Konoha: Offer your heart to the Hokage!

"But you're right too."

"Silver Horn, take your men to set up defenses near Cloud Thunder Gorge and conduct a thorough search to confirm that there are no enemy spies."

Silverhorn was taken aback, then realized: "You mean... you're worried that the enemy is deliberately leading us to examine the corpse so they can take the opportunity to confirm the location of the First Generation's body?"

“That’s right! That would put us in their trap!” The second-generation Ai’s eyes gleamed with wisdom: “In any case, once Silver Horn has confirmed that the surrounding area is safe, I will send the sealing team to check the condition of the first generation’s body.”

"Raikage, you're brilliant!"

...

The turmoil at Yunlei Gorge quickly reached the Raikage Building, and after the meeting, the news spread rapidly to Konoha under Kinkaku's guidance.

Before the storm arrives, there is ample time to implement one's plans.

He calmly bypassed all the hidden defenses of the Death Forest, retrieved the sealing scroll containing the body of the First Raikage, and then quickly returned to the underground laboratory.

"Earthly Grievance!"

The black line cleanly sliced ​​open the First Raikage's chest, revealing his heart, which had long since stopped beating. Even though he was known for his physical strength in life, the Raikage's body was no longer as strong as it once was in death.

Shen Er's back skin split open, and five huge, modified tentacles extended out. The tentacle containing the Lightning Release heart swallowed the First Raikage's heart in one gulp and refined it instantly.

She even closed her eyes and carefully felt the changes within her body.

Because the First Raikage had been dead for so long, his heart's activity had greatly diminished.

Although it is in good condition, its power has been reduced by at least 30% compared to its peak. This 30% difference has reduced its heart, which could have reached the standard Kage level, to the level of a Weak Kage.

A natural goalkeeper.

It's a bit of a shame that it didn't reach its best condition, but it's still much stronger than the special Jonin-level Lightning Release heart inside it before.

To Shen'er's surprise, his Earth Grudge Yu seemed to have developed new abilities with continued feeding and development.

The Earth Grudge Fear is actively absorbing the characteristics of the Raikage's heart.

What are the characteristics of the Raikage's heart?

The physical strength of each Raikage is exceptionally formidable.

The Raikage and Might Guy are arguably the two most representative taijutsu ninjas.

The former is both offensive and defensive, capable of both endurance and damage, and can even withstand the side effects of the Heavenly Gift Technique.

The latter is all offense and no defense; it is essentially a glass cannon. The closer the Eight Gates are opened, the greater the damage it will suffer, ranging from broken bones to being reduced to charred remains.

Could it be that Might Guy wasn't hardworking enough? Obviously not. Someone who can run hundreds of laps around Konoha as part of his daily training is clearly not "not hardworking".

Therefore, the difference in physical strength can only be attributed to the special bloodline of the Cloud Village ninjas, with the Raikage being the most outstanding among them. Reflected in the core chakra of ninjas, this means the Raikage's physical energy is far stronger than that of ordinary ninjas.

This characteristic is most prominent in the future third-generation Raikage, Illaoi.

"The strongest spear, the strongest shield" is the highest praise for a taijutsu ninja like him.

To put it simply...

When Raikage trains his muscles, he not only trains his brain but also his heart, developing a "muscular heart."

After the First Raikage's heart was completely refined by the Earth Grudge Fear, this special physique was also inherited by Jinru. The effect is naturally not as good as that of the First Raikage himself, but as long as he can gradually become stronger, that is enough.

This opportunity to break through the limits of one's own talent is something countless ninjas dream of.

Shen Er could clearly feel that, nourished by this heart, the strength of his physical body was slowly increasing, but the increase was not obvious. It would take years of gradual accumulation, like the Yin Seal, to unleash its full effect.

Perhaps in a few decades, he will be able to rival Illaoi in terms of pure physical strength alone.

While the First Raikage's heart wasn't as strong as Madara Uchiha's Fire Release, it directly boosted Jin's overall combat power.

The improvement is divided into two aspects: taijutsu (physical techniques) and lightning release.

Before acquiring the Earth Grudge Fear technique, he was an assassin ninja known for his taijutsu. With his physical strength steadily improving, the power of his taijutsu will likely reach a new level in the future.

In terms of lightning release, he didn't have the secret lightning release techniques of Kumogakure; he only learned ordinary lightning release ninjutsu from the Sarutobi clan.

Konoha's powerful Lightning Release ninjutsu...

In the near term, we'll have to wait for Hiruzen Sarutobi to develop it; in the far term, we'll have to wait decades for Kakashi to develop it.

Shen Er thought to himself, "After absorbing chakra attributes, Earth Grudge Curse Seal, and Earth Grudge Parasite, my Earth Grudge Fear has evolved again, unlocking the fourth ability, Heart Characteristic Absorption."

[Heart Trait Absorption: Plunders and inherits a portion of the original owner's special physical constitution]

Physical characteristics are not the same as bloodline inheritance.

Byakugan, Sharingan, and Shikotsumyaku are examples of physical bloodline limits. However, the Raikage lineage's superhuman physical strength and Hashirama's self-healing without hand seals are unique physical talents.

"It's somewhat like an alternative form of Oni-Garuru technique."

He even recalled the forbidden technique that would appear in the future, one that could devour bloodline limits. His Earth Grudge Fear couldn't directly devour bloodline limits; he could only borrow them. But now it was different. In addition to various bloodlines, he could also use other people's special physiques.

"If we obtain Hashirama's Wood Release heart and the heart of the Kaguya clan, we should be able to inherit their self-healing ability without seals."

"Super strong physical strength combined with super-fast, unmarked healing; both the stats and the mechanics are there."

Thinking of Hashirama's healing without hand seals, even if it only achieves one-tenth of the effect, it would be enough.

In the ninja world, there are many other special physical constitutions. The Aburame clan's bodies are parasitized by swarms of insects; the Gold and Silver Brothers swallowed the tail's chakra whole; the Kaguya clan's bones can regenerate at high speed…

In Shen'er's view, these people all have some special physical constitution.

"Unfortunately, the Earth Grudge only has five heart slots."

There are many ninjas with special physical constitutions, and many ninjas with super strong bloodline limits, but ninjas who possess both are extremely rare.

Hashirama and the Raikage are rare exceptions.

Shen'er's heart slots have already been planned out, with no extra space. They can only wait for the future to see if the Earth Grudge Fear can undergo its fifth evolution and break through the limitation of five hearts.

After dealing with the heart issue, Shen Er absorbed all the resentment and grudges behind him back into his body.

Then he picked up a kunai, sliced ​​off an amount of flesh equivalent to a finger's width from the First Raikage, walked to the Chunin sacrifice beside him, and clasped his hands together:

"The Impure World Reincarnation Technique!"

The summoning talisman instantly covered the entire body of the offering, and when it was peeled off, the figure of the First Raikage appeared.

He was still tall and strong.

However, his muscles were covered with cracks, and he had lost the explosive power and oppressive feeling he had when he was alive.

On the left lies the true remains of the First Raikage, and on the right lies the reanimated form of the Raikage.

Two identical figures are presented side by side.

"The Raikage is a treasure trove from head to toe."

He chuckled lightly, without releasing the First Raikage's soul to mock him.

The villain dies from talking too much.

Intentionally mocking a Raikage ghost would do him no good.

He then sealed the original remains and the impure body together in a scroll and kept them safe.

Although this impure body currently lacks combat power, it can serve as a cage to imprison the Raikage's soul in the mortal world. To avoid any strange or unusual secret techniques that might appear, he plans to dispose of all special corpses he acquires in the future in this way.

People should have reverence for the ninja world.

It's always good to be cautious.

After doing all this, she ended her "vacation," leaving two shadow clones in the lab before returning to work at the Hokage Building.

...

Several days passed, and Tobirama Senju still hadn't returned to the Hokage Building from home, seemingly immersed in the joy of raising his child, completely oblivious to his surroundings.

This was a real hardship for Hashirama Senju.

Even though he was nearing the end of his life, he was still bound to his workstation and had to shoulder all of Konoha's political affairs alone.

Upon seeing Jin appear, Hashirama's tense face immediately relaxed. "Jin, you're finally back... How's the development of the new medical ninjutsu going?"

"Quite a success."

"That's good." Hashirama breathed a sigh of relief, his face showing satisfaction. "Now the medical conditions for the villagers of Konoha can be improved to another level."

After saying that, Hashirama said mysteriously, "I have some good news to tell you..."

Seeing his expression, Shen Er immediately understood, "Is the princess pregnant?"

"? You actually guessed right." Hashirama burst into laughter. "Mito just told me this morning that the princess is three months pregnant, and I'll be able to hold my granddaughter in my arms in the first half of next year... Hahahaha!"

"Even your seniority has been promoted to that of a clerk."

Tsunade's advisor...

What a strange generational hierarchy.

"My granddaughter is about to be born, so why don't you plan to get married and start a family?"

Shen Er remained calm and unhurried, saying, "Soon, within four years. Once the Uchiha clan has a successor to take over as clan leader, I will marry Jiri."

"Four years..." Hashirama hesitated, scratched his head, and sighed helplessly, "The rules of the Uchiha are really complicated."

Clearly, he also understood the implications of succeeding as clan leader.

Putting myself in his shoes, if I were him, as the patriarch of the Senju clan, I wouldn't abandon the heavy responsibility of my clan to marry into the Uzumaki clan.

The Zenin clan only has one son left, Jinji. Naturally, Jinji cannot marry into the Uchiha clan. He can only wait for Uchiha Chiri to step down as clan leader and then marry into the Zenin clan.

The marriage between the two clan chiefs is really troublesome.

There needs to be a successor.

Hashirama comforted her, "It's alright, Uchiha Chiri has already learned the Yin Seal anyway."

As the two were chatting privately, a sudden, urgent noise came from outside the door.

Nara Taro strode into the Hokage's office, his face grave.

"Lord Hokage, something terrible has happened!"

Chapter 85 Cloud Village: Hand over the corpse of the Uchiha clan leader!

"Lord Hokage, something terrible has happened!"