Chapter 290: Net Admin...

[Link? What did you do this time?]

In the main world, "first" Baki's voice carried a hint of resignation.

He'd been sleeping soundly when he suddenly felt his mind connected to others—numerous others, at that. There was only one person who could be responsible.

[How are you feeling?] Link asked, brimming with excitement.

He had just activated a Summoning Jutsu when he discovered that Cast Net Jutsu could also be used inside the Pure Land. All the deceased he'd "caught" with Summoning in the past were still "available," and even unknown souls—those he hadn't yet captured—could be hooked with the Net's "cord." If they accepted, they'd be added to the network.

The whole process was kind of like fishing. As soon as the cord snagged someone, Link learned their identity. Naturally, the first person he looked for was his dearest buddy—er, to "help his best friend get online."

[No difference, really,] Baki said coolly.

Compared to the old method of communicating with the dead, this version allowed for deception—was that an upgrade or a downgrade?

Link rattled off a string of ID codes, then prompted him:

[Try sending a message to this person.]

He'd already implemented an "ID system." The Cast Net Jutsu in its basic form was like a giant open chat for everyone, which led to severe spamming.

So, under Link's orders, the "second" Hashirama injected more chakra to create a filter—like a prototype "forum."

You now have to know the correct ID code to message a specific person. Otherwise, you could only post on the open forum.

This, too, had a small flaw: right now, all the ID codes followed Konoha's ciphers. Once the user base grew, they'd run out for sure.

Senju Tobirama was planning to set up a brand-new department—"Net Affairs," solely to manage everything related to the Cast Net Jutsu.

Baki didn't respond right away. After a while, he said:

[Can't do it. The connection's too fuzzy.] He was nothing if not honest.

[Try posting on the forum,] Link said, explaining how to use it.

[No good,] Baki quickly answered this time.

Link sensed the problem: there was too big a gap between the Pure Land and the living world. Baki, as the only Pure Land user right now, couldn't connect to the living realm or the main forum. That made sense. Currently, only the two Hashiramas plus Utakata had the power to communicate across realms.

Which meant Baki was effectively alone on his own little "server."

[Got it.] Understanding, Link started flinging cords at other wandering dead souls. A single-person network was dull. He attached every spirit he'd captured—but never reincarnated—onto a "Pure Land server," cloning the forum and group chat features there, then tossed out a few more cords to all those lurkers who never came up from below.

Once he ended Summoning, Link opened his eyes. He planned a test to see whether, with Cast Net Jutsu in place, the folks in the Pure Land would still behave as usual—"closing their eyes to sleep" or not.

Interesting…

He cracked his knuckles and used Summoning Jutsu again. There was no other way—once Summoning ended, even Link couldn't sense precisely what was happening in the Pure Land. Bridging two realms was even trickier than he'd imagined.

And yet, not a single "person" in the Pure Land Cast Net Jutsu spoke up first. Even though Link purposely disabled the ID requirement and allowed everyone to post anonymously, nobody made a sound.

They're all so cautious.

[Anyone here?] He posted as though idly fishing.

[Let's chat, yeah?]

[Who are you people?]

[Big bro let's talk, your little sis is online!]

…

He tried his best to get them talking—he even resorted to playing coy—but nobody bit. Anonymous or not, nobody wanted to talk. Bored, Link fired off a few dozen random posts before exiting, wholly disappointed.

Not until a while later did a single message appear:

[What in the world's that brat raving about now?]

Well, as the lofty admin, Link could see certain folks' identities weren't hidden at all—anonymous or not. An admin can have more than one account? Yeah, right.

Senju Tobirama never expected a single ninjutsu to so profoundly alter everyone's daily routine.

"Ha-aah…" He stifled a yawn, shooting the "second" Hashirama a quick message to remind Tsunade of the upcoming "Six Kage Summit." Their last meeting was domineering; this time, they ought to formally establish a "Ninja Alliance."

Over the past month, the ninja villages in the "second world" had done… not much.

Meanwhile, the daimyō of the Five Great Nations had held conference after conference. One moment they were at war; the next, the Kage wanted to unite.

Hard for these feudal lords and aristocrats to process—yes, the Kage's words carried the most weight, but daimyō were the ones holding the purse strings. They insisted on proper respect.

Of course, the discussions were basically meaningless.

As for why the ninja villages themselves hadn't done anything, well, some covert ops from Kirigakure and Kumogakure did try infiltrating the base.

But they ran smack into Sasuke—who had just mastered his Perfect Susanoo—and got themselves smashed into spiritual oneness with the earth, fusing flesh and soil so thoroughly not even a fingernail could be pried loose. Nothing personal—just a straightforward show of strength.

"Ptooey." Spitting out his toothpaste, Tobirama gazed into the mirror, touching his chubby cheeks. Then he let out a long sigh.

He hadn't given it much thought before reincarnating, but now… well, being stuck as a child turned out to be a headache. There were plenty of things he couldn't do, and people rarely took him seriously.

[Maybe I should consider that Sage Mode Tsunade and Orochimaru have been working on… then reincarnate myself again…?]

He was mulling that over when a message came in from Orochimaru:

[Regarding how to use the Funa-tsū technique…]

"All right, let's see." Tobirama opened it and skimmed. His face showed a hint of approval.

Not a bad plan.

The elderly Madara in the second world had taken off to who-knew-which dimension. That'd be trouble sooner or later.

Meanwhile, the "first world" still had Uchiha Obito missing with a Rinnegan, and in the second world, there were two Black Zetsus lurking around.

Massive threats everywhere. The two Hashiramas couldn't leave their posts; each had to stand guard.

The "second" Hashirama knew old Madara's chakra well enough to track him across dimensions, but worried about being ambushed.

Given the second world's track record, what if he crossed over and found two Madaras waiting, plus Obito with space-time jutsu? That'd be a nightmare.

Hence why the "Transdimensional Pursuit Squad" plan never got off the ground.

Orochimaru's proposal was constructive: if they lacked power, why not use the Boat Passage to find yet another world and summon a new Hashirama there? Summon multiple Hashiramas, forming a whole "Hashirama Squad" to hunt down old Madara.

First, they'd scout a new world to confirm it was like the second world. If so, they could dispatch more people to seek out any other existing Hashiramas on a large scale.

And about who'd go? Orochimaru was shamelessly volunteering himself for a spot.

[Indeed, it's a solid idea… but who should we actually send?]

Right away, Tobirama mentally rejected Orochimaru, then began seriously weighing the makeup of the advanced team.

~~~

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