Chapter 257: Spirit Sealing (Exquisite)
[You have come into contact with the Special Spirit Body: Reaper (Native Deity, Yin God). Do you wish to absorb it?]
[Absorbing...]
[Running check...]
Kaito Shirogane's smile was almost a snarl. He leaned back, then shot his hands forward. Before Sarutobi Hiruzen's disbelieving eyes, he grabbed the body of the Reaper, which should have been intangible.
Yes, Hiruzen was certain. This Mercenary Tao... had truly grabbed the Reaper itself!
Kaito Shirogane felt an extremely strong force of resistance from the white-robed Reaper, which held a tanto in its mouth and prayer beads in its hand. Unlike Coby and the other normal souls, this Reaper possessed the ability to seize and control the souls of ordinary people.
Whether you were a Hokage or a Sannin, a Titled Beast or a commoner, once the Reaper grabbed your soul, it would be pulled out, bit by bit. Finally, the Reaper would use the tanto in its mouth to sever the soul's connection to the body and devour it whole.
This was the ultimate sealing jutsu. Once the soul was gone, not even [Edo Tensei] or [Rinne Tensei] could bring one back. Likewise, if a part of the soul was devoured, that part of the body would lose all activity, resulting in a permanent injury beyond the reach of medical science.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's idea was correct. The [Shiki Fūjin] (Reaper Death Seal) was indeed one of the few attacks that posed the greatest threat to Kaito Shirogane.
Once Kaito's soul was sealed, his so-called [Mid-level Immortality] would be useless. In Kaito's view, this was one of the most valuable abilities in the Naruto world, second only to the Otsutsuki bloodline.
Of course, he had no intention of learning Chakra or this sealing jutsu. A technique that required the user's life as payment did not fit Kaito Shirogane's aesthetic of power.
He chose a more direct method—devour the Reaper, assimilate it, and make its power his own!
Feeling the resistance, Kaito ignored it, instantly equipped the [Spirit-Toucher] milestone, grabbed the Reaper's arm, and began to pull it toward his own body.
The Underworld (Yomi) power hidden in his blood began to surge. That cold, deathly power instantly extinguished the blazing Satsui no Hado on his skin.
This was the power that held absolute dominance in Kaito's body. A power personally bestowed by the [Great Emperor of Mount Tai], a power that reversed the Underworld and infused him with thirty-three thousand Yin-Spirits. It was a power they couldn't resist, and a power that even a "Child of the World" like Gojo Satoru had no desire to challenge.
Kaito Shirogane yanked. The Reaper, which had been floating behind Hiruzen, was pulled closer. The Reaper was no longer calm. It had come to collect a soul in exchange for Hiruzen's sacrifice. It had never expected to be attacked itself.
It felt a familiar aura... The Underworld!
The Reaper silently took the tanto from its mouth, raised it high, and prepared to cut the soul it held and complete the ritual.
This was not what Hiruzen had intended. His face was pale, the cold pain of the Reaper's hand passing through his soul unbearable. His combat suit tore, revealing the black, tadpole-like script of his contract with the Reaper.
"No... No, I must take this guy... with me!"
Hiruzen stood firm. His soul was also burning, and a powerful will emanated from it. The Reaper's raised tanto actually hesitated.
The two sides were in a deadlock.
Gojo Satoru, who was now mostly pulled back in by Kaito, felt the part of his spirit outside Kaito's body go stiff from the Reaper's touch. He was still taunting Kaito.
"Hey, hey, Mr. Host, put your back into it! You don't want to lose my Limitless Cursed Technique, do you..."
Kaito ignored the overly flippant guy. With a thought, a huge suction force came from the [Throne of the Heart].
"Ooh! Ooh! I feel it, that power!"
Gojo shouted, his tone somewhere between a complaint and a cheer. But the next second, he was yanked back by the [Throne of the Heart]... and the Reaper, still holding onto Gojo, was also pulled by this force, closer to Hiruzen and Kaito.
Kaito had found the method. This was a battle of souls. A battle of [Heart] and [Will].
He might not have Hiruzen's self-sacrificial resolve, but he had something else.
Greed. Unparalleled greed!
Kaito Shirogane wanted to assimilate the Reaper's power, along with all the souls and powers it had devoured!
And Kaito's soul quality, after experiencing the [Taishan Fujun Ritual], was completely different from a normal human's.
He was a Mythical-Type. A Primordial-Type. A human from the age of myth!
Hiruzen felt that cold, deathly aura coming from the Reaper's arm, chilling his very soul. And that powerful suction was radiating from Mercenary Tao.
Hiruzen wasn't stupid. On the contrary, he was a master of shinobi mind games. He didn't know what Mercenary Tao's ability was, but he knew one thing: Whatever the enemy wants, you must not let them have it.
His will changed. The Reaper was no longer bound by him. The raised tanto slashed down.
Hiruzen saw it. The Reaper was trying to cut... its own arm!
In other words, in the Reaper's judgment, this [Shiki Fūjin] could not be completed. Its power, combined with his own, was not enough to defeat Mercenary Tao on a spiritual level.
The Reaper was cutting its losses and fleeing!
"Don't run, Reaper!"
Kaito instantly raised his left hand and grabbed the tanto.
The blade, which should have been able to sever souls, had no effect on Kaito's left hand.
[Left Arm of the King. Indestructible.]
"Get in here, Reaper!"
Kaito stepped forward. Hiruzen instinctively retreated, but the powerful suction made him feel his own soul being depleted. Even worse, the Reaper behind him clearly couldn't resist either. It was being pulled, bit by bit, through his body and into his opponent.
Hiruzen reached out, grabbing Kaito's left arm.
He gripped so tightly that the [Scales of the Flame Dragon] triggered. Brilliant flames erupted on his body. Hiruzen no longer had the strength to use ninjutsu to escape the fire.
In an instant, his skin began to curl. The intense pain made the [Shinobi Professor] grunt, but he didn't let go. He held Kaito's arm, as if trying to disrupt his actions.
The smile on Kaito's face faded. He was tall, standing before the aging Hiruzen like a great wall. He looked down on the longest-reigning Hokage in Konoha's history.
This man had led Konoha through its hardest times, seen its glory, and won the Second and Third Wars. But his policies had also led to the loss of one genius after another.
Hatake Sakumo committed suicide. Namikaze Minato died on the night of the Nine-Tails attack. Of his own three students, one left, one defected...
Hiruzen suddenly realized he was dying. The images flashing before his eyes... it was the "revolving lantern" of his life.
His grip loosened slightly.
"Mercenary Tao..."
He got no answer. He gripped Kaito's left arm again, the flames burning him. The smell of his own burning flesh... Kaito Shirogane could smell it.
Kaito was focused on absorbing the Reaper. Its cold arm sank into his chest, steeped in the Underworld filled with the [Death-Taint of the Myriad Gods]. He suddenly felt a distinct new power.
But the smell of burning flesh... it made Kaito spare a sliver of his attention for the dying old man's words.
"If it's slaughter and lives you want... take my life..."
Kaito Shirogane's lips curled in a mocking smile.
"Your life... wasn't it already mine?"
If he hadn't been trying to make Hiruzen use the Shiki Fūjin, he had many better ways to kill him.
Hiruzen ignored the mockery. In a final rally, he held on, letting the flames burn him. The stinging pain was the only thing keeping him conscious.
"Then... take all of our old generation's lives... with you..."
"If so, can you... spare... the young seedlings..."
A yearning look appeared in Hiruzen's cloudy eyes. He seemed to see himself, young and strong again, choosing Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade as his students.
Jiraiya, so wild but with a pure heart, who cared so much for his comrades...
Tsunade-hime, spoiled by the First Hokage, but a strong woman who also cherished her comrades, who had upheld her grandfather's decision to let the Senju clan merge into Konoha, giving up their status as the top clan...
And Orochimaru...
Remembering his favorite student, Hiruzen's dull eyes saw the image of the young, lonely, and stubborn Orochimaru. So talented, but with so much sadness in his heart.
Hiruzen suddenly realized... he had never truly comforted his student's heart. Orochimaru had always been trapped by the deaths of his parents and his student, Nawaki. Tsunade too...
At some point, he had become too used to "Hokage-thinking," always considering the big picture, but ignoring the individual, living souls within it.
And in the end, one by one, the elite vanished from Konoha...
Tears flowed from Hiruzen's eyes. In his final moments, he suddenly felt he had left so much undone. If Konoha fell today, if the war restarted... would he be the greatest sinner?
Kaito Shirogane, though he couldn't read minds, guessed most of it.
His mocking smile slowly faded, replaced by a cold indifference, as if looking down on all living things.
These guys in this world... it was like every single one of them wanted to carry the happiness of all people, the peace of the world, on their own shoulders.
They were such fragile creatures, not even living for a hundred years, their geniuses dying in their teens and twenties. A world like this... what was there to save?
Weak, yet wanting to protect.
Fragile, yet wanting eternal peace and happiness.
Is this why this world's keynote is so dark and tragic?
Kaito Shirogane judged the actions of Hiruzen, Shisui, Itachi, and all the other elites of this world from an extremely detached perspective.
"Mercenary Tao... spare the seedlings... They don't deserve to be killed by you... they shouldn't be killed!"
Hiruzen gripped Kaito's left arm, the flames now consuming him.
At the same time, the Reaper's spirit body pulled free from his body, taking Hiruzen's soul with it.
But Hiruzen held on to Kaito's arm, refusing to let go.
Kaito Shirogane suddenly lost interest in Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Not strong enough, and his heart isn't pure. Whether good or bad, at least pick a side and see it through. This... trying to please everyone... isn't he just a half-measure?!
"Tsk. I have no interest in slaughtering the weak."
It's unknown if Hiruzen heard the answer, or if he had simply reached his limit. The next moment, his soul, carried by the Reaper, sank into Kaito Shirogane's body.
[You have killed the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. You have gained 3000 Dimensional Points.]
[You have obtained 1 C-Grade Singularity.]
[Konoha Crush Plan completion updated. Current: 73%]
[You have assimilated the Special Spirit Body: Reaper (Native Deity, Yin God). Energy Attribute +7. Current: ?]
[Please Note: The Reaper is an Assimilation-type Spirit Body. It contains other souls and powers. These souls and powers will be gradually analyzed and released into your Underworld.]
[You have obtained a new Trait: Spirit Sealing (Exquisite)]
[Spirit Sealing (Exquisite): When you draw the Reaper into your body, you can tear the target's spirit body out and devour it. Until the Reaper is fully assimilated, this trait can only be used during Spirit Infusion (Reaper).]
...
[Warning: Reincarnator EX051, your assimilation of the Reaper will have a major impact on this world. The world's difficulty will change unpredictably.]
[You have obtained 2 B-Grade Singularities.]
[Based on your influence, related story characters and questlines will be removed from this world.]
Kaito Shirogane saw the waterfall of Nexus prompts. He stood on the collapsed Hokage Monument, looking down at the still-exploding village of Konoha.
He finally felt the benefit of wantonly changing a story world.
But at the same time, this shinobi village was slowly losing its value.
He picked up Sarutobi Hiruzen's corpse, tapped his foot, and floated down from the sky like a leaf.
This gravity-defying movement was, of course, an effect of the Wind God Legs. The first to notice him was Orochimaru. The sinister ninja, having gotten the Sharingan he craved, was currently assessing the strength of his old Konoha acquaintances.
Sensing Mercenary Tao's return, he turned. His expression was stiff for a moment, but he quickly relaxed. He approached Kaito, looked down, and confirmed it was his teacher's body.
"He... you really killed him."
Kaito Shirogane dropped Hiruzen's body and didn't answer.
His eyes scanned the area. He decided to just kill Danzo too, but couldn't find him.
Just then, a blonde woman walked calmly out of the chaotic battlefield. All the exploding ninjutsu, flying kunai, and shuriken... naturally avoided her.
Providence looked at Kaito Shirogane. She didn't even glance at the dead Third Hokage. She was never surprised by the inevitable.
"Mercenary Tao. Interested in cooperating... just once?"
Kaito Shirogane's gaze focused on her. This was the leader of the [9527] remnant trio. The "most amazing Reincarnator" [Heartless] had spoken of.
Probably the key to how that guy had escaped being "farmed."
Kaito stepped forward, his hands at his sides, the Satsui no Hado rising again.
"Cooperate?"
His tone was bizarre, the threat unmistakable.
But Providence just took one step back, her face still calm.
"I have a bargaining chip... one you'll definitely be interested in."
"Oh? And what is that?"
"A person. A man named [Minoru Hiranaka]."
(End of Chapter)
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