Naruto: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 26: The Name "Kato" Holds a Special Place in My Memory

The netherworld naturally suppresses the souls of the deceased.

Even someone as powerful as Hagoromo Gengetsu struggles to resist the force that draws him toward the netherworld.

If not for his caution in not fully detaching his soul from the Reanimation body during the first attempt, he wouldn't have stood here so easily now.

"With my soul only partially detached, I can barely stabilize myself against the pull of the netherworld. If I completely detach my soul, it would be impossible to move. I wouldn't even have time to fuse with my real body before being pulled up to the heavens by the netherworld's force."

Hagoromo Gengetsu stroked his chin, gazing up at the clear, cloudless sky, deep in thought.

He needed to find a way to resist the force of the netherworld or strengthen his soul itself.

"Soul..."

Hagoromo Gengetsu furrowed his brow.

Despite the myriad jutsus in the world, secret jutsu s related to the soul are extremely rare.

There's no helping it; the soul is too mysterious.

In his lifetime, he devoted more effort to the study of chakra and was always cautious when it came to the soul.

He couldn't do what Orochimaru did—disregarding others and even himself—damaging his own soul beyond recognition yet still surviving. Orochimaru was just too lucky.

Hagoromo Gengetsu had limited knowledge about the soul.

He tried a few soul-related secret jutsu s he knew from his lifetime, but none were effective.

After another glance at the netherworld's crack above, he smoothly returned his soul to the Reanimation body, shaking his head:

"It still won't work. The resistance from the netherworld is too strong; breaking the boundary between life and death isn't that easy."

The Rinnegan's success is due to its incredibly high quality.

Like the Ten-Tails or Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, these are entities from beyond this world.

As the ultimate weapon of the Ōtsutsuki clan, the Rinnegan's capabilities go far beyond resurrection.

"Unfortunately, I'm not a reincarnation of Asura or Indra's chakra. Even if I obtained the flesh and blood of both, I couldn't evolve the Rinnegan."

Aside from the pure-blooded Ōtsutsuki clan, only the reincarnations of Indra's chakra can awaken the Rinnegan by transplanting the flesh or cells of Asura's reincarnation.

No matter how many Uchiha and Senju intermarry or how many Uchiha transplant Hashirama's cells, they can't produce the Rinnegan; at most, they can develop Wood Release like Obito.

The Rinnegan is too far out of reach, so it's better to put it aside for now.

After repeated attempts, the sky had darkened, and the temperature had dropped by ten degrees from the daytime.

Hagoromo Gengetsu, unaffected, sat cross-legged.

The Reanimation body has no sense of temperature, pain, fatigue, hunger, or the need to relieve oneself.

Without these distractions, he could focus on the problem at hand.

"Should I put chakra research on hold and devote all my energy to soul research?"

Hagoromo Gengetsu pondered and rejected the idea.

Leaving aside whether the research would be successful, it would take a lot of time and effort.

The one thing he lacked most right now was time.

Though the Reanimation body wouldn't disappear in a matter of days, it couldn't last long enough for substantial soul research to bear fruit.

Even the most talented scientist in the ninja world, Orochimaru, spent over a decade developing the Living Corpse Reincarnation jutsu .

Though Hagoromo Gengetsu was talented, he couldn't guarantee he'd take less time.

If he were that capable, he would have completed the Bloodline Limit project and become invincible, not needing to sit here and contemplate.

Given the current situation, relying solely on himself wouldn't work. He needed external help.

Hagoromo Gengetsu never underestimated others.

Despite being called a god-like figure, he was, in the end, only human, with limited time in life.

Compared to himself, the ninja world with its thousand-year accumulation probably had more suitable solutions.

Hagoromo Gengetsu pondered seriously.

As he previously considered, he now needed a unique soul jutsu that could ignore distance and transfer instantly.

Once his soul reached his real body and fused perfectly, it would be like inhabiting the Reanimation body, making the netherworld powerless against him.

"Is there such a soul jutsu in the ninja world?"

Hagoromo Gengetsu meticulously combed through long-buried memories.

Suddenly!

A vivid image of a voluptuous figure flashed through his mind.

If described in one phrase, it would be "graceful curves."

No, that's not it!

More accurately, it's the deceased boyfriend of the "graceful curves."

That man, who had the dreams of a main character but not the fate, was named Dan, right?

And his surname...

Heh.

The surname "Kato" left a deep impression on Hagoromo Gengetsu, who had studied many teachers' works in his previous life.

Even after all these years, he remembered this minor character who had only a brief appearance, thanks to the surname "Kato."

"Spirit Transformation Technique!"

Thinking of Kato Dan, Hagoromo Gengetsu immediately recalled the jutsu that briefly appeared during the Fourth Great Ninja War.

This S-rank soul jutsu , which temporarily separates the soul from the body, allows the user to ignore distance, kill enemies, control others, or enter someone else's mind. It's exactly what he needed.

Hagoromo Gengetsu's eyes lit up.

That's it!

He had to get it!

Regarding his resurrection plan, Hagoromo Gengetsu was eager to act immediately.

However, there was one more thing to confirm.

Where is the Spirit Transformation Technique?

Kato Dan is dead. Even if he was summoned via Reanimation jutsu, it would only force him to fight, not reveal the method to learn the jutsu .

As for learning a jutsu just by watching the hand signs?

Come on, try clapping your hands and see if you can summon a giant Buddha.

The Spirit Transformation Technique is classified as S-rank, not because of its effects but due to its difficulty in learning.

There are risks in learning ninjutsu.

Forbidden jutsus are called such not because of their killing power—after all, a Fireball Jutsu can kill—but because they often harm the practitioner or pose life-threatening risks during training.

This is why Konoha established the Scroll of Seals, prohibiting the dissemination of the jutsus recorded within it.

Just like the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu, someone with average chakra reserves would exhaust themselves to death if they used it.

If there were no restrictions and people freely trained in these jutsu s, over ninety percent of those who fancied themselves exceptional would perish.

Not every ninja is a Minato Namikaze or Naruto Uzumaki.

Back to the point, Hagoromo Gengetsu wasn't worried about finding the Spirit Transformation Technique .

As bloodthirsty beings who tread on a knife's edge, ninjas record their jutsus, preserving them within their clan or village for future generations, to prevent them from being lost entirely.

Kato Dan, as a Konoha ninja, surely did the same.