"Since you're already here… how about grabbing a meal before you leave, bro?"
Kai grinned widely. His youthful face, illuminated by the gloomy thunderstorm and the Shinigami's ghostly aura, looked mischievous to an almost criminal degree.
The Shinigami, however, seemed to have no intention of responding.
Its projection continued fading away.
"Trying to be polite didn't work… so I guess there's only one option left."
Seeing that the ten-minute timer still wasn't up, Uchiha Kai sighed.
Before the sentence even finished—
His small wrist flicked.
CLANK—CLANK—CLANK!
A pitch-black chain suddenly materialized in midair.
Except calling it a chain wasn't entirely accurate.
Calling it a chain pillar would be more appropriate.
Divine Law Chain — Infinite Lock.
One end rested in Kai's hand, extending outward in a coiling arc.
The other end locked onto the top of a crimson pillar.
However, unlike the massive torii gates of the Myōjin Gate, this pillar was slender.
Smooth.
Like a black rod painted with red lacquer.
At first glance, the chain and pillar together were only about two meters long.
But they could extend infinitely.
The intertwining black and red created a sinister beauty—like a living soul-hunting chain capable of stealing one's spirit.
"…That chain again?"
Hashirama blinked.
"But it looks different."
"And that red pillar…"
"…Why does it resemble the Myōjin Gate so much?"
He muttered to himself.
Then a horrifying thought surfaced in his mind.
He didn't use that earlier…
Did he just learn it?
Even the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, felt his heart jump wildly at that possibility.
If that were true—
It would completely overturn the entire shinobi world.
Creating a brand new technique in the middle of battle.
That wasn't merely genius.
Even Hashirama felt dazzled standing before such talent.
Previously, Hashirama had approached the situation casually.
After all, returning briefly from the Pure Land to see how Konoha had developed was already enough.
Even fighting Kai earlier was merely to let Tobirama leave without regrets.
But now—
Hashirama realized something.
He had to reassess Uchiha Kai's value to Konoha.
Not only him.
Tobirama reached the same conclusion almost instantly.
His eyes trembled violently.
For a moment—
He even had the impulse to dispel the Shinigami immediately.
Tobirama loved the village his brother created more deeply than anyone.
Anyone who threatened it would be eliminated.
But—
If someone was powerful enough…
The village could also choose to change its course.
As long as it could lean against a towering tree.
CLANK!
The chain swung again.
The crimson pillar swayed with it.
Target—
The Shinigami.
SIZZLE.
SIZZLE.
Just two movements were enough.
The ghostly aura spreading from the Shinigami reacted like flesh touching fire.
The deathly rule energy that had been spreading everywhere suddenly recoiled.
The moment it touched the black chain or the crimson pillar—
It retreated like a mouse spotting a cat.
Inside the Shinigami's hollow eye sockets, the ghostly flames flickered violently.
It felt it.
The chain was no longer simply a seal against physical energy.
It was a genuine threat.
A collision between laws of existence.
Something capable of touching—
Even harming—
A soul.
Run.
It had to run.
Right now, it was only a projection.
Its power came entirely from the burning soul offered as sacrifice.
Against ordinary shinobi, it was overwhelmingly powerful.
But against a being on the same rule-level—
It stood no chance.
It had to return to the Pure Land.
It had to escape.
But Kai had spent too many years studying people's expressions.
The moment the Shinigami hesitated—
Kai saw through its intentions.
With a wave of his hand, another chain appeared instantly.
Two chain-pillars formed on both sides.
Like divine wardens.
The Shinigami was trapped between them.
No way forward.
No way back.
And that was only the beginning.
Kai suddenly remembered something.
"…Isn't the Tormentor ability also something that directly affects the soul?"
An idea struck him.
A dangerous one.
"Yin Release — Tormentor!"
"Full power! Burn it until it smokes!"
Kai roared inwardly.
He didn't care about chakra consumption.
Over the years, his spore army had spread everywhere.
Not necessarily across all of Konoha—
But anyone even remotely important had likely been infected by his spores.
Even if those spores had no other use—
They were endless chakra batteries.
Even if Kaguya Ōtsutsuki revived tomorrow—
Kai could still fight her with sheer chakra reserves.
HUMMMMM.
As Yin Release: Tormentor activated, Kai's eyes changed.
They were no longer one red and one white.
They became pure black.
Darker than the storm clouds above.
At the same moment, a pitch-black spiritual force surged through the chains and pillars—
Piercing straight into the Shinigami's will.
[Ding! Yin Release — Tormentor activated.]
Target: Projection of the Pure Land's Will (Shinigami).
Kai blinked in surprise.
"Oh?"
"The system even gives notifications when traits are used now?"
He tilted his head slightly.
This was rare.
In all these years, system notifications for trait usage were extremely uncommon.
Perhaps—
This was simply the prestige of the Shinigami.
Even the system gave it a little extra respect.
Kai raised his head to look at the massive figure before him.
But the Shinigami clearly wasn't in a friendly mood anymore.
"ROOOOAR!!!"
"ROOOOAR!!!"
A furious roar—far more frustrated than before—shook the entire Hokage Tower.
The sound carried hints of terror and confusion.
The giant body of the Shinigami froze mid-dissolution.
Its phantom form, constructed from the laws of death itself, suddenly filled with countless twisted black markings.
The marks looked like billions of red-hot needles stabbing into the soul.
Deeper.
And deeper.
Pain.
Unbearable pain.
Pain at the level of its very essence.
The Shinigami tried to resist.
Its skeletal arm raised again.
The dagger swung—
But the motion was slower now.
Trembling.
Even shaking slightly.
And in that moment of hesitation—
WHOOSH!
The black Divine Law Chain shot forward like a venomous snake.
It wrapped tightly around the Shinigami's arm.
The arm holding the dagger.
CLACK!
The chain locked in place like a deadly constriction.
Loop after loop tightened.
Black light flashed as it bit into the phantom bones.
CREAK…
CREAK…
The grinding sound echoed through the void.
This was not a physical clash.
It was a collision between two rules of existence.
The sealing law capable of binding body and soul—
Against the death authority of the Pure Land.
The Shinigami's arm erupted with dark energy as it struggled desperately.
It attempted to dissolve the chain with rule power.
But it failed.
The black chain did not budge.
Instead—
The harder it struggled—
The tighter the chain became.
Ancient runes flowed across its surface.
Symbols carrying the will of:
Suppress.
Seal.
Annihilate.
It almost looked like—
The Shinigami itself was being harvested.
The Shinigami: ???
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