In Konoha.
Right in front of the Hokage Tower.
Inside the towering Light Susanoo, Uchiha Kai narrowed his eyes as he watched the descending chain.
In the next instant—
His body completely assimilated with the sunlight surrounding him.
Above the head of the Light Susanoo, only a humanoid mass of pure sunlight remained, constantly flickering and shifting.
At that same moment—
The black dagger wrapped in soul-binding runes fell with perfect precision.
The blade descended.
Light rippled slightly.
Then—
It passed straight through.
It was like piercing empty air.
Or slicing through a ripple of sunlight.
The dagger met no resistance at all as it cut directly through Kai.
Below the blade—
There was nothing.
The Shinigami instinctively dropped the dagger and reached forward with its withered skeletal fingers, grabbing at the spot.
The fingers swept through Kai's figure.
Nothing.
The Shinigami froze.
For the first time—
The skeletal face formed from death and souls displayed a clearly human expression of confusion.
Even its hollow eye sockets seemed to widen.
As if silently asking:
Where is the soul?
The one I just locked onto—where did it go?
Did I just grab… nothing?
At that moment, time seemed to stop.
The wind ceased.
The air froze.
Not only the Shinigami—
Everyone who witnessed this scene felt their minds crash completely.
On the rooftop, the determination on Senju Tobirama's face froze in place.
Even his cold eyes filled with disbelief and confusion.
He could barely feel the burning pain of his soul sacrifice anymore.
It felt like the ritual had been interrupted halfway through.
He had sacrificed his soul to summon the Shinigami…
…and the Shinigami caught nothing.
Was this some kind of joke?
Across the battlefield, Senju Hashirama, who had been maintaining the Myōjin Gate technique, widened his golden Sage Mode eyes in astonishment.
He even forgot to maintain the hand seals.
What was this supposed to mean?
Did this mean his younger brother had died for nothing?
Who could have imagined—
That the Shinigami itself wouldn't even be able to touch Kai?
In the distance, Orochimaru's snake-like pupils shrank to pinpoints.
The long tongue he had been extending immediately drooped out of his mouth.
The excitement and anticipation on his face vanished completely.
His worldview had just collapsed.
This…
This wasn't scientific.
Was there some kind of ninjutsu capable of turning even the soul into light?
This completely exceeded the boundaries of his knowledge.
Or rather—
It shattered his understanding entirely.
At that moment, Orochimaru's desire to study the Shinigami intensified.
But even more than that—
He wanted to study Uchiha Kai.
On the open ground before the Hokage Tower, the Fourth Raikage A frowned and glanced suspiciously at Ōnoki.
"Didn't you say that technique couldn't be blocked?"
"But from where I'm standing…"
"It looks like the Shinigami just got humiliated."
More than humiliated.
It looked like it had swallowed something awful.
Ōnoki roared internally, but outwardly he maintained a calm and mysterious expression.
"The affairs of gods are beyond your understanding."
"Watch carefully, young man. You still have much to learn."
After saying that, he clasped his hands behind his back and gazed up at the Shinigami like a wise master.
However—
The short legs hidden beneath his robe were trembling uncontrollably.
Farther away, Yugito, still partially transformed into the Two-Tails, stared in complete shock.
"This technique can easily seal the Nine-Tails!"
Kakashi, Might Guy, Nara Shikaku, and many Konoha shinobi stood frozen.
It was as if someone had cast a paralysis technique on them.
Their expressions were stiff.
Their minds blank.
During the entire process of the Shinigami stabbing and grabbing—
Konoha once again fell into a strange silence.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Only the dagger and skeletal fingers continued to swipe through Kai's body again and again.
Like cutting through air.
Finally—
The dagger stopped.
The Shinigami itself seemed to freeze for a moment.
Its massive skull tilted slightly, as if struggling to understand the absurd situation before it.
No matter how many times it tried—
It still couldn't comprehend what had happened.
Soon, realization dawned.
And with it came something else.
Rage.
An indescribable fury brewed within the Shinigami's body, a being made of pure law and rule.
The feeling of being played with.
"Just as I thought."
Kai raised an eyebrow as the Shinigami's blade passed through him several times without effect.
Light flowed gently around his body.
His figure slowly reformed beside the sunlight, as though it had always been there.
He didn't bother looking at the dagger lying awkwardly beneath him.
Nor did he glance at the completely petrified Tobirama.
Instead, he tilted his head slightly and looked at the Shinigami.
Then—
He took two steps forward.
The crimson of the Sharingan in his eyes burned with curiosity as he examined the towering figure.
"To think this is a projection of the Shinigami from another world…"
To observe it more carefully, Kai activated another eye.
Mangekyō Sharingan… and the Byakugan.
One red eye.
One white eye.
His gaze moved up and down the Shinigami's body, as if trying to peer through the illusion and see the essence beneath.
Then, to get an even closer look—
Kai simply walked forward again.
His figure appeared directly above the Hokage Tower.
Circling around the Shinigami, he examined it carefully and occasionally poked it with his finger.
"Hey… Shinigami."
"Want to chat for about ten minutes?"
Silence.
Tobirama: …
Hashirama: …
The Third Hokage: …
None of them had ever seen anyone talk to the Shinigami like that.
So for a moment—
No one dared to move.
Not even Tobirama.
Even the Shinigami itself seemed stunned.
A tiny insect was flying around it, poking it and muttering nonsense.
Its anger grew even stronger.
The Shinigami's enormous hands suddenly moved.
One from the left.
One from the right.
They grabbed toward Kai.
Each hand carried terrifying power capable of tearing souls away.
The power of rules themselves.
Unfortunately—
Every attempt failed.
Kai was no slippery fish.
After a while—
A system prompt appeared in his mind.
[Conversing with the projection of the Shinigami, embodiment of the Pure Land and Hell, for three minutes. Analyzing trait…]
Kai's eyes widened.
"…It actually worked?"
So talking nonsense to someone who didn't understand you—
Still counted as conversation?
Kai suddenly felt delighted.
After all—
Among the few gods that had appeared in the Naruto world…
The power of the Shinigami had always fascinated him.
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