"Alright, Orochimaru, let's begin."
In a spacious basement in the Konoha mansion, Neji casually grabbed a White Zetsu and tossed it in front of Orochimaru.
"Hmm, I'll handle the rest."
Orochimaru picked up a creepy-looking mask from the table. While it resembled a human face, the sharp teeth at the corners of its mouth were incredibly unsettling. The two horns atop the mask were particularly spine-chilling.
"I never imagined, Neji, that you'd have something like this prepared," Orochimaru said, looking at the Reaper Death Mask in his hand and giving Neji a deep stare. It seemed Neji already knew the method to break the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, something he himself had spent years researching.
"Neji, can the Dead Demon Consuming Seal really be undone? I heard it's a technique that summons the Shinigami," Kurenai said, looking at Neji with worry, a lack of confidence, and some unease.
"Don't worry, Orochimaru summons the Shinigami, what does that have to do with me?" Neji reassured Kurenai, causing the corner of Orochimaru's mouth to twitch. Though he understood the logic, hearing Neji say it so casually...
Hiss... my chest hurts a little, it's agonizing…
Taking a deep breath, Orochimaru confidently declared, "Hmph, a mere Shinigami, I don't give it any thought."
"Very good, let's get to work," Neji said, quite pleased with Orochimaru's current confident demeanor. He was still quite wary of the "gods" of this world and it was best to leave this to Orochimaru.
Orochimaru, this mad scientist, far surpassed Jiraiya and Tsunade in both intellect and talent, so naturally, he wouldn't pay any mind to those ghosts and gods.
This was Orochimaru's only redeeming quality in Neji's eyes.
"Dead Demon Consuming Seal Release!"
After putting on the mask, Orochimaru clasped his hands together tightly. In an instant, his entire body's chakra began to leak out, restless, and a deep, dark aura swirled above him.
Gradually, a giant, spectral figure emerged slowly behind him, clad in white hunting robes, its face somewhat purplish, holding a string of prayer beads…
"Is this... the Shinigami?" Kurenai and Anko, standing beside Neji, were understandably terrified. Not for any other reason than they were mere mortals, and this was a suppression on the level of life itself.
Even top-tier Kage-level figures were ordinary mortals before the Shinigami. Even Senju Hashirama and the like couldn't escape once swallowed by the Shinigami.
Initially, the Shinigami could only be seen by the caster and the target of the jutsu. However, with Orochimaru's Shinigami possession, it was now clearly visible to everyone.
In his past life, Neji had seen some fan analyses. The one that stuck with him the most was that the Shinigami was the ultimate final boss, Kaguya Otsutsuki.
Their appearances were strikingly similar, both with white hair and horns on their heads. If anything, it was as if it was sculpted from Kaguya Otsutsuki's mold.
The most compelling evidence was that the Dead Demon Consuming Seal originated from the Uzumaki Clan, and the Uzumaki Clan were descendants of Kaguya Otsutsuki.
"The Dead Demon Consuming Seal sacrifices the caster's soul to the Shinigami, thereby borrowing the Shinigami's power to perform a sealing jutsu. It's a fearsome sealing jutsu that seals both parties simultaneously."
"But, the method to undo it is also very simple: just cut open the Shinigami's stomach." As Orochimaru finished speaking, a dagger suddenly appeared in his right hand. In sync with him, a blade also appeared in the hand of the Shinigami behind him.
Riiip...
Orochimaru unhesitatingly sliced open his own abdomen with the dagger. A large amount of blood and internal organs gushed out like a flowing spring.
As Orochimaru cut open his belly, the Shinigami did the same. However, despite the large wound, no blood flowed out.
Instead, Senju Hashirama, Senju Tobirama, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Namikaze Minato, who had been sealed in its belly long ago, and Orochimaru's own hands were all released at once.
At this moment, they were all pale blue soul bodies, appearing incredibly fragile and devoid of consciousness, simply floating in the void.
Orochimaru didn't dare to delay and quickly performed the Reanimation Jutsu, transforming into a white phosphorus serpent and diving into the White Zetsu's body, before retrieving his hands.
"These are my lost hands…" Orochimaru looked at his returned hands, feeling a slight surge of emotion.
"Hm?" The Shinigami seemed to look at Orochimaru as if it had consciousness, as if it hadn't expected to be outmaneuvered by these mortals, not only failing to get a sacrifice but also having its past "food" spat out.
"Hee hee hee..."
Whether it was Neji's imagination or not, he thought he heard the Shinigami's soul-piercing laughter, which sent chills down his spine, and he couldn't help but meet its gaze.
This time, he truly saw it clearly. The Shinigami slowly turned its head, opened its mouth in a roaring laugh, revealing a set of sharp teeth. Its body shook violently, and the prayer beads in its hand glowed, as if about to be swung down.
What's going on?
Neji's mind was greatly shaken, but without the slightest hesitation, he immediately clasped his hands together and shouted. A tall wooden statue slowly rose, its size far greater than the Shinigami, which gave Neji a little peace of mind.
The Shinigami lightly waved its hand, and countless wind blades followed, along with a ball of fierce fire that transformed into a sharp sword descending to kill Neji.
"This is, there's no concept of 'jutsu'? Everything is done effortlessly," Neji mused.
In the nick of time, he leaped from the wooden statue, ordering it to block the falling fire sword, while he used the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack to counter the wind blades.
However, just as the two sides were about to collide, a flash of light appeared before Neji's eyes, and his vision shifted. When he looked again, everything had changed. He hadn't moved at all, and the Shinigami was slowly dissipating. Everything that had just happened felt like a dream.
An illusion...
When?
"Neji, you want to use the Reanimation Jutsu, right? I can help you out now," Orochimaru said with confidence as he walked over, thus pulling Neji back from the illusion.
"No need," Neji said, giving him a cold glance. He found it a little amusing that Orochimaru had unintentionally helped him escape the illusion and wondered what his reaction would be if he knew.
He'd probably be so frustrated he'd spit blood.
He took out several scrolls he had prepared long ago, smeared them with their respective blood, and then black patterns once again enveloped the five White Zetsus.
…
Meanwhile, in Amegakure Village.
"Kisame is dead, ganged up on by the Fourth Raikage, the Gyuki Jinchuriki, and the Two-Tails Jinchuriki. He died a terrible death," Black Zetsu said, slowly emerging from the ground, leaving only its head visible.
"He's dead," the masked man said coldly, standing atop a tall tower, gazing at the raindrops that constantly fell from the sky.
"For it to develop like this..." Obito said calmly, "It's time for them to contribute their remaining warmth."
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