A week later, deep inside the Shikkotsu Forest, at that ancient training ground.
"I don't think there's any need for you to stay here and observe. Your presence won't increase the success rate by much."
In response to Haseo's comment, Tsunade simply shook her head slowly. She had just retreated to a safe distance, but she hadn't chosen to leave completely. Although her presence wouldn't improve the success rate, it would at least increase the chances of rescue should something go wrong.
"Fine then, I'll begin."
Haseo held one hand on his longsword while the other grasped the Shinigami Mask. He placed the mask flat onto the ground and inserted the sword upright beside it before starting to form hand seals with both hands—without hesitation.
First came the Spirit Transformation Technique.
Spiritual chakra emerged from Haseo's body as a floating ethereal form. This sensation of "soul leaving the body" was completely different from sensory-sharing techniques like shadow clones—it was unique and extraordinary.
This step carried no real danger; otherwise, Haseo wouldn't have used this technique just to scare his wife.
However, the next step was extremely dangerous—the Dead Demon Consuming Seal alone was already a suicide technique.
Haseo's physical body had now become essentially an empty shell, appearing lifeless.
The spirit that floated out held Haseo's true consciousness. While suspended midair, he had originally intended to crack a joke toward Tsunade, but seeing her tense expression, he chose—for once—to be considerate and focus seriously on the task at hand. Jokes could wait.
The first step was safe, but what followed was far riskier.
He would never dare activate the Shinigami while in spirit form alone—it would be tantamount to suicide.
Instead, several threads of chakra extended from his spirit's fingertips, connecting to his physical body. Then… he began using his own "empty shell" to form hand seals, channeling the residual chakra still within:
Snake → Boar → Bird → Rabbit → Dog → Rat → Rooster → Horse → Snake—then both hands clasped together, activating the [Dead Demon Consuming Seal].
It turned out that any jutsu requiring the praying gesture was always over the top.
Pure white robe wide and flowing, a horrifying and twisted face, dark and emaciated skin—the image of the "Shinigami"—was summoned effortlessly.
It was a bit of a shame—this might be the last time the [Dead Demon Consuming Seal] was ever used. In the future, the Uzumaki would no longer have access to this ultimate sealing technique.
Once summoned, the Shinigami normally claimed the caster's soul regardless of whether anything was sealed, ensuring their death.
But as for Haseo…
"Come on, do your best. If you can take anything from me, I'll admit defeat."
Facing Haseo's ruthless mockery, the 'Shinigami' remained indifferent. Indeed, it couldn't retrieve anything valuable from Haseo's body—whether soul or spirit, even most of his chakra hovered outside.
Of course you needed spiritual energy to summon the Shinigami, and the little bit left in Haseo's body was enough — after all, this thing probably only took a taste, and 'taste' was the unit here.
It's like how just one piece of data should be enough, but somehow you still end up needing two hundred million copies.
Sure, a regular person would die from just one sip, but that's not my problem — I'm 'Haseo's Spirit Form.' Let the physical body take the hit.
The massive ethereal silhouette of the 'Shinigami' floated behind Haseo. But what could an ethereal Shinigami possibly do to Haseo's physical body? Use it for a barbecue?
Haseo's spirit fingers trembled slightly; under his control, his physical body extended its right hand, grasped the longsword, and slashed downward, splitting the Shinigami mask clean in half.
At this moment, Haseo's spirit form released the Chakra Threads in his hand, beginning to form hand seals himself — the trace of chakra seeping out from the Shinigami Mask was scooped up by him, floating at his forehead.
It resembled a flickering flame.
This chakra held residual energy and information — it was the key used by the Uzumaki clan to exert limited control over the Shinigami. It was a "key."
Then, continuing the technique while in spirit form, Haseo manipulated the "Shinigami" into cutting open its own stomach — since both spirit and physical forms were Haseo, naturally the spirit could control the Shinigami summoned by the physical body.
Indeed, when collecting the price, spirit and flesh were separate entities, but when manipulating the "Shinigami," they became one and the same.
Cutting open the Shinigami's belly meant lifting the seal... Who even knows what got stuffed inside it over countless years; naturally, now was the time to release them all. Haseo needed only the naturally pure, unpolluted version of the "Shinigami."
As the "Shinigami" took the tanto hanging from its mouth and sliced open its own belly, several wisps of chakra indeed drifted out — but unexpectedly few.
Perhaps over the eons, only limited things had been sealed using the "Dead Demon Consuming Seal," after all, the occasions for using it and the people capable of doing so were always scarce.
Or maybe many sealed items had already been "digested."
In any case, the most critical step after "letting the blood" was about to begin — Haseo wasn't going to seal the "Shinigami" onto his physical body, but onto his spirit form. Because the spirit and physical forms weren't compatible. The classic example was the Jinchuriki and Tailed Beast — the tailed beasts were chakra beings, connected yet essentially independent from the ninja body they resided in.
Haseo wanted complete control over the "Shinigami," he wanted to assimilate and claim it as his own. Therefore, the jinchuriki-style approach wouldn't work — he could only achieve true "assimilation" if spirit confronted spirit, existing on the same dimensional level.
Even though he couldn't breathe, Haseo's spirit form took a deep breath instinctively before continuing the technique.
[Snake-Horse-Ox-Rooster-Horse-Goat], Four Symbols Seal.
The three conditions—vessel, technique, and the entity being sealed—were all present. Moreover, the unconscious "Shinigami" did not resist the sealing as fiercely as a Tailed Beast would, so it smoothly flowed into Haseo's spirit form.
Then the Shinigami entered.
Before the Four Symbols Seal could manifest its technique, Haseo had already prepared his next sealing method—the Unorthodox Seal Method.
The Unorthodox Seal Method was an ability meant to be used from within—and more suitable for such circumstances. The Shinigami, now embedded deep inside Haseo's spirit form, was instantly subjected to high-density slicing.
Although Haseo's spirit form was much smaller in energy volume than the Shinigami's, his form remained unified and whole. Once the Shinigami was crushed, it became purely "ability flow."
So began the fusion of two vastly different spirit forms—but the dominant force was Haseo, not the Shinigami. Haseo's spirit body visibly started expanding.
Eventually, Haseo's spirit form grew slightly larger than the original Shinigami. To be honest, this was both horrifying and eerie to Tsunade, watching from the sidelines.
Fortunately, Haseo's spirit form maintained his original appearance throughout.
Then came the activation of the Four Symbols Seal. The fusion between the two spirits was completely finalized—in other words, during the casting and completion of the Four Symbols Seal, the Unorthodox Seal Method had taken effect. After the Shinigami's spirit was fully fragmented, it merged seamlessly with Haseo through the Four Symbols Seal, becoming inseparable from him.
Haseo's theory proved correct; nothing unexpected occurred.
The most critical part was over, and successful. Only one last step remained—Haseo's greatly expanded spirit form started making its way back to his physical body.
He returned, then released the Spirit Transformation Technique.
In an instant, even Tsunade, standing a short distance away, sensed the violent chakra reaction surging from Haseo's body. A massive amount of energy was brewing, blending, and finally fusing completely within him. What came before was a fusion of spirit with spirit, but now it was spirit merging with physical form.
Haseo's hair rapidly extended until it reached the ground, then suddenly turned into a soft shade of white—an apparent sign of overflowing life energy, and also a mark of transformation in identity.
As is known within the world of the Six Paths Sage, every one of his reincarnations has carried the mark of white hair.
A completely unfamiliar presence radiated from Haseo. His long white hair gave off an almost holy quality, a sensation that should have clashed completely with his personality, yet now fit him perfectly.
This must be what a sage feels like.
Tsunade felt as though an eternity had passed before Haseo finally opened his eyes again.
He scanned the surroundings, then locked eyes on Tsunade with a gaze she didn't recognize. Then, emanating a presence unlike anything before, he slowly stepped forward.
He stopped and spoke.
"I am reborn. Who art thou?"
His tone was strange, his demeanor cold—startling Tsunade back half a step.
"H-Haseo?"
Faced with her question, after a moment, he finally nodded slowly.
"Yes. Is it not me indeed?"
That cool demeanor from earlier... couldn't last, I guess.
Still, I gotta make a joke or two when the time's right.
Can't be Haseo without the jokes, but...
But making jokes at a time like this feels sort of inhuman.
(End of chapter)
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