Chapter 1266: Retrieving

The entire Fourth Great Ninja War is drawing to a close in a chaotic and somewhat inexplicable atmosphere.
There are not many who know, and those who truly see through the entire sequence of events will keep the secrets that should not be made public deep in their hearts.
If one knows nothing, it’s actually better; after all, there’s no need to worry. It’s those few who have a partial understanding but don’t grasp the core essence that are the most eager for knowledge.
Just like Hyuga Neji standing in front of the Daitou.
Being able to survive the Fourth Shinobi World War, this young man has actually changed his fate.
In the future, just how far this true genius can grow, Damaru is also quite looking forward to it.
“Have I now fulfilled the promise made with Otsutsuki Kinshiki?”
Hinata Neji and Otsutsuki Kinshiki's agreement is that the latter provides military protection for the former, and the former takes care of the latter's corpse after his death.
However, this agreement did not specify a time; it was generally assumed to be during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
“I can't just guard his corpse for a lifetime, can I?”
"Indeed, it's somewhat unfair to the living!"
A corpse that has already completely lost its life cannot remain intact forever; there will inevitably come a day of decay or damage. In the long timeline of existence, accidents are unavoidable.
“The outsider” Daisuke’s heartfelt and “candid” evaluation made Hyuga Neji feel relieved.
It wasn’t until the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War that the Hyuga clan genius realized there were loopholes in the agreement with Otsutsuki Kinshiki.
It's not that Hyuga Neji is untrustworthy, but rather that a transaction forced upon someone is destined to end poorly.
"But..."
Hyuga Neji hesitated to speak; if he were to give up like this, it would seem a bit unfair.
Genius is indeed proud and unwilling to let their life be tainted by unnecessary blemishes.
Patting Hyuga Neji's shoulder, Omoi said with a smile:
“Don’t worry, your task has actually been completed; Otsutsuki Shion has already made her choice...”
"What does that mean?"
Hinata Neji asked in confusion, and Daima replied faintly:
“In the ninja world, permanent death is actually quite a troublesome matter. For a strong being like Otsutsuki Kaguya, the difficulty of completely returning to oblivion in the past and future is not small. It's similar to how difficult it is to directly kill Otsutsuki Kaguya; it requires sealing techniques to thoroughly suppress her, rendering her effectively dead…”
“You mean, Otsutsuki Shirensha is also in this situation?”
One has to say that it is no wonder they share the same surname; their thoughts are quite similar.
“The thought process is similar, but the specific execution is not. Otsutsuki Shirensha is not as strong as Otsutsuki Kaguya, but his body, which was naturally able to hold the power of the Rinnegan, has severe defects. The absence of eyeballs in his ocular sockets is evidence of this; it’s a congenital flaw that represents a typical case of heaven punishing the talented. If he were to completely abandon this body, it would undoubtedly open up more possibilities…”
Now, this lifeless shell has been recycled by Damar, and except for a trace of the soul's residual imprint inside, it has actually completed its mission.
"Are you saying?"
Hyuga Neji was taken aback,
“Like Orochimaru, stealing the bodies of other ninjas?”
If that's really the case, then Hyuga Neji would have to worry about his own safety, as well as the safety of other members of the Hyuga clan who were closest to him.
The young man's concerns made Damar unable to help but smile:
“Don't worry, if he dares to do such a thing, I will definitely stop him. In fact, 'reincarnation' is not necessarily as evil as the forbidden technique 'Impure World Reincarnation' and 'Sage Mode Reincarnation'. 'Reincarnation' is actually a part of the natural order, but it has been distorted by some malicious individuals into something filled with malice…”
“So... what is his current state?”
Hinata Neji pointed at the corpse of Otsutsuki Shin,
“Will he really not threaten the safety of my compatriots?”
“This guy's methods are quite interesting!”
Actually, it's not very complicated; it's just that regular ninjas find it a bit difficult to understand. Daruma can only try to explain it to Hyuga Neji in a way that's easy to grasp,
“You can think of it as a kind of chakra reincarnation, but it's different from the chakra reincarnation bodies of Ashura, like Naruto Uzumaki, and Indra, like Sasuke Uchiha. Otsutsuki Shinjutsu splits his own reincarnated chakra into many small fragments, like spores, scattered throughout the world. In our limited future, these 'spores' will not have much of an impact on the infected, and they can even grant some special talents. Generally speaking, there are no significant downsides..."
```htmlThe explanation from Daimaru seems to be comforting people, but Hinata Neji, who has had a lot of interactions with Daimaru, still picks up on some subtle implications.
"General situation? Does that mean there are some extraordinary circumstances then?"```
Of course!" "
Daiki nodded, confirming Hyuga Neji's guess,
“In theory, if your lifespan is one hundred and twenty years, in your lifetime, these 'chakra' spores propagated by Otsutsuki Kaguya will have an impact on the ninja world that cannot be ignored, comparable to the probability of you getting hit by bird droppings every morning when you go out, which is why I said you don't need to worry. However…”
After a pause, Daimaru continued to explain,
“If a ninja who is highly compatible with Otsutsuki Kinshiki gets invaded by other activated Otsutsuki clan members, this process can accelerate to an astonishing degree…”
“What do you mean by 'fit'?”
Naruto Hinata's expression was a bit ugly as he asked eagerly. Damaru didn't hide anything and answered straightforwardly,
“For example, ninjas infected by 'spores' also possess the qualification to awaken the Rinnegan, master Yin-Yang Release, and fuse the chakra of other ninjas infected by 'spores.' Additionally, children born to men and women who are also heavily 'infected' have a higher possibility of allowing the already deceased Otsutsuki Kinshiki to retain the possibility of revival through this method...”
"This... "
Hinata Neji suddenly felt a frustrating sensation, as if he had been calculated against while counting money for the other party.
“However, you don't need to worry too much!”
Omar said lightly,
“Accidents are not targeted at any specific person or group. Once a person is infected by the ‘spores’ and does not pass on their chakra to others or have bloodline descendants, it will come to an end with them...”
It seems like I recalled something amusing, Damaru said slyly,
“Did you know that our Sand Hidden Village once conducted an interesting survey? Since the end of the Warring States period, after the establishment of the one village, one country order, until the outbreak of the Fourth Shinobi War over sixty years later, only twelve percent of bloodlines were passed down. In other words, in more than half a century, nearly ninety percent of the population born were extinct. Isn't that figure quite astounding?”
“This... is impossible!”
This conclusion is vastly different from the actual experiences around him; Hinata Neji couldn't believe that so many people had died without leaving any descendants.
Daruma shrugged and responded with a quite indifferent tone:
“Do I really need to lie to you about this? The situation in your Konoha village is not much better than most other places in the ninja world; it's just that few people conduct such investigations that hold no value.”
"But..."
Hyuga Neji retorted,
“There’s clearly nothing so tragic around me…”
The boy, confidently declaring this, was completely unaware that without the changes brought by Daruma, he wouldn't even live to see adulthood.
“This illusion is actually a form of survivor's bias; lions tend to associate with lions, sheep often graze in herds, and similarly, in the ninja world, individuals with strong abilities and great survival skills usually belong to a relatively elite group. In the unseen corners, there are vulnerable groups lacking self-protection who can only fade away amidst wars, famines, diseases, and natural disasters. Just surviving is already a challenge; how could they have the opportunity to assert their existence? They vanish silently before even reaching you...”
Dai Maru himself also struggled for more than a decade to gain the opportunity to compete on the same stage as these geniuses. Otherwise, he would have long been buried in the depths of the sandy sea of the Wind Country.
“If that's the case…”
Hyuga Neji's heart was a bit chaotic. Even if he was unwilling to admit it, the talented young man tended to believe that Damaru really wasn't lying, and the data was relatively reliable.
The results of the Hyuga clan seemed to be much better, but upon closer analysis, it turned out to be just about the same; they are still one of the top ninja clans in the current ninja world.
“The current humans in the ninja world are merely descendants of twelve percent of the population from just over sixty years ago, which is truly shocking...”
“There’s something even more outrageous, do you want to hear it?”
The sarcasm in Daimaru's tone was so obvious that Hyuga Neji could only shake his head helplessly:
“Forget it! I think I understand now. Otsutsuki Shinjutsu is also a proud guy, willing to take risks and fight, rather than being a puppet in your hands…”
Although the resurrection techniques prepared by Otsutsuki Shinnō seem miraculous, the survival situation in the ninja world is not very good. The ninja world war occurs every ten years or so, and although it is limited to the ninja level, the negative effects are actually quite profound. The endless waves of war orphans are the best reflection of this.
Of course, not everyone who doesn't leave behind descendants has died unexpectedly; it's also possible that they simply couldn't find a suitable husband or wife and remained childless for life, or they were too poor to raise a child to adulthood.
The life we see is always just the tip of the iceberg of the real world.
If the data from Damaru is not too far off, then Otsutsuki Shin's choice is actually very close to setting up a resurrection adventure with a probability of zero.
The future Tsutsuki clan pursuers come from beyond the skies, intending to regain control of the entire ninja world. The story of the 'savior' who rises again is something Hyuga Neji could never foresee, and naturally, he cannot realize that the far-sighted Tsutsuki Shiren has chosen a relatively reliable 'path to survival.'
Moreover, the wish of the lunar remnants this month is not to fully revive "Otsutsuki Kinshiki," but to return to the world under a different identity.
Perhaps that will be a brand new life, just a ninja who becomes extraordinary due to a set of memories obtained by "accident," much like an ordinary person who accidentally awakens a "system" and suddenly starts to counterattack, ultimately reaching the peak of their life.
“The fragmentation and reunification of life is actually a very troublesome matter. Without external interference, the chances of success are not very high, and most are submerged in the river of time.”
For example, powers like Bloodline Limits are rarely fully developed, even among the main branch. Take the Kurama clan, for instance; they only have Kurama Yakumo left as their sole heir, and the Kurama Tengu branch is on the brink of complete extinction. If it weren’t for the unexpected emergence of Damaru, there’s a very high probability that they would truly become a lost legacy in the ninja world.
The inheritance of the Sharingan actually remains only with Uchiha Sasuke as the sole survivor.
Otsutsuki Kinshiki's preparations for backup, without the support of the greater forces, would surely have a very slim chance of success.
“I understand now, keeping his corpse is actually preparing, right? Now that the ‘infection source’ has almost completed its mission and the chakra ‘spores’ have been released, my promise has already been fulfilled…”
If the corpse is used by Otsutsuki Maru as a material for creating White Zetsu or as experimental material, it would undoubtedly be a disaster for Otsutsuki Shin.
“Additionally, you must recognize one point clearly: no matter how skilled Otsutsuki Shin's methods are, he cannot escape the suspicion of reincarnating by possession or seizing a body. A true genius is someone who can break all shackles and render common sense obsolete. Perhaps Otsutsuki's calculations are perfect, but it is also possible that he will miss the mark and end up sewing clothes for others!”
大蛇丸不厉害，做的准备不够充分？
最后还不是所有身家包括自己都成了宇智波佐助的战利品？
阴谋诡计有没有效，还得看个人缘法，大筒木舍人想要投机取巧，最后别连本带利被人给吃干抹净才好。
“No matter what, this corpse is useless, so that's good!”
“Then... I'll be rude.”
This is a rare strong person's body, a good material for making White Zetsu; the corpse of a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki is quite rare.
Daima waved his hand, and a mass of Wood Release vine emerged from the void, wrapping around the corpse of Otsutsuki Kinshiki and pulling it back in, before quickly disappearing.
Watching all of this, Hyuga Neji also let out a sigh of relief.
```html“In short, I still have to thank you. If it weren't for your scheming, I wouldn’t have been able to make it here safely!”
“It's just a reciprocal arrangement, don’t forget, you are my precious experimental 'volunteer'. Protecting you is also protecting my important asset.”```
A person who values their reputation would not brazenly deny the words they once said.
Taking a deep breath, Hyuga Neji subtly nodded, acknowledging Damaru's statement, before turning to leave:
“I will keep my promise, hoping we both have the future we desire!”
“May your words come true!”
When it comes to harvesting spoils, in addition to assessable resources, there are also precious people, which are worth Da Juan spending some effort on.
The Hinata clan, which is about to undergo a significant change, is a very good investment target.