"Hmm... this effect is good, but it's a pity the Materials are a bit ordinary. Once the first batch of items from the Spirit Field is grown and I try again, it should be much stronger..."
At this moment, Hinata was at home studying the Medicinal Pills her Clone had cooked up.
Suddenly, a faint ripple of spiritual power came from her wrist; it was Little White gently rubbing against her skin, conveying a short message from Orochimaru.
"Come quickly, the body is ready."
Hinata raised an eyebrow. So fast? It's only been a few days, right? Has efficiency increased this much after Tsunade joined? Did Orochimaru get faster, or was Tsunade in too much of a hurry?
With a slight thought from Hinata, the space in front of her rippled like water.
In the next moment, her figure appeared in Orochimaru's underground laboratory, which was filled with the smell of special preservative fluid and the glow of precision instruments.
The air was thick with tense anticipation and the familiar scent of disinfectant.
Tsunade stood in the center of the laboratory, her hands unconsciously clenched, her gaze fixed intently on a giant cultivation tank in front of her.
A male body floated inside the tank, with a peaceful expression and smooth muscle lines. His black hair drifted slightly in the nutrient solution; it was indeed Kato Dan.
Orochimaru stood at the control console. His snake-like pupils turned toward Hinata the moment she appeared. Besides his usual researcher's fervor, there was an added touch of solemnity in his eyes.
"You're here," Orochimaru's voice was raspy and direct.
"Mm-hmm, you guys are quite fast—even faster than with Kimimaro before."
Hinata's gaze swept over the expectant Tsunade.
"Heh heh, with Tsunade's involvement, this was inevitable. By the way, there's been quite a stir over in Konoha."
Hinata nodded and walked to the cultivation tank. Her eyes scanned the new body, but she only found Dan's; there wasn't a second one.
"Hmm... why is there only one?" Hinata raised an eyebrow.
"It couldn't be helped. Tsunade was anxious to verify the results; she didn't want to wait even a second," Orochimaru spread his hands.
Tsunade simply curled her lip.
"What are you all staring at me for? Is it wrong for me to want to verify quickly and see my lover sooner?"
Hinata: "...It's only human nature."
She turned her gaze back to Dan's body. She had to admit the craftsmanship was exquisite; this body not only perfectly replicated Dan's appearance from when he was alive, but its functions were also in peak condition.
Only then did Hinata answer Orochimaru's question.
"Yes, the Six Paths of Pain attacked Konoha."
Tsunade turned to look at Hinata.
"Konoha was attacked? What was the outcome?"
"The invaders didn't fight to the death with Konoha. After a few probes and exchanges, they left," Hinata said truthfully, her tone calm.
"I intervened early, and since Naruto can now control the Nine-Tails Chakra, he could hold them off a bit. Konoha's casualties weren't heavy."
She omitted the specifics of her conversation with Nagato; there was no need to be that detailed.
Orochimaru let out a low laugh.
"Heh heh, I knew it. That fellow is very stubborn and wouldn't give up easily. If you intervened, then it's normal."
He stuck out his tongue and licked the corner of his mouth, asking curiously, "So, what did you say to him? Or did you use your strength to force him back?"
He was clearly very interested in Pain as well.
Hinata answered briefly.
"I didn't fight. I just told him his eyes weren't his own and that he was merely being used."
"Oh? Such a thing exists?"
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow; he didn't know about this either.
"Then, by exposing this, what do you want him to do? Do you want to use him to get things done?"
Hinata glanced at him. It was normal for an ambitious man like Orochimaru to think that way.
"No, I wouldn't stoop to playing such calculating tricks. I simply gave him the chance to choose."
Hinata corrected Orochimaru's conspiracy theory. "As for how he chooses, that's his business."
She looked at Tsunade: "Now, it's time for us to do our business."
Tsunade took a deep breath. She wasn't interested in any of that; her mind was currently filled with thoughts of resurrection.
"Yes, we can talk about other things later. Orochimaru, are you sure there are no problems with this body?"
"Heh heh, don't ask such pointless questions. Tsunade, this is a perfect body created by both of us. You know very well how it is."
Orochimaru walked to another instrument where some ancient scrolls and miscellaneous items were displayed, and took out the things needed for Edo Tensei.
As he formed hand seals, an Edo Tensei body with hollow eyes was summoned.
"The rest is up to you—stripping the Soul from its bound state in the Pure Land and moving it into the new body... Heh heh, this is the field that truly touches the taboos of life and death."
Hinata said no more. She walked up to the Edo Tensei matter, extended her finger, and began the guidance with practiced ease.
With the previous experience, it was even faster this time.
"Release."
With a light tap, the Edo Tensei body binding Dan's Soul melted away like thin snow under the spring sun.
The Soul was successfully guided out following Hinata's movements.
Tsunade held her breath, and even Orochimaru stopped all movement, staring unblinkingly at this scene that transcended all his previous research.
Although he had seen it once before, he was still awestruck by this sight.
Hinata's expression was focused and calm. Her left hand pointed toward the body in the cultivation tank from a distance, while her right hand guided that wisp of spirit.
Spiritual power turned into the finest threads, gently wrapping around Dan's Soul as if soothing a sleeping infant. Then, she slowly guided it through the glass barrier of the cultivation tank, accurately casting it into the long-awaited body.
At the moment the Soul touched the body, Hinata's gaze sharpened, and more spiritual power surged out, quickly covering Dan's entire body like a woven net.
With her prior experience, she knew how to make Dan's Soul merge into the body without being rejected.
The newborn body and the long-departed Soul needed to be matched again. Every inch of Meridians and every cell accelerated their adaptation and Fusion under the harmony of spiritual power.
Dan's body inside the cultivation tank began to twitch, and his eyelashes seemed to flutter.
Tsunade's fists clenched tightly.
Orochimaru quickly operated the instruments, recording data for various life indicators.
"Heartbeat... pulse... brainwave activity rising... perfect."
As Hinata slowly withdrew her hand, Kato Dan gradually opened his eyes.
At first, he was dazed, then his gaze moved with some difficulty, finally fixing on Tsunade outside the tank.
His lips moved silently behind the glass.
Judging by the shape of his mouth, it was a name.
"Tsun... ade..."
In the laboratory, only the rhythmic beeping of the instruments remained, along with Tsunade's finally uncontrollable sobbing—a mix of endless grief and the wild joy of recovery.
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