Serpent Kabuto formed hand seals. Chakra surged. The inscriptions on the altar glowed with a dark, eerie light.
Dust-like particles rose from the ground, swirling and condensing—rapidly taking shape.
At last, a shinobi figure stood upon the altar.
His appearance and clothing were identical to how he had looked in life—but his eyes were hollow, his body crisscrossed with cracks, and though immense chakra radiated from him, there was no vitality.
He was not alive.
"Impure World Reincarnation."
Serpent Kabuto gazed at his "creation," satisfaction and excitement twisting across his distorted face.
"As expected of a forbidden technique… To summon the souls of the dead from the Pure Land, bind them into specially prepared sacrificial vessels, and restore them to this world—retaining most of their former abilities, even granting near-immortality…"
He spread his arms wide, as if embracing a new world under his control.
"With this technique as the foundation… I will build an army that never tires, never falls, and obeys absolutely—an army of the Impure World Reincarnation!"
"Let the heroes, tyrants, and monsters of history… serve me!"
A thought crossed his mind, and he sneered.
"Orochimaru-sama… no—Orochimaru was too fixated on specific 'vessels.' He never fully realized the true value of this forbidden technique."
"Such overwhelming power, used to summon only one or two individuals? What a waste. Allow me… to truly 'expand' its potential."
With that, Serpent Kabuto threw himself even more fervently into his "grand endeavor."
He scoured the world for the graves of increasingly ancient and powerful figures, or sought relics and DNA connected to the deceased—expanding his summoning roster without restraint.
The shinobi world fell into dead silence.
Previously, the outrage had been over desecrated graves.
Now—
Fear replaced anger.
Most ordinary shinobi—and even many mid-level ones—had never known such a technique existed.
A jutsu capable of forcibly dragging the dead back into the living world… and controlling them.
It shattered their understanding of life, death, and warfare.
Imagine standing on a battlefield—
Facing your fallen mentor.
Your honored predecessor.
Your parent.
Or a legendary terror thought long buried by history.
They retain their combat experience and ninjutsu.
They cannot be killed.
And they are controlled by the same monster who desecrated their graves.
"This… this can't be real!"
"Summoning the dead to fight?!"
"Immortality?! And keeping their original strength?!"
"This technique is too evil!"
"What if he summons the First Hokage… Uchiha Madara… or our village's past Kage?"
Panic spread like wildfire.
The earlier anger over grave desecration now gave way to something far more urgent—
A survival crisis.
The Kage and high-ranking officials understood better than anyone what those historical legends represented.
If such an undead army were deployed in war, the devastation would be immeasurable.
"Immediately reinforce all major burial grounds. If necessary, destroy the remains before they can be stolen!"
"Seal and secure all relics, DNA records, and historical artifacts!"
"We must locate Orochimaru—and Kabuto. Eliminate them before this Impure World Reincarnation army is completed!"
Emergency orders flew from every Kage's office.
The entire shinobi world tightened like a drawn bowstring.
Outside the Secret Base
Karin's eyes widened—not in disgust this time, but in genuine fascination.
"Whoa! That's amazing! Summon powerful dead guys as fighters? And control them? That's almost as good as my 'Demon Whisper' controlling the living. Just a bit troublesome—you've got to dig up graves for materials…"
Her morality remained nonexistent. Only effectiveness mattered.
Orochimaru's lips twitched slightly.
Being evaluated by "Kabuto" from the screen was mildly embarrassing—but more than that, it stirred something complex.
He observed the expanding undead legion and mused:
"So that is what he meant by 'developing' it further. Large-scale application… forming a military force. An expansive line of thought."
"However, controlling that many powerful souls demands extraordinary mental resilience, chakra control, and technique stability."
"And the stronger and more diverse the summoned individuals, the greater the risk of backlash."
He narrowed his eyes.
"That Kabuto… may be overly confident."
The tone was analytical—less dismissive than before, more cautious.
The real Kabuto adjusted his glasses.
Behind the lenses, his gaze was deep—like still water hiding unseen currents.
"Impure World Reincarnation… an army…"
He repeated the words softly.
"To convert history itself into one's power. Efficient accumulation of trump cards indeed."
"The balance between large-scale summoning and precise control… optimization of spiritual contracts… matching vessel quality to the strength of the deceased…"
"There is considerable room for refinement."
He had already skipped the moral question entirely.
Instead, he was thinking—
How to improve it.
Orochimaru caught the subtle shift instantly.
His golden pupils narrowed slightly.
It seemed the path displayed by the Heavenly Screen was not merely a warning.
It was… temptation.
The screen followed Serpent Kabuto's travels.
Cloaked and unremarkable, he sat inside a small-town eatery, eating quietly like any ordinary traveler.
Nearby diners were discussing recent shocking events.
"Did you hear? Uchiha Sasuke attacked Konoha!"
"That's nothing! There's also a rogue kunoichi from Konoha—Haruno Sakura. I heard she's fierce. Supposedly broke one of the Third Hokage's arms!"
"What's happening to Konoha? So many rogue ninja lately—and all of them monsters!"
The murmurs drifted through the air.
And Serpent Kabuto listened in silence.
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