Chapter 25

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"Reveal!"

At Gensou's command, it didn't take long for the body, buried underground for decades and never discovered, to rise up from the earth like flowing sand, finally appearing before his eyes.

Examining his own body from an outsider's perspective gave him a strange feeling.

But after a while, he got used to it.

"I must say, from this angle, I do look quite handsome," Gensou thought as he stroked his chin after scrutinizing his "sleeping" body.

Though his true self was still wrapped in black forbidden seals, obscuring its full appearance, the outline was enough to remind him of his former self.

After thoroughly inspecting the well-preserved body and confirming the effectiveness of the forbidden technique, Gensou didn't immediately undo the seal. Instead, he began to contemplate deeply.

Just as chakra is a mixture of physical and spiritual energy, a person is composed of a physical body and a soul.

Each person's body and soul are unique and perfectly matched.

An ill-fitting vessel would only lead to collapse.

This was why Gensou had not randomly chosen another body.

The only exception in the ninja world, Orochimaru, could change bodies but had a time limit and paid the price of messing up his soul.

As a result, even one of the legendary Sannin could be easily pinned down by a mere glance from Itachi Uchiha.

Gensou didn't possess Orochimaru's talent for self-destruction.

Unwilling to recklessly weaken his soul's potential, Gensou remained on the most orthodox and correct path.

There were three major hurdles to resurrection.

Thanks to the forbidden technique, Breath of Eternal Rest, maintaining the rare vitality in his body for decades, the first hurdle of resurrection—the body—was resolved. There was no need to add anything unnecessary.

The first hurdle was bypassed directly.

The second hurdle, however, lay in the soul.

Keeping a dead body alive and vital was possible with great effort, but what about the soul? After death, a soul returns to the underworld. How could it be retrieved? Should one personally venture into the underworld? Unless you were someone like Otsutsuki Hagoromo, it would be a one-way trip.

The ninja world was fortunate to have incredibly skilled individuals.

Tobirama and his pseudo-disciple, Orochimaru, had developed and perfected the Edo Tensei technique, realizing the idea of retrieving souls from the underworld.

Fortunately, the underworld did not have a true omnipotent ruler.

Otherwise, for their actions, they would have been fried in a cauldron hundreds of times over.

The appearance of Edo Tensei made it much easier for souls to return to the living world.

Just like Gensou now.

If not for the time limit of the Edo Tensei body, he would be an unstoppable existence in the ninja world.

The two major hurdles of resurrection—body and soul—were now resolved.

The final problem was the integration.

If Gensou's soul could return to his body, he would be the first in the ninja world to escape death by pulling himself back from the brink.

However, everything hinged on the soul returning to the body.

Gensou examined his Edo Tensei body.

Everything had two sides.

While the Edo Tensei technique summoned souls from the underworld, it also deeply restricted the soul itself.

Despite individuals like Madara, Hashirama, and Itachi breaking free from Edo Tensei's control, they could not achieve true freedom by detaching their souls from their Edo Tensei bodies.

Those resurrected by Edo Tensei who were either sealed or broke free during the Fourth Great Ninja War ultimately had their souls reclaimed by the underworld the moment they left their Edo Tensei bodies.

In Gensou's analysis, Edo Tensei's essence was akin to a contract with the underworld.

No matter how Tobirama and Orochimaru, those unscrupulous dealers, exploited loopholes, the core principle of a rental contract with a return condition remained.

Without a return, the business would not continue.

Gensou was certain that the moment his soul left the Edo Tensei body, it would face resistance from both the Edo Tensei technique and the underworld.

Especially the latter.

As the rightful home for souls, the underworld's pull would be even stronger.

Unless he performed the Samsara of Heavenly Life technique, addressing the issue at its root.

But it was still worth a try.

Cautiously, Gensou didn't immediately undo the Breath of Eternal Rest seal but first attempted to leave his body.

Success would be ideal, but if he failed, his body's vitality would continue to drain until it was completely lost.

Given his current state, he couldn't perform the Breath of Eternal Rest technique again.

Gensou looked around, ensuring there were no disturbances, left his true body sealed, and solemnly made hand signs with his Edo Tensei body to begin the attempt.

"Soul Departure!"

Gensou's eyes became unfocused as his soul easily broke free from the restraints of the Edo Tensei technique.

The next second.

A white light emerged from the top of his Edo Tensei body.

Visibly, Gensou's soul, maintaining a phantom human form, gradually floated out.

In his soul state, Gensou was about to look towards his original body that greatly attracted him.

A powerful force of attraction suddenly enveloped his soul completely.

Gensou's face changed, looking up.

In a view only visible to souls, a black rift opened in the sky, exuding the dead silence of the underworld.

It seemed like the true destination.

If not for Gensou forcefully controlling himself, his soul would have already flown towards it.

But that wasn't enough.

Seeing his soul not returning voluntarily, the force from the underworld increased.

Moreover, the further his soul left his Edo Tensei body, the weaker his resistance to the underworld's pull.

After a few unsuccessful attempts, Gensou decisively stopped, retracting his soul back into the Edo Tensei body.

Once his soul's presence was gone, the rift from the underworld dissipated.

"Things are even more troublesome than I thought."

While regaining control over his Edo Tensei body, Gensou frowned.

Under the Edo Tensei technique, as long as a soul resided within the Edo Tensei body, everything was fine.

In a sense, the Edo Tensei body was a barrier for the soul to remain in the living world.

But if the soul tried to leave this barrier, it would attract the attention of the underworld, guiding it back to where it truly belonged.

It seemed that exploiting death wasn't as easy as he had hoped.

(End of Chapter)