The soul. The soul left behind after the death of a True Ninja will still ascend to the Golden Pavilion after bursting and scattering. In other words, they are immortal.
However, as the times changed, True Ninjas became increasingly rare. They were monsters capable of relying on their own willpower and talent to break through to a superhuman level of power.
Most ninjas are born from the fusion of a soul with an ordinary person, possessing power that comes from that soul.
While this can grant immense power, the price is that most ninja souls are not benevolent, causing personality changes in the possessed. After all, the will of an ordinary person is no match for that of a ninja.
Yet, there are always exceptions. Whether the soul itself is relatively kind, or a powerful host forces it to be, some people remain unaffected.
Saburo Arasaka accidentally discovered the existence of ninjas. Despite being mere flesh and blood, the power they unleashed was on par with an elite cyber-squad.
According to one he captured, he was a 'Sanshita Ninja'—the weakest kind of ninja!
It was by analyzing this soul that he successfully adapted the Soulkiller program into the Relic chip—a tempting offer of eternal life for ordinary people.
It is now 2076. Saburo Arasaka is 157 years old. There is a limit to extending one's life with biotechnology; the human body is ultimately finite.
So he made his choice: to abandon his humanity.
"The Relic is still not secure enough. Besides, a digital soul like that is a completely inferior product compared to a ninja's soul."
Soulkiller can convert a person's consciousness into data. It was developed because of the ninjas, and by leveraging this technology, he invented the Relic chip.
The Relic biochip can, upon the host's death, convert their consciousness into data and store it. At its core, it is a biochip.
Such immortality is incredibly appealing to anyone, and normally he would certainly not refuse it. But now, he has no desire to use it.
After witnessing a ninja's soul, he's come to look down on the Relic. So, in the time he has left, he has decided to risk it all.
"This can only be done in Night City. Mobilize Arasaka's strongest combat squads. Notify me of any news about ninjas."
Only in Night City, a place completely under Arasaka's control, could he act like this—stirring the pot to draw the ninjas out.
Anywhere else, he wasn't confident he could deal with ninjas using the mortals at his disposal. Only in Night City.
Adam Smasher, the vast number of corporate troops, plus MAX-TAC... by throwing lives at the problem, there was always hope...
Saburo Arasaka looked at himself in the mirror. At his age, he should have one foot in the grave, but he appeared surprisingly vigorous.
Tearing off the biomask from his face, his decrepit appearance instantly changed. He looked like a handsome old man in his sixties or seventies.
That's right. He had long been possessed by a soul, but just like the other one he'd captured, it was merely a 'Sanshita.'
He needed to find a truly powerful ninja, to learn more about them—for example, how to become a True Ninja!
Souls are immortal. Only by becoming a True Ninja could one obtain true eternal life.
As for the Relic? That was just a minor proof of concept, perfect for a new product launch to squeeze some money out of the 'rich' and the 'elite.'
He believed few could resist the immortality offered by the Relic. And when the time came... data was an unreliable thing. He could easily leave backdoors to influence them.
Saburo Arasaka looked out at the bustling, prosperous Night City and seemed to see roaring flames.
...
...
Flames roared. When David regained consciousness, he was lying in the passenger seat, his whole body felt like it had been torn apart, and he could barely move.
"This one's not a client. Neither is that one."
"Confirming the safety of the insured client. Leave these ones for the city corpse wagon."
Trauma Team personnel walked past. They quickly used a scanner to confirm David and his mother's identities, then left without lingering for a second longer.
What happened? His foggy brain began to recall. His mother had gotten off work early today, so she came to pick him up for the first time in a long while.
Everything was normal, until—
"Target spotted! That high-end armored car has gotta be a corpo's ride! Hit it with a rocket launcher!"
The shout was accompanied by the sound of rifle fire. They had just been driving normally when mercs suddenly appeared on the right and opened fire on the corpo's car.
As for them, caught in the middle, it was as if they didn't exist. No one even gave them a glance.
Bullets zipped recklessly past his face; half a meter off and he would've been turned into a pincushion. The 'shock' of it all seemed to paralyze Gloria, who was driving, and she crashed into the car in front of them.
"Mom!"
David endured the pain and crawled out of the passenger seat. Seeing the Trauma Team leaving in the distance, he clenched his jaw. He had no choice but to pick up his mother himself and try to get to a hospital.
Just as he struggled to get her onto his back, a strange woman appeared before him. Dressed in a suit, she reeked of 'corpo.' No matter how you looked at it, she was from a different world than them.
"Looks like I'm not too late. Kid, count yourself lucky."
"Hey, Trauma Team? I have injured personnel over here."
After receiving the call from 'X'—that is, Schwarzer—Corpo V had rushed over without a moment's delay.
The task given to V was simple: arrive in time to save David and his mother.
As payment, she would provide a piece of intel about ninjas.
Through Rogue and the others, she had quickly understood who X was: a hacker with superhuman technical skills, someone who was practically omniscient.
A talent of this caliber couldn't have been cultivated just anywhere. Her first reaction was that a new power was making a move on Night City, and it was bound to be a behemoth.
There were only a few with this kind of technical capability. Militech? Kang Tao?
In any case, she wasn't going to pass up an opportunity like this. All she had to do was save someone, after all.
Within a minute, a Trauma Team AV landed in front of him. Medics rushed out in an orderly fashion, took his mother from him, and immediately hooked her up to various injections and medical devices.
"Greetings, esteemed Platinum member. The two individuals rescued during this deployment are not registered members. Would you like to be billed for a single-incident rescue, or would you prefer to register them for a membership service?"
"We recommend signing them up for a Silver membership directly, which includes various follow-up treatments and comes with a discount..."
Trauma Team's efficiency was terrifying. It took them less than two minutes to leave and return, and they stabilized his mother's condition instantly.
Watching the Trauma Team personnel, who were chattering on yet acting incredibly respectful, David felt the difference in their worlds. It was the first time he had truly realized the gap between the poor and the rich.
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