Chapter 545: The Reaper Death Mask
The trap Ishiro had set for Tobirama Senju was by the space-time passage. If not for this trap, Ishiro would have had Akino Atsumi flee long ago. With her combat power, staying near a battle involving eight Kage-level figures was no different from suicide.
In the original story, the reanimated Minato Namikaze had used the Hiraishin marker he'd placed on Obito Uchiha's body to beat him up. How could Ishiro not guard against Tobirama Senju doing the same?
Ishiro knew Akino Atsumi carried Tobirama's Hiraishin marker, so he had used that marker as bait for this trap.
The moment Tobirama entered the barrier, Akino Atsumi activated the barrier that shielded space-time ninjutsu.
If the real Tobirama Senju had entered, he might have been able to escape in the instant before the barrier fully activated. But this was just an Edo Tensei.
By the time Orochimaru realized what was happening, it was too late.
Sensing Tobirama Senju vanish from his senses, just like Chiyo and Hanzō before him, Orochimaru's expression turned extremely ugly.
Today's battle had been a rude awakening. He had thought that by relying on Edo Tensei, he could challenge the entire shinobi world. Give him time to collect more remains of powerful shinobi, and he would fear no one.
But now he knew he was wrong. Terribly wrong.
At the very least, the current Edo Tensei was far from enough.
Orochimaru controlled Hashirama Senju, Jiraiya, and Pakura to his side, ceasing their attacks. He faced Ishiro from a distance.
He was silent for a few seconds. "Lord Tsuchikage has impressive methods."
At that moment, from the direction of the barrier, Ishiro's four shadow clones emerged, protecting Akino Atsumi and the sealed body of Tobirama Senju.
Ishiro waited until Akino was by his side before saying to Orochimaru, "Orochimaru-senpai, I wonder, am I still 'qualified' to cooperate with you?"
Orochimaru was silent. Is he mocking me?
He opened his mouth and spat out the Kusanagi Sword. Gripping it, he stared coldly at Ishiro.
Ishiro weighed the pros and cons, then said, "Leave Pakura behind, and we'll call it a day!"
Orochimaru's Edo Tensei of Chiyo, Pakura, and Hanzō had used genetic material provided by Ishiro. Ishiro hadn't given him much. If Orochimaru left these three bodies here, he wouldn't be able to summon them again.
As for Tobirama, unless Ishiro kept his soul sealed forever, Orochimaru could just summon him again.
So, leaving Pakura behind would still weaken Orochimaru.
Orochimaru naturally knew this. He thought for a moment. He left Pakura behind and departed with the Edo Tensei of Hashirama and Jiraiya.
Orochimaru wasn't afraid of Ishiro, but after failing to ambush Akino Atsumi, he knew he had no way to take Ishiro down today.
Six Edo Tensei had been reduced to three. The remaining ones had no hope of victory.
If the fight continued, Orochimaru himself would have to join.
Setting aside the risk of being outplayed by Ishiro, just from the perspective of protecting his own intelligence, he had to stop.
After transferring into Akira Hyūga's body and transplanting Kimimaro's cells, Orochimaru had gained some new abilities. He didn't want to expose them to Ishiro.
Since he couldn't win even with his trump cards, Orochimaru didn't let his emotions rule him.
Ishiro had already revealed many of his own trump cards to deal with the six Edo Tensei; there was no new intel to be gained.
So Orochimaru decisively retreated. A single Edo Tensei Pakura wasn't worth exposing his secrets.
After Orochimaru left, Ishiro sealed Pakura as well. He then returned to the space-time passage with Akino Atsumi.
The main reason he hadn't completely turned on Orochimaru was that Akino needed time to observe the spatial changes as the passage closed.
Otherwise, Ishiro would have tried to seal Jiraiya or Hashirama too.
But after this, Ishiro knew their next meeting would likely not be so friendly.
He looked at the worried Akino and patted her shoulder. "You did well just now. Don't worry about anything else. Focus on your research."
Akino nodded, took out her scroll, and continued collecting data.
Ishiro wasn't idle. He set up an advanced soul-sealing barrier and placed the four captured Edo Tensei within it.
He made several more shadow clones and had them wait.
He himself took out one of the Uzumaki Reaper Death Masks he had gotten from Danzō, his expression hesitant.
Meanwhile, as Orochimaru left the space-time passage, he only had Hashirama and Jiraiya with him.
He thought for a moment and released his suppression of Jiraiya's soul.
Jiraiya, regaining control, looked at Orochimaru, then at Hashirama.
Then he burst out laughing. "Orochimaru, you look pathetic. Six puppets, and only two of us left?"
"Speaking of, was that opponent really alone? Orochimaru, when did you become so useless? A seven-on-one, and you still lost? Or can you just not even use my body's basic strength?"
"Hahahaha!"
Orochimaru had wanted to chat with Jiraiya. His old friend had always opposed him. Now he was a puppet. Orochimaru could make him strike any pose he wanted...
But hearing this, Orochimaru felt he had made a mistake.
Facing his old friend, Orochimaru felt he couldn't lose a verbal spar.
He said, "The Tsuchikage was right. The Hokage is on the Seventh generation now."
"The old man is dead. Minato Namikaze is dead. Tsunade is dead. Danzō is dead."
Jiraiya: "..."
His mocking expression froze. He stammered, "No... Orochimaru, you're kidding me, right?"
Orochimaru glanced at him. "Yes, I'm kidding."
Jiraiya let out a breath of relief.
Orochimaru added faintly, "I misspoke. Danzō isn't dead. He was driven out by Kakashi and is now a Konoha rogue-nin."
Jiraiya's relaxed expression froze again. Who asked about Danzō?!
I care about the old man! And Tsunade! And Minato!
Jiraiya took a deep breath. "Orochimaru, tell me the truth. What happened? Minato had the Hiraishin. How could he die?"
He looked at Orochimaru's Byakugan, his lips trembling with a sliver of hope.
Orochimaru grinned. "When Kushina was giving birth, the Nine-Tails's seal weakened. Someone released it."
"Kushina and her child died. Minato Namikaze died sealing the Nine-Tails."
Jiraiya: "..."
Knowing Orochimaru, he felt this was most likely the truth.
Jiraiya suddenly lost all interest in talking.
The three walked back in silence to the Snake Pit Village.
Upon returning, Orochimaru prepared to dispel the Edo Tensei. Before he did, he looked at Jiraiya and said faintly, "The old man, Tsunade, and Minato Namikaze's child... are all still alive."
Before Jiraiya could curse him, Orochimaru formed the seal and released the jutsu.
As Jiraiya's form dissolved, Orochimaru recalled his final expression, and smiled.
So satisfying! All the frustration from dealing with Ishiro is gone!
Back at the space-time passage, the instant Orochimaru released the jutsu, the bodies of Tobirama, Hanzō, Pakura, and Chiyo also began to dissolve.
Ishiro didn't open his eyes. His Level 3 Yin Release allowed him to sense their souls.
Combined with his Mind's Eye, he could clearly track the movements of all four souls as they began to break free of their reanimated vessels.
However, due to Ishiro's soul fuinjutsu, the process was slow.
Ishiro's shadow clones immediately formed seals, activating the advanced soul-sealing barrier inscribed on the ground.
This slowed the souls' escape even more, but Ishiro wasn't happy. It was only slowing them, not stopping them.
Gritting his teeth, Ishiro placed the mask in his hand on the ground and formed a rapid series of seals.
His hands flew through dozens of seals, and he slapped the mask.
The next instant, a sinister aura leaked from it.
Sensing it, Akino Atsumi looked over, worried.
Ishiro's hands didn't stop. He dragged Tobirama's Edo Tensei body over and placed the mask directly above it.
The mask trembled. The entity within seemed to sense something delicious and involuntarily emerged.
Ishiro took a deep breath. Using his Mind's Eye, he could sense a horned, shriveled figure in loose robes—the Reaper—appear before him.
The Reaper's hands were outstretched, each holding prayer beads. A blade was held in its mouth.
The Reaper's gaze paused on Tobirama's body. The next moment, it thrust a withered hand, grabbing Tobirama's soul as it was about to depart.
With a powerful yank, it tore Tobirama's soul free and pulled it into its own body.
After consuming Tobirama's soul, the Reaper did not leave. It slowly turned to face Ishiro, the caster who had summoned it.
According to the "contract," Ishiro should now offer his own soul as payment.
But Ishiro hadn't used the official channel to summon it. There was no contract.
The Reaper hesitated, debating whether to strike Ishiro.
Ishiro took a deep breath and signaled his clones to release the barrier.
As the barrier fell, the souls of Hanzō, Pakura, and Chiyo shot upward and dissipated.
The Reaper, after a slight hesitation, retreated into the mask.
With the barrier gone, the Reaper had to contend with the rules of the world. It hadn't yet "stored" Tobirama in the mask and wasn't fully shielded.
It had no time to deal with Ishiro. It chose to retreat.
When the Reaper had completely vanished, Ishiro let out a breath of relief.
Nearby, Akino Atsumi called out, "Ishiro-sensei, are you okay?"
Ishiro shook his head. "I'm fine. It's over."
He began to replay the scene. He hadn't been worried about the Reaper attacking him. It was just a soul. With his preparations, he wouldn't have let it touch him.
Mōryō, a being on the same level, had been beaten senseless by his Light Release. He wasn't afraid of the Reaper.
Besides, he had Akino. If things went bad, they could just use Hiraishin to escape.
He had been worried about Tobirama. His original plan was to collect all four souls. But he had overestimated his soul fuinjutsu, which was why he had to resort to the mask.
He chose to seal Tobirama, the most troublesome one. As long as Tobirama was in the mask, Orochimaru couldn't re-summon him.
The priority had been to secure Tobirama's soul. What if he had fought the Reaper and let the soul escape?
There would be plenty of chances to fight later. He had more masks.
He collected his thoughts, dispelled his clones, and stored the Reaper Death Mask.
Only then did he check on Akino. She had already returned to her research.
She wasn't just recording data; she was actively stabilizing the closing passage.
She would speed it up, then slow it down, seemingly having fun.
But overall, the passage was shrinking. After a long time, it finally closed completely.
In the instant it vanished, Akino's body suddenly shook.
She had prepared for this, setting up her sensory barrier. This time, the feeling was much clearer than it had been in the Land of Fire.
And this time, she had left Hiraishin markers inside the gravity dimension. Her connection was stronger.
When the passage closed, her perception was crystal clear.
She closed her eyes, thinking.
Ishiro didn't disturb her, standing guard.
After a long time, she opened her eyes, frowned, and then punched the empty air in front of her.
Ishiro watched with anticipation.
Nothing happened.
Akino turned to him, embarrassed. "Ishiro-sensei... my strength is too low. I need your help."
Ishiro gave her a deadpan look. "What do you need me to do?"
Akino thought. "Attack this spot. I'll connect with the Hiraishin coordinates in the gravity dimension. I... don't know what will happen."
Ishiro nodded and moved her a safe distance away.
He gave her a signal, then aimed at the spot where the passage had been and fired a Light Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu.
The instant the jutsu hit the spot, even Ishiro, who didn't understand space-time ninjutsu, felt an abnormal spatial fluctuation.
The next moment, the force of the explosion combined with the spatial waves and tore open a new passage.
However, this new passage was highly unstable and vanished quickly.
Ishiro looked at Akino, amazed. "Akino, did you just... connect the two passages?"
Akino said, "It's not that simple. It only worked because the passage had just closed and the connection was still 'warm.' We just briefly re-established it. I couldn't do this with Obito's dimension."
Ishiro nodded rapidly. "That's good enough! This gives us another layer of security."
"Come on, let's go back to the village. Take a few days off, rest, and organize your findings. After that, we have a special mission."
Akino didn't understand what "security" he meant, but she just nodded.
With her Hiraishin, they were back in Iwagakure in an instant.
Back in the village, Akino went to rest and digest her findings.
Ishiro found Yuran Kawasoe and checked the improved anti-Byakugan barrier.
Then, he found Neji. "Neji, report your learning progress."
Neji stood at attention. "Lord Tsuchikage, I will be finished in about five days."
Neji's study load was heavy. He had to learn the Caged Bird seal data and Madara's Yin Release notes. Even though his Yin Release level was still low, Ishiro was using a "cramming" method, making him memorize everything.
Ishiro nodded. "Good. Prepare yourself. In seven days, we leave for a mission."
Neji took a deep breath and suddenly dropped to one knee. "Yes, Lord Tsuchikage!"
He knew. This "mission" was to break his Caged Bird seal. He didn't know the plan, so he was both excited and apprehensive.
He already knew about Orochimaru's "solution" and its fatal flaw. He had even visited the comatose Hiashi Irregular in the hospital.
That failure had once made Neji despair. But he hadn't given up.
Now, Ishiro was implying a breakthrough. And this time, there were no trials; Ishiro was going straight to him.
Neji wasn't stupid. He could hear the confidence in Ishiro's voice, but he also sensed the extraordinary danger.
By the time Neji stood up, Ishiro was gone.
Neji calmed his racing heart and went to Katsumata and Natsuki's lab to continue studying.
Seven days later, in the Tsuchikage's office, Ishiro sat at his desk, facing a large group.
Ōnoki, Ikura, Sōkai, Uchiha Izumi, and Han were seated.
Rōshi, Yuran Kawasoe, Chiga, Akino Atsumi, and Neji were standing.
Ishiro said, "Today, we have a top-secret mission. Everyone here, except for Ikura, will be coming with me. Are your preparations complete?"
They all nodded.
Ishiro looked at Ikura. "Ikura, Lord Third and I will be gone. The village is in your hands. Be careful."
Ikura frowned. "You're the one who needs to be careful! You've assembled this huge team, but you still won't say what you're doing. I'm not comfortable letting you leave."
Ishiro said, "Lord Third is coming too. What's there to worry about?"
Ōnoki rolled his eyes. "Stop using me as a shield. I was only just notified. I have no idea what you're planning either."
Ishiro gave a dry laugh. "You'll know soon enough. No more talk. Let's move out."
He didn't want to explain. If he did, they'd never let him go.
They didn't leave through the door. Akino Atsumi teleported them to the ANBU teleportation array.
From there, they teleported to the Land of Snow branch.
Ishiro was being extremely cautious.
He looked at Chiga. She nodded and pointed in a specific direction. "That way."
Ishiro nodded. His porcelain platform lifted the entire group and flew north.
Ōnoki, standing on the platform, looked at Chiga, then at Ishiro. "Are you tracking someone?"
The high command knew about Chiga's blood-sense; it was a strategic secret, treated with almost the same level of confidentiality as Akino's Hiraishin.
Ōnoki guessed Ishiro was tracking someone, but he couldn't figure out who would require this bizarre combination of personnel.
Ishiro nodded. "Correct. A ninja related to the Hyūga clan."
Neji's head snapped up, his mind racing.
Ishiro said, "We'll talk later. Let's find him first."
Soon, they arrived at the area Chiga had sensed.
Ishiro looked at Neji. "Neji, activate your Byakugan. Scan everything. Sky, ground. See if anything is out of place."
Neji complied. The moment he activated his Byakugan, he said, "Lord Tsuchikage, there's an anomaly... below us."
Ishiro was puzzled. "You're sure?" His own Mind's Eye had been searching for the Earth-Moon passage, but he hadn't sensed anything in the spot Neji indicated.
Neji nodded. "At that location, my Byakugan's vision is being interfered with."
Ishiro nodded. "Let's go check it out."
(End of Chapter)
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