What does a demon look like?
Naruto had pondered this question more than once. Whenever the terrified, contorted faces of enemies dying on his blade flashed through his mind, he would think, perhaps I am the demon. But this understanding was ultimately abstract; his essence was still human.
Whoosh~
Within the empty Hall of Masks, an unnatural chill arose, despite the lack of wind.
Perhaps, this is what a demon truly is? Naruto thought to himself.
In the vision of his Rinnegan, an ethereal, humanoid monster with two horns and reddish skin materialized. The fear it inspired seemed to be a tremor originating from the very soul.
With the appearance of the Shinigami, Orochimaru slowly ceased his movements.
Hmm? Naruto wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he felt the Shinigami's gaze constantly, yet subtly, fixed upon him. Just in case, he began to sense for nearby Flying Thunder God markers. Although he had already struck a deal with Orochimaru, contracts, when faced with sufficient benefit, could be torn up at any time.
After a few breaths.
The Shinigami, its arms spread wide as if crucified, slowly moved its grotesque hand and took the short tanto from its mouth, pointing it towards its own abdomen.
The Shinigami will sever the target's soul with its blade and consume it into its stomach, thereby sealing the target's soul... Watching this scene, the description of the Reaper Death Seal surfaced in Naruto's mind. According to Uzumaki clan records, the Shinigami's stomach was a sealing space devoid of light, direction, and substance. The method to undo the Reaper Death Seal was also simple: have the Shinigami cut open its own abdomen, allowing the souls lost within the sealing space to find their way out.
Sssshhhrrrrip!
With a forceful slash of the tanto, a large gash abruptly appeared on the Shinigami's abdomen. A pitch-black, seemingly bottomless void was revealed to Naruto's sight.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Five azure orbs of light surged out from it.
Seeing this, Kabuto's expression faltered. Has it begun already? He was neither a dōjutsu wielder nor the Shinigami's target, so he couldn't perceive its existence.
Chakra is actually a manifestation of the soul... Naruto's mind stirred. He could sense the presence of chakra within these soul-orbs.
"Pfft!" Orochimaru spat out a mouthful of crimson blood. This was why Naruto, despite knowing how to undo the Reaper Death Seal, had never attempted it himself. The Shinigami relied on the caster to manifest in the world; any damage it sustained would be equally reflected upon the caster.
The severe injury forced Orochimaru to his knees.
One of the soul-energy orbs, like a cat smelling fish, darted straight into Orochimaru's body.
As Orochimaru's life force waned, Naruto clearly saw the wound on the Shinigami's abdomen healing at a visible rate.
"The Shinigami is drawing his life energy to repair its injuries?!"
Orochimaru seemed to have anticipated this outcome. A scaleless white snake suddenly shot out from his trouser leg and slithered into the mouth of the unconscious man lying nearby. After a series of muscular contortions, the man gradually transformed into Orochimaru's likeness. As for the Orochimaru who had performed the Reaper Death Seal, he had already lost all signs of life, collapsing to the ground and turning into a pile of white mud.
Deprived of a caster to sustain it, the Shinigami also slowly faded into the air.
"This is Minato's chakra," Orochimaru said, pointing to the leftmost orb of soul energy.
Naruto nodded slightly. His right hand, now coated in a layer of spiritual energy, carefully collected this soul-orb and placed it into his mental space.
"Kabuto." Hearing his name, Kabuto stepped forward, unrolled a scroll, and sealed the remaining soul-energy orbs within it.
"Vomits!" Orochimaru tilted his head back and regurgitated a scroll from his mouth, handing it to Naruto.
"..." Naruto's right hand hesitated noticeably before he took the scroll with a blank expression.
"Farewell, Naruto-kun." Having regained the use of his arms, Orochimaru's mood had clearly improved. Before leaving, he even gave Naruto a "friendly" goodbye.
Drip!
Looking at the saliva that had dripped onto the floor, Naruto sighed faintly. This guy's way of doing business was as disgusting as ever!
"Sigh..." With another soft sigh, Naruto flicked the "little cutie" (saliva) off the scroll. As disgusting as it was, Orochimaru's cell activation secret technique was still very enticing. He even suspected that in this area of research, Orochimaru was ahead of everyone else in the shinobi world.
The night passed without further incident.
With the rise of the morning sun, people began another busy day.
Including Naruto.
"The groundwork for some of the B-rank and A-rank missions has been completed. I'll leave the rest to you." Naruto nodded slightly to the seven shadow clones standing before him. For tasks like assassination and intelligence gathering, once the information collection phase was complete, the rest was simple for him.
Shwoop!
Using the Flying Thunder God Technique, the shadow clones each departed for their respective battlefields.
"Naruto!" Shikamaru ran up beside him, hands on his knees, panting slightly.
"What happened?" Naruto asked, puzzled.
"Didn't Kumogakure declare war on Akatsuki two days ago?"
"Mmm." Naruto nodded. He was aware of this, but Lord Shikaku had advised him not to interfere for the time being.
"Kumogakure was ambushed and suffered heavy losses. Of the ninja the Fourth Raikage took with him, not even one in ten survived," Shikamaru quickly explained. "The Fifth Hokage has urgently convened a Jonin meeting and asked me to notify you."
"Notify me, a Chunin?"
"Who would dare treat you as a mere Chunin?" Shikamaru rolled his eyes at him good-naturedly. "Let's go."
When they arrived, all the Jonin stationed in the village had already assembled.
"I'm not yet qualified to enter. If anything comes up, you can discuss it with my old man," Shikamaru said in a low voice.
Naruto patted his shoulder and walked into the meeting room.
Just as he was wondering where to sit, Nara Shikaku beckoned to him. "Your seat is here."
"Er..." Naruto glanced to his right at the seats for the Hokage and advisors, then to the rows upon rows of Jonin seats on his other side. "Isn't this a bit inappropriate?" To be seated so prominently right from the start... it would inevitably cause dissatisfaction among others.
"If you sat at the back, these guys probably wouldn't even be able to sit comfortably," Shikaku said with a slight smile.
"Naruto-kun, you sit here. The Hyuga have no objection," Hyuga Hiashi spoke up from one side of the aisle.
Hearing this, Naruto no longer hesitated and sat down beside Shikaku. He observed that in the front row, apart from the heads of the major clans, only he and Kakashi were present.
"That seat is for?" he asked, subtly pointing to the empty seat beside Kakashi.
Nara Shikaku glanced over. "Uchiha Sasuke's."
Thump!
The Fifth Hokage, Lady Tsunade, strode in with the powerful gait of a dragon and took her seat at the head. Jiraiya and the two advisors followed closely behind.
"Shikaku, briefly explain the situation," Tsunade instructed, lightly tapping her jade-like fingers on the table.
"Yes!" Nara Shikaku stood up and detailed the conflict between Kumogakure and the Akatsuki. "According to Kumogakure's request, after deliberation, Konoha and the other shinobi villages have decided to dispatch personnel to provide support."
After he sat down, Tsunade explained the reason for convening the meeting. "All Jonin currently leading shinobi teams, please stand!"
About a dozen Jonin, including Asuma and Kurenai, immediately stood up.
Tsunade's gaze swept back and forth for a moment before she spoke: "Sarutobi Asuma! Yuhi Kurenai! Hiratsuka Ritsu!"
"Here!" x3
"Take your subordinates and head to Kumogakure to provide support!"
"Yes!"
"Kakashi!"
The silver-haired man on the right stood up.
"You will be in charge of this support mission."
"Yes!"
"Depart immediately!"
Kakashi and the other three Jonin leaders vanished from the meeting room in an instant.
"Shikaku!"
Nara Shikaku stood up again.
"The Third Five Kage Summit is about to be convened. I will need to leave the village for a period of time," Tsunade stated. "You are the head of the Jonin division. The village's defense will be your responsibility. If Akatsuki attacks, I grant you temporary command authority over the ANBU!"
"Yes!"
"This meeting is adjourned. Dismissed!"
A few minutes later.
Naruto stood outside the Hokage Tower. Gazing at the sun still slowly ascending in the eastern sky, he entered a state of self-doubt.
Who was he? What had he just done? Why are meetings in this world so damn fast? He had even prepared himself to spend the entire day cooped up in the meeting room. He really hadn't expected this...
"Yo! Looks like it's over." Shikamaru, seemingly having anticipated the meeting's duration, walked out from the side. "Were you assigned anything?"
"No." Naruto shook his head. It seemed his presence or absence at the meeting hadn't made much difference. "Lord Shikaku, on the other hand, was assigned quite a few things."
"About what I expected." Shikamaru nodded slightly. "Sasuke's situation back then was similar to yours. They first let you get acquainted with the Jonin ranks, and when the time is right, they'll assign you tasks. Besides, entrusting the defense mission to my old man also implies getting you involved."
"At the last Five Kage Summit, the Fifth Hokage entrusted this matter to Lord Jiraiya."
Naruto nodded. There were quite a few twists and turns, but he could still make sense of it if he thought it through. But as the old saying goes, "When soldiers come, use a general to block them; when water comes, use earth to dam it." Even if Akatsuki did come, he was confident he could push them back.
"Eaten breakfast yet?" Shikamaru asked.
"No." Naruto shook his head. Shikamaru had found him right after he had assigned tasks to his shadow clones; there simply hadn't been time.
"Ichiraku Ramen. Still remember where it is, right? I'm off on a mission."
Naruto: "..."
Konoha Village Gate.
Team 10 led by Sarutobi Asuma, Team 8 led by Yuhi Kurenai, and Team 9 led by Jonin Hiratsuka Ritsu—a total of twelve individuals stood together. Their green ninja flak jackets attracted the gazes of many passersby.
Shwoop!
Kakashi appeared. He scanned the group, his gaze lingering briefly on Hinata. "Is everyone ready?"
Several people nodded.
"Let's move out!"
Phew... From within a crowd, Naruto watched their departing figures and exhaled a puff of smoke. He turned and walked towards Ichiraku Ramen. He still hadn't eaten breakfast.
Naruto pushed aside the noren curtain, looking at Teuchi busy in the open kitchen. "Hello."
"Welcome!" Teuchi looked slightly surprised upon recognizing the customer's face. "Naruto... Isn't this Naruto?!"
"Naruto?" Ayame, who was preparing ingredients nearby, heard the name and turned around in surprise. After looking him up and down, she nodded slightly. "You've grown up."
"Ayame-neechan, Teuchi-ojisan, long time no see." Naruto pulled up a stool and sat down.
"What'll you have?" Teuchi asked, rolling up his sleeves.
"The usual. Miso Chashu Ramen."
Land of Fire Border.
Crackle!
The campfire crackled merrily. The support team members sat in groups of three, checking their ninja tools.
"If Konoha alone sent this many, just how heavy were Kumogakure's losses?" In a corner, several Jonin were gathered, discussing the situation.
"Out of a team of about two hundred, less than twenty made it back to Kumogakure alive," Kakashi said, shaking his head slightly. "Even the Fourth Raikage sustained considerable injuries."
"Is this Five Kage Summit a signal for the Five Great Villages to declare war on Akatsuki?" Yuhi Kurenai asked.
"It's highly possible," Kakashi replied. "After all, this time, Akatsuki pursued the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure across the borders of three countries. That's truly insane."
Land of Moon.
Naruto Shadow Clone #1 stood on a small hill, gazing at the devastation in the distance. "This is where Akatsuki and the Fourth Raikage had their final battle."
A man with bandages wrapped around his face, carrying the Executioner's Blade on his back, appeared behind him and bowed his head slightly.
"What were Akatsuki's losses?"
"One core member died."
"I know." Shadow Clone #1 nodded slightly, looking at the distant battle ruins, lost in thought. Nagato made a move personally. It wasn't fear, just simple curiosity: after so many years of growth, just how powerful had Nagato become? He also possessed the Rinnegan; he understood the terror of those eyes better than most. For Nagato's strength to have improved so terrifyingly in such a short time...
"Any movement from the 'Outer Circle' members?" he asked.
Zabuza shook his head. "No news, but we can't rule out the possibility of them acting covertly."
"Is that so." Currently, there were three organizations in the shinobi world that concerned Naruto: Akatsuki, the Outer Circle organization, and the Underground Bounty Station. Akatsuki, needless to say, with Nagato and his Rinnegan, was a known quantity. The Outer Circle—an enigmatic organization with unknown origins, an unknown leader, and unknown strength, yet it thrived in the shinobi world. The Underground Bounty Station—the local tyrant of the shinobi world's dark underbelly, an audacious organization that even dared to issue bounties on the Five Kage.
However, from a certain perspective, the Underground Bounty Station was "law-abiding." At least, there were no rumors in the shinobi world of this organization personally assassinating its bounty targets. They only issued bounties and collected intermediary fees. According to intelligence Naruto had gathered, the Daimyo of the Five Great Nations had their hands in the Underground Bounty Station. He strongly suspected that this organization was secretly supported by the Daimyo of the Five Great Nations. That was why the Five Great Shinobi Villages turned a blind eye to its existence.
"Leader, should we interfere in Akatsuki's affairs?" Zabuza asked.
"Not for now." Shadow Clone #2 shook his head. From an observer's perspective, it was clear that there was no shortage of cunning old foxes watching the fire from the shore. The Outer Circle, the Three Great Sage Regions, the Daimyo of the Five Great Nations... you could count them on more than one hand.
"By the way, how is Haku's training progressing?"
"With the Leader's Life Stone, that fellow's strength is increasing rapidly."
"That's good." Shadow Clone #2 withdrew his gaze and nodded slightly. Whenever Haku was mentioned, Zabuza always had that doting, almost motherly smile. If it weren't for the fact that Haku was male, Naruto would have thought Zabuza was in love with him.