No matter how extraordinary a creature’s vitality, it would eventually cease to exist one day—whether by accident or the slow passage of endless time.
Furthermore, Orochimaru’s reincarnation was never perfect; it left his soul vulnerable, and each transfer weakened it further.
As someone who had lived in another world, Hikuro had his own unique understanding of immortality—ideas that Orochimaru had likely never even considered.
Souls, after all, would eventually fade and decay; this was the principle known as the “Five Decays of the Celestial Beings.”
Hikuro had no interest in a form of immortality that only prolonged the life of a deteriorating soul.
In this world, where chakra and supernatural powers existed, it was not impossible to achieve some form of longevity or drastically boost vitality if one had the right materials.
If he told Orochimaru about the jellyfish’s regenerative abilities, given his genius, he could surely develop a far more powerful reincarnation technique.
But without solving the problem of the soul’s decay, even Orochimaru would eventually meet his end.
Over the past few days, Hikuro had formed a summoning contract with one of the jellyfish.
Though it had little intelligence and could not follow commands, and its body had no practical use in combat, the contract remained intact throughout every stage of its life cycle—from growth, to division, and reversion back into a polyp.
This proved that the contract did not disappear, and that the phenomenon of reverse aging was indeed real.
In Hikuro’s eyes, the biological technology of the ninja world was strangely lopsided.
With the existence of chakra and such powerful natural vitality, people were able to perform complex organ transplants and cloning even in primitive conditions.
They could easily understand the fundamental principles of genetics and use techniques that amounted to genetic fusion in practice.
Yet almost no one had developed precise methods like genetic editing.
Perhaps it was simply unnecessary—if you ran enough crude fusion experiments, you would eventually get the result you wanted through sheer numbers.
Orochimaru was the master of this approach, and every one of his experiments was carried out in the most brutal, unrefined manner.
This was, in fact, the root cause that had led to the near-extinction of the Senju clan during his research into Wood Release.
The subtle foundations that could advance science were largely ignored in the ninja world.
The overwhelming convenience of chakra had made people neglect the basic sciences that would otherwise have driven progress.
Hikuro walked to the windowsill and activated the sealing array embedded around the plant beds and fish tank.
As he fed his chakra into it, the dim seals began to glow and circulate with energy.
These were among the techniques he had developed himself—simple seals that gathered natural energy and created a concentrated environment for it to accumulate.
Without the support of a major clan’s inherited knowledge, gaining access to the most advanced sealing techniques was nearly impossible.
If he wanted to learn the truly elite methods, his only hope lay with the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
As for the Jinchūriki, Kushina Uzumaki, she was far out of his reach.
Ever since she had accepted the burden of the Nine-Tails, she had been kept away from the public eye, and he had no chance to learn the Uzumaki clan’s legendary sealing arts from her.
Recently, Hikuro had begun toying with the idea of traveling to other dimensions, which would allow him to accelerate the fusion of his various abilities and techniques.
Yet he hesitated to attempt it lightly.
The safety of such travel was far from guaranteed, and he had no idea what kind of world he might end up in.
He knew full well that other dimensions were filled with unknown dangers and powerful forces.
He decided to wait until he had reached the power of the Six Paths before attempting to merge his abilities and cross over.
He worried that if he activated the process too soon, he might be teleported away instantly, leaving all his work unfinished.
The world of Naruto was, without a doubt, the perfect place for him to grow stronger.
Until he possessed power that could stand above all others, he would put aside the idea of traveling between worlds.
Even when the time came, he would prepare every detail first.
For now, his priorities were clear: perfect his Ghost Sprout Technique, find a way to achieve true immortality, steal the genetic material of the Ōtsutsuki clan, study the structure of the Divine Tree, and master both the local arts of Senjutsu and advanced sealing techniques.
Only once he stood at the peak of power would he venture into the unknown.
At six o’clock in the morning, the first rays of sunlight touched the earth.
Nohara Rin gently shook Hikuro’s shoulder, her voice soft and warm.
“Lord Hikuro… wake up, please.”
As Hikuro felt the touch of her small, soft hands, he slowly drifted back to consciousness.
Another new day, he thought to himself.
“Good morning, Rin,” he said, patting her head affectionately before getting up to wash.
He did not notice the deep blush that had already spread across her face.
In the village, Hikuro appeared to be an ordinary shinobi in his thirties, living a steady and disciplined life.
After freshening up, he sat down to enjoy the breakfast she had prepared with care.
Today, he decided not to go to the laboratory.
Instead, he would take a day off and simply relax.
He walked through the streets of Konoha, letting the warm sunlight wash over him, feeling content and at ease.
Yet the atmosphere hanging over the village was heavy and somber, as if a dark cloud had settled over every home.
Even with Hikuro’s contributions and innovations, the Third Great Ninja War had claimed countless lives and left behind a mountain of grief.
Everywhere he looked, people wore black mourning clothes, standing among the trees to pay their respects to those who had fallen.
Four-year-old Itachi Uchiha had lived through the war.
The harsh reality of death and destruction had struck like a hammer, crushing his childish innocence and forcing him to mature far beyond his years.
Now he stood silently before a row of tombstones, his brow furrowed as he pondered the meaning of life.
What is the true purpose of living?
the young Itachi asked himself in all sincerity.
Far away, beside a quiet stream deep within the Forest of Death, Hikuro sat alone, his eyes distant and thoughtful as he turned over his plans in his mind.
Suddenly, a small figure walked up and stopped beside him.
“Mister… are you here thinking about your teammates?” asked little Itachi, breaking the silence with a question far older than his years.
Seeing the confused little boy before him, and thinking ahead to the turbulent, controversial path he would walk in the future, Hikuro reached out and flicked him lightly on the forehead.
Snap!
Caught completely off guard, Itachi Uchiha stumbled and fell right onto the ground.
“Mister!
What did you do that for?” Itachi rubbed his forehead, looking slightly hurt, and tilted his head with a puzzled expression.
“Call me ‘Daddy’!” Hikuro said, grinning mischievously.
“Monday to Friday – Update 3 Chapters a Day”
“Saturday and Sunday – Off”