Chapter 140: Hokage F4, Yin Kurama
"Lord Orochimaru, you've worked hard during this time."
In a certain cave in the Land of Rice Fields, Izayoi looked at Orochimaru, who had been hiding in Ryuchi Cave and had finally emerged. He tossed him a scroll and smiled, "This is what you wanted."
Looking at the flying scroll, Orochimaru's eyes burned with fervor.
Without Kabuto Yakushi helping him catch it, Orochimaru's neck extended, and he opened his mouth to snatch the incoming scroll.
This scene was enough to scare children and ordinary people away from entering caves for the rest of their lives.
Not just ordinary people, even Izayoi couldn't stand it and couldn't help but Make complaints, "Lord Orochimaru, in the future, can you please get rid of that disgusting habit in front of me?"
"Hehe... I apologize, it's because I'm too excited right now." Orochimaru tossed the scroll to Kabuto Yakushi and smiled at Izayoi with a hint of apology, "Sasuke-kun has mastered Sage Mode for several months now. I thought Izayoi-kun had forgotten our agreement."
"If you were worried I'd forget, why didn't you have Sasuke remind me?" Izayoi asked with a smile.
"I believe in Izayoi-kun's word. What you promise, you will definitely do. The reason for the delay must be that you had important matters to attend to," Orochimaru said words that were incredibly comfortable to hear.
"As expected of Lord Orochimaru, that's what I admire most about you."
Izayoi nodded with satisfaction and then reminded him, "The Reaper Death Seal mask is equivalent to the Reaper Death Seal without hand signs. You only need to put it on and channel chakra into it to summon the Reaper. However, just like the Reaper Death Seal, after the Reaper leaves, it will take the soul of the summoner."
"So, if you want to retrieve your soul, you must find someone who knows you well, someone you trust, and someone willing to sacrifice their life for you to become the offering for this jutsu."
"I'll leave the Reaper Death Seal mask with you for now. When you don't need it, have Sasuke return it to me."
After saying that, Izayoi's figure disappeared without a trace.
Seeing this scene, Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi's pupils suddenly contracted.
Kabuto Yakushi's voice trembled as he spoke, "This is... the Flying Thunder God Technique!"
"An unexpected jutsu, but such ninjutsu talent is also within reason," Orochimaru sighed. "As one of the protagonists of the new era, things that seem incredible to us might just be ordinary little things to them."
The shock on Kabuto Yakushi's face didn't diminish at all. As if recalling something, he couldn't help but ask, "L... Lord Orochimaru, was the Izayoi-sama just now the main body? Then... then did you just sense Izayoi-sama's aura?"
Orochimaru was slightly stunned, then his expression changed drastically.
"He... he's become stronger again!" Orochimaru's eyes were filled with disbelief. "Could it be that he has also become a being beyond the norm? But if I remember correctly, he hasn't even entered his true growth period yet! How is this possible?"
The weak would feel a suffocating pressure from the strong, just like the suppression of the food chain.
The Allied Shinobi Forces during the Fourth Great Ninja War felt this way when facing the reincarnated Madara.
When they met last year, Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi also felt a sense of oppression from Izayoi.
In front of Nagato, Orochimaru even broke out in a cold sweat, lacking the courage to resist or escape.
Because Nagato in his prime was on a different level from Pain.
Facing Pain's corpse, Orochimaru still had the courage to act.
But facing Nagato, whose chakra and dojutsu were terrifyingly powerful, Orochimaru only felt despair.
But just now, Orochimaru hadn't felt the pressure of a stronger being from Izayoi.
In fact, he hadn't even sensed Izayoi's terrifying chakra aura.
It was as if the Izayoi who had just stood before him was just an ordinary person.
It was precisely because of this that Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi broke out in cold sweats.
As Kage-level powerhouses and ace combatants, they were very clear about what this restraint meant.
This meant that Izayoi's strength had reached an unfathomable level.
If Orochimaru were to use White Zetsu clones to reincarnate Hashirama Senju now, he would find that the feeling Hashirama gave him was exactly the same as Izayoi.
It could be that his strength had reached another dimension beyond the Five Kage, or it could be the natural tendency of the Sage Body, or perhaps it was a characteristic brought about by the sublimation of Wood Release.
The current Izayoi had the inherent characteristic of immunity to low-level perception.
Snapping out of his shock, Orochimaru couldn't help but grin, "Everyone believes that the future of the ninja world will be decided by the owner of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. The victory of the new era's ninja god over the moon visitor will announce whether the ninja world enters the era of the Rinnegan, or whether the Tenseigan continues to reign supreme, or the era of his rule."
"Now it seems that the theme of the new era will be a three-way standoff, the confrontation between the strongest modern bloodline limit and the ancient era's Sage Eyes."
"This is too interesting. I really look forward to the moment when Izayoi-kun reveals his true strength and the ninja world is shocked."
"But... I have to live until then."
Thinking of Black and White Zetsu's abilities, Orochimaru said to Kabuto Yakushi, "Kabuto, let's go."
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."
Two afterimages immediately flew out of the cave like arrows.
Three days later.
In a certain base.
Orochimaru looked at the blue-haired woman kneeling on one knee before him and said with a hoarse laugh, "Guren, are you really willing to give your life for me?"
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru, it is my honor!" Guren raised her head, her face fanatical.
"I have already obtained the best reincarnation vessel. My body shows no signs of decay, and I no longer need to reincarnate once every three years," Orochimaru said. "Guren, you are no longer my spare reincarnation vessel. If you have any attachments left in this world, I can cultivate a new sacrifice."
Orochimaru said these words from the bottom of his heart.
Unlike the orphans of the Sound Village like Dosu, Orochimaru deeply trusted and had high hopes for loyal subordinates he had personally nurtured, such as Kimimaro Kaguya, Guren, and Kabuto Yakushi.
If Guren was unwilling, he could just cultivate another sacrifice.
Hearing Orochimaru's words, Guren, whose memory seal in her brain hadn't been undone yet, said firmly, "Lord Orochimaru, please let me become the sacrifice for your return to your peak. I don't trust anyone else."
"You will die."
"I am not afraid of death," Guren looked at Orochimaru with adoration and smiled, "If I hadn't met Lord Orochimaru, I would have died long ago. Now, please allow me to do one last thing for Lord Orochimaru, just like Kimimaro."
Orochimaru was silent.
After a moment, he spat out a scroll, which rolled to Guren's feet, and said with a hoarse voice, "Then I'll leave it to you, Guren."
"Yes!"
Guren nodded excitedly, not caring about the mucus on the scroll. After opening it, she formed hand seals and took out the contents inside.
With a "poof," smoke dissipated, and a white mask resembling a demon appeared on the scroll.
Beside the white mask were four photographs, the Hokage F4.
Orochimaru said, "Besides the souls of my hands, please help me release the souls of these four people as well."
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru!"
Guren recognized the previous generations of Hokage of Konoha at a glance, so she nodded heavily.
Immediately, Guren took a deep breath, picked up the Reaper Death Seal mask, and stood up.
Glancing at Orochimaru one last time, Guren smiled, "Sayonara, Lord Orochimaru."
"Sayonara, Guren," Orochimaru replied with a smile.
After saying goodbye, Guren didn't hesitate at all. She directly put the Reaper Death Seal mask on her face and channeled chakra into it.
Whoosh—
Her delicate body trembled, and a dazzling chakra aura emanated from Guren's body.
"Ahhh..."
Guren, her whole body enveloped in the chakra aura, let out a miserable cry as her body swayed.
Orochimaru watched without changing his expression.
After a while, the chakra aura on Guren's body suddenly disappeared into thin air.
In its place, a bone-chilling aura filled the entire room.
"This aura..."
Orochimaru widened his eyes, his snake-like pupils staring intently at the top of Guren's head.
Although he couldn't see it, he was very certain that the legendary Reaper was floating above Guren's head at this moment.
Pfft—
At this moment, a huge gash suddenly appeared on Guren's body, and blood spurted out.
Five fist-sized balls of blue chakra appeared out of thin air above Guren's head and then scattered and flew away.
One ball of chakra flew towards Orochimaru and then seeped into his body.
In the next second, Orochimaru's hands were enveloped in chakra aura.
Because he had lost his soul, even though he had reincarnated into the perfect vessel of a White Zetsu clone, he still had no sensation. Chakra couldn't flow through his meridians there, and he couldn't perform any ninjutsu that required hand seals with his arms. After nearly a year, his arms finally regained sensation.
Flexible fingers, powerful palms, freely moving arms, and freely flowing chakra...
"My ninjutsu is back!" Orochimaru said with ecstatic joy.
Looking at Guren's corpse, which had fallen to the ground with its soul taken by the Reaper, the joy on Orochimaru's face disappeared, and he said softly, "Thank you for your hard work, Guren."
Orochimaru looked towards a dark corner and said, "Kabuto, take Guren's body down and bury it."
"Yes!"
Kabuto Yakushi came out, stored Guren's body in a storage scroll, and shunshined out of the base.
Orochimaru picked up the Reaper Death Seal mask on the ground and, looking at the demon-like face, sighed, "The Reaper Death Seal, truly a terrifying sealing jutsu."
If he hadn't experienced the pain brought by the Reaper Death Seal, Orochimaru would never have thought that such a terrifying sealing jutsu existed in this world.
That invisible Reaper, if Hiruzen Sarutobi had had a little more strength last year, it might not have been just his hands that were taken; he might have been stuck in the Reaper's stomach forever.
This mask possessed the power to bring about mutual destruction regardless of the enemy's strength, just by touching them.
"But... it should be ineffective against powerhouses beyond the norm, right?" Orochimaru thought of Izayoi's nonchalant attitude and couldn't help but sigh.
Facing powerhouses who were like beings from another dimension, merely touching them was a pipe dream.
Just as Orochimaru was about to put away the Reaper Death Seal mask and then recover his hands to prepare for his next plan,
A faint voice suddenly sounded in his ears.
"So that mask was in your hands."
"Who?!"
Orochimaru's expression changed drastically, and he quickly looked in the direction of the voice.
When he saw the owner of the voice, his face instantly turned ashen, and his eyes were filled with fear as he said, "Why would a powerhouse like you be here? I'm just a small fry. How could I attract the attention of someone as important as you?"
"My eyes have been monitoring the ninja world. All the strong in the ninja world are objects of my attention."
Otsutsuki Toneri, disguised by Izayoi, crossed his arms and floated in the air, looking down at Orochimaru and saying, "I've always been curious why that guy was targeting you. So you have the ability to communicate with the Reaper. That mask is the Reaper Death Seal mask recorded by the Uzumaki clan, isn't it?"
Orochimaru didn't speak but turned into an afterimage and disappeared.
But just as he disappeared, his figure reappeared a few meters away, his feet off the ground, flying towards Izayoi.
"Wind Release: Wind Blade!"
Orochimaru converted the chakra emanating from his fingertips into Wind Release nature transformation, turning it into invisible wind blades and slashing towards Izayoi.
Seeing this, Izayoi's gravity-releasing palm glowed with green chakra, and then a green orb of light shot out like a beam.
The beam didn't even aim at the incoming wind blades; it merely grazed them. The wind blades immediately turned back into ordinary chakra and, as if attracted by a magnet, flew into the orb of light.
The speed of the beam was extremely fast. Before Orochimaru could land, the beam pierced through his body.
Orochimaru only felt a wave of weakness wash over him. The chakra, mental energy, and physical energy in his body seemed to be instantly drained.
His body, which had fallen to the ground, didn't even have the strength to get up.
One second he was a powerhouse capable of killing the old Five Kage, and the next he was a weakling without the strength to even lift a chicken.
The green orb of light that had drained Orochimaru's chakra flickered with a cyan-green glow, and faint flames seemed to flow within it.
If Izayoi triggered the energy inside this orb of light, the entire base would be reduced to ashes.
A Kage-level powerhouse's chakra was still very powerful.
The orb of light flew back into his hand. Izayoi held the green orb in one hand and condensed another orb in the other, shooting it towards Orochimaru on the ground.
Looking at the incoming orb of light, Orochimaru closed his eyes in despair, his heart filled with regret.
It was a pity he couldn't become one of the witnesses to the new era's rampage.
He wondered what the future of the ninja world would be like.
As the orb of light entered his body, Orochimaru's expression became blank, his eyes dull.
Izayoi tossed the orb of light containing Orochimaru's chakra back again.
The beam passed through his body, and Orochimaru instantly revived to full health.
Floating in front of Orochimaru, Izayoi placed one hand on Orochimaru's head and condensed another mental probe in the other hand, quickly reading his memories.
Soon, Izayoi obtained the information he wanted.
Immediately, the figures of the two disappeared without a trace.
In the misty region of the Land of Water, a Mist Shinobi wearing a flak jacket stood blankly in front of two figures.
"Impure World Reincarnation Technique!"
Orochimaru, taking out a medium from his body, formed hand seals and slammed his hands on the ground.
As two lines of incantation spread out, white dust appeared out of thin air, enveloping the blank-faced Mist Shinobi.
"Ahhh..."
The Mist Shinobi, controlled by the mental probe, let out a miserable cry, his face and body twisting and deforming.
Before long, the ordinary-looking Mist Shinobi wearing the Mist Village flak jacket transformed into a handsome man wearing a priest's robe, with short golden hair and cracks all over his body.
This man was none other than the Fourth Hokage of Konoha, Naruto Uzumaki's father, hailed by Jiraiya as the most perfect ninja... Minato Namikaze.
"The last piece of the puzzle, take your place!"
Izayoi came to Minato Namikaze's front, raised his hand to condense a green orb of light, and pressed it into his body.
Immediately, Izayoi reached out and pulled, and orange-red chakra surged out of Minato Namikaze's body.
The chakra continuously expanded like a balloon, quickly becoming as large as a mountain peak.
If this weren't an uninhabited misty region, people in the distance who just happened to look up would immediately discover that this chakra was materializing into a Nine-Tailed Fox.
"My other half of chakra has been revived!"
The Yang Kurama within Naruto Uzumaki suddenly widened his eyes and shouted in terror, "Who is it? Who is controlling me!"
(End of this chapter)
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