Chapter 225: My Edo Tensei is a bit...Off

Afternoon, the Seventh Training Ground.

"By the way, Lord Second, how were you able to touch things in that earlier state?"

Link asked in some confusion.

After all, the people who were summoned by that Summoning Technique before were in a transparent form and couldn't touch anything at all.

Having returned to the present world via the Rashomon, Senju Tobirama was moving around in a body that felt almost as it had when he was alive, with a faint smile on his face.

"The essence of your Summoning Technique is the use of chakra to form an illusory image akin to a clone. Though I don't fully understand the principle behind it, nor can I alter its structure, with my level of perception and chakra control, I can use a trace amount of chakra to touch some objects."

The feeling of being back in the living world, sensing a vigorous body, put him in a particularly good mood, so he took the initiative to explain more than usual. He even used an example based on basic ninjutsu for the other person's easier understanding.

"I see."

Link more or less understood that the other man was basically saying he was very skilled. But if it really were the same as a Clone Technique, then why couldn't Uchiha Fugaku or Momochi Zabuza do the same?

What about Baki?

Let's not even get into that.

In short, he was worried Edo Tensei might resurrect some kind of trouble, so he suggested using Rashomon first. Yet just from the moment the resurrected Second Hokage lightly refined his chakra, the aura he released was terrifying. This wasn't like the weakened deceased of the Fourth Great Ninja War; this was a normal, fully powered form.

Whether in terms of chakra level, taijutsu–ninjutsu–genjutsu ability, or basic physical attributes, everything about him was astonishingly strong. One truly couldn't fathom how the Gold and Silver Brothers managed to take down such a monster.

"Let's begin."

Seeing Link's expression, Senju Tobirama knew he didn't fully grasp everything, but he found that acceptable. After all, Link was still young. Tobirama lifted his chin, signaling for Link to begin the Edo Tensei at once. He was genuinely curious just how far this new Edo Tensei could go.

Not far away, two unconscious death-row convicts lay sprawled awkwardly on the ground. They had just been brought here on short notice—one was a wandering ronin who had infiltrated the village with sabotage in mind, and the other was a serial killer responsible for multiple crimes.

Link opened the scroll he had prepared in advance. He decided to experiment on the ordinary human first, and then move on to the ronin who could use chakra.

He channeled chakra into the scroll, causing the ink to flow on the ground and form a massive technique formula centered around the murderer. Sensing the target, the characters for "Impure Earth" (穢土) on the technique shuddered briefly, then transformed into "Reincarnation" (轉生).

It changed! ×2

Both of them noticed.

Link did not stop. The technique was already underway, and cutting off the chakra now would only waste it.

He formed seals and released his chakra.

"Gugugu—" The tadpole-like incantations squirmed and gradually enveloped the murderer, then burst into a brilliant glow.

[It feels like a space-time ninjutsu?!]

Senju Tobirama's eyes went wide. Incredibly, he had just sensed an extremely faint trace of chakra and soul being extracted from this ordinary person. Having experienced death once himself—and with his heightened perception—there was no way he could have mistaken it.

[If the incantation is mixed with space-time… This technique?!]

Meanwhile, Link was having his own bizarre perception. He could clearly feel the murderer's soul being pulled out by the technique. Under the incantation's binding, it should then move on to "something" to continue. However, the necessary "material" for completing that next step was missing, which caused the formula to further activate.

Right after that, the soul vanished into thin air before his eyes, giving off a sensation exactly like a Summoning Technique. When it was over, the technique's feedback told him where the soul had gone.

A place called "Scintilla Hive City."

Strange. There was no such place in the Naruto world, was there?

And a "Hive City"… Wait a second?!

Scintilla… a Hive City?

Link's forehead broke into cold sweat. As a hardcore fan of anime and manga, he absolutely knew what a Hive City was—part of the Warhammer 40K universe.

So that guy really did get reincarnated into a different dimension.

[May you die swiftly.] He sincerely wished for the unlucky fellow who had just vanished. In the grim darkness of Warhammer's setting, a quick death was already a high blessing.

[My Edo Tensei sure is weird, letting people randomly reincarnate into some '2D isekai' of all places…] He steadied himself and reflected carefully on the moment right when the technique finished.

[Edo Tensei is missing something—something that can contain the soul. Another body? Or maybe…?]

Link swallowed a Soldier Pill and had his shadow fetch a rabbit. The murderer's former body now lay limply on the ground, lacking any vital signs. Next to him, Senju Tobirama didn't speak. His expression was solemn, as though absorbed in thought.

"Lord Second?" Link prompted, "I'm ready for the next test."

Senju Tobirama returned to his senses and nodded. Although he could guess some small parts of the incantation just now, it all changed so quickly—this was a brand-new system of technique scripts, and he had no idea where to even begin.

Perhaps he should spend more time researching it?

But Link's versions of Summoning and Rashomon were also intriguing. As Konoha's former top developer of ninjutsu, for the first time in his life, he felt torn by the sheer volume of unknowns.

[And I have to go back soon and waste my time cleaning up the Monkey's mess… Damn.]

He sighed in silence and refocused on watching the second release of Edo Tensei.

By then, Link had reached the stage of stripping away the soul. Under Link's direction, the soul was guided by the technique's incantation and attempted to enter the rabbit's body, only to vanish inside it.

The wandering ronin ended up reincarnating in a place called the "Yunzabit Highlands," a frozen tundra.

[Yunzabit Highlands… That name's so familiar. I feel like I've heard it somewhere…]

He combed through his memories. The name sounded so familiar, practically on the tip of his tongue, likely from some manga, game, novel, or show.

After a good while of trying to recall, Link simply let it go. From these two experiments, at least it was clear you couldn't just stuff a soul into a rabbit. If you couldn't hold the soul in place, the formula would automatically activate and drag it off to some other dimension that had an appropriate vessel for reincarnation.

The idea was originally to use Edo Tensei to bring back the dead, like resurrecting Sasuke's parents so his family could be reunited.

Now, though, it was impossible to just go sending Fugaku and Mikoto off to some random other dimension, was it?

What exactly could bind a soul in place?

Link sank into thought. Beside him, Senju Tobirama was similarly lost in contemplation, and neither of them said a word.

~~~

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