Chapter 499
The Resurrected Hinata Kumokawa
Chapter 499 The Resurrected Hinata Kumokawa
On the stone seat, the giant toad immortal closed his eyes, still immersed in his dream.
It rarely dreams; most of the time, it really just sleeps.
But once you enter a dream, you can see fragmented scenes of the future.
But this time is different.
It had a rare dream about the past.
I dreamt of the birth of Mount Myōboku, and of myself two thousand years ago when I was still a little toad. Back then, I was called Gamamaru, but now no one knows my real name, "Gamamaru."
It also dreamed of that lofty figure.
Those indifferent eyes looked down at it, their gaze seemingly spanning two thousand years, incredibly clear and incredibly real.
Even now, it is revered as the "Great Toad Sage," possessing an awe-inspiringly long lifespan and immense power.
But in his dream, he was still just a little toad trembling under the blessings of the gods.
"call……"
The long snores gradually ceased, and the wrinkled eyelids slowly opened a crack. The cloudy, toad-like eyes were weathered and deep.
But a deeply hidden sense of apprehension flashed by so quickly that the anxious man and two frogs in the hall could not catch it.
Seeing the Great Toad Sage awaken, Jiraiya grasped at a straw and cried out urgently, "Great Toad Sage, I..."
"Jiraiya!"
Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a stern low shout. Jiraiya instinctively turned his head and saw Fukasaku's serious expression.
“What you need most right now is to calm down!” Fukasaku said, emphasizing each word. “I don’t want you to hear any bad news in this state; it would completely break you down.”
Upon hearing this, Jiraiya shuddered. He opened his mouth, took a deep breath, and his chest heaved a few times, forcing himself to suppress the surging panic in his heart.
He stopped speaking and simply lowered his head deeply, almost touching his forehead to the ground.
"Master."
Seeing that Jiraiya had managed to calm down, Fukasaku then looked at the giant toad sage on the stone seat and said respectfully, "This child is the prophesied child that Jiraiya found, Hyuga Kumokawa."
"Jiraiya brought him here in the hope that you might have a way to save him. If possible, please lend a helping hand."
Shima stood to the side, looking at the lifeless body, her eyes filled with regret.
It could sense that there was indeed no life left in that body.
Is there really any hope in this situation?
"..."
The hall fell silent for a moment, with only Jiraiya's rapid breathing sounding particularly clear in the empty stone hall.
The Great Toad Sage did not respond, but simply raised his half-closed eyes and looked at the disheveled Jiraiya, his gaze falling on the "corpse" half-covered by the cloak in Jiraiya's arms.
"It's a long-awaited dream."
The Great Toad Immortal's hoarse voice echoed in the hall, murmuring as if in a dream, "It reminds me of some almost forgotten memories."
Its voice was very soft, yet it made the person and the two frogs present pause in surprise.
Dream?
Aren't the dreams of the Great Toad Sage all "precognitive dreams" that glimpse the future?
Why would I recall something from the past that I was almost forgetting?
"Master..."
Knowing that the Great Toad Sage was old and his memory was sometimes good and sometimes bad, Shima was about to remind the person in front of him that this was Jiraiya and the "Child of Prophecy" he had brought.
"Put this child on the ground," the Great Toad Sage said slowly.
Upon hearing this, Jiraiya, who was kneeling on the ground, trembled. He raised his blood-stained face, and his eyes blazed with an almost manic light. Fukasaku and Shima also looked surprised.
Does the Great Toad Sage mean there is hope?
"Good! Good!"
Jiraiya responded repeatedly, his voice even hoarser, and carefully laid the cold "corpse" in his arms flat on the ground.
After setting down, he kowtowed deeply again, his forehead touching the ground, his hoarse voice filled with expectation and pleading: "The survival of the ninja world is in your hands, Great Toad Sage."
The Great Toad Sage did not respond to this weighty entrustment. Instead, he leaned forward slightly, stretched out his hands, and removed the doctoral cap from his head.
Then, he reached into the hat and took out a talisman paper covered with strange patterns.
The Great Toad Immortal stared silently at the talisman in his palm, looking at the character "Immortal" on it. A hint of hesitation flashed across his murky, deep eyes.
The Immortal's Talisman.
It was the last one left in its hand.
Back then, that being bestowed upon it two Immortal Talismans.
One of the cards was given to Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the "Sage of Six Paths," in order to deal with the threat posed to the ninja world by Kaguya Otsutsuki, the "Goddess of the Moon."
As for Hagoromo, she used that talisman to save her younger brother, Otsutsuki Hamura, whom she had killed.
It had witnessed the power of this "divine talisman" firsthand at that time.
Even someone as naturally powerful as Hamura, who inherited Kaguya's bloodline and the power of the Six Paths, could still be saved by the "Sage's Talisman" after suffering a near-fatal injury.
Not only did his injuries fully heal, but his strength even improved, and no lingering problems were found.
Knowing its value and power, it has treasured this last one until now, regarding it as a last resort to deal with future changes.
Over the course of a thousand years, it has not been without attempts to analyze and replicate, trying to imitate its structure and spirit, and create similar "symbols".
However, no matter how hard it tries or how much natural energy it pours in, the imitations it produces only have the form but not the spirit.
When used on beings that have not mastered the Immortal Body or Immortal Mode, the immense natural energy not only fails to revive them, but will also instantly erode and assimilate them into stone statues.
It is far less effective than the healing effect of the Shikkotsu Forest Living Slug, let alone bringing the dead back to life.
This "Immortal's Talisman" is unique.
"The Great Toad Sage!"
Seeing the Great Toad Sage take out the talisman and fall silent again, as if about to drift off to sleep once more, Jiraiya's heart leaped into his throat, and he couldn't help but call out.
"This child is the prophetic child you once foresaw, the one with 'eyes as bright as the starry sky,' the savior who can bring about change to the ninja world and create true peace."
Jiraiya said in a hoarse and urgent voice, "The ninja world really can't lose him again. He has already given so much to this world!"
Jiraiya pulled the Great Toad Sage back from his wandering thoughts. He slowly raised his eyes, which seemed to see through everything, and his gaze fell once again on the face of the "corpse" on the ground.
Especially those eyes, which, even though they had lost their luster, still shone with a blue glow.
Eyes as dazzling as the starry sky...
It recalled the scene it had seen in its dream not long ago.
I remembered seeing someone with these eyes become a savior in my dream.
That's right.
This human being is the child of prophecy.
It only needs to follow the revelation of fate.
“Just like I’ve done countless times before…” Gamamaru thought to himself.
The last trace of hesitation vanished, and it gently released its hands.
The "Immortal's Talisman" in his palm slowly floated towards the lifeless figure on the ground, landing on the pierced chest. *Buzz!*
The talisman suddenly glowed with a gentle blue light, which quickly spread and expanded, completely enveloping the lifeless figure.
A powerful, visible vitality surged into the broken body, and it slowly floated up, supported by natural energy.
Physically, the numerous wounds healed and regenerated at an astonishing speed, the skin became smooth again, the muscle fibers wriggled and connected, and the bones made a faint cracking sound.
Even the torn clothes were slowly mended under the influence of that force.
Her pale face quickly regained its rosy hue, and her chest began to rise and fall almost imperceptibly.
"This……"
Jiraiya stared intently at the rapidly recovering figure, the blood and dust on his face unable to conceal his almost distorted expression of ecstasy, his breath catching in his throat.
It worked!
It really worked!
The Great Toad Sage really does have a way!
Fukasaku and Shima exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes filled with equally undisguised surprise and disbelief.
They had followed the Great Toad Sage for countless years, yet they had never seen such a wondrous treasure.
The only one who started this whole thing, the Great Toad Immortal, showed little joy in his deep eyes, only watching the figure that was gradually reviving.
On one hand, they were intently perceiving and analyzing the operation of the "Immortal's Talisman," trying to understand the true principle behind the resurrection of the dead.
On the other hand, a nameless unease crept into its heart like vines, and as the light grew brighter, the unease not only did not diminish, but became clearer and clearer.
However, neither the hopeful Jiraiya nor the increasingly suspicious Great Toad Sage noticed anything amiss...
As the immense natural energy surged into their bodies, something intangible and beyond their comprehension also quietly mixed in, silently permeating and integrating into them.
The lingering "greed" power within that body clouded their senses, causing an unobservable deviation in the resurrection process.
Otsutsuki Toneri's original facial features began to change, and his deeper genes were forcefully washed away, covered, and recombined.
Her originally long, blue-white hair, which had been hanging down, grew longer and turned black at a speed visible to the naked eye.
All these changes, under the guise of "greed" and the appearance of "resurrection," were completed in an instant.
Soon, the Immortal Talisman seemed to have exhausted its last bit of power, dissipating like starlight and vanishing into the air.
Without the support, the suspended figure slowly descended, but adjusted its posture before landing, gently placing its feet on the ground.
Inside the hall, there was an eerie silence; even the sound of breathing seemed to have vanished.
Jiraiya, Fukasaku, and Shima all held their breath, their eyes fixed on the quietly standing figure.
He stood there, upright and unharmed, his skin smooth as jade, even with a newborn glow, his long black hair cascading down his shoulders.
Succeeded?
Really, he came back to life?
goodong...
Finally, after waiting for a long time without seeing any movement, Jiraiya swallowed hard and tentatively asked, "Yunkawa?"
The figure stood there silently, head bowed, hair obscuring his face, until he heard Jiraiya's call and finally showed a slight reaction.
Yun Chuan?
Who is Yun Chuan?
The once empty and lifeless eyes of the Reincarnation Sect gradually lost their deathly grayness, and a deep light slowly spread from their depths.
who am I?
Yes.
I am Yunchuan.
I am Hinata Kumokawa.
I am "Shadow".
It is also the Otsutsuki Cloud Style.
Under the gaze of the Great Toad Sage, the figure slowly raised its head.
A handsome, youthful face and a pair of deep, indifferent eyes were reflected in the eyes of the Great Toad Immortal.
The moment he met those eyes, for no apparent reason, the Great Toad Sage's body trembled slightly.
what happened?
This feeling...
Before the Great Toad Sage could figure out where that fleeting feeling came from, the depth in Hyuga Kumokawa's eyes had vanished, leaving only a bewildered look, as if waking from a dream.
"Jiraiya, senpai?"
He seemed to only then truly notice his surroundings, turning to look at the excited Jiraiya, his brows furrowed as if trying to recall: "I'm not..."
"Wasn't I already killed by 'Shadow'? Where am I...?"
Before he could finish speaking, Jiraiya could no longer contain his joy and excitement. He took a step forward, opened his arms, and hugged this hope of the ninja world that he had lost and regained tightly!
Bang bang bang!
He patted Hinata Kumokawa's back forcefully, his hands trembling slightly with excitement, and said in a hoarse voice, "It's alright, it's alright, you're alright!"
"It was the Great Toad Sage who saved you! That's wonderful, truly wonderful! The Child of Prophecy is still alive; there is hope for the ninja world!"
Hinata Kumokawa also raised his arms, but did not hug Jiraiya back.
His hands slowly opened their palms above Jiraiya's broad back.
On the palm of his left hand, a black diamond-shaped mark quietly appeared, then slowly faded away, eventually disappearing beneath the skin.
He clenched his fingers slightly, feeling the power within his body, and understood his current situation and state.
"Just as I expected," Hinata Kumokawa thought calmly. "The 'Sage's Talisman' I left behind has been used on this body."
"My current state is similar to that of the Otsutsuki Isshiki who replaced Jigen, with power residing in this body in the form of a 'wedge'."
"This body possesses the Tenseigan and Hamura's bloodline. Although it is not enough to fully contain my power from two thousand years ago, if it were fully released, it could last longer than Jigen."
that's enough.
Although he did not retain the memories and power after the "Wedge", he knew what decision he made two thousand years ago when he saw Gamamaru.
He knew that he would never stand still for the next two thousand years, and that the power he accumulated over those two thousand years must be placed somewhere...
It can only be in one place.
Hinata Kumokawa's gaze deepened, his eyes seemingly piercing through the lush vegetation and misty fog of Mount Myōboku, directed towards the Land of Hot Springs, towards the palace hidden deep underground.
He gently patted Jiraiya's back. Jiraiya felt his touch, took a deep breath, suppressed his surging emotions, and released the embrace, his face filled with barely suppressed excitement.
"Jiraiya-senpai, now is not the time to celebrate."
Hinata Kumokawa's expression was serious, but his tone remained calm: "'Shadow' is still here, and the threats from the Void Realm and Akatsuki are still there. We must go back immediately."
Upon hearing this, Jiraiya's smile vanished quickly, replaced by a serious expression. He asked with some concern, "Are you sure your body is alright?"
"Tsunade is outside right now, should we have her check again?"
Hinata Kumokawa shook his head, looked at the Great Toad Sage who had been silently watching from the stone seat, and bowed slightly in gratitude, saying, "Thanks to the Great Toad Sage."
"Although I don't know how I did it, I feel that not only have my injuries healed, but I also feel that I have more strength than before."
"Rest assured, I am in excellent condition and ready to fight."
The Great Toad Immortal did not respond, but lowered his eyes and stared at the young man below who had come back from the dead, as if trying to see through that perfect skin to see his heart and soul.
The air inside the hall became somewhat stagnant again due to its silence.
(End of this chapter)