Soul of the Pure Earth

The news of Onoki's death spread throughout the world, and people expected Iwagakure to become the target of our alliance. To the surprise of many, however, the news of the attack on Konoha turned out to be the salvation of that village and the condemnation of another.

And guess who now has the Tsuchikage's hat?

You guessed wrong; it's Kurotsuchi!

There wouldn't be much time for the next Tsuchikage elections with the imminent crisis, so Onoki's granddaughter took the hat despite the recent ordeal she went through.

You know, Onoki was her grandfather. And he's dead.

So, while I was in my laboratory, preparing for the resurrection of Mikoto, I was surprised to receive a call from none other than the Raikage. More precisely, from his secretary Mabui, as the Raikage was busy with the occupation of the Land of Fire and left the den den mushi to her.

"A messenger from Iwagakure is looking for me?"

"Yes, I'm as bewildered as you are," Mabui affirmed with an impersonal but polite tone. "Initially, we thought it was a surrender proposal from Iwa due to their precarious situation, but it turns out they are actually looking for you. As they don't know how to contact you..."

"It makes sense to seek my allies," I nodded in understanding. "Do you have any idea why they are looking for me?"

"No, the messenger has been quite firm about keeping his affairs between you," Mabui denied.

"Okay, I'll be there tomorrow afternoon," I replied after thinking for a bit.

I've already installed all the Hyuga children, and the Sky Island is floating in the western part of the Land of Fire. So, while we move and finish resurrecting Mikoto, that time should cover the essentials.

"Understood, we'll be waiting for you," Mabui affirmed. "By the way, Raikage-sama has tasked me to ask if you have in mind what you would like in return for the information that allowed us to start occupying fertile lands, as we assume you want the same deal as in the Land of Water occupation."

"I haven't thought about it yet; I'll convey the list when I finish considering it."

I have to ask everyone if there's anything they want besides what I'll ask for the village. Maybe an additional need has arisen that I haven't noticed.

I hung up the call and focused back on Mikoto.

Although I've kept her body in a "vegetative" state where she lives but doesn't exist due to the absence of her soul, I had to spend some time working in the laboratory to ensure that some details are functioning normally after all this time.

It would be uncomfortable for her if it turns out she's perfectly healthy but can't even stand due to muscle inactivity.

And putting a Jonin kunoichi in her prime into a frail body is quite the job we're talking about.

I even took the trouble to eliminate some wrinkles around her eyes and smooth her skin to make her look smoother and younger!

Consider it a resurrection gift; I don't think she'll complain about it.

Am I seeing her naked?

Yes, what did you expect? That I close my eyes while fixing the body?

I'm a doctor, and I've made it clear that I'm not interested in mothers.

"Dad," Nemu pulls me out of my musings, and I turn my head to look at her. "Everything is in the green; we just need Ryuk to do his part in bringing Miss Mikoto's soul from the Pure Land."

"He should be here any moment now," I respond as I glance at the clock on the wall.

The conditions for resurrecting someone correctly are complicated and not complicated at the same time, as strange as it may seem.

Firstly, naturally, you need a body to house the soul.

Mikoto doesn't have a clone; she has her original body, the one she was born and grew up with, so she couldn't ask for anything more compatible with her soul.

Then you need a means to bring the soul from the Pure Land to the world of the living.

In the Edo Tensei, human sacrifices fulfill the first two conditions. The body is reformed to house the resurrected soul, and the soul of the sacrifice becomes the means of resurrection.

We have Ryuk to act as a medium in exchange for a basket of apples.

He didn't have a good time exploring the Pure Land; apparently, he ran into some annoying souls like Tobirama and Izuna, Madara's brother, who kept bothering him until he lost their trail.

If Tobirama knew that Ryuk wants to revive an Uchiha...

I'm digressing again; the point is that he knows where Mikoto is, and he just has to pick her up like a taxi driver. The estimates are that it would take about forty minutes to bring her, and it's been forty-two.

"Dad, she's here!" Nemu looks to the right of the laboratory and stares beyond the wall while using the Tenseigan. "Ryuk doesn't look good."

Hmm?

I see what she means without waiting too long; poor Ryuk looks just like how my wives left Konan, with a swollen and purple head. He's even floating crooked!

I remember that we later set her free in the Land of Tea; I wonder what Konan will do next?

"I want double, at least two baskets of apples!" Ryuk says with what I suppose are tears falling from his swollen head. "No one told me I would have to face a bunch of souls obsessed with resurrection; that woman named Mito is scary!"

"You talked about it out loud in the Pure Land again, didn't you?" Nemu asked exasperatedly.

"It's not my fault!" Ryuk defended himself hurriedly. "How was I supposed to know she would call her husband when she realized she couldn't catch me alone? I had to run away before he arrived!"

I grimaced when Ryuk's reaction said it all. Despite being my creation, I must admit that the one in front of me turned out much more gossipy than the original, and he likes talking to the souls of the dead, sometimes boasting unnecessarily.

I don't blame him; we can only interact with him, Nemu, and Hinata. Ameyuri and Mariko seem to be able to sense his presence using their instincts, but they can't see or talk to him.

So almost all of his social interaction occurs with the souls of the dead.

"And about Mikoto?"

"I have her here!" Ryuk takes out a black diary, and as he flips through the pages, he stops at a specific one where there's a high-quality portrait of Mikoto drawn. He reaches out and "dives" into the paper before pulling and slowly extracting something, at the same time, the portrait is gradually erased from the diary.

Taking the glasses from the table, I put them on and after adjusting the multiple lenses, I can vaguely see a figure in the empty space that Ryuk is holding.

"Nemu?"

"Yes, it's Miss Mikoto," she confirms while her Tenseigan alternates lights. "She seems to be in much better shape."

"All right, let's start the resurrection procedure," I said as I greeted Mikoto's soul and watched as she returned the greeting through the special glasses, inspired by the Ghostbusters.

Although I need to capture details, I think I saw her smile.