Night fell deep in the mountains of the Land of Spring.
A pillar of pale white light suddenly shot into the sky, piercing straight through the heavens. Moments later, a pitch-black shadow drifted silently upward along the beam.
Inside the underground laboratory, Naruto stared at the White Zetsu kneeling beneath the light pillar, deep in thought. The beam had punched straight through the ceiling, dust still drifting down around it. Behind him, a group of researchers sat tensely before rows of monitors.
"The Self-Life Reincarnation didn't revive the Edo Tensei subject. Instead, it resurrected the White Zetsu used as the sacrifice, and expelled the summoned soul.
Fortunately, the forbidden technique can temporarily bind the soul within the vessel… but this light pillar is troublesome."
Kabuto Yakushi stepped forward cautiously.
"Lord Naruto, the Second Tsuchikage has already taken control of the airship and followed the light pillar into orbit.
Also, Professor Keichirō reports that nearly the entire Land of Spring can see the pillar."
"Oh?"
Naruto raised an eyebrow and shifted his gaze.
A massive screen lit up, showing the image of Mu, the Second Tsuchikage. Naruto directly stripped away Mu's will and took control of his body.
Through Mu's eyes, Naruto walked to the window. The airship hovered not far from the pillar. He saw that once the beam pierced the atmosphere, it was abruptly severed—as if cut off by an invisible barrier, like a rod plunged into water and snapped at the surface.
Naruto's eyes flickered.
He guided Mu to the control console, slid both arms into the conduits, and the ship's engines flared to life. After a long adjustment, a metal spear was launched from the ship toward the point where the pillar had been cut off.
The spear flew cleanly into deep space.
"So… not what I thought."
Naruto withdrew his consciousness and took out a glass container.
Kabuto hurriedly reported again, "The Firefly—currently far from the Land of Spring's coast—has also confirmed sighting the light pillar."
Naruto nodded.
He walked up to the White Zetsu, formed several seals with one hand, and stepped straight through the light pillar, pressing his palm against White Zetsu's head.
Pale blue chakra surged over his fingers.
With a light pull—
A translucent soul was dragged out. It wore a short-sleeved shirt bearing the Uchiha clan crest, its face twisted in terror. The light pillar vanished instantly.
"Tobirama Senju must've invented soul-binding techniques for the sake of studying true resurrection…"
Thud.
White Zetsu collapsed to its knees, eyes blank.
"Hm? The resurrected White Zetsu seems to have lost all prior memories."
Naruto shook his head. The soul in his grasp rapidly shrank, dissolving into chakra and merging into his palm.
Congratulations! You have successfully harvested a soul from another world: Uchiha Haruki.
Minutes later, Naruto revived Chiyo again and had her perform Self-Life Reincarnation on another Edo Tensei Uchiha.
This time, the sacrifice was a mature clone grown from Yamato's cells, not White Zetsu.
When the light pillar appeared again, Naruto switched to Byakugan and Sharingan and used Flying Thunder God to enter the airship in space—
Still no results.
Back on the ground, he discovered that this mature clone revived perfectly: all implanted memories intact, cognition stable.
Naruto then tested several White Zetsu again and confirmed two things:
White Zetsu cannot be revived by Edo Tensei
The Mirror World cannot replicate White Zetsu data puppets
"White Zetsu is essentially a living weapon. It has life and awareness, but no soul.
Edo Tensei's core is the soul.
Self-Life Reincarnation grants life to a puppet…
The White Zetsu Chiyo revived earlier was effectively a new White Zetsu."
He frowned.
"Then why was Uchiha Madara able to revive himself directly using an Edo Tensei vessel in the original timeline…
Was it the Rinnegan?"
Naruto made a note of it.
He glanced at the revived Yamato clone, then summoned another White Zetsu. Under genjutsu control, he snapped the clone's neck.
The result: failure.
After losing more than a dozen White Zetsu, Naruto confirmed—
Self-Life Reincarnation cannot be used on vessels without souls.
Elsewhere in the Base
"Uncle Haruki! Aunt Shinya!"
"S-Sasuke?!"
Naruto had his shadow clone bring two revived Uchiha—now World Subordinates—to Sasuke.
"You did it!" Sasuke said, then immediately rushed into Naruto's lab.
"On the contrary," Naruto replied calmly. "The experiment failed."
"…Failed?"
Sasuke froze. "Then the people you sent—"
"They were truly revived," Naruto said. "Just not by this forbidden technique. I'll demonstrate it for you later."
He tossed Sasuke a scroll.
"This is Self-Life Reincarnation. You can use it to revive the Uchiha I brought back for you.
As for your parents—you'll still need their personal genetic material."
Sasuke tightened his grip. "You have other resurrection techniques?"
Naruto smiled faintly.
"Did you think I only had one? Or that I'm the only one in this world who can resurrect the dead?"
Sasuke fell silent.
After a long moment, he asked quietly,
"Then why haven't you revived your own parents yet?"
Naruto's eyes glimmered.
"What do you think?"
"Why do you think I haven't revived them?"
"I don't know," Sasuke admitted. "I've known you this long, yet I still can't understand what you do… or how strong you really are."
"We pursue different things," Naruto replied gently.
"And as for strength—calling me strong is a misunderstanding. Your perspective is simply too narrow."
Sasuke twitched, turned, and left.
Later — Shukaku
Naruto vanished from the lab and reappeared in the plaza where Shukaku had once escaped.
More precisely—he appeared in Shukaku's paw.
The tanuki slammed his head against Naruto's.
"Why so late, Shukaku?" Naruto asked calmly.
"Have you finally decided to move to another continent?"
"Of course not!" Shukaku screeched.
"If none of them are leaving, why should I?! And without barriers, the Demonic Statue would sense me anywhere!"
"Then why call me here?"
Shukaku roared, punching the ground.
"Go look inside the seal and see what that damn fox did!"
Naruto entered the seal space.
He immediately saw Kurama, smugly gripping Shukaku, who was utterly immobilized. Isobu, Son Gokū, and Chōmei watched in silence, sympathy in their eyes.
"…He's endured this?" Naruto muttered.
Kushina quietly pulled Naruto aside.
"Shukaku lost five consecutive simulated battles against Kurama. That was the wager."
Naruto blinked. "How? Their power in the Mirror World should be identical."
"They didn't fight directly," Kushina explained.
"They took turns challenging five data puppets. Kurama proposed it."
"If Kurama lost, he'd admit he's a stupid fox.
If Shukaku lost, he'd stay trapped in Kurama's paw for five days."
"…That wager is unfair."
Naruto's eyes gleamed. "Who were the opponents?"
"Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi, Danzō, the Second Tsuchikage, and the Fourth Kazekage."
Naruto burst out laughing.
Back outside, Naruto said to Shukaku,
"You want me to talk to Kurama?"
"No!" Shukaku snarled.
"I lost fair and square. But my chakra inside the seal is too little. Even Isobu's bigger than me now!"
He thrust a fist forward.
"So I'm giving you more chakra!"
Naruto sighed.
"Have you considered that Kurama might just make the others bigger too?"
"…What?! Did that fox already give them chakra?!"
"They didn't tell you?"
"Damn it! Those three said it was all their own!"
Meanwhile — The Land of Demons
High Priestess Miroku entered a heavily guarded shrine alone.
Beyond a stone door covered in seals lay a massive stone coffin.
"You've finally come!" a violent voice roared from within.
"I'm giving you a choice," Miroku said calmly.
"Release the consciousness of all previous priestesses, and I'll ask him to grant you mercy."
"You lie!" the voice screamed.
"He imprisoned my soul, stole all my power—he'll kill me! That toad is deceiving you!"
Miroku's voice remained steady.
"You're afraid. You want to escape.
Yes—the world will face destruction. But he will give priestesses a chance to enter the new world."
"If you release them, I'll speak for you."
The coffin flared red like bloodshot eyes.
"They're already part of me! They're gone! And as long as priestesses exist, I'll be reborn!"
Miroku shook her head.
"Shion has already awakened. In her visions, all sacrificed priestesses were reborn.
I thought I'd find answers here. I was wrong."
She formed seals.
The shrine erupted with light. The screams faded.
Ten Days Later — Lōran Ruins
Naruto arrived with Sasuke, Jiraiya, Itachi, Mukade (disguised), and Chiyo.
At the sealed Dragon Vein, Jiraiya undid Naruto's reinforcements. Naruto summoned:
Second Mizukage
Third Raikage
Kisame Hoshigaki
Fourth Kazekage, Rasa
"I've sealed off Lōran completely," Naruto said.
"All sensory and barrier units are ready."
"Once the main body arrives," Naruto nodded, "we begin."
The Land of Demons — Final Preparations
Naruto floated beside Miroku above a magma-filled abyss.
"Yin and Yang Release," Naruto mused.
"You split good and evil… and created a monster."
Soon, Mōryō's physical form—a massive black heart—was revealed.
Naruto extended Adamantine Sealing Chains.
High-quality foreign energy detected. Absorb immediately.
The heart rapidly shrank.
Kurama stared.
"Shukaku… what is Naruto?"
"He's not sealing it—he's absorbing it!"
Moments later, the heart vanished completely.
Naruto smiled.
"Mōryō is sealed."
The Soul
Naruto and Miroku returned to the shrine.
Mōryō begged.
Naruto punched through the coffin.
Black clouds spilled out—63 souls.
63 free souls detected. Harvest?
Naruto closed his fist.
Harvest successful.
Lōran — The Dragon Vein
Light erupted.
Special-grade foreign energy detected. Absorb immediately.
Afterward
Sasuke stood, stunned.
"We've returned… to Year 46 of Konoha."
A familiar figure knelt.
"Lord… I, Mukade, have waited six years."
Naruto smiled coldly.
"Really? Because from what I saw—
you've been celebrating my disappearance every single day."
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