Watching Orochimaru tremble with excitement, Teizawa's lips curved into a faint smile.
Then his gaze settled on the clusters of glowing souls drifting farther away.
"Orochimaru..."
His voice was quiet, yet it reached everyone's ears with perfect clarity.
"I need you to use the Edo Tensei to resurrect the Fourth Hokage. There's something I need to retrieve from him."
Orochimaru paused and turned toward Teizawa, his golden serpentine eyes narrowing slightly.
"The Fourth Hokage?" There was a trace of confusion in his voice. "Why would his soul have been trapped inside the Shinigami?"
Teizawa did not answer immediately. He simply watched the clusters of souls floating into the distance.
"Before he died, the Fourth Hokage used the Reaper Death Seal to divide the Nine-Tails in half."
"He sealed one half inside his son, Naruto, and the other inside himself. That half entered the Shinigami's stomach along with his soul."
"Now that the seal has been broken, his soul has regained its freedom."
"I need to find him and retrieve that half of the Nine-Tails."
Orochimaru's pupils contracted slightly.
"The other half of the Nine-Tails? You knew about it all along?"
"So that's why you've been searching for the Shinigami Mask and went through the trouble of preparing a White Zetsu body."
Teizawa smiled faintly.
"Is this a transaction?" Orochimaru's lips curled into an inscrutable smile. "You restore my arms, and I help you recover the Nine-Tails?"
Teizawa looked at him, his deep eyes betraying no emotion.
"You can think of it that way."
Orochimaru fell silent for a moment before laughing.
"Interesting. Then let me see what secrets the Fourth Hokage's soul is hiding."
He turned and waved to Kabuto.
Kabuto immediately brought over a living person.
Judging by his clothing, the man was a shinobi from Otogakure. Yet none of the other shinobi showed the slightest reaction as they watched their comrade become a sacrifice.
Orochimaru faced the retreating clusters of souls and began forming hand seals.
The markings of the Edo Tensei surged from his fingertips like countless slender threads, reaching toward the brightest cluster of light.
The threads wrapped around the soul.
Slowly, they dragged it down from the air and into the Otogakure shinobi's body.
A hazy human figure began to take shape.
Following a scream of agony, Minato stood in the center of the altar.
A faint golden light radiated from his body. His features were somewhat indistinct, as though viewed through a veil of mist.
He slowly opened his eyes.
His gaze swept across the figures gathered around the altar before finally settling on Teizawa.
"Were you the one who summoned me?"
His voice was gentle, with a hint of confusion.
"Where am I? Is this... the world of the dead?"
Teizawa looked at him, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
"No, this is the world of the living. Though for someone in your current state, it certainly is dangerous."
He paused briefly.
"I am Teizawa, the Kazekage of Sunagakure. I summoned you because I need to retrieve the other half of the Nine-Tails sealed inside you."
Minato frowned slightly.
"The other half of the Nine-Tails... How do you know about that?"
He instinctively raised one hand and stared at his translucent fingers, wariness entering his voice.
"How did you learn the secret of the Reaper Death Seal?"
Teizawa did not answer. He merely watched Minato and waited for his response.
He had prepared plenty of explanations.
He was also prepared to resort to force if necessary.
Still, he hoped Minato would cooperate willingly, instead of refusing to compromise until the situation spiraled beyond anyone's control.
However, Minato clearly had ideas of his own and continued speaking.
"Do you understand what the Nine-Tails represents? If it returns to the living world, it could cause another catastrophe!"
"For the sake of peace in the shinobi world, you cannot take it."
"Allowing it to remain with me and slumber in the afterlife is the best choice. This is all for the sake of the shinobi world..."
Teizawa watched Minato's indistinct yet still gentle face, his patience gradually wearing thin.
Every word from the Fourth Hokage was filled with concern for the shinobi world.
Every sentence reminded him of how dangerous, terrifying, and uncontrollable the Nine-Tails was.
Teizawa rolled his eyes.
You two blondes, Minato and Naruto, keep calling the Nine-Tails a catastrophe.
Yet in the end, it became a cheat code for both of you.
Minato used the Nine-Tails' power to protect Konoha.
Naruto used the Nine-Tails' power to save the entire shinobi world.
You say you don't want it, but your actions tell a very different story.
"None of that matters."
Teizawa's voice grew cold as he stared directly into Minato's blurry yet still brilliant eyes.
"I need to take the Nine-Tails from you. All you have to do is cooperate."
Minato frowned again, and an unusually serious expression appeared on his normally gentle face.
"The Nine-Tails represents destruction. If it is released into the living world, it will inevitably cause a massive disaster and trigger an endless cycle of vengeance."
His voice carried a clear warning.
"It would be an irreversible catastrophe for the shinobi world."
"You need to think carefully about the consequences of what you're doing."
Teizawa listened without expression, then smiled.
"That's none of your concern. You only need to hand over the Nine-Tails."
Minato tried to say something else, but Teizawa had no interest in listening to another lecture about peace, responsibility, or protecting others.
He turned toward Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru, restrain him. Don't let him interfere."
Orochimaru's lips curved upward as his hands formed a seal.
As the caster, he possessed absolute control over Minato's reanimated body.
Invisible chakra threads wrapped around Minato like chains, binding him so tightly that he could not even move a finger.
A struggling expression appeared on his face.
His lips moved as he tried to speak, but no sound came out.
Teizawa no longer paid him any attention.
He walked up to Minato, extended his right hand, and thrust it into his chest.
Chakra poured into Minato's body like a surging tide, flowing through his chakra network toward the seal.
The half of the Nine-Tails that had been trapped inside the Shinigami's stomach was sleeping within that seal.
Teizawa could feel its power.
It was vast, violent, and filled with hatred and the desire for destruction.
It was like a beast that had been imprisoned for far too long, roaring wildly within the darkness.
It craved freedom.
It craved slaughter.
It wanted to reduce everything to ruin.
"Come out."
Teizawa's voice was soft, yet it carried an authority that brooked no refusal.
Minato's body began trembling violently.
A terrifying surge of chakra erupted from within him.
It burst outward like an erupting volcano, like a tsunami sweeping across the land.
The chakra was crimson, carrying a scorching heat that engulfed everything nearby.
The air began to distort.
The ground cracked apart.
Even the sky seemed to be stained dark red.
A colossal fox gradually took shape.
Nine tails swayed slowly behind it, each one as thick as an ancient tree. Every sweep stirred up a violent gale.
Its eyes were bloodred, their pupils filled with hatred and brutality, like two blazing flames.
It opened its jaws and unleashed a furious roar.
The sound waves shook the surrounding trees, sending leaves raining down in torrents.
"ROAAAAAR!"
(End of Chapter)
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