chapter 102 part 3
His movements were incredibly fluid, as if honed by a thousand trials. Clearly, Orochimaru had simulated the Jutsu he was about to perform countless times and was ready to activate it at any moment.
Tsukasa Kaede's Soul showed no change in expression, and regardless of whether Orochimaru could see it, he focused intently, pouncing towards the experiment subject before him. In just an instant, he would occupy this body constructed from Hashirama Cells.
Orochimaru acted again. "I can't let you succeed so easily… Contract Seal!" A Jutsu Formula immediately appeared on the experiment subject's surface, briefly blocking Tsukasa Kaede's Spirit Body.
"So you inscribed a Jutsu Formula on this body beforehand, Orochimaru? You really did have something planned from the start. But this doesn't exceed my expectations. If you didn't take this opportunity to do something, that would truly be out of character for you." Tsukasa Kaede looked at Orochimaru.
It was too normal; this was exactly the kind of thing Orochimaru would do.
Knowing how much Orochimaru paid attention to him, knowing Orochimaru coveted the Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu and other Forbidden Jutsu, how could he truly have no expectations?
When things actually happened, Tsukasa Kaede was still moved. Orochimaru was acting exactly in the way he most anticipated.
Orochimaru licked his lips. "Please wait a moment, Tsukasa Kaede. In just a few seconds, I will resurrect you."
"Resurrection?"
"Exactly. Didn't you want to utilize this experiment subject? I promised to help you fully, but not in the way you hoped, but in the way *I* hoped! I will let you occupy this body in another form… and it will be even more perfect, no longer worrying about insufficient Chakra, no longer fearing death again!"
The smile on Orochimaru's lips now looked somewhat grotesque and twisted. He watched as the circle of Jutsu Formula inscribed on the ground by the other Shadow Clones was completed, eager to act, forming Hand Kaedegns with incredible speed, as if sparks would fly from his hands. Rat-Ox-Monkey-Tiger-Dragon-Boar…
"Impure World Reincarnation!"
Orochimaru slammed his hands onto the ground, the burning intensity in his eyes seemingly wanting to incinerate Tsukasa Kaede's Soul!
A Shadow Clone placed the experiment subject within the circle of Jutsu Formula. As an inexplicable force acted through the Jutsu Formula, large amounts of debris spontaneously generated, rapidly merging with the experiment subject's flesh and blood body. At first glance, it was as if this body of flesh and blood was transforming from the bottom up, becoming countless fragments and dust, and then being reassembled into a brand new body by those fragments and dust! "Come, Tsukasa Kaede, this is the Forbidden Jutsu I've planned for so, so long and perfected especially for you! From now on, you won't need to extract the Life Force from corpses anymore. You will not only have Immortality but also cannot be killed even if you're attacked to the point of being smashed to pieces!!"
Orochimaru's long, flowing hair shot upwards as the violently erupting Chakra from his body surged, and visible blue Chakra currents wildly swept through the secret room. Bang, bang, bang! The Shadow Clones vanished one after another, and Orochimaru laughed, almost grotesquely, watching the experiment subject transform its appearance.
"So that's how it is. You truly are something, Orochimaru. It seems you really did make meticulous preparations, just as I predicted…"
Tsukasa Kaede's Spirit Body uncontrollably drilled into the rapidly changing body before him. With the Soul's return to its place, at this moment, the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu was complete, and Tsukasa Kaede once again possessed his own body. However, this Tsukasa Kaede's exposed skin occasionally showed strange cracks, and the color of his sclera had changed.
Orochimaru stared intently, and no matter how cold-blooded he was, at the moment his wish was fulfilled, he let out a long sigh of relief.
It was too smooth. He had thought about it day and night, even devising and overturning far too many plans to kill Tsukasa Kaede and resurrect him. What was happening now was the most ideal and perfect scenario among all his imaginings!
Killing Tsukasa Kaede himself—that single step was too, too difficult. Orochimaru felt it was almost impossible—he couldn't kill someone who possessed vast amounts of Chakra, mastered Space-Time Ninjutsu, and had a horde of corpses for battle.
Yet now, someone had accomplished this most impractical step, and successfully at that, forcing Tsukasa Kaede to appear before Orochimaru in his Soul form.
Orochimaru would absolutely not let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip. Because it was too smooth, Orochimaru's first reaction was to wonder if he had fallen under Genjutsu, his perception trapped in a false world. Fortunately, everything was real, and everything was as he wished!
"Hmph hmph hmph hmph hmph… Hahahahahahaha!! Tsukasa Kaede, welcome back. From now on, the two of us can truly become permanent partners. No one will ever be able to separate us!"
Orochimaru's tongue stretched out over a meter as he walked step by step towards Tsukasa Kaede: "In the past, I always helped you, whether it was seizing Eight-Tails Chakra, advancing Human Experimentation, or cultivating new bodies composed of Hashirama Cells. I've done everything I could. From now on, I will need your full assistance… Please guide me. With both our talents, as long as we work together, Immortality is just the beginning. It won't be long before we exhaust all the mysteries of this world."
He was too excited; he couldn't be more satisfied with this masterpiece before him, for Tsukasa Kaede was his most triumphant creation in this life. Immortality? The moment Orochimaru controlled Tsukasa Kaede with Impure World Reincarnation, he had already confirmed that his long-sought goal of Immortality was no longer significant.
Orochimaru hadn't forgotten his objective: Immortality, at its core, served the purpose of exploring the unknown and acquiring all Jutsu.
Tsukasa Kaede was terrifyingly calm. He felt this intensely cold, utterly devoid of warmth body, its touch hard and unyielding, yet unimaginably tough.
"Impure World Reincarnation, huh? I saw it in the Scroll of Seals before, but Lord Hokage didn't make this Forbidden Jutsu available to me. He also told me it was a suicidal Ninjutsu developed by the Second Hokage, essentially existing as a complementary Ninjutsu to Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags." Tsukasa Kaede spoke calmly, sensing his body's state.
Orochimaru said, "The Second Hokage was a genius and developed many Forbidden Jutsu, but he didn't have the ability to utilize these Forbidden Jutsu to their fullest. That's what successors like me are meant to do… Whether it's Flying Raijin Jutsu or Impure World Reincarnation, it's all the same. The power they can unleash in the hands of a successor will surely surpass when he used them."
"So, you've secretly improved the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu?"
"That's right. I acquired this Jutsu years ago. Danzo even repeatedly urged me, hoping to resurrect some Ninja from an older era. I fobbed him off by saying it was too difficult to learn and that Edo Tensei Ninja were too weak, but that wasn't actually the case."
Orochimaru was in an excellent mood: "Ever since I met you, and through Danzo, learned that you possessed the Immortality Jutsu, I accelerated my research into the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu. For this, I even slowed down my research into another Forbidden Jutsu, the Immortal Reincarnation Jutsu! Tsukasa Kaede, only you could make me go to such lengths, and thankfully, I didn't fail. It seems I haven't disappointed you."
"Indeed, I'm not disappointed; in fact, I'm pleasantly surprised. This body, apart from not being a living flesh-and-blood body and lacking the sensations a living human should have, perfectly meets all my requirements. It's even stronger than my original body."