Naruto: Eating Kaido's Azure Dragon Devil Fruit-Chapter 360: Impure World Rebirth

Outside the mine shaft.

Seeing Sora emerge, Kisame grinned and said, "White Tiger, all done?"

"Yeah."

Sora tossed him the scroll. "Second mission complete, bounty forty million ryō."

Kisame caught the scroll and weighed it in his hand. "Pretty efficient, faster than I expected."

"White Tiger, is there a special reason you didn't let me make a move during the day?"

Sora glanced at him and said hoarsely, "I just wanted to get familiar with fighting different types of enemies. Is there a problem?"

"No, no."

Kisame waved his hand. "I was just asking. As long as the mission's done, it's fine."

He put away the scroll and looked toward the north. "The third target is Yotsuki Ryō. Intel shows he's active in the northern border region of the Land of Earth, near the Land of Lightning."

"This guy is from a branch family of the Yotsuki Clan. His strength should be quite a bit higher than the first two. We might need to join forces for this one."

Sora nodded. "We'll see how it goes. We leave tomorrow."

"Alright."

Kisame acknowledged, but then suddenly said, "But tonight, I need to go confirm Yotsuki Ryō's exact location. The latest intel is from three days ago, just to be safe. Besides, I can't just coast along forever, White Tiger."

"Fine. Be careful."

Sora glanced at him and said flatly.

Kisame grinned. "Don't worry, I'm good at reconnaissance."

With that, he performed the Body Flicker Technique and vanished into the twilight.

Sora watched him leave, then found a hidden cave.

After confirming no one was around, he formed hand seals.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Bang!

As the white smoke cleared, Tagitsuhime, dressed in a purple kimono and exuding a charming, bewitching air, appeared in the cave.

As soon as she saw Sora, she immediately flashed a fawning smile. "Master, you finally summoned me~"

Sora got straight to the point and ordered, "Tagitsuhime, I'm going to be separating my soul from my body for a while. You guard this clone."

"If anyone approaches, kill them without question."

Tagitsuhime's eyes lit up. "As you command, Master!"

"But..."

She licked her lips. "What if it's that shark-face guy?"

Sora thought for a moment; the current Kisame was no match for Tagitsuhime. "If it's Kisame, just hold him off, but don't reveal your Ryūchi Cave identity."

Tagitsuhime nodded. "Understood."

She formed hand seals, her body shifted, and she transformed into an ordinary middle-aged woman, her presence completely changed.

"This way, I won't be recognized~"

Sora checked her over, confirmed there were no issues, then sat cross-legged in the center of the cave.

'It's about time.'

He calculated in his mind.

Today was the day Kabuto would perform the Impure World Reincarnation, with the target being Uesugi Min.

Sora had to be there in person.

...

Ascension Island Underground Laboratory.

In the center of a massive summoning array lay the body of a jōnin, serving as the sacrifice.

Kabuto stood outside the array, his expression serious.

Nonō, Miyamoto Ichirō, Yumi, and Ayumi stood to one side, their hands clenched tightly, clearly nervous as well.

"Kabuto, are you ready?"

Sora's voice came from behind.

Kabuto turned and saw Sora's main body standing at the laboratory entrance. He nodded. "Sora, everything is ready."

"The Impure World Reincarnation formula has been optimized. The quality of the sacrifice is also better than the ones used in previous experiments. In theory, it should be able to retain over ninety percent of Min's strength from when she was alive."

"Plus, the stability of the soul summoning has improved. Its duration should exceed that of a normal Impure World Reincarnation."

Sora walked to the array and looked at the jōnin in the center. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

This one had been captured by Ryūchi Cave from the Land of Water, its quality indeed far better than an average rogue ninja.

"Begin."

He said calmly.

Kabuto took a deep breath, his hands forming seals rapidly.

"Boar—Dog—Bird—Monkey—Ram—"

"Impure World Reincarnation!"

Humm!

The summoning array lit up with an eerie blue glow. The jōnin's body began to tremble, and countless paper-like particles appeared on its surface.

At the same time, the temperature inside the laboratory plummeted, as if a chill wind were blowing from the underworld.

"Min..."

Nonō clasped her hands in front of her chest, praying softly.

Yumi and the others also held their breath nervously.

The paper particles increased, gradually covering the entire jōnin, and began to take shape—first the limbs, then the torso, and finally the face.

As the last piece of paper adhered, the light flared intensely!

"Cough... cough, cough..."

"I... this is..."

Uesugi Min looked down at her hands, her fingertips gently touching her cheeks, the sensation icy cold.

She raised her head and looked around.

When she saw the familiar faces of Sora, Nonō, Ayumi, and the others, her pupils constricted sharply.

"Sora... Nonō... Ayumi..."

Memories flooded back like a tidal wave.

Danzo's coercion, the kunai pressed against her neck, that desperate lunge, and finally, the pained look in Sora's eyes she saw at the end...

"I... didn't I die?"

Uesugi Min's voice trembled.

"Min!"

Nonō couldn't hold back any longer. She rushed forward and hugged her tightly, tears streaming from her eyes. "Welcome back... welcome back..."

Looking at Nonō holding her, Uesugi Min finally confirmed it.

This wasn't a dream.

She had really, come back.

"Impure World Reincarnation."

Sora walked up to her and explained. "A forbidden jutsu that summons the souls of the deceased. Although this is just a temporary Impure World body for now, at the very least, your consciousness has returned."

Min stared blankly at Sora, her eyes gradually welling up. "I'm sorry... Sora... back then, I..."

"Don't apologize."

Sora interrupted her, reaching out to gently pat her head. "I told you, no matter what choice you made, I would support you."

"And the one who should apologize is me. I failed to protect you."

Min shook her head, wanting to speak, but choked up, unable to get the words out.

Yumi and Ayumi also gathered around, and the few girls embraced, laughing and crying at the same time.

Miyamoto Ichirō stood to the side, a rare smile appearing on his face.

Kabuto pushed up his glasses, a look of relief flashing in his eyes, but he quickly regained his researcher's composure. "Min, how do you feel right now? Any discomfort in your body?"

Min loosened the embrace and moved her limbs. "A little... stiff, and my body feels very light. It feels strange."

"Normal phenomenon."

Kabuto explained. "Although an Impure World Reincarnation body can simulate most of the functions from when you were alive, it's ultimately not a real body of flesh and blood."

"Also, you should be able to feel it now—you have nearly infinite chakra within you. That's another characteristic of Impure World Reincarnation."

Min tried to refine chakra and indeed felt a vast power surging within her, far exceeding her level when alive.

"This... it's amazing..."

"But the price is that you can't truly experience sensations like temperature, taste, or touch."

Sora added. "Also, even if this body is damaged, it will automatically repair itself. It seems like immortality, but it's actually a kind of curse."