Chapter 277: Fear


    Chapter 277: Fear


    The return of the dead to the living world and the lack of fear of death among the living could lead to endless consequences once the boundary between life and death is broken.


    Although using the Reanimation Jutsu to deal with Hagoromo Gengetsu, Jiraiya still considered the dangers of this technique. Imagine if someone close to you died, and you had the Reanimation Jutsu; naturally, you would often summon them back to the living world to be together. If one person does this, what about thousands or millions of people in similar situations? Living with the dead in defiance of natural order—Jiraiya, though unsure of what this would mean for the world, knew from his decades of experience that such a situation should never occur, especially considering that each use of the Reanimation Jutsu requires a living person as a sacrifice.


    "The Reanimation Jutsu must never be leaked!" Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru. Originally cautious of him, Jiraiya now felt a bit relieved. Fortunately, it was Orochimaru. With his abilities, if he didn''t want to, no one could obtain the Reanimation Jutsu from him. As for passing it on? The Reanimation Jutsu was Orochimaru''s current foundation. Someone as smart as him would never do something against his own interests. At least not before dealing with Hagoromo Gengetsu.


    The sound of heavy footsteps approached. Just after Jiraiya and Orochimaru left the secret room, Tsunade, who had just finished a meeting, walked in. As soon as they met, Tsunade looked at the two of them, arms crossed, and said, "It seems you''ve already made an agreement."


    "Long time no see, Tsunade," Orochimaru greeted with a smile.


    "I''m in a bad mood right now, so, Orochimaru, drop that annoying fake smile," Tsunade snapped at him. Her gaze, sharp as a blade, bore into the cold man before her. "Orochimaru, Konoha can bring you back, and it can kill you again. Don''t do anything you shouldn''t. You know my temper; when I get going, my fists don''t care about the big picture."


    Orochimaru quickly dropped his smile, replying seriously, "Of course."@@@@


    Tsunade was not joking. Unlike Jiraiya, she had no lingering camaraderie for Orochimaru and would not hesitate to strike if necessary. Orochimaru, not wanting to risk it, especially with Tsunade in a bad mood, chose to behave.


    Jiraiya, observing everything, then asked Tsunade, "How did the meeting go?"


    Tsunade quickly sat down in the Hokage''s chair and issued commands. Shortly after, Shizune entered the office with several sealed scrolls. Although she had been informed in advance, she couldn''t help but glance warily at Orochimaru, her body instinctively tensing up. Nonetheless, she didn''t forget her task.


    "Tsunade-sama, all the materials are prepared," Shizune handed the scrolls to Tsunade.


    Tsunade pushed the scrolls towards Orochimaru, saying, "The DNA samples of the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Hokages are here, along with Hashirama cells. Orochimaru, go ahead and reanimate the four previous Hokages."


    Tsunade intended not only to test the results but also hoped that the four experienced Hokages could provide guidance during this critical time. Orochimaru took the scrolls without objection.


    "Wait," Jiraiya suddenly recalled something and hurriedly said, "I remember that those sealed by the Reaper Death Seal cannot be reanimated, right?"


    Jiraiya hadn''t known about the Reaper Death Seal''s conflict with the Reanimation Jutsu until the Chunin Exams, when Hiruzen Sarutobi had used the technique to seal Orochimaru''s arms. He figured that since the souls of the First to Fourth Hokages were in the Reaper''s stomach, they couldn''t be reanimated.


    Orochimaru didn''t explain much. He simply showed Jiraiya his fully restored hands. At first, Jiraiya thought Orochimaru had found a temporary way to restore his hands. But upon closer inspection, they felt completely normal.


    He suddenly understood.


    "Let''s begin," Tsunade urged.


    As a medical master, she had noticed at first glance that Orochimaru''s hands were fully restored. Since Orochimaru could retrieve his hands from the Reaper''s stomach, reanimating the First to Fourth Hokages would be no problem. With no doubts, she instructed Orochimaru to proceed with the reanimation. Without further explanation, Orochimaru opened the scrolls, took out the materials inside, and began the ritual.