"Before we begin discussing our deal, I still have one question to ask you."
Heiyan hovered midair, facing the Shinigami directly as he posed a question that clearly caught the latter off guard.
"Compared to the King of Hell, who's stronger? Who exactly controls the Yokai Realm?"
Upon hearing this, the Shinigami remained silent as always. However, from the awkwardness flashing across its face, Heiyan had already found his answer.
"So, you're basically working for the King of Hell, right?"
Heiyan rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
The Shinigami and the King of Hell were both powerful beings residing in the Yokai Realm. Simply put, they were gods existing on this planet.
Their key difference lay in this:
The Shinigami originally made a pact with the Uzumaki clan and was summoned into the human realm to reap souls.
As for the King of Hell, though it was the ruler of the Yokai Realm, it too could be summoned—though only those possessing the Rinnegan had the qualifications to form such a contract.
For example, Nagato controlled the Six Paths of Pain, and among them, the Naraka Path could summon the King of Hell, borrowing its power to harvest enemy souls during battle.
Compared to the Shinigami, the King of Hell possessed an even greater ability to consume souls. Additionally, it had the power to resurrect the dead.
It was truly the god who ruled over life and death.
In the original timeline, Nagato eventually used Samsara: Life Reincarnation to revive the Konoha ninjas he'd previously killed. Those souls were released from within the King of Hell.
If Heiyan represented divine authority among the living, dominating all mortal life on this planet, then the King of Hell would be the "counterpart to Heiyan" in the realm of the dead—an entity holding absolute power over deceased souls.
As for the Shinigami, it should be considered subordinate to the King of Hell, akin to the Black and White Impermanence officers.
Therefore, what Heiyan wanted to achieve now was establishing a relatively stable relationship through this Shinigami connection with the King of Hell.
This way, if he ever wished to bring someone important back in the future, the process wouldn't be so complicated.
Thinking thus, Heiyan extended Satori's soul toward the Shinigami while stating:
"You can have Satori's soul, but as a condition for exchange, you must enter an oral contract with me. When I need to resurrect someone, I'll summon you again. At that time, please retrieve their soul from the Yokai Realm for me."
This was the deal Heiyan proposed to the Shinigami.
The Dead Demon Consuming Seal he performed was not a sacrificial jutsu, but a negotiation—one in which Heiyan held complete control.
"Well?"
Seeing no response from the Shinigami, Heiyan slightly furrowed his brows, then began to draw Satori's soul back toward the gourd as a warning.
Shwa!
Witnessing this, the Shinigami could no longer hold back—it finally reached out a hand in surrender toward Heiyan.
Under Heiyan's watchful gaze, the Shinigami took the sword from its mouth, slashed open its own belly, grabbed Satori's soul, and tossed it inside.
A gurgling sound came from its stomach, like something chewing—truly a hair-raising scene.
However, the Shinigami's slit abdomen quickly closed up, returning to its calm state.
"Then it's settled. Cooperation is a pleasure."
Seeing the Shinigami had taken Satori's soul, Heiyan turned around, lifted the Paradise Box with chakra, and flew toward Penglai.
The Shinigami watched Heiyan's retreating back, raised its sword hesitantly, then finally backed down.
It gave Heiyan one last long, solemn gaze before silently fading away; its semi-transparent figure soon became entirely transparent and vanished into the air.
Feeling the Shinigami's presence fade behind him, a faint smile tugged at the corner of Heiyan's lips.
He had absolutely no concerns about the other side backing out.
If the Shinigami dared renege on the deal, Heiyan would have every reason to stir chaos in the Yokai Realm. With his strength and righteous position, the Shinigami would eventually end up apologizing—and paying dearly.
Besides, the Shinigami seemed like someone who knew how to read the room; it probably wouldn't be foolish enough to push its luck.
In any case, Heiyan now had at least one slot for reviving the deceased—and possibly even more since, following the principle of equivalent exchange, Satori's soul alone was worth dozens of powerful shinobi.
As for who to revive, potential candidates included legendary warriors from the ninja world—such as Hashirama, Tobirama, and Mito Uzumaki—or anyone close to Heiyan if they were to die prematurely.
Soon after, Heiyan returned to Penglai.
He gathered all the villagers, recounted the story of the Paradise Box, and placed it inside the central shrine of the village.
From now on, this box would serve as Penglai Ninja Village's treasured artifact.
Once Heiyan obtained the souls of those he wished to revive after their deaths from the Shinigami, he could use the Yin and Yang Release power of the Paradise Box to forge new physical forms for them—true, perfect rebirth.
Heiyan's hope was to use this method to grant every villager in Penglai longevity and a peaceful death.
Meanwhile.
In Konoha, at the Hokage office,
After the high-level meeting ended, Tsunade hurriedly returned to the three-story house by the riverside hot springs where she now lived.
Since her family mansion had been destroyed during the last battle, she moved here afterward.
Moreover, thinking that once Heiyan returned to Konoha, this place would become their newlywed home, Tsunade couldn't help but smile and indulge in dreams of their wonderful future together.
Having lived here for some time, she had even started making plans to renovate the wedding house ahead of schedule.
Of course, renovation plans needed to be discussed with Heiyan—he was, after all, the head of the household—so she wanted to run it by him first.
Thus, upon arriving home, Tsunade took a shower, changed clothes, carefully dressed up, applied sweet perfume, and skillfully performed the Reverse Summoning technique.
The next second — Boom! She vanished from the room. When she opened her eyes again, she stood once more in the familiar Shikkotsu Forest — the Wet Bone Forest.
Hmm?
As soon as Tsunade arrived on Shikkotsu Forest's island, she sensed something was slightly different from before.
The starry sky and moon above, the warm and fresh sea breeze, and distant sounds of waves crashing against the shore made Tsunade feel a little unfamiliar with her surroundings.
However, the island had already moved thousands of kilometers south to Penglai while she was still in Shikkotsu Forest, a detail she remained completely unaware of.
Tsunade didn't dwell on it and quickly made her way to the base of the God Tree, then climbed along the winding paths formed by its branches until she reached the treehouse.
Today was the day she and Heiyan had agreed to meet here.
Yet when Tsunade pushed open the door with anticipation, she immediately heard the sound of someone showering from inside the bathroom, accompanied by the soft hum of an unfamiliar woman's tune.
What's going on?
Startled but composed, Tsunade didn't barge in. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest, leaned against the wall with a frown, and fixed her gaze on the bathroom entrance.
A few minutes later.
The door opened, and out stepped a beautiful woman in her thirties, wrapped in a towel, gracefully stepping forward with gentle sways.
"Tsunade, you're here!"
Seeing Tsunade, the woman immediately smiled brightly and happily said, "You can just call me Yurou from now on."
Yurou?
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