Nighttime.
Aizen led Karen Kagura leisurely through the forest as if they were enjoying a casual stroll.
Karen Kagura gazed at Lord Aizen's back with admiration and reverence. Ever since leaving the Grass Country, she had finally seen Aizen's true power in action.
They continued walking, yet no one could see or hear them. It was as if they carried no ill intent at all. Otherwise, anything they did could never be found out.
As Karen pondered this, Aizen silently mused to himself, "Although I should cultivate them, my knowledge of the Uzumaki clan is limited to the Sealing Technique alone. If I truly want to train them, it would be better to find some specialized instructors."
Certainly, this had nothing to do with his desire to avoid work.
"Also, I might as well utilize their identities to find myself a few subordinates."
His interest in Karen Kagura and her daughter wasn't only due to Xianglin's potential. The fact that they were mother and daughter, both orphans of the Uzumaki clan, carried significant value.
In this quiet atmosphere, Karen Kagura noticed Lord Aizen suddenly stopping in his tracks.
Looking ahead, she saw only a dilapidated shrine.
"Where is this..." Though puzzled, Karen wisely chose not to ask.
"We've finally arrived," Aizen murmured with a quiet chuckle. "Karen Kagura, please wait outside for a moment."
"Yes!" Naturally, Karen Kagura did not refuse. She turned around to observe the surroundings.
Stepping into the shrine, everything remained as it was, except for one mask he had previously taken from the wall.
"There are still 26 masks left... I wonder how many of them can regain consciousness upon my call?"
The last time he visited the Uzumaki shrine, he'd had similar thoughts, but back then his strength and timing hadn't been suitable, so he postponed it until now.
Aizen raised his right hand. The 26 masks floated into the air, arranging themselves around him, with Shinigami phantoms emerging behind each mask.
"Release!" Aizen commanded in a low voice. Faint, ghostly green luminescence shimmered across the masks' surfaces.
What he was doing now felt somewhat similar to his previous attempt.
However, this time was different. Rather than releasing souls devoured by the Shinigami masks, he was liberating the masks themselves!
The Shinigami masks seemed to sense the impending danger, their Shinigami phantoms behind them howling furiously. Yet they were ultimately incapable of reviving themselves spontaneously, merely roaring in helpless agony under Aizen's control.
Hearing the eerie howls emerging from the shrine, Karen Kagura couldn't help but shiver.
"What is Aizen doing?" Though fearful, she forced herself not to turn her head.
Eventually, the shrine returned to silence.
"Hm. Still four masks retaining some residual souls!" Aizen nodded slightly.
Twenty-two masks had completely shattered, the Shinigami housed within them having lost their spiritual essence.
Yet the other four Shinigami masks had merged with the spectral Shinigami behind them.
Physical masks now rested upon ethereal Shinigami faces, as if bridging the gap between reality and illusion.
Eventually, a seemingly ancient sigh came from the leftmost phantom.
"Where... is this?"
The voice was hoarse and strained, as if its owner had long forgotten how to speak.
Following that voice, it was as if a chain reaction had been set off. The other three Shinigami slowly opened their eyes as well.
The eyes beneath their masks had no pupils—only continuously swirling gray whirlpools, which looked rather eerie.
However, Aizen naturally wasn't frightened by them.
"Welcome back, honored members of the Uzumaki clan!"
Uzumaki clan… Those four words seemed to have flipped a switch. The four motionless figures suddenly awakened, and even the gray swirls behind their masks became more animated.
"My name... seems to be Uzumaki Hayami!"
"Uzumaki Hayami? The legendary predecessor who created the [Dead Demon Consuming Seal]?"
"You are?"
"I'm Uzumaki Ichiro. Ha ha, though I was just an ordinary nobody."
"Uzumaki Ichiro? Isn't that the predecessor recorded in the clan's genealogy who sacrificed himself to become a Shinigami to protect our clansmen?"
"Huh? Did I become a predecessor too?"
After some conversation, they finally exchanged their identities.
Uzumaki Masahide was the youngest among the four.
Uzumaki Chiyuki was the sole woman in the group. Compared to Masahide, she had died over a hundred years ago.
Uzumaki Ichiro, compared to Masahide, had died two hundred years ago.
Uzumaki Hayami had died six hundred years ago.
"So, how long has Masahide-dono been dead?"
"Shinpei Ichiro, calling me 'Masahide-dono' might be a bit inappropriate, don't you think?"
"Then how should I address you? We're more than ten generations apart. I can't really call you my great-great-grandson, can I?"
"Exactly. I was only eighteen when I died! I don't want to suddenly become your grandma!"
"Ahh... Chiyuki-san, your voice doesn't really sound like an eighteen-year-old!"
"Ahem. Don't let outsiders see us like this," Kurayami interrupted their conversation, then turned to the man standing silently in front of them. "Was it you who brought us back to life?"
The other three still held great respect for this predecessor who created the [Dead Demon Consuming Seal], so naturally, they followed his lead and turned their gazes toward Aizen.
"It's quite obvious," Aizen smiled softly.
"Why bother? We no longer belong to this world!" Kurayami sighed heavily.
Kurayami wasn't grateful about being awakened. One reason was his belief that the dead shouldn't interfere with the living world. Another was that they had sacrificed themselves to become Shinigami specifically to enhance the Uzumaki clan's resilience against external threats.
Now, by being "resurrected," wouldn't this actually weaken the power of the Uzumaki clan?
"Is that so? What a pity," Aizen shook his head slightly. "I had thought that those who once sacrificed their lives for the Uzumaki clan would still be willing to contribute to its revival even after death!"
"Revival?" The flame in Kurayami's eyes flared. "What do you mean by that?"
"Simply put, the Uzumaki clan has been wiped out!" Aizen smiled and pushed up his glasses. "Come to think of it, hasn't it already been many years?"
Upon hearing this, the four became agitated.
"No, this is absolutely impossible!"
"You must be lying to us, right?"
"There's no way I will believe this!"
Enraged, the four let loose their spiritual powers recklessly.
Having the ability of a Shinigami and retaining a shred of sanity over countless years, their souls were naturally extremely powerful. When all four released their power simultaneously, their Soul Pressure became almost tangible, causing the entire shrine to tremble.
Aizen merely released his spiritual pressure in response.
Although only a fragment of his soul inhabited this body, for Seiki—whose soul had already been immensely strengthened by the miko's blessing—just a portion of his soul was enough to suppress them.
Of course, this was also because the four of them lacked physical bodies. Their purely spiritual power was like rootless drifting weeds (floating without foundation), much like a rootless floating plant.
In an instant, the four souls were overpowered, like four small streams merging into a mighty river, unable to create even the faintest wave.
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