Following Second Body's advanced Medical Ninjutsu, Jiraiya had transformed from a dead man into a half-dead man, or rather, a vegetative state. His soul had not returned to his body; only his physical body was alive.
Second Body didn't know where Jiraiya's soul had wandered off to, but it likely hadn't gone to the Pure Land yet, as the connection between his body and soul hadn't been severed.
However, Second Body didn't know any soul-summoning techniques, or rather, techniques like Chiyo's Reincarnation Rebirth or Ryuzetsu's Dragon Life Reincarnation.
The only somewhat relevant technique was Edo Tensei. By studying it, she might be able to summon Jiraiya's soul back. This was also an excellent opportunity to learn Edo Tensei.
She didn't believe that at this critical time, the Third Hokage, that old man, would still disagree with her learning Edo Tensei, especially since she wouldn't abuse it.
At most, she would summon the inherently evil Senju Tobirama to make him understand the dangers of forbidden Ninjutsu, that they cannot be casually researched, or one day it would come back to bite him.
Carrying the vegetative Jiraiya, she walked towards Minato Namikaze. Seeing Minato, whose physical injuries had been healed by Round Deer but who was still unconscious, Second Body hesitated slightly.
She first let Round Deer try to heal Jiraiya, but Round Deer just shook its head. It was just a Shikigami, not a god; how could it heal the half-dead Jiraiya?
Dissolving Round Deer, Second Body looked at Minato Namikaze's single arm. A one-armed Minato Namikaze probably couldn't become Hokage. While it wouldn't significantly impact his strength, there would still be some effect.
If Minato Namikaze couldn't become Hokage, and she couldn't either due to her age, then only Orochimaru could be elected. This was not good news.
Orochimaru was a scientist and should focus on his research. So, to avoid interrupting Orochimaru's path of scientific research, Second Body had no choice but to heal Minato Namikaze's severed arm.
It wasn't the first time Second Body had performed limb regeneration. The disabilities of the Eight Trigrams Eight Man Squad had all been healed by her, making them immensely grateful, even though she was the one who had severed them in the first place.
She pressed the Reversal Technique's energy onto the severed limb, and as a large number of differentiated cells divided into stem cells, a piece of bright red fleshy tissue swelled up at the severed part, like building blocks.
As the fleshy tissue continuously proliferated, it quickly grew into the shape of a blood-red arm. Afterward, the stem cells began to differentiate, and muscle tissue and bones started to grow.
This process was undoubtedly somewhat painful, but Minato Namikaze was already unconscious, so he naturally didn't feel any pain, though his brows still furrowed.
It took Second Body over ten minutes to restore the new arm to a level comparable to the left arm. After all, the new arm hadn't been trained and wasn't as useful as the original.
Second Body placed Minato Namikaze next to Jiraiya, then went to the edge of the collapsed barrier, intending to dig out some of the damaged materials used to set up the barrier.
Mainly, these materials still had some residual Sealing Technique runes, which Second Body could study. This way, she wouldn't be ambushed by Black Zetsu in the future.
Second Body didn't need to guess to know that this setup might have originally been intended for her, but by a twist of fate, Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya took the hit instead.
After excavation, many jade stones and spiritual wood had been shattered, and only a small portion of metal materials remained, but the runes on them were no longer very clear.
Collecting everything usable, Second Body planned to return to Konoha. While Jiraiya was still in a vegetative state, she would first get her hands on Edo Tensei.
However, after only a few steps, Second Body noticed that Minato Namikaze had woken up. It had to be said that Second Body's medical skills were truly impressive. Not to mention Jiraiya, even if Tsunade were to treat Minato Namikaze's injuries, he would still have to lie down for several months.
"Minato-nii, you're awake," Second Body said, handing Minato Namikaze a bottle of nutrient solution. Round Deer's healing naturally wouldn't restore much of his Chakra.
Minato Namikaze felt his throat was on fire. He instinctively took the medicine and skillfully poured it into his mouth. As the nutrients injected into his body, he felt his body come alive again.
Then, as if realizing something, he suddenly raised his right hand to his eyes, examining it repeatedly. Although there was no sleeve, this arm felt unfamiliar.
He clearly remembered the last moment of his clash with Yahiko, when the white light blinded him, but he could still recall the pain of his arm being shredded inch by inch.
That was also when he fell unconscious. Logically, his arm should have been completely shattered, but now it was perfectly intact before him.
When Second Body saw Minato Namikaze's expression, her heart sank. She hadn't expected Minato Namikaze to seemingly remember that his arm had been shattered.
Her eyes quickly darted around, and remembering the blinding white light, she was certain that Minato Namikaze couldn't have seen whether his arm was shattered.
So, it could be said that his injuries weren't as severe as he thought, just bloody. Minato Namikaze probably wouldn't suspect anything.
No way, no way. Even Tsunade couldn't perform limb regeneration. How could she, Uchiha Rei, possibly do it?
"Minato-nii, your arm was very severely injured. You'd best not use that Ninjutsu as if it were Rasengan, or else if it's not treated in time next time, it won't be curable."
Second Body's explanation didn't bring Minato Namikaze back to his senses. His mind was still immersed in the scene of his teacher, Jiraiya, being stabbed through the chest and falling into the lake.
Since Uchiha Rei was here, then surely Jiraiya's teacher's body had already been retrieved by her, but he couldn't bear to look.
Regarding his arm, he knew it wasn't that simple, but this was Second Body's secret, and he wouldn't ask too many questions. Having his arm healed was a tangible benefit.
Even if he couldn't see, as a Ninja at the time, how could he not know what had happened to his arm? Now that it was restored, he was naturally delighted.
"Although I've healed Jiraiya's physical body, due to severe injuries and being submerged in water for too long, it led to brain death. Although I've healed him, his soul hasn't returned."
Second Body felt that Jiraiya seemed to be cursed by water. In the original story, he was severely injured and drowned in water. Now, it was almost the same; without her arrival, he would have surely died.
Minato Namikaze would also have been killed by Black Zetsu, and Konoha would have gone down another divergent path.
Hearing that Jiraiya wasn't dead, Minato Namikaze immediately sprang up like a carp, then noticed Jiraiya beside him, breathing steadily but with a serene expression.
Although his body was ragged and covered in a lot of Bloodline Limit, his wounds and everything else had been healed. However, his spirit was extremely weak, as if it had no anchor.
"Can Teacher Jiraiya still wake up?"
Minato Namikaze didn't understand Medical Ninjutsu, but he knew there was something wrong with Jiraiya's condition.
"Hmm, the connection between the body and soul is as faint as a silken thread, but the soul should not have gone to the Pure Land yet. There's a very small chance he can wake up."
Second Body didn't hide anything. Medical Ninjutsu in the Ninja World didn't involve the soul. Second Body could only think of three Ninjutsu that could revive someone in this state.
One was the Reincarnation Rebirth, which she didn't know if Chiyo had developed yet. The second was the Dragon Life Reincarnation, which belonged to a Bloodline Limit and could only be used once. The third was the Rinnegan's Reincarnation Rebirth.
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"