Kato Dan's soul was slowly drawn out by the Grim Reaper's shadow.
And among it, there was absolutely no trace of Yuto's soul!
Senju Tobirama and the others had originally planned to use Kato Dan's Spirit Transformation Technique to temporarily gain control of Yuto's body.
Then have Sarutobi Hiruzen use the Reaper Death Seal to permanently seal Yuto's soul inside the Grim Reaper.
Even though it would cost the souls of both Sarutobi Hiruzen and Kato Dan, if it could protect Konoha and permanently seal Yuto away.
Never mind just their two souls — even if it took several more, it would all be worth it!
But now, it had failed!
Sarutobi Hiruzen trembled slightly all over, his face filled with a dazed and disbelieving expression, bitterness creeping across the corners of his mouth.
Standing above the crater, Senju Tobirama and the others immediately noticed the change in Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression.
"Something's wrong with the teacher's face — what happened?!"
Tsunade's pupils contracted, her expression growing uneasy and suspicious.
No one answered Tsunade's question in that moment. Not just her — none of the others could see the Grim Reaper, so naturally they had no idea what had happened.
Only Namikaze Minato's face had grown visibly grim, as if he had realized the problem.
Right at that moment!
Clap! Clap! Clap!
A clear sound of applause suddenly rang out from the edge of the crater below.
The surface of the crater's edge, already scorched into solid crystal by the successive explosive tags, began to crack inch by inch.
CRACK!
The entire wall collapsed outright, sending dust flying everywhere!
Yuto emerged from within with a faint smile on his lips, applauding as he walked out slowly, appearing before everyone's eyes.
Yuto's clothes clearly bore scorch marks, with quite a few holes torn through them.
But looking through the charred holes in his clothing at Yuto's body, there wasn't a single scratch on his skin.
"My, my — quite the clever scheme."
"Too bad it looks like you've failed."
Yuto wore a faint, relaxed smile as he looked at Senju Tobirama and the others, spreading his hands.
Ever since the battle with Senju Tobirama and the rest began, Yuto had felt a sense of being secretly watched!
That feeling was extremely subtle — if one didn't carefully sense for it, it was completely undetectable.
Especially in the heat of combat against Senju Tobirama and the others, it was easy to ignore entirely, creating the false impression that no one was watching from the shadows.
Unfortunately, Yuto had always placed absolute confidence in his instincts!
And he was certain this presence wasn't coming from Senju Tobirama or any of the others — meaning there was another person hidden in the shadows!
Not to boast, but across the entire Shinobi World, not even Uchiha Madara or Senju Hashirama could hide from his senses.
So when someone capable of evading his detection appeared, the first thing Yuto thought of was Kato Dan's Spirit Transformation Technique!
"Spirit Transformation combined with the Reaper Death Seal — truly a perfect match for a mutual kill."
Yuto looked in Sarutobi Hiruzen's direction and spoke with a light laugh.
The moment those words landed!
The faces of every Konoha shinobi present darkened. Even the slowest to react realized in that instant — Yuto had turned their own plan against them.
"You actually know about the Spirit Transformation Technique?!"
Senju Tobirama clenched his fists, his expression grim as he glared down at Yuto in the crater, his voice low and heavy.
This was a jutsu he had only learned about after being reincarnated through Edo Tensei, through Kato Dan and the others.
And it was precisely by leveraging Kato Dan's Spirit Transformation Technique that Senju Tobirama had devised this plan!
In Senju Tobirama's eyes, arrogant and confident individuals like Yuto and Uchiha Madara would never bother paying attention to jutsu created by later generations.
Even in the most extreme scenario, as long as the Spirit Transformation Technique could take control of Yuto's body, the outcome wouldn't change.
Senju Tobirama's gaze fell upon the crater's center — on the fake Yuto clone that, inexplicably, still showed no signs of dissipating.
What on earth was going on with this jutsu?!
Yuto shot Senju Tobirama a disdainful glance.
"Senju Tobirama, do you really think you know me that well?"
"There is far more that I know about this Shinobi World than you could ever imagine."
Yuto spoke in a flat, indifferent tone, laced with a hint of contempt.
While the two of them spoke, at the center of the crater.
Kato Dan's soul had already been fully extracted by the Grim Reaper and stuffed into its mouth.
Immediately after, Sarutobi Hiruzen — the caster — wore a face full of bitterness as he watched the Grim Reaper slowly draw out his own soul.
"I'm sorry, everyone."
"I'll leave what comes next in your hands..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice carried a trace of apology and reluctance as he spoke slowly.
The instant Sarutobi Hiruzen's soul was completely swallowed by the Grim Reaper, his Edo Tensei body crumbled and dispersed.
Right at that moment, Yuto snapped his fingers. Under the gaze of countless furious eyes, he wore a faint smile.
"The show's over."
"So now, are you all curious why this clone of mine didn't disappear even when attacked?"
Yuto seemed to be in no rush at all. Pointing at the clone in the center of the crater, he began explaining on his own:
"This is the result of my recent research — combining ghosts with the Shadow Clone Jutsu to create a ghost clone that won't dissipate even when attacked, at least not right away!"
"Of course, it also incorporates a bit of Shukaku's unique Magnetic Release sealing chakra."
"That's also why a soul using the Spirit Transformation Technique can't escape the ghost clone's body immediately. But the ghost clone has more than just that one use."
With that said, Yuto dismissed the badly damaged ghost clone standing in the crater's center with a single thought.
Having done all that.
Yuto turned his gaze back to Senju Tobirama and the others, a gentle smile on his face:
"Whether you understood that or not doesn't matter. Have you decided how you want to die?"
The moment those words fell!
A terrifying killing intent erupted from Yuto's body, and the surrounding air seemed to drop several degrees in an instant.
An astonishing chakra aura spread in all directions, forming a crushing wave of overwhelming pressure!
Yuto lightly pushed off the ground and shot up from the crater like a missile, instantly reaching the sky above!
"Fall back!"
Senju Tobirama's expression changed sharply as he shouted at the top of his lungs.
But the instant his voice rang out, Yuto's body showed no sign of falling at all. Instead, he defied gravity entirely, moving laterally through the air.
Yuto's figure in the sky became a flickering afterimage, darting toward Jiraiya at breakneck speed.
In the blink of an eye!
Yuto had already appeared right in front of Jiraiya.
"Those two toads on your shoulders make an awful racket."
Yuto looked at Fukasaku and Shima on Jiraiya's shoulders and reached his hand forward.
Jiraiya's face changed. He leaped backward quickly while rapidly forming hand seals, calling out: "My two sages!"
Fukasaku and Shima instantly understood Jiraiya's intent and opened their mouths simultaneously.
Sage Art — Goemon!
Jiraiya spewed a stream of oil from his mouth, Fukasaku unleashed a gale-force wind, and Shima produced fire. The three jutsu combined instantly into one!
The result was a massive-area fusion jutsu that blanketed the sky as it surged toward Yuto.
Seeing this combined sage jutsu, Yuto frowned slightly.
He could absorb the technique, but Yuto had absolutely no desire to get drenched in the oil Jiraiya was spewing from his mouth.
"Sage jutsu, is it? I can do that too."
As Yuto spoke, a small black diamond-shaped mark the size of a coin appeared on his forehead.
A terrifying sage chakra aura began radiating from within Yuto's body.
"Sage Art — Water Release — Water Shockwave!"
A surging torrent of water erupted from Yuto's mouth, colliding with the combined jutsu in a thunderous roar.
The sky-filling flames were punched straight through by Yuto's water stream. It tore through the combined technique of Jiraiya, Fukasaku, and Shima, slamming directly into Jiraiya.
Jiraiya coughed up a mouthful of blood and was sent flying backward.
"Little Jiraiya!"
Fukasaku and Shima cried out in alarm at the sight of the injured Jiraiya, their voices thick with worry.
"Now's not the time to be worrying about others."
Yuto's voice rang out from ahead, reaching the ears of both Fukasaku and Shima.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
Two golden chakra chains shot out from Yuto's body, appearing beside Jiraiya in the air in the blink of an eye.
Before either of the two sages could react, the chakra chains had already coiled tightly around Fukasaku and Shima.
The golden chains retracted rapidly, yanking Fukasaku and Shima straight to Yuto.
"You're finished, you know."
Yuto looked at the two sages bound by chakra chains with a smile on his face, speaking in an amused tone.
Fukasaku and Shima's faces were filled with panic as they struggled to break free from the chains.
But before either of them could make a move, both of their heads exploded simultaneously, blood spraying everywhere!
"Fukasaku! Shima!!"
Jiraiya, who had been blown away, saw this happen. His eyes widened in fury and anguish, and he coughed up another mouthful of blood.
"No rush — you're next."
Yuto tossed the bodies of Fukasaku and Shima aside and turned toward the shouting Jiraiya.
Jiraiya watched as Yuto vanished from sight again. Every hair on his body stood on end, but with Sage Mode active, he managed to lock onto Yuto rushing toward him.
Jiraiya tried to rise and counterattack, but a wave of weakness washed over his body. He knew the earlier hit had broken at least three of his ribs.
Intense pain surged through him like a tide, leaving Jiraiya drenched in cold sweat.
All he could do was watch helplessly as Yuto appeared before him, reaching for his neck!
The instant Yuto's hand was about to grab Jiraiya's neck, Jiraiya vanished from the spot. In his place stood Namikaze Minato.
Jiraiya's body, meanwhile, appeared directly in front of Tsunade.
Seeing Jiraiya's severe injuries, Tsunade immediately summoned a small slug and had it wrap around Jiraiya, rapidly healing his wounds.
"The two sages..."
Jiraiya coughed up blood, his voice weak as he spoke.
"Pull yourself together, Jiraiya — now's not the time to fall apart!" Tsunade said, her expression grim.
"The situation has already spiraled beyond our control."
Orochimaru appeared beside them at that moment, his voice rough and hoarse.
"Now, we have no choice but to fight with everything we've got!"
Tsunade clenched her fists so hard they creaked, her body radiating an aura of desperate resolve.
Meanwhile.
Namikaze Minato, who had swapped places with Jiraiya, held a kunai and thrust it straight at Yuto's eye!
CLASH!
Several Adamantine Sealing Chains erupted from Yuto's body. One blocked Yuto's eyes, colliding with the kunai in a shower of metallic sparks.
Sparks flew in every direction!
The remaining chains — one of them instantly pierced straight through Namikaze Minato's chest, blowing a massive hole through his torso.
The other chains shot toward Namikaze Minato's four limbs, attempting to bind him.
Unfortunately, Namikaze Minato used the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, transforming into a golden flash and teleporting away in an instant!
"What a troublesome jutsu."
Yuto watched Namikaze Minato vanish via the Flying Thunder God, a note of irritation in his voice.
A cold, killing gleam flashed!
Sakumo appeared behind Yuto at incredible speed, a short blade in hand, stabbing toward his heart!
"It seems even now, you still haven't understood the gap between us."
Cold light flickered in Yuto's eyes as he violently thrust his hand out.
Even though Sakumo had struck first, Yuto's palm reached Sakumo's neck faster than the short blade in Sakumo's hand.
Yuto's grip tightened, and Sakumo's neck was crushed to pieces.
"Even knowing the gap, I will never stop swinging my blade."
"Besides — I'm already a dead man."
Though his neck had been shattered, Sakumo could still speak in his Edo Tensei state.
"You really think I have no way of dealing with your Edo Tensei?"
"It seems you didn't understand what I said at the very beginning."
Yuto wore a cold smirk at Sakumo's words.
Ghost Clone!
With a puff of white smoke, a ghost clone materialized beside Sakumo.
The moment the ghost clone appeared, it grabbed Sakumo. Shukaku's unique Violet Sigil Seal rapidly spread across Sakumo's entire body along the ghost clone's arm!
[
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