Takumi's expression was serious, yet a flicker of anticipation remained.
Because, if this Spirit Summoning technique of his could truly succeed...
Then he wouldn't need to hide from Obito anymore.
It all depended on whether he could surpass his limits!
'System! Begin simulation!'
With the command issued…
[Beginning simulation!]
[Talents carried: Spirit Summoning (Black-Gold), Stubborn Focus (Black), Thief (Black-Gold)!]
[Scenario generating in real-time.]
[Please wait...]
After a series of rapid mechanical sounds, the system began the simulation.
And Takumi entered the simulated life, ready to personally experience this new path.
["Mani mani bei bei hong~~~"]
[On the streets of Konoha, dressed in a yellow Daoist priest's robe and holding a peach wood sword, you are performing your Spirit Summoning Technique for Naruto, Sakura, and the others.]
'Good grief, am I starting with the ultimate move right away?'
Seeing his bizarre attire in the simulation, Takumi was speechless!
This wasn't even Shinobi World attire anymore!
A yellow Daoist robe, a black tall hat, paper talismans, a peach wood sword...
This was straight out of a Mr. Vampire movie! (T/N: It's a classic Hong Kong zombie comedy series.)
[Naruto and the others are laughing hysterically, as your ritualistic dancing looks utterly ridiculous.]
[But you aren't angry at all. Instead, you tell them that if your technique succeeds, you could even help Naruto summon his deceased parents.]
[The scene erupts in shock. Sasuke and Naruto widen their eyes, then rush forward, bombarding you with questions.]
[Sasuke also wants to revive his parents. Naruto, bewildered, asks who his parents are.]
[You hold nothing back, directly explaining the situation. Naruto is utterly stunned, slumping to the ground in a daze.]
[Sasuke pleads with you to continue the ritual.]
[You resume your ritualistic dance, but no summoning occurs. As night falls, everyone disperses. You return home, but instead of sleeping, you sit in meditation on your bed.]
'Damn, this is giving me creepy vibes...'
Goosebumps rose on Takumi's arms.
It felt like his Spirit Summoning Technique was on a completely different path from the Impure World Reincarnation and Rinne Rebirth!
It was more like the methods used in ghost movies...
[Possessing the Spirit Summoning skill, you can perceive things ordinary people cannot, such as the Pure Land.]
[Your goal is to summon souls from the Pure Land to the world of the living without paying any price, such as your own life or sacrificing a living person. This requires immense difficulty.]
[As for the Daoist robe and peach wood sword, they are merely for atmosphere.]
[After all, you're quite a fan of Uncle Nine.] (T/N: Uncle Nine is a common reference to the protagonist of the Mr. Vampire films.)
"…"
Seeing this thought process, Takumi didn't know where to begin criticizing.
There were too many points to critique!
[A day passes with no progress.]
[A second day passes, still no progress.]
[On the third day, Hiruzen summons you to his office. He asks how you knew Naruto's parents were Yondaime Hokage and his wife. You realize you accidentally let it slip the other day.]
[So you lie, saying you overheard it while eating out. To turn the tables, you deliberately ask Sandaime why he hasn't told Naruto the truth.]
[Hiruzen immediately loses his steam. After pretending to ponder for a moment, he simply says, "It's for the good of Konoha."]
[You nod thoughtfully and leave the Hokage's office.]
[You resume practicing Spirit Summoning.]
[One week, two weeks, three weeks...]
[One month, two months...]
[A full four months pass without any progress. You even begin to doubt if the method you're developing is wrong.]
[One night, you can't take it anymore. You decide to steal Konoha's Scroll of Seals to study the Impure World Reincarnation technique, hoping to gain some inspiration.]
[You spend a day preparing… scouting, buying tools, calculating the guards' shift changes.]
[When night falls again, you skillfully use the two-minute gap during the guard change to slip into the sealed chamber and steal the Scroll of Seals.]
[For the next three days, you study it intently at home.]
[Naturally, as you're uninterested in other techniques and lack the talent for them, you focus solely on the Impure World Reincarnation.]
[You memorize the technique's formula completely. After a month of study, you roughly understand its principles.]
[However, the Impure World Reincarnation conflicts with your concept of Spirit Summoning, as it requires sacrificing a living person, which is a cruel and bloody technique, and also needs the deceased's DNA, making it very troublesome. You have no intention of fully mastering it.]
[Your ideal is to transform the Spirit Summoning technique into something like summoning Heroic Spirits in the Fate World.]
[No cost required. The summoned beings would have physical bodies, body temperature, could be... interacted with... and you would retain control. When your Chakra is low, they would allow you to... replenish your mana.]
[This is far superior to the Impure World Reincarnation and Rinne Rebirth.]
[However, while studying the Impure World Reincarnation formula, you did gain some insights.]
[You return to your Spirit Summoning training. One month, two months...]
[Another three months pass.]
[You still make no progress.]
[During the Academy's graduation, you find an excuse not to graduate normally and instead voluntarily apply to become a cemetery guard.]
[Upon hearing your request, not only Naruto and the others but also Iruka and Hiruzen are utterly shocked.]
[The job of a cemetery guard essentially involves dealing with the dead and tombstones. Daily duties include patrolling the gravesites for grave robbers and cleaning.]
[No normal person chooses this job because it's too terrifying.]
[Konoha's cemetery holds at least tens of thousands of tombstones, burying all the deceased since the village's founding. Of course, special individuals like Shodaime Hokage, Nidaime Hokage, Uchiha elites... due to their unique status, are buried in secret locations known only to the current Hokage and a few high-ranking people.]
[Even so, the cemetery still contains tens of thousands of tombstones.]
[Just being there makes ordinary people feel heavy-hearted. Those with weaker nerves might even wet themselves at night. No child would ever voluntarily propose working there.]
[Yet, with a righteous expression, you tell everyone, "I want to protect Konoha's heroes. They are too lonely. I want to tell them stories about what's happening in the Shinobi World now."]
[Your words instantly move everyone. Hiruzen, Naruto, Iruka, and others are deeply touched by your willingness. Hiruzen even offers you a raise.]
[Thus, you smoothly become a guard at Konoha's cemetery.]
…
'Damn, is he planning to train his technique right in the lion's den?'
Clearly, choosing such a profession had nothing to do with his stated reason of 'protecting Konoha's damn heroes'.
Most of Konoha's heroes were screwed over by the village's higher-ups anyway!
The real reason for becoming a cemetery guard was obviously to advance his Spirit Summoning practice.
After all, this place seemed rich in... spiritual energy? There must be plenty of souls around!
[On your first day as a guard, you work normally and get acquainted with the veteran staff.]
[The second and third days are more of the same.]
[After a full week, you've blended in with everyone. You then begin practicing Spirit Summoning openly during work hours.]
[From your previous research on the Impure World Reincarnation, you discovered one thing: to summon a soul, it's best to have an object connected to the living person.]
[You somewhat agree with this. It's like in ghost movies, where summoning uses either the deceased's body, their blood, or a living relative.]
[Even in the Fate Series, you need a relic related to the Servant.]
[You randomly select one tombstone from the vast, orchard-like field of graves.]
[The name on it is Kato Taichi. Recalling characters from the Naruto World, you don't recognize this name, so you assume he was a minor character.]
[You begin the Spirit Summoning.]
[You close your eyes, meditating. Your special talent allows your power to attempt connecting with the Pure Land.]
[Day 1: Failure.]
[Day 2: Also failure.]
[On Day 3, you faintly sense something unusual.]
[It's a feeling you've never experienced before.]
[Through the cold tombstone beneath you and the skeleton buried deeper below, a wisp of the deceased's soul is summoned by you from the Pure Land.]
[You are ecstatic and immediately try to stabilize it, but in an instant, the soul dissipates.]
[Nevertheless, you have achieved a monumental breakthrough!]
[This is the first time since your birth that you have successfully summoned a soul!]
'Whoa, this is getting interesting...'
Seeing his simulated self actually succeed in summoning a soul, Takumi was utterly amazed!
Even Nagato, with his Rinnegan, didn't possess the ability to summon deceased souls to the real world.
In the entire Shinobi World, only the legendary Sage of Six Paths, Otsutsuki Hagoromo, could bring souls from the Pure Land!
But the Sage only brought souls.
Takumi's goal was to turn the Shinobi World's Pure Land into a Throne of Heroes!
To make the summoned spirits his Servants!
Servants with flesh, blood, and warmth!
…
[You continue attempting Spirit Summoning.]
[Day 2, Day 3...]
[Every day at work, after completing routine checks and cleaning, you sit on the tombstone of this Kato Taichi.]
[You close your eyes, deep in thought, seemingly muttering incantations.]
[To others watching, you seem rather strange.]
[While everyone else keeps their distance from this place, you seem to particularly enjoy it.]
[A month later, your Spirit Summoning ability has progressed enough to stabilize a wisp of a soul.]
[Three months later, you successfully summon one of Kato Taichi's legs… a soul leg only you can see. It moves around in front of you like a living thing.]
[Six months later, Kato Taichi's lower body has been summoned.]
[He also seems aware that some force is pulling him into the real world, as his legs pace back and forth anxiously.]
[Eight months later, you can summon all of Kato Taichi except for his head. In this state, he looks like a headless knight.]
[Perhaps because the brain is the most crucial part of the human body, the head is the most difficult. It takes you a full four months to transform Kato Taichi from a headless knight into a knight with a head, and another month to stabilize him, preventing the terrifying visual of his head flickering in and out of existence.]
[Only now have you truly, in a meaningful sense, succeeded in summoning a single soul.]
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FOR EVERY 50 POWER STONES, I'LL UPLOAD ONE CHAPTER