Irori was, without question, a puppet that Yayoi had created only after pouring countless hours of effort and painstaking work into her.
After being modified by his life-activated chakra, with additional assistance from partial Yin-Yang Release, her functionality surpassed that of a human puppet. She was a puppet life-form with far greater performance.
However, rather than a puppet, her life structure was actually closer to that of a tailed beast.
That was because the materials used to create her were not wood, metal, or other substances with chakra conductivity. The primary material used to construct her was chakra itself.
In other words, she was a chakra creature similar to a tailed beast.
The only difference was that, compared to a tailed beast, she had not formed true life. She still required Yayoi, her creator, to control and command her before she could display her full abilities.
The reason Yayoi had developed the idea of creating this kind of puppet life-form was because the chakra he refined naturally carried powerful life activity.
When this activity was raised to a higher level, it could condense into a living chakra embryo. Using this chakra embryo as a foundation, after several years of extension and shaping, Irori's humanoid prototype had finally been formed.
Then, by combining it with chakra's ability to transmit consciousness and thought, he highly compressed and gathered chakra before granting it memory and thought.
In essence, she was equivalent to a simplified version of a tailed beast.
During this process, in order to give Irori the same ability to control ice and snow as the snow doll from a certain anime he remembered from his previous life, Unbreakable Machine-Doll, Yayoi had specially traveled to the Land of Water.
There, he found the Yuki clan and secretly captured several clan members who had awakened the Ice Style kekkei genkai, then studied their clan's Ice Style ability.
After completing his research, he granted the researched Ice Style power to Irori's body, forming a chakra circuit similar to Ice Style, which he named the "Ice Mirror."
A chakra circuit was a simulated meridian system formed through chakra.
This system allowed Irori to produce chakra on her own. It also allowed her to imitate a ninja and freely use the ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu attached to chakra.
Of course, that ideal state was still one step away from true success.
Memory, thought, and the intelligence necessary to exist in the world had already been assembled inside Irori's body.
But all of it needed to be activated.
Otherwise, she would remain a dead object that required finger control.
There were two major obstacles to activation.
The first was how to grant Irori stronger life activity. Relying solely on his own special chakra made it very difficult to complete independently. Because of that, the appearance of the incomplete Yin-Yang Release scroll had given him a new path.
The second was the need for an unimaginably massive amount of chakra.
Yayoi had already solved the first problem.
But the second...
Yayoi could not give Irori such an enormous amount of chakra by himself, which was why he had always needed to manually control her in fine detail.
That was also why he had turned his gaze toward the tailed beasts, intending to plunder the vast chakra within them.
Thinking of this, Yayoi could not help feeling excited.
"Kakuzu, keep watch nearby. Do not let anyone approach."
"Yes."
Kakuzu nodded seriously, flashed to a nearby position, and began guarding the surrounding area.
Yayoi then hooked his fingers.
Irori, connected by chakra threads, naturally stepped forward like a living person.
She stopped in front of the Seven-Tails. A faint glow shone from her inorganic purple pupils.
Her snow-white, delicate hands slowly rose, then began forming hand signs in a slow yet fluid motion.
An unprecedented chill swept over the area.
The unconscious body of the Seven-Tails began trembling violently.
Scarlet chakra peeled away from its body like mud, rolling and gathering toward Irori's body as she formed hand signs.
"This... no... this... is not a seal..."
As its vitality weakened, the Seven-Tails regained a hazy awareness. A trembling murmur escaped its mouth.
It felt as if something more fundamental was leaking out from inside its body along with its chakra, then being absorbed by the lifeless girl before it.
It could sense that the chakra flowing into Irori's body had the traces of its own aura erased. No consciousness-like product formed within it to interfere with Irori.
The Seven-Tails let out a pained groan. Its wings tried to flap.
Irori suddenly lifted her snow-white chin. Her purple pupils were icy and lifeless as she opened her mouth and exhaled a mist-like breath of cold air.
Struck by the cold, the Seven-Tails shuddered. Its body stiffened again, motionless, and it could only watch helplessly as its chakra was stolen bit by bit.
Irori's absorption speed was not fast, because while she absorbed the chakra, Yayoi needed to erase the consciousness carried by the Seven-Tails' chakra itself, leaving only the purest chakra behind.
This process was like cutting a moderate-sized wound into a human body and slowly draining the blood.
As time passed, the forest fell into night.
No one knew how long had gone by.
The night was nearly over, and the eastern sky once again began to brighten with the pale color of dawn.
The Seven-Tails, which had originally been as large as a small mountain, had now shrunk several times over until it was only the size of a house. For a tailed beast, this size and build could be considered miniature.
After a long while, Irori released her hand signs, and Yayoi also severed the chakra threads.
Irori's purple eyes were no longer cold and lifeless. A faint light appeared within them, and a human-like look of thought surfaced on her face. But in the end, her mind seemed to ache, and she frowned as though struggling.
"The chakra she absorbed has reached its limit. If she absorbs any more, her body may begin to suffer adverse reactions."
Yayoi nodded slightly and began forming hand signs with both hands.
"Secret Art: Creation of Life."
As the name suggested, this was a secret art Yayoi had developed by combining his own life-activated chakra with incomplete Yin-Yang Release. Its purpose was to grant life to a puppet.
By using this technique, the puppet's memory, consciousness, thoughts, and wisdom could be fully unified, perfectly merging with the body to form true life.
Irori's eyes slowly closed.
The pale, luminous skin across her body began to turn transparent, revealing lines that emitted green light like circuits. They occupied every corner of her body.
Those were the chakra circuits covering Irori's entire body.
The circuit-like chakra pathways crisscrossed throughout her body before finally converging at the left side of Irori's chest.
Through the puppet girl's transparent skin and the fabric of her kimono, one could see an ice-blue spherical core the size of a heart.
This was the chakra core.
It was created from an extremely rare chakra crystal, capable of absorbing and releasing chakra while also storing a large quantity of it.
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Gathered within it were the girl's will, thoughts, wisdom, and memories.
At the same time, it was the source of her life. Calling it either her heart or her brain would not be wrong.
The enormous chakra absorbed from the Seven-Tails began fusing into Irori's chakra circuits, then gathered toward the ice-blue core at the center.
As long as this step was completed, Yayoi would no longer need to provide chakra or use chakra threads in the future.
Irori would naturally become the "chakra automatic puppet" he had envisioned, capable of autonomous movement and combat.
She would also be able to refine chakra on her own, just like a ninja.
Without question, by the standards of the current ninja world, this was the ultimate masterpiece of a puppet master.
Half an hour passed.
The glow from the girl's pale, transparent skin slowly faded. The many chakra circuits, along with the chakra core that served as both heart and brain, also disappeared into the flesh and blood created from chakra.
The girl's tightly closed eyes opened.
Her vision connected to the brand-new world.
In her mind, fragmented memories linked together one after another like short films being played.
They were the entire process of her creation, from nothing into existence, by the hands of her creator.
Aside from that, there were also memories of being used by her creator in battle, being trained by him, and being undressed so her body could be washed clean.
Subconsciously, the girl's pale, luminous face gained a faint trace of color, and a brief blush of shyness appeared.
The instant she opened her eyes, she saw a young man with short hair standing before her, dressed in black ninja clothing with a black coat-like cloak worn over it.
A fierce and direct emotion made her instinctively open her mouth.
Endless feelings and joy surged from the bottom of her heart.
"Do not be nervous. Take your time remembering how to speak."
Yayoi looked at Irori, whose mouth had opened but who could not yet make a sound. He used a warm tone to soothe her restless and uncertain heart.
Irori nodded.
She took a deep breath and, following Yayoi's instruction, recalled the various memories and knowledge in her mind.
After that, she opened her mouth again.
Her voice was ethereal and pure.
"Yayoi-sama."
"Is there anything abnormal with your body?"
Irori shook her head.
"What about the operation of your thoughts, the extraction and use of chakra, and those functions?"
Yayoi continued asking.
"Everything is normal."
Irori answered obediently.
Yayoi nodded in satisfaction.
"Then, do you still remember your name?"
"Yes. My name is Irori."
"And your identity?"
Irori's expression suddenly became solemn and serious.
"I am Yayoi-sama's daughter, lover, wife, guard, and maid. From now on, please use me however you wish, Father."
"?"
Yayoi looked at Irori's serious face, confusion appearing on his own.
Had he... added such strange thoughts into her?
Unable to figure it out, Yayoi did not dwell on it.
He had been away for some time already. He needed to return to Yomi Castle quickly.
Now that the Senju clan and Uchiha clan had united, the establishment of Konohagakure had already become unstoppable. The time and space left for him to act were both running out.
He had to make certain preparations before he could face the tide of this new era.
"Father, what should we do with the Seven-Tails?"
Irori pointed toward the Seven-Tails lying nearby, barely alive with only one breath left.
"Bring it back. After it recovers, we will use its chakra to activate future puppets."
"Will they be my future younger brothers and sisters?"
Irori tilted her head, her expression filled with anticipation and curiosity.
"Yes. But it is still a little too early to talk about that now. Kakuzu, you carry the Seven-Tails."
With the experience of creating Irori, activating the next "chakra automatic puppets" would be much more convenient.
However, considering that there were more important matters ahead, he could only suppress that idea for now. Besides, the Seven-Tails' chakra would need time to recover.
So Yayoi did not even look at the Seven-Tails lying on the ground. He turned and left.
Irori quickly followed, staying close behind Yayoi.
Only Kakuzu looked helplessly at the house-sized Seven-Tails.
It seemed the carrying work would have to be left to him.
Fortunately, the Seven-Tails' body had shrunk greatly. Otherwise, with his strength alone, carrying it would have been rather troublesome.
◎
The Land of Fire.
Atop a huge, open rocky cliff, a vast and lush forest stretched out ahead.
Tall mountains, clear rivers, fertile soil.
Two men stood casually at the highest point of the rock, overlooking this paradise untouched by the outside world.
"What do you think, Tobirama? Madara and I chose a pretty good place, didn't we? Next, we will build a village here that belongs to everyone. Madara and I have already chosen the name. It will be called Konoha!"
The black-haired man, who looked to be in his thirties, gazed at the vast forest below. Excited light shone in his eyes, and his entire being seemed caught in a state of enthusiasm. His joy was impossible to hide.
He was filled with beautiful hopes and expectations for the future.
"It is certainly a good place. But was it truly all right to sign an alliance with the Uchiha clan so hastily, Elder Brother?"
The white-haired man sighed.
Looking at his naive elder brother, he felt that ever since the Senju clan and Uchiha clan had signed their alliance, there had been a breath stuck in his chest that he could not release.
These two men were the current head of the Senju clan, Senju Hashirama, and his younger brother, Senju Tobirama, known for his godlike speed.
"What is wrong with it? We have fought for so long. Everyone should get a proper rest now. Whether it is our Senju clan or the Uchiha clan led by Madara, both sides are already tired of war. In the era to come, I do not think something like war is still necessary."
A carefree smile appeared on Hashirama's face.
"But wherever people exist, conflict can never truly be avoided."
"That is why we should end such a fate all the more. In order to let young children grow up without worry, I always felt that we had to do something. If we do not do it now, then it will only be left for the next generation to do. In that case, why not end it in our generation?"
Hashirama's voice was full of seriousness and resolve.
"..."
Tobirama lowered his head.
Rather than seeming deep in thought, it was more like he did not know what expression he should use to face this elder brother who was always so naive and optimistic.
So he took a deep breath.
"In that case, do you and Madara have any concrete plans? Just from the name of this village you call 'Konoha,' I have no idea what you are trying to express. After signing the alliance, what comes next? Are we simply going to develop a village here? If so, then how is that fundamentally different from the past?"
It was nothing more than merging the territories of two clans and forming a larger clan structure.
In Tobirama's eyes, that changed nothing at all.
"We will have more clans from the Land of Fire join us and recognize our ideals."
Hashirama gave this answer.
"..."
Tobirama, who had been waiting to hear what Hashirama's next step would be, turned to look at him.
But Hashirama no longer said another word. He simply stared at the distant sunset, admiring the scenery.
After waiting for a long time and still not hearing any next step from Hashirama's mouth, Tobirama's face darkened, and his facial muscles twitched.
No, wait.
That was it?
Where were the remaining action plans and policies?
After gathering more ninja clans together, what exactly were they supposed to do next?
Was everything supposed to be fine just because they had gathered them?
Was he certain that these unruly ninja clans would not explode once they were brought together?
Just merging the Senju clan and Uchiha clan would create major problems, let alone bringing in even more ninja clans.
No matter how Tobirama looked at it, this was an impossible task.
However...
As if thinking of something, Tobirama revealed a contemplative look.
In truth, it was not impossible to solve.
As long as Hashirama was willing to step forward and explain some "reason" to them, Tobirama believed those ninja clans would surely become very easy to talk to.
So, when Tobirama looked at Hashirama again, a trace of expectation appeared in his eyes.
The merger of ninja clans required more than just ideals.
A small amount of violence was the true key to integration.
"Tobirama, you know that I have never liked resorting to force against others. This world is already broken enough. I want to build a village where people can live and work in peace. Some things cannot be solved by violence. Peace, I think, should be achievable through other methods."
As if guessing Tobirama's thoughts, Hashirama spoke in response.
At the same time, he sighed inwardly.
As an elder brother, how could he not understand his younger brother Tobirama's extremely realistic style?
It was not just in how he handled matters.
Even the ninjutsu he developed was like that.
His younger brother seemed a little extreme in many areas.
Aside from Water Style, there were few jutsus Tobirama had created that normal ninja could have thought of.
If Hashirama were not there to restrain him, he somewhat suspected that Tobirama would sooner or later create something that shocked the entire ninja world.
"..."
Tobirama also felt like sighing.
His elder brother was this naive. What was he supposed to do?
He did not want to use force to unite the ninja clans of the Land of Fire, yet he also wanted those clans to set aside their prejudices.
That made things very difficult.
As for what would become of this ninja village called Konoha, which had not yet been formally established...
For a moment, Tobirama fell silent.