The True Resurrection Technique

— — — — — — —

"Alright! I'll do my best!"

Hearing this, Garp's expression became slightly serious as he nodded in agreement.

At the same time, he couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Dragon, what are you planning? Don't do anything foolish! The World Government and the Celestial Dragons aren't as simple as you think. They're not that easy to deal with."

If they were, he and Sengoku wouldn't have had so many headaches over the years.

And he wouldn't have constantly refused the position of Admiral.

Wouldn't it be easier to just overthrow the World Government?

Surely, no one actually thought he lacked the guts or courage to do it, right?

He simply knew it was impossible.

— — —

Two months later…

Ninja World, Kaito's Backyard Training Ground

"Ha! I've finally mastered Edo Tensei to its fullest extent. Now it's time to push beyond its limits!"

Kaito opened his status panel, his gaze fixed on the perfected Edo Tensei technique. A smirk played on his lips.

Without hesitation, he released the person he had revived in front of him.

Then, he waved his hand again, pulling a White Zetsu from the space Gate. With a single step, an Edo Tensei summoning array formed instantly beneath him.

Pressing his hands together, he chanted, "Edo Tensei!"

The next moment, the struggling White Zetsu twitched before its body was forcefully transformed once again.

At the same time, Kaito fell into a deep state of enlightenment. His comprehension and cognitive abilities were enhanced by an unimaginable factor, beyond tens of thousands of times his normal capacity.

Edo Tensei had shattered its limits.

His mind raced, rapidly constructing the foundation of a true resurrection technique—combining the principles of Edo Tensei with medical ninjutsu, soul manipulation, and knowledge of the physical body.

With inspiration flooding his mind, time lost meaning.

No one knew how long had passed before the true resurrection technique finally took shape. It was no longer just a concept; step by step, Kaito had pieced it together like a grand puzzle.

Building upon this skeletal framework, he refined and perfected it at an astonishing speed.

[Your Edo Tensei has surpassed its limits. Entering a state of enlightenment, you have fused your knowledge of medical techniques, soul energy, spiritual essence, and physical studies to successfully create the Resurrection Technique.]

Though time stood still in his mind, in reality, Kaito remained in a trance for over five hours before slowly opening his eyes. Exhaling deeply, a look of exhilaration filled his face as he processed the knowledge he had just unlocked.

"I can't believe it actually worked!"

"This Resurrection Technique doesn't even require a perfect corpse. As long as I have a small part of the deceased—a bit of blood, a strand of hair, anything—it can be performed."

"The chakra cost is significant, but honestly, that's nothing!"

Of course, the stronger the target, the higher their life force, the greater the chakra required.

To fully resurrect someone like the First Hokage, Kaito estimated he would need to expend at least thirty percent of his total chakra.

And that was no small amount.

Kaito's chakra reserves were already massive. With his constantly improving physique and spiritual power, his chakra pool had been expanding at an explosive rate.

Once he perfected his Primal Chakra Refinement Technique, allowing him to accumulate chakra indefinitely, his reserves grew even faster.

At this point, his total chakra was comparable to the Nine-Tails.

The only difference was quality.

For now, the Nine-Tails' chakra was superior.

After all, as a fragment of the Ten-Tails, the Nine-Tails' chakra was naturally dense, powerful, and even capable of physically manifesting into flesh.

But Kaito had already come a long way. After years of refining his Source Chakra, his chakra quality had reached a formidable level.

He estimated that in another two to three years, he would surpass the Nine-Tails in chakra quality.

By then, without relying on any external power, he could break through his limits and touch the level of the Six Paths.

"Now, let's test this Resurrection Technique."

With his thoughts organized, Kaito turned his gaze to the person he had previously revived using Edo Tensei but had not yet fully reanimated.

Raising his foot, he stomped lightly.

The Edo Tensei array on the ground immediately transformed into a completely different formation.

Clasping his hands together, Kaito activated the jutsu. The intricate seal beneath him flared to life as his chakra surged into it.

"Zzzzt!"

The body before him, previously held together by Edo Tensei, began emitting faint steam. The cracks on its surface started to heal rapidly.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

Inside, an incredible transformation was occurring.

The sacrificial White Zetsu liquefied entirely, merging with the genetic remnants of the deceased.

From there, the body began regenerating—starting with the heart, then the circulatory system, followed by the bones, muscles, and finally, the skin.

The moment the heart was fully reconstructed, it started beating again.

Kaito, with his advanced medical perception, could feel every detail of the process.

"Damn… This is insane!"

Even he couldn't help but be amazed.

It was hard to imagine a mere human achieving such a feat.

Yet, here he was, doing exactly that.

After more than an hour, the last remnants of flesh had formed, seamlessly fusing with the soul of the deceased.

At the same time, all traces of negative energy—the residual Yin and death aura—were completely purged.

The person had been fully, truly resurrected.

"Snap!"

Kaito finally ceased channeling chakra and snapped his fingers.

The revived person slowly opened his eyes.

For a moment, he looked dazed, as if awakening from a deep sleep.

Then, as his vision cleared and he recognized Kaito, his expression changed drastically.

"You… you're that brat! You—"

"Genjutsu: Misty World!"

Before he could finish, Kaito cast a genjutsu, putting him into a trance.

Then, Kaito began examining the man's condition.

After more than ten minutes of careful inspection, Kaito confirmed that the man had been fully resurrected—no side effects, no issues. Satisfied, he lifted the genjutsu.

As soon as the man snapped back to reality and tried to speak again—

Schlick!

Before he could utter another word, Kaito's Chakra Blade sliced clean through his neck. His head hit the ground, eyes wide in disbelief, before his body crumpled.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

A massive fireball erupted from Kaito's mouth, instantly reducing the corpse to ashes.

This man was nothing more than an Iwa ninja he had once killed on a mission. Naturally, he hadn't used fallen Konoha shinobi for these experiments.

Even when practicing Edo Tensei, he had always avoided using the souls of his own village.

He had discovered early on that repeated use of Edo Tensei eroded a soul. After enough revivals, a spirit could break apart entirely, ceasing to exist.

The stronger the shinobi had been in life, the more revivals their soul could endure. But pushing them past their limit meant obliteration.

Destroying souls like that was beyond cruel.

Kaito would never use Konoha's fallen warriors to refine his Edo Tensei technique. Instead, he had used the enemy shinobi he had killed in battle.

Back during the Rain Country war, he had realized the importance of collecting blood samples from those he defeated. He had stored many of them in his Space Gate, ensuring he would always have high-quality experimental subjects.

Now that his resurrection jutsu was perfected, there was no need to continue grinding its proficiency through repeated use. He didn't want to destroy any more souls.

— — —

"It's time to revive the First Hokage."

With the resurrection jutsu complete and tested, Kaito wasted no time. He contacted his mother, Uzumaki Mito, the First Hokage, and Orochimaru via telepathic space transmission, summoning them all to him.

Swish, swish, swish, swish!

Within moments, they had all arrived.

Looking at a yet-to-be-filled crater in the ground, Uchiha Naori raised an eyebrow. "Kaito, what's the rush? Why did you call us?"

"Yeah, what's going on?" the others chimed in.

Kaito grinned. "Nothing much. I just perfected Edo Tensei, creating a true resurrection jutsu."

"What?!"

"Are you serious?!"

"Impossible!"

Everyone was stunned.

The First Hokage, the most excited among them, turned to Kaito with bright eyes. "You're saying I can truly be brought back to life?"

Kaito nodded. "Exactly. That's why I called you all here. It's finally time to bring you back."

"With this, things will be much easier moving forward," he continued. "And you'll be able to keep growing stronger, aiming for the Six Paths level."

The First Hokage burst into laughter. "Amazing! Finally! This is happening even faster than I expected!"

"Well? What are we waiting for? What do you need me to do? I'll handle it right away."

He was beyond excited.

Being stuck in an Edo Tensei body had been inconvenient in so many ways. The inability to eat, drink, or even experience basic human pleasures had been frustrating enough.

Not to mention training—outside of meditation techniques, he could only watch as others improved.

"Wait."

At that moment, Uchiha Naori frowned, cutting in. She turned to Kaito with concern. "Kaito, how does this resurrection jutsu work? What are the requirements? More importantly, will it harm you in any way?"

If it would cost Kaito dearly, Naori was absolutely against using it.

"Uh..."

Before Kaito could respond, the First Hokage's excitement faded slightly, and he, too, grew serious. "I got carried away. You're right, Naori. Kaito, if this technique will hurt you, then I refuse."

"I can wait if necessary. You should perfect the technique further if needed."

"Or, we could hold off until we acquire Madara's Rinnegan."

"Or until one of us awakens the Rinnegan ourselves."

Even with their personal interests and Konoha's future at stake, the First Hokage put Kaito's well-being above all else.

Uchiha Naori, for once, found herself respecting the First Hokage's sense of priorities.

"Exactly!" Naori said. "If this jutsu endangers you, we can wait."

Uzumaki Mito spoke up as well. "I'm with them. If there's a risk to you, don't use it."

"I agree," Orochimaru added.

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