Chapter 293: Reanimated on the Spot
Hiruko hesitated.
Orochimaru's gesture was undoubtedly a humiliating act of charity, trampling over his dignity.
But if he missed this opportunity, there would never be another.
This was his only chance to complete the five kekkei genkai.
As long as he could obtain the fifth, he would achieve true immortality and invincible power.
At that point, even with the previous Hokage standing behind Orochimaru, he would have nothing to fear.
Orochimaru, you're playing with fire!
Hiruko persuaded himself inwardly and decided to endure the humiliation and accept the "charity."
"Orochimaru, since you said it, then I'll prove it to you!"
He picked up the jar containing the Sharingan from the ground and clutched it to his chest.
"Be my guest. It's better if you do it quickly."
Orochimaru even gestured for everyone to step back and give Hiruko some space.
'Damn you, Orochimaru. How dare you look down on me? Once I fuse the five kekkei genkai, I'll make sure to thoroughly crush you!'
Hiruko began activating the Chimera Technique. A deep blue fluid seeped from his body and spread into the jar, wrapping around the Sharingan inside.
The kekkei genkai began to merge.
Hiruko's body started convulsing violently.
It was as though a savage force was raging inside him.
The force was so terrifying that Hashirama almost failed to sense it.
"Ahhhh…."
Hiruko tore off the bandages on his face… along with the tape Shiromo had wrapped around them, and let out a furious roar.
You might think he roared because his power was surging.
In reality…
Bang.
His body made a dull popping sound, as if air had been let out of it, and he collapsed.
Orochimaru thoughtfully stepped forward in a flash and caught him.
Hiruko fell into Orochimaru's arms.
With his bandaged mask removed, Hiruko now looked old and grotesque, his eyes filled with confusion.
Why?
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
Wasn't he meant to become ageless and immortal, invincible, sweeping across the world and earning admiration from all?
"Hiruko, experimenting on yourself without prior testing, we usually call that a 'gambler.'"
"And what made you think that absorbing five kekkei genkai would make you invincible?"
Orochimaru spoke calmly.
"How did you know?"
Hiruko's eyes widened.
He had not expected Orochimaru to see through his thoughts so completely.
As for the latter question…
"That's what the Chimera Technique described…"
"Does something written in a book automatically make it true? Shiromo-kun once said something well: 'What you gain from paper always feels shallow; to truly understand, you must practice it yourself.' Conclusions not verified by experimentation are nothing more than castles in the air."
Orochimaru shook his head.
A simple example.
The Eight Gates was described as granting "power surpassing the Hokage" upon opening all eight gates.
Before Shiromo told everyone about the future, including Orochimaru himself, even Kakashi, Might Guy's closest friend, had never thought the Eight Gates were anything extraordinary.
Everyone subconsciously assumed that surpassing the Hokage meant surpassing the Third Hokage.
And since Guy knew only taijutsu, not ninjutsu, the overall strength was assumed to be somewhat reduced.
Most importantly, opening all eight gates meant certain death.
It was a life-for-life technique.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was strong, yes, but not beyond the limits of ordinary ninja.
Viewed through that lens, the Eight Gates did not even qualify as a strategic-level weapon.
But according to the future Shiromo described, "power surpassing the Hokage" did not mean surpassing the Third.
It meant surpassing the First.
That changed everything.
So one must never blindly trust textual descriptions alone.
"You… you already knew, didn't you?"
Hiruko closed his eyes.
"Yes. As for fusing kekkei genkai, I have an experimental subject named 'Shin.'"
"He was born with the ability to adapt to all kinds of transplants."
"I implanted Hashirama cells and numerous Sharingan into him."
"The difficulty of merging those bloodlines far exceeds the difficulty of your five."
"And you, without Shin's physique, trying to rely on the Chimera Technique to fuse bloodlines, the outcome was bound to be this."
"Even before you attempted the fifth fusion, I could already tell your body was on the verge of collapse. I believe you were aware of it as well."
"You were merely fantasizing. Fantasizing that once you fused the fifth, your shattered body would be restored, that you would become 'invincible.'"
"But after decades, you still failed to understand the principles of the Chimera Technique. You never grasped that it simply defies logic."
Each of Orochimaru's words struck Hiruko's heart like a hammer.
Orochimaru was right. Hiruko's body had already been near collapse.
In the original story, Naruto's Rasenshuriken merely accelerated the breakdown of four-bloodline Hiruko's body.
Now, there was no need for a Rasenshuriken.
Orochimaru had simply handed him the fifth kekkei genkai and let him fuse it.
And as expected.
There was no transcendence awaiting him. No ascension of life.
His body collapsed outright.
It was not that additive transcendence never existed.
Asura's chakra combined with Indra's chakra could guide forth the power of the Sage of Six Paths, giving rise to the Rinnegan.
The Hyūga clan's Byakugan combined with Ōtsutsuki chakra could awaken the Tenseigan.
Those were logical fusions, with defined direction and purpose.
"Have you ever considered what the Chimera Technique truly is?"
"Collect five kekkei genkai and you become invincible."
"It's so vague and arbitrary."
"Anyone with a sound mind would hesitate to believe it."
"Why? What is the principle?"
"What connection is there between invincible power and these five bloodlines?"
"And what level of 'invincible' are we even talking about?"
Tobirama stepped forward and offered his own view.
He did not find Hiruko especially hateful.
He simply found him foolish.
The desire to change one's fate was commendable. Pursuing power was not wrong.
The problem was that he lacked the intellect and methods to match his ambition.
If your strength is insufficient, you can compensate with intelligence.
If your intelligence is insufficient as well, then there is truly little to be done.
"This is one of the reasons I didn't continue sending people to hunt him down back then."
Hiruzen also recalled his thoughts at the time.
"The Chimera Technique was destined to end in failure and death. There was no need to pursue him further."
"And… well."
And what?
Naturally, letting Hiruko roam free meant he could cause trouble for other villages' bloodline ninja instead.
"My… my vision… is nothing but darkness…"
Hiruko seemed to die from sheer rage, losing his breath in Orochimaru's arms.
Seeing that he was dead, Orochimaru calmly dropped the body to the ground, summoned a White Zetsu, and began forming hand seals.
"Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation."
Rip.
Hiruko was reanimated on the spot.
(End of this chapter)