Leaving aside how Toneri and Fu's new [Ninja World Metamorphosis] would develop, Naruto had already traversed most of the Ninja World, leaving the large forest where Takigakure was located.
"I thought you would run away."
When Naruto re-entered Isshiki's laboratory, what he saw was Amado sitting obediently on the office chair smoking.
And seeing his appearance, Amado's finger holding the cigarette trembled slightly, then he sighed in a somewhat hoarse voice.
"Has Jigen been defeated by you?"
Seeing the other in this state, Naruto raised an eyebrow.
The fear towards him in the other's heart didn't seem fake, yet he hadn't run away.
'Could this person actually be a loyal follower of that Isshiki?'
This was Naruto overestimating Amado.
This man Amado had never been associated with 'loyalty'.
The reason he accepted Isshiki's recruitment was nothing more than two reasons: coercion and bribery.
Firstly, he couldn't resist Isshiki's force, and secondly, he also wanted to use Isshiki's authority to bring more experimental subjects for his human experiments.
The fundamental goal of all his actions was to resurrect his daughter.
Beyond that, things like integrity, morality, or respect for life were all discardable in Amado's eyes.
He was a father who loved his daughter, but not a good person.
The surface reason he hadn't escaped was that when Naruto threw him back into the laboratory, this guy hit his head on the table and fell unconscious.
Strictly speaking, he had only woken up not long ago.
In fact, if Naruto had come a few minutes earlier, the wound on Amado's forehead would still have been bleeding.
But if it were only that, Amado, who wanted to preserve himself to resurrect his daughter, would definitely have fled with all the materials he could carry the moment he woke up.
The real reason he stayed here was that he knew he couldn't escape.
Whether it was Naruto, who suddenly appeared in the laboratory and made Jigen so panicked, or Jigen himself, they clearly possessed some kind of spatial travel ability.
As someone who had researched Otsutsuki power for several months, he understood this power all too well.
Facing such an existence, even if he had a head start of dozens of minutes, or even if he were sent to the other side of the world, he believed the other could catch up.
Moreover, Amado still held a shred of hope in his heart.
That was about resurrecting people, especially in a world like the Ninja World, full of killing and conflict. He believed this was an irresistible temptation for the vast majority.
No matter how powerful a strong person was, they were still born of parents… they also had people they cared about.
Even if the people they cared about hadn't died, couldn't they buy an 'insurance' for them?
Amado judged others by himself, firmly believing that the technology of 'resurrection' could move anyone… even though it was still under research.
"Uzumaki Naruto, I know you…"
Amado bit his back teeth, then stubbed out his cigarette, and suppressing his fear, stood up and began to state his 'cooperation proposal' to Naruto.
"…How about it? Just give me some more research time, and I can resurrect the dead."
"Think about it, even your parents could come back to life."
The more Amado spoke, the more excited he became, spittle flying, even veins bulging on his forehead.
But Naruto opposite him remained silent the whole time, staring at him without a word.
The gradually solidifying atmosphere in the laboratory made Amado feel as if he were facing an impending volcano, or the sea before a storm.
"Sigh…"
A sigh interrupted Amado's passionate speech.
Then, without seeing Naruto make any move, the partition blocking the surgical area on the side automatically opened, directly exposing the various 'experimental materials' inside.
Some of the people inside were already dead, their bodies dissected, even stored in special glass containers like in a horror movie.
Some were still alive, but not much better off than the dead.
Most of those forcibly implanted with Kama were children, few adults.
They couldn't withstand the erosion of the Kama, with abnormal deformations appearing on various parts of their bodies, even preventing them from basic movement and eating.
Their minds had long been shattered by the Kama's washing, showing no reaction even upon seeing Naruto appear.
And such experimental subjects were only a part.
More 'failures' had already turned into bones buried underground.
"Your style reminds me of another annoying guy. Once you two go to hell, you'll definitely have common topics to discuss."
When saying this, Naruto's face showed undisguised disgust.
"These are necessary sacrifices! Think about it! That's the great power to reverse life and death! Once I succeed—"
Amado wanted to continue, but Naruto had no intention of listening further.
The Truth-Seeking Ball turned into a long needle, instantly penetrating his body.
Amado fell like that, lying sideways on the cold floor, just like the experimental subjects he had once mercilessly dissected.
"…Akebi…"
Until the end of his life, as all surrounding sounds began to fade, Sanzu Amado, in a daze, saw his deceased daughter appear before him, seemingly about to take him away from this world.
But that was, after all, just an illusion.
"The villain gets what he deserves. How do you plan to deal with them?"
The white-robed, staff-wielding Sage of Six Paths said to Naruto.
He seemed to have been nearby all along, just invisible to the mortal Amado.
In response, Naruto answered with actions.
He used gravity to draw those children still with life force from the cold tables, making them float one by one in mid-air.
Then the Rinnegan on his forehead opened, and Yang Release Chakra, representing life force, was divided by Naruto into multiple streams, pouring into everyone's bodies.
At the same time, the remnants of the Kama marks on these people were replaced by another kind of mark. Their bodies were rapidly reshaped under the power of Yang Release, and the mutated areas were restored as much as possible.
"Is it worth it? Even if you do this, they can't fully return to normal."
"Let the dead belong to the dead. I won't do things that forcibly reverse life and death."
"But as long as they are alive, I will save them."
"I can't just watch innocent people die before my eyes."
Naruto said without looking back, while a massive amount of Chakra was poured into those children's bodies as if it cost nothing.
Fortunately, Naruto's life essence was now different… otherwise, this kind of 'bloodletting' would have drained him dry.
"You're not like a Ninja."
The Sage of Six Paths said this, but his eyes were full of appreciation.
Perhaps in his view, the current Naruto was more like his former self.
"I'm not a Ninja."
To this, Naruto's reply was as always.
"So you weren't tempted at all? To resurrect your parents, you know that possibility exists."
"If they knew their resurrection was built on such a bloody pile of corpses, I'm afraid every breath they took would only bring pain."
Though he had never met them, Naruto still believed in his parents' character.
"No, I'm not talking about Amado's kind."
"I'm talking about you."
"Just as its name suggests, the 'Rinnegan' is an eye that can truly reverse life and death. There is actually a technique that can allow you to resurrect your parents." (T/N: Rinnegan literally means Saṃsāra Eye. And Saṃsāra is continuous cycle of birth, death, and rebirth in Indian religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.)
He was talking about the Rinne Rebirth Technique, a technique that sacrifices the life force and Chakra of the Rinnegan holder to resurrect the dead.
Of course, its prerequisite was that the dead couldn't have been dead too long.
For Minato and Kushina, they would first need to use Edo Tensei to give them a 'pseudo-resurrection', then use Rinne Rebirth to release the Edo Tensei.
After hearing the Sage of Six Paths' explanation, Naruto still shook his head with a light smile.
"Isn't that still the same?"
"The only difference is sacrificing two people versus sacrificing more people."
Hearing Naruto say this, the Sage of Six Paths stopped persuading.
Perhaps this wasn't even persuasion, but rather some kind of… test.
"You really are completely different."
"You and your daughter…"
"Huh??"
Naruto suddenly turned his head, looking at the Sage of Six Paths with astonishment.