knowledge from the Warring States era, her own ability was extremely mysterious. Kenichi planned to use it to research other things later, such as communication systems and even something closer to an internet network.
Because of that, for the time being, he had no intention of doing anything that might upset Hikari.
Hikari, meanwhile, was curiously observing Edo Tensei Akebi. The latter had delicate makeup on her face, making her look very close to a normal person, but for some reason, Hikari still felt that this older sister was a little strange.
"Deidara? He's become very interested in explosions. I made a small gadget for him earlier so he could study how to increase their power. As for now, I suppose..." Amado thought for a moment, then pointed in a certain direction.
But before he could finish, a deafening boom erupted from that very direction.
A mushroom cloud rose into the sky, followed by a shockwave, and Kenichi instantly understood what Deidara was doing.
He was a little speechless.
At that moment, he suddenly began to wonder whether it was still a good idea to let Deidara take Hikari out. If Deidara ended up leading her astray and turning her into some kind of bomb obsessed little monster, that would be a real headache.
But the problem was that, at the current research base, the only people available were himself and...
Hm?
Kenichi thought of something.
While there were not many people at the base right now, there was still another group in the Land of Rice Fields.
The Uchiha clan.
The problem was that Hikari had once been tortured and imprisoned by her own clansmen. It was hard to say what kind of feelings she still held toward them. If the two sides clashed, that would also be troublesome.
But compared to that, the idea of Deidara turning Hikari into a walking explosives fanatic gave him an even bigger headache.
Although Deidara should not go too far under his orders, this kind of thing was really hard to guarantee...
"Mr. Amado, I..." Kenichi had originally planned to ask for Amado's opinion, but when he noticed Edo Tensei Akebi looking at Hikari with clear interest, and Hikari herself not seeming afraid but merely curious, he immediately had a new idea.
"Hikari, why don't you go take a walk with Akebi neechan first? I have some serious matters to discuss with Mr. Amado." Kenichi smiled and rubbed Hikari's head.
Akebi also seemed eager.
After all, she was a girl as well. She naturally had more in common with another girl. Though her father treated her very well at the research base, there was still an obvious generational gap between them, and naturally fewer things they could truly talk about.
"Okay." Hikari agreed very readily.
She was not the type to throw a tantrum. Since Brother Amamiya said he had important matters to discuss, then what she needed to do was simply avoid disturbing him.
"I wonder about Akebi..." Kenichi had been about to ask one more time, but when he saw the bright expression on Akebi's face, he realized there was no need to worry.
Amado, on the other hand, looked at his daughter in surprise.
It had been a very long time since he had seen her smile like that.
Although she had smiled occasionally before, those had mostly been polite smiles. They had only made Amado feel more sorrowful, and he had spent all this time trying to find a solution.
He had never expected it to turn out like this.
As the two girls walked away chatting, Kenichi took out a teapot, heated it, poured tea for both himself and Amado, then glanced at the older man.
"Mr. Amado, it seems you don't really understand your daughter's thoughts all that well," Kenichi said with a smile.
Amado did not refute him. He only gave a bitter smile.
"I used to think that bringing her back into this world was already the best thing I could do for her," Amado sighed.
In the past, he had not paid enough attention to his daughter. Only after her death had he gone mad trying to bring her back.
Even now, while using Edo Tensei, he had been more focused on forcing the idea of resurrection onto his daughter than on understanding her feelings.
"Children's thoughts are always complicated. Honestly, I already think you're doing very well as a father. But being alone for too long is still lonely. Humans are social creatures, after all." Kenichi sighed.
A father like Amado was already rare. He had always wanted to resurrect his daughter, and now he was almost there. No one could doubt how much he cared about her.
But humans were complex beings. It was never easy to handle relationships with children.
If it were easy, then in his previous life there would not have been so many psychological problems caused by family relationships.
In the end, being a parent was not easy. Being a child was not easy either.
From both sides, there were always things the other could not fully understand. And although empathy was the most basic method of solving this, most people understood the concept only in theory. Once an argument started, whether they would actually use it was a different story.
"Let's not talk about that. Young friend Amamiya, you know why I asked you to come here this time, don't you?" Amado waved a hand, clearly cutting off the topic.
There were many things he understood in his heart, but what concerned him most now was still the matter of resurrecting his daughter.
"I know. Your research into Edo Tensei must have reached a bottleneck, right?" Kenichi smiled. Of course he understood why Amado had called him.
Although Edo Tensei was a powerful jutsu, it still had many limitations. At the very least, it was fundamentally different from the complete resurrection Amado truly desired.
"Yes. Edo Tensei is indeed a powerful jutsu, but its limitations are also severe." Amado sighed. "I have already improved it as much as I can, but there has been no real breakthrough."
Kenichi clicked his tongue inwardly.
This was probably the trouble with geniuses. Amado's research on Edo Tensei had already surpassed Kenichi's own, and perhaps even Orochimaru's, yet he was still dissatisfied.
"I do know of some other ninjutsu that can resurrect the dead," Kenichi said, scratching his head. "But all of them come with considerable limitations."
He really did know of several such techniques.
For example, Chiyo of Sunagakure possessed a unique resurrection ninjutsu, but because the caster would also die after using it, it had been classified as a forbidden technique, and very few people knew about it.
As for most other resurrection techniques, they also came with all kinds of restrictions.
Among them, the strongest was naturally the Outer Path Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique, but that too required the user's life as the price.
Obito had not died instantly after using it, but that was only because of a series of special circumstances. In truth, he had already become a dead man walking. It was a very strange case.
"Resurrection ninjutsu? Young friend Amamiya, you even know about such things?" Amado was visibly shocked.
Anything connected to resurrection in this world was far from ordinary. It could practically be called the domain of absolute taboo.
"I know some of them," Kenichi said plainly. "But those ninjutsu are either extremely difficult to learn, or the conditions are extremely harsh. And even if they can be used, they usually require the user's life as the price."
Knowing about them did not mean he could perform them himself.
At present, Kenichi could not use resurrection ninjutsu.
There might be records in Konoha's forbidden scrolls, but he had never seen them, so that path was closed to him. The only thing he had that was remotely related was Edo Tensei, and his own improved variation, Dead Soul Summoning.
"Life, hm? That sounds a little like some kind of energy exchange..." Amado murmured thoughtfully.
The more he learned about science, the more he understood. But the more he understood, the more clearly he could feel how many things still lay beyond his knowledge.
Kenichi looked at Amado in surprise.
As expected of one of the Ninja World's scientific monsters. He had actually grasped that point on his own.
Many people would never have noticed something like that, much less thought about what it implied.
"Yes, I also think it resembles a kind of energy exchange," Kenichi said with a smile. "One person's soul and chakra are exchanged for another person's soul and life. In a sense, it fits the law of conservation of energy."
He enjoyed talking to people who could keep up with his train of thought. Those kinds of conversations were always more interesting.
As for people who understood nothing, there was simply not much worth saying.
"Conservation of energy... What a precise term." Amado's eyes lit up immediately.
Yes. Conservation.
What a perfect way to describe it.
If his daughter's life were not still the central issue in front of him, Amado would probably have wanted to spend hours discussing the matter with Kenichi. He even had a hunch that many of the problems with his scientific ninja tools and rebound devices might find answers through a conversation like this.
"Actually, Mr. Amado, I think you could consider something else first. Create a pure clone body, erase the soul that belongs to that clone, then place your daughter's soul into it. That might also work," Kenichi suggested.
Proper resurrection ninjutsu was far too difficult, and all of it came with the problem of sacrificing souls. The most troublesome part was acquiring those techniques in the first place. So it would be better to attempt some alternative methods.
Though this idea was not guaranteed to work.
And if one thought about it carefully, it was actually a rather terrifying line of inquiry.
In his previous life, there had always been conspiracy theories claiming that top scientists had already discovered the secret of the soul, and even proven that an afterlife existed, but kept it hidden to prevent people from pursuing death.
Kenichi had always thought such ideas were nonsense.
If that were true, then the rich would already be investing in the afterlife instead of spending ridiculous sums every month on treatments to keep themselves alive.
But in the Ninja World, souls were real.
And based on Amado's previous results, he had already produced several failed copies of his daughter. That meant that in a certain sense...
That was why Kenichi found the question terrifying.
What, exactly, was the relationship between a clone's own soul and the original person's soul?
"I already tried that," Amado said with a sigh. "It doesn't work. My daughter's soul cannot be housed inside her clone."
Kenichi's mouth twitched.
That really was troublesome.
"Mr. Amado, I'm going to Sunagakure this time because of a mission. When I return, if everything goes smoothly, I can bring you a resurrection ninjutsu," Kenichi said after a moment's hesitation.
This was not because he was some kindhearted saint.
Amado's talent was extremely valuable. Kenichi still needed his help in many areas, and if he could make Amado owe him a favor, that was naturally the best outcome.
"Resurrection ninjutsu?" A glimmer of joy flashed through Amado's eyes.
"I will remember this favor," he said seriously.
He knew very well that there was no such thing as undeserved kindness in the world. Every gift came with a clearly marked price.
And he also knew exactly what value he had in Amamiya Kenichi's eyes.
"You can think of a way to control someone, have that person learn it, and then use them to resurrect your daughter," Kenichi added.
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