"All of those people have already been sent back under escort."
Minato had brought Tsunade back and relayed everything that happened at the daimyo's residence to Rengoku.
Aside from those who held hatred toward Tsunade, the rest of the Sarutobi clan didn't have much choice, either die, or abandon the Sarutobi name.
The work of cleaning the battlefield was left to the daimyo's men, to see if anything valuable could be salvaged and used to compensate the merchant guilds.
Those guilds got lucky; near the corpses of Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, the daimyo's people found several large storage scrolls.
Inside were the very funds Hiruzen had cheated out of those guilds.
It was enough to cover about half of their total losses.
Of course, the reason Rengoku ordered the money returned to the guilds instead of keeping it himself was because, used properly, those guilds could bring him far more benefit than the cash itself.
What Rengoku hadn't expected, though, was that out of more than twenty thousand people, over five thousand harbored deep hatred toward Tsunade.
Killing them outright would be a waste, whether they were used as laborers or as experimental material for Orochimaru, both were good options.
Minato had also brought back Asuma and Konohamaru.
"Use their lives to let me see Dan Kato and Nawaki one more time." [T/N: Tit-for-tat]
Hearing that, Rengoku's lips curved into a small smile, "So you've finally come around."
Tsunade snorted coldly, "Letting them just die would be far too easy."
Rengoku didn't linger on that topic; instead, he suddenly brought up something else.
"Do you know why I've always said you've wasted your talent?"
Tsunade froze, not understanding why he said that.
Rengoku raised a finger, "You know Chiyo of Sunagakure, right? Her son and daughter were killed by White Fang."
"Chiyo was devastated, but she didn't give up on herself."
"She spent twenty years developing a secret technique called Self-Life Reincarnation."
"It transfers one's own life force to the dead, thereby reviving them."
Tsunade's face filled with shock, "Then… did she succeed?"
Rengoku nodded, "Though her technique requires sacrificing her own life, still…"
"She succeeded."
Tsunade's expression grew complex, "So that's the reason you've been lecturing me all this time?"
Rengoku raised a hand, gesturing for patience, "Orochimaru can clone a human body from a single cell."
"And I know a secret art identical in principle to Chiyo's Self-Life Reincarnation."
"It can use life force to resurrect someone."
This time Tsunade stared at Rengoku in astonishment, eyes wide, a mix of disbelief and barely restrained joy shining there.
"You… you mean?"
Rengoku wagged his finger side to side, "That's the first method."
"There's a second, Nagato's Rinnegan has a secret technique called Rinne Tensei no Jutsu."
"With enough pupil power and an equal amount of life force, a person can be completely revived."
"Yes, even someone in an Edo Tensei body."
Tsunade forced herself to suppress her excitement, then suddenly caught the key point in Rengoku's words.
"How could Nagato possibly have that much life force?"
Rengoku took a small bottle from his sleeve and handed it to her.
"You should recognize this."
Tsunade took the bottle, face turning grave as she pulled out the stopper and gently sniffed.
Just from a faint whiff, a feeling of vitality and lightness flooded through her entire body.
Her mind flashed through a list of rare materials, then her eyes widened like copper bells, "Water of Life?"
"How did you find something like this?"
This was the stuff of legend, it had vanished from the world for hundreds of years.
Most people hadn't even heard of it.
Only someone as well-informed as Tsunade recognized this divine substance.
Rengoku didn't answer her question, instead saying, "Now there's a chance to bring Nawaki and Dan Kato back."
Tsunade's eyes instantly turned red, "Bring back Nawaki and Dan!?"
Rengoku nodded, "With Nagato's Rinnegan, it can be done."
"To be precise, we'll be reviving five people this time, Namikaze Minato, Uzumaki Kushina, Nawaki, Dan Kato, and Hatake Sakumo."
"Hiss!", Tsunade's whole body went numb.
If Minato came back, Konoha's power would change completely.
"If you already had the Water of Life and the means to resurrect, why didn't you revive Minato earlier?", Tsunade asked, puzzled.
"Minato's soul was trapped by the Shinigami before, so it couldn't be revived."
"Also, Nagato's Rinnegan has limits, too many resurrections at once and the eyes would shatter."
"And the Water of Life was only recently found."
"This time, reviving so many people at once is for a reason."
"It has to do with the origin of Nagato's Rinnegan, and the enemies we'll be facing next. I'll show you."
As he spoke, Rengoku cast a genjutsu directly into Tsunade's mind.
In an instant, the whole cause and effect unfolded before her eyes.
Images flashed rapidly, the origins of the shinobi world, and the enemies they would soon face.
The resentful Nagato, the tragic Obito, the even greater victim Madara, and behind them all, the manipulative schemer Black Zetsu.
Tsunade shook her head, trying to process it all, but found she couldn't digest any of it.
'Good grief,' she thought, 'Someone as single-minded as me isn't built for this kind of intricate conspiracy.'
Even Hiruzen alone had run her in circles, and now she was hearing about layer after layer of manipulation.
She rubbed her temples, deciding these things were better left to others.
"Rengoku, how do you know so much?"
Rengoku pointed at his eyes, "My pupil power can simulate the future."
Tsunade blinked in disbelief, 'Can a Mangekyo Sharingan really do that?'
But she wasn't a Uchiha, so all she could do was take his word for it.
"So, what do you plan to do about Nagato's Rinnegan?"
That pair of Rinnegan had gone completely out of control. As powerful as they were, an uncontrollable treasure was still a hidden danger.
"I've already used Edo Tensei to summon Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo again."
"They finished the Gozu Tenno Project early."
"Nue's explosion probably caused the otsutsuki clan to appear ahead of schedule."
"So we must strengthen ourselves as fast as possible."
Tsunade thought for a moment, "Then besides Minato, shouldn't we be able to revive my grandfather or great-uncle too?"
Rengoku shook his head regretfully, "If we could, I'd want to revive Hashirama myself."
"But those revived through Rinne Tensei return in the condition they were when they died."
"Unless we make a young body for Hashirama first, reviving him as he is would only waste an enormous price for a few short breaths."
"Orochimaru has already tried, Hashirama's body is too unique, impossible to breed."
"Your task is to work with Orochimaru to conduct experiments and reconstruct your grandfather's body, prepare for his eventual resurrection."
"The reward will be the revival of Dan Kato and Nawaki."
Tsunade might lack political cunning, but she wasn't stupid.
Rengoku called it a 'reward,' but how could she not participate in experiments that could bring her grandfather back?
"Don't worry, Rengoku. I'll work hard with Orochimaru on those experiments from now on."
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