Konoha's Tag-System Ninja

"Soul binding…"

Tsunade stared at the jutsu formula, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, Shūichi flicked his fingers, sending a sharp burst of energy that severed Kogami Kohai's left arm.

Tsunade looked up, puzzled by his actions.

Pointing at Kogami Kohai's regenerating arm, Shūichi explained, "This is also a form of immortality."

"And it shares a striking resemblance to Jashin's version of immortality—they're both rooted in the soul."

Although Tsunade hadn't studied the Edo Tensei technique in detail, based on her observations and Kogami Kohai's descriptions, she could see the similarities between the two.

In fact, in terms of effectiveness, Edo Tensei's immortality seemed even more astonishing.

However, Tsunade raised a critical question: "The more people you kill, the more sacrifices you make, the stronger the curse becomes. That means the technique's power grows too—why is that?"

Shūichi pondered this. "It's likely tied to faith in Jashin."

"And faith is a manifestation of spirit, which originates from the soul."

"The greater the fanaticism toward Jashin, the stronger the faith. This mental transformation would lead to changes in the soul."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "Similar to the Uchiha clan's Sharingan?"

Shūichi nodded, gazing at the jutsu formula on the scroll. After a brief moment of thought, he began refining it.

---

In another laboratory…

Shūichi, who had just finished assisting Asuka with Uchiha Shisui's transplant of Hashirama cells, suddenly froze.

The Tag Tree stirred again.

Looking closely, he saw a new tag leaf had appeared on the tree.

Tag: Legend of Immortality 

Conditions to Obtain: Perfect a forbidden technique for immortality—soul undying, body indestructible.

Tag Effects: Physical constitution +100%, mental power +100%, bodily compatibility +100%. Allows selection of any body-related jutsu as a Kekkei Genkai (physical type).

What a reward!

Shūichi was both shocked and thrilled, quickly realizing this tag must have been triggered by his research into Jashin's immortality. However, he wasn't entirely sure what his clone had accomplished so far.

Glancing at Shisui, who had yet to wake up, Shūichi left White Zetsu (Tobi) to keep watch and headed over to the clone's location with Asuka.

Hearing footsteps, Tsunade turned around, surprised. "Why are you here?"

Shūichi glanced at his focused clone and smiled. "I'm curious about Jashin's power."

"Looks like you've gained a lot."

Tsunade shook her head. "That depends on your clone."

"Now that you're here, I don't need to stay. This isn't my area of interest."

"Asuka, let's go."

With that, Tsunade turned to leave.

Asuka winked at Shūichi before following her out.

---

Shūichi walked over to the scroll his clone was working on. After a brief examination, he immediately recognized the train of thought his clone was pursuing—drawing on knowledge from Edo Tensei to refine Jashin's immortality.

"However, simply building on the original framework won't achieve something as robust as the Edo Tensei body… After all, the Edo Tensei body isn't a true flesh-and-blood vessel."

Shūichi reflected to himself, "At most, refining the original technique would result in something akin to Hidan's condition."

"His body could be reduced to fragments without dying, but for me, that's practically useless."

"Hidan was dismembered by Shikamaru and couldn't reattach his body parts on his own. Without assistance, staying alive is no different from being dead."

"That's the greatest weakness and flaw of Hidan's immortality."

Shūichi remembered that Hidan often relied on Kakuzu to stitch him back together to regain functionality.

"It's clear that his regeneration isn't true cellular regeneration or proliferation."

"Soul undying, body indestructible… I need to redesign the framework of immortality based on the soul as its foundation."

"For example, incorporating the power of Yang Release…"

---

Unknowingly, an hour passed as the clone finally completed an initial refinement of the immortality technique.

Shūichi severed ties with his clone after extracting its memories and promptly canceled the Edo Tensei jutsu. Kogami Kohai had outlived his usefulness; his limited abilities no longer interested Shūichi.

Carrying the scroll, Shūichi headed to where White Zetsu clones were detained. Selecting one, he performed the newly refined Immortality Jutsu, imprinting a curse seal on the clone.

Once complete, he drew the Totsuka Blade and swiftly decapitated the White Zetsu.

The clone's head rolled across the floor a few times before its voice rang out: "Huh? I didn't die?"

Shūichi picked up the head and pressed it back onto the body. The wound healed automatically, the neck reattaching seamlessly—an innate regenerative ability of White Zetsu.

Shocked, the White Zetsu twisted its neck experimentally. "What's going on? Did that curse seal just make me immortal?"

Smiling faintly, Shūichi didn't answer. Instead, he decapitated the White Zetsu again. This time, he left the head separated, placing it on the lab table while the body remained nearby. The clone's incessant chatter filled the room.

---

Three days later…

Despite being decapitated, the White Zetsu still hadn't died and continued to babble non-stop. However, the Tag Tree did not recognize this as a success.

Watching the scene, Asuka couldn't help but remark, "It's amazing, but with the body severed, there's no way to control it. Without help, even if it's alive, it's essentially useless."

Tsunade nodded in agreement and turned to Shūichi. "Can't it reach the level of Edo Tensei?"

Shūichi shook his head. "The Edo Tensei body is actually created by transforming the sacrificial body into a reanimated vessel."

He mused aloud, "To allow control over separated body parts, the solution likely lies in the soul rather than the physical body."

The word soul sparked a realization for Shūichi—his self-developed Spiritual Clone Jutsu!

With a new direction in mind, Shūichi reassembled the White Zetsu's body and head. Then he instructed Uchiha Shisui, now recovered from his Hashirama cell transplant, to cast Kotoamatsukami on the immortal White Zetsu.

Thus, another assistant joined the experimental base: Immortal White Zetsu, alongside White Zetsu Tobi.

---

A New Chapter in Konohagakure ...

Time flew by amidst training and research. Before long, it was October of the 48th year of Konoha's calendar, and Kushina Uzumaki's due date was near.

On this day, Shūichi Hoshita, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Jiraiya visited Minato Namikaze's home.

Hiruzen's wife, Biwako Sarutobi, and Asuka were already there, helping prepare for the move.

"Sensei, just accompany Kushina-san to Mount Myōboku," Shūichi said to Minato and Kushina. "If Kushina-san isn't in Konoha, Nagato's group won't dare to act rashly based on their intelligence."

Even if Black Zetsu and his allies hadn't received information, Shūichi would make sure they did. He had briefly considered setting a trap by impersonating Kushina to lure the enemy but decided it wasn't worth the effort.

"You're right, Shūichi," Jiraiya agreed with a grin. "Leave everything here to us."

He had even put aside his travels to return for this.

Hiruzen added, "If we show a defensive stance, it should deter them. And even if they attack, with our preparations, we can handle it."

With Uchiha Shisui activating his Mangekyō Sharingan, Kakashi mastering the Flying Thunder God, and Orochimaru back in the village alongside the three legendary Sannin, Hiruzen was confident.

Minato bowed in gratitude. "Thank you all. This is such a burden to place on you."

He felt uneasy leaving the village as Hokage, but Kushina wasn't just his wife—she was also the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.

---

Once everything was set, Minato summoned a messenger toad from Mount Myōboku with a prepared summoning scroll. After handing over the scroll, the toad performed a reverse summoning, transporting Minato to Mount Myōboku.

Shūichi immediately unfurled a scroll as Asuka and Biwako Sarutobi supported Kushina onto it.

Since none of the three had a summoning contract with Mount Myōboku, they couldn't use reverse summoning to follow Minato.

To ensure the safe transport, a new summoning scroll was specially crafted. By connecting two summoning scrolls, Minato Namikaze could summon the trio to Mount Myōboku from his location.

Three minutes later, Kushina Uzumaki and her companions vanished in a puff of smoke as they stood on the scroll.

Jiraiya turned to Shūichi and asked, "Shūichi, do you think Nagato and his group will show up?"

Shūichi pondered for a moment before replying, "If they're confident in defeating me, they might come, hoping to force us into revealing Lady Kushina's whereabouts. However, based on the intelligence White Zetsu (Tobi) provided, the tailed beasts need to be sealed in order, starting with the One-Tail. To avoid alerting other ninja villages, they're unlikely to make a direct attack."

Jiraiya grinned. "So that means Nagato and his group won't come."

Shūichi shook his head. "It's not an absolute certainty."

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a puff of smoke and said, "Jiraiya, let's just wait patiently for Minato and the others to return." He knew his restless student all too well.

"Regardless, we must remain vigilant," Hiruzen reminded them firmly.

Both Shūichi and Jiraiya nodded in unison. "Understood!"

---

At Amegakure

Inside a tall tower, a White Zetsu emerged from the floor, addressing Black Zetsu, Nagato, and the others waiting for intel.

"I have unfortunate news: the Nine-Tails jinchūriki has disappeared."

Konan frowned. "Disappeared? What do you mean? Was she shielded by a barrier?"

White Zetsu shook his head. "No, she left Konoha entirely."

Black Zetsu remarked, "It seems they anticipated we'd act during the jinchūriki's labor and prepared in advance to relocate her."

Nagato's expression darkened, but then a thought seemed to strike him. "I see… it must be that place."

Konan hesitated before asking, "You mean Mount Myōboku?"

Nagato nodded. "That's the only place that offers absolute safety, one we cannot reach."

The White Zetsu attached to Obito chuckled. "Mount Myōboku, one of the Three Great Sage Lands? Nagato, you were Jiraiya's students. Don't you know how to access that place?"

Nagato replied calmly, "We never signed a summoning contract with Mount Myōboku and have never been there. Even if we knew the way, it's far more dangerous than Konoha itself."

The spiraled White Zetsu sighed and chuckled. "It seems the Nine-Tails will have to be captured last."

Nagato declared, "If that's the case, we'll focus on gathering intel and recruiting more powerful allies. When the time comes, we'll capture the tailed beasts swiftly, one by one."

He continued, "For now, we need to stay under the radar. Using Amegakure as cover, we can avoid provoking Konoha into uniting with other villages against us."

The White Zetsu who had delivered the report smirked. "Speaking of recruits, I do have a potential candidate in mind."

Nagato frowned. "We need strong allies, not just anyone."

White Zetsu grinned. "Oh, don't worry—he meets your criteria. After all, he once attempted to assassinate the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and possesses immortality."

(End of Chapter)

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