Tobirama Senju, standing nearby, swallowed hard.
"Big brother!!! Look closely! That's no ninja!!!"
"Huh? Then what is it?!" Hashirama Senju replied, still wearing that clueless, dopey expression.
"Big brother… do you remember that jutsu I invented?!" Tobirama pressed.
"What jutsu? You've made so many, I can't keep track!" Hashirama said, scratching his head.
"The one called the Dead Demon Consuming Seal!!!"
"Nope… don't remember…"
Tobirama's mouth twitched at his brother's response. Honestly, he hadn't expected Hashirama to remember anyway. Every time Tobirama invented a new jutsu, Hashirama would barely glance up before tossing him a sealing scroll…
In the early days, Hashirama would at least show some interest, asking, "What's this jutsu, Tobirama?" But after Tobirama explained, his big brother would frown and say, "Tobirama, this jutsu's way too dangerous! Better seal it in a scroll!"
After enough of those moments, it became a routine…
"Big brother!!! I invented a new jutsu!" Tobirama would announce excitedly.
"Is it a Water Release jutsu?" Hashirama wouldn't even look up.
"Nope!" Tobirama would shake his head.
"Then seal it! Here's a scroll!" Hashirama would toss one over…
Later, it got even shorter…
"Big brother! New jutsu!"
"Water Release?"
"No!"
"Seal it…"
And eventually, it was just:
"Jutsu!"
"Water?"
"Nope."
"Seal it!"
So, it wasn't surprising that Hashirama didn't remember the Dead Demon Consuming Seal…
With a sigh, Tobirama started explaining what the Dead Demon Consuming Seal was all about. After hearing the explanation, Hashirama's brow furrowed.
"Tobirama! I've told you a million times to stop messing around with these weird, dangerous jutsu! If some rookie ninja tries to use it and screws up, they could get themselves killed!"
"Big brother! Can we focus here?!" Tobirama snapped. "The issue right now isn't that! It's that Itou Hirobumi clearly used a summoning jutsu, and it's supposed to summon the spirits of the Hidden Leaf's fallen. So why the heck did he summon the Shinigami?!"
Hashirama's brow furrowed deeper as he mulled it over. "Maybe… maybe Itou's summoning jutsu is snatching souls from the afterlife, and the Shinigami's pissed off about it? Like it's here to settle a score?!"
With that thought, Hashirama stood up, his expression serious.
Madara, who had moved to stand beside Itou, was now joined by Hashirama on Itou's other side. In Hashirama's mind, one thing was clear: he'd been perfectly revived, and he owed Itou for that! Plus, he'd been reunited with Madara and his little brother. As the First Hokage, it was his duty to protect the younger generation of his village—especially one of their own!
No matter if this so-called Shinigami was here to cause trouble or not, if it dared lay a hand on Itou, Hashirama wouldn't hesitate to show it the power of his Thousand Hands and Sage Art: Gracious Deity Gates!
At that moment, Madara and Hashirama locked eyes, as if sharing some unspoken understanding. Both were ready to throw down.
But what happened next wasn't at all what Hashirama expected…
The Shinigami in the summoning circle was writhing in agony, its body bound by golden chains. The golden light from the circle seemed to be dissolving the Shinigami's form!
The Shinigami had been clutching a short blade in its mouth, but in its pain, its jaws parted, and the blade clattered to the ground.
Then, something jaw-dropping happened…
A soul flame slowly floated out of the Shinigami's mouth.
Once the flame fully emerged, the Shinigami seemed to relax, as if relieved of its torment. It quickly snatched up the blade, and with a look like it had just seen something unspeakable, unnameable, and downright terrifying, it dove back into the golden summoning circle and vanished!
Everyone watching was dumbfounded.
"Did… did the Shinigami just spit out a soul?!" Madara blurted, the scene too surreal for him to process.
Hashirama nodded dumbly beside him. "Looks like it… Who's this guy, though? Which Hidden Leaf ninja got swallowed by the Shinigami? Good thing they didn't get digested, or they'd have turned into… well, you know, poop! Wonder what it feels like to be crapped out by the Shinigami…"
At Hashirama's muttering, Madara, Itou, and Tobirama broke out in cold sweats.
Only the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, would focus on something that bizarre!
Meanwhile, Itou heard the system's voice in his head.
[Tch! Acting all high and mighty in front of me?!
If I don't put you in your place, you won't know who you're dealing with! I call you Shinigami to give you some face, but if you push me, I'll bury you!]
Itou swallowed hard at the system's brazen words. "System bro! That's badass!!!"
[Keep it lowkey, lowkey! I'm not that showy of a system!
But this so-called Shinigami was acting way too cocky! Asking him for a soul is me doing him a favor, and he's still whining about it?!]
On the other side, Tobirama, seeing his brother's clueless expression, sighed and started explaining. "Someone must've learned the Dead Demon Consuming Seal I invented. Big brother, I just explained it to you—it's a jutsu that trades your soul for your enemy's, making a deal with the Shinigami.
Now, it looks like Itou's summoning jutsu forced the Shinigami to cough up that soul. Honestly, this kid's ability is terrifying… even the Shinigami from the afterlife got strong-armed—or maybe just bullied—into submission!"
Hashirama's face lit up at that. The stronger the kids from his village were, the prouder he felt as the First Hokage!
Madara shot Itou a glance, his Rinnegan fading back to normal eyes.
Hashirama, meanwhile, rolled his eyes thoughtfully toward Madara. With the Shinigami gone, he slipped back into his goofy, carefree demeanor…
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