Looking at around two dozen masks on the wall, Naraka Path felt a surge of emotions.
Although Nagato was also a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan, he had wandered with his parents since childhood and never truly learned about the clan's history. He didn't know nearly as much as the man standing beside him, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Clearing his throat slightly, feeling somewhat awkward, Hiruzen didn't seem eager to share what he knew about the Uzumaki Clan's past. After all, the fall of Uzu Country and the slaughter of the Uzumaki happened while he was still Hokage. If he went into detail, Nagato might even blame him for it.
While he roughly understood the clan's tradition of worshiping deities, Hiruzen wasn't exactly sure how many gods they honored or what each mask represented.
Their goal today was to find the mask symbolizing the Shinigami from the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
During the Nine-Tails' attack, Minato Namikaze split the beast in half. He sealed the Yang half inside Naruto, while the Yin half, just like himself, was trapped within the Shinigami.
This was Orochimaru's plan: by releasing Minato's soul through Impure World Reincarnation, they could obtain half the chakra of the Nine-Tails. As for Nagato, releasing this portion of the Nine-Tails would provide extra chakra for the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to absorb later.
Nodding toward Naraka Path, Hiruzen stepped forward and began trying each mask one by one, using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to summon the Shinigami's presence.
Meanwhile, Naraka Path prepared to summon King Enma.
[In-Ushi-Mi-Uma-Tora-Ne-Saru-I]
A cold wind swept through the dim and chilly Noh mask hall when suddenly, a ghostly figure appeared.
Maintaining the hand seals, behind him floated a tall figure dressed in white robes. Its face was pale purple, with two horns atop its head and wild spiked hair. Clenched between its teeth was a sharp tanto.
This was the Shinigami summoned through the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
Seeing this, Naraka Path also performed the hand seals.
The massive head of King Enma emerged, marked with the character "Wang" (King) on its forehead. Its eyes contained concentric circles like a Rinnegan while its mouth opened wide.
Both summoned creatures seemed mindless—like puppets without will.
Hiruzen attempted control. The spectral image behind him wavered unsteadily, removed the blade from its mouth, and slashed downward at its own stomach.
A wound immediately tore open, sending a mass of energy flying out. Likewise, the same slash mark appeared on Hiruzen's reincarnated body.
"Is that all?" Naraka Path asked.
"No," Hiruzen replied with difficulty, shaking his head slightly.
Summoning the Shinigami came at a terrible price—offering your own soul. Right now, he could feel his very soul being torn apart.
His body shivered involuntarily.
After hesitating for a moment, Naraka Path decided to give it a try.
From King Enma's mouth stretched a long, purple tongue with arms attached, flying straight toward the Shinigami's form.
Surprisingly, the purple tongue did not pass through the illusionary figure but made direct contact with the Shinigami's body.
Not only was the Naraka Path taken aback, even the Shinigami's shadow behind Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to stir to life.
He paused, casting a deep gaze toward the Naraka Path and the King Enma he had summoned.
So those are his eyes...
At this moment, facing the Shinigami's stare, even Nagato—who was pulling the strings behind the scenes—felt a chill run down his spine.
The Rinnegan, known as the "eyes that control life and death," is the ultimate power. [Gedo: Rinne Tensei no Jutsu] can resurrect the dead, summon King Enma from the underworld into the living world, release the souls of the deceased, and bring them back to life.
In other words, whether a soul had been claimed by King Enma or had already entered Pure Land after death, it could still be revived.
But just which system did this Shinigami belong to? Was there any connection with Pure Land? Nagato fell into thought.
Who knows how long passed, the Shinigami coldly glanced at the Naraka Path's eyes before gradually fading away.
Seeing his body slowly recover, Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a breath of relief.
After that, the two of them left.
"Nagato, there's something else I'd like to know," Orochimaru spoke when he saw the Naraka Path return.
Pain stared at him indifferently.
"Information regarding the Jinchuriki."
"Pain, are you planning to capture Tailed Beasts again?"
"No, no," Orochimaru shook his head. "I'm not interested in the current Jinchuriki. I just want to know about those who have held the beasts in the past—for example, the Three-Tails Jinchuriki..."
"The Second Three-Tails Jinchuriki was Fourth Mizukage Shikaru. As for those before him, I don't know. If Zetsu were still here, maybe he would know—he had access to vast amounts of intelligence."
"Fine then." Orochimaru frowned and left alone.
After his figure vanished, Konan flew over to Pain's side. "Nagato, are we really going along with him?"
"If he truly manages to obtain Tailed Beast chakra, it would benefit us..."
"But can his words be trusted?"
"Orochimaru needs the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. He'll supply additional chakra to it. Why wouldn't we go along? We've got nothing to lose..." Pain replied.
Inside the dimly lit room, a golden-haired man—Minato Namikaze—quietly opened his eyes.
Orochimaru watched him calmly while Hiruzen Sarutobi looked on with mixed emotions.
"Third Hokage? Orochimaru-senpai..." Seeing the two before him, Minato Namikaze hesitated slightly. "Have you both died too?"
Orochimaru simply smiled.
Instinctively, Hiruzen Sarutobi made a motion to grab a cigarette, but realizing he held nothing, he paused and sighed deeply before finally speaking. "Minato, much has happened since you've been gone..."
He filled him in on everything that happened after the Nine-Tails' Rampage in Konoha—the war with Cloud Village, the Uchiha massacre, Tsunade taking over, and so on...
As for matters concerning Naruto, Hiruzen Sarutobi only mentioned them briefly.
"To cut a long story short, Minato," Orochimaru summarized, "there's someone now targeting the Nine-Tails within Naruto. So we need your help."
"So basically," Minato responded, "there are people who will threaten Naruto's life—and perhaps even the future of the Ninja World. So we need to join forces against them?"
"Even Lady Tsunade is among them?"
Minato Namikaze grasped the general idea. He scratched his head thoughtfully.
"That's right," Orochimaru nodded.
"Then what should I do?"
"First, use the Nine-Tails' chakra within you to restore the Tailed Beast chakra inside other Jinchuriki."
"What?" Minato expressed confusion regarding Orochimaru's intention.
"We must prepare for the worst-case scenario. Once all nine Tailed Beasts are taken away, we can only counter with power of the same level."
Orochimaru murmured darkly, "We can't put our hopes in others' hands, right? Can we really rely on a group that's constantly tearing each other apart—they might become liabilities at any moment..."
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