The moment Rowan finished speaking, a gigantic phantom of the Shinigami appeared behind him.
The robe was still the same robe. The ghostly flames were still the same ghostly flames. Its height and build hadn't changed at all.
The only thing that had changed was the Shinigami's face.
The Shinigami Tobirama had summoned before had worn a savage, demon-like expression.
But now, the Shinigami had Rowan's face.
The instant it appeared, an invisible pressure slammed down. Everyone present was suppressed.
Their limbs turned cold, their breathing grew heavy, as if a thousand-pound weight had been dropped onto them, as though they might suffocate at any moment.
The shadow of death spread like a tide, swallowing their bodies whole.
This wasn't Conqueror's Haki.
But it was even more terrifying than Conqueror's Haki.
Especially those eyes. One look into them made it feel like death was right around the corner.
Just as everyone was being crushed by that invisible pressure to the point they could barely breathe, the Shinigami's phantom vanished in a flash, and that overwhelming aura disappeared with it.
As for Rowan, his face had turned pale, and his spirit looked drained, as if he had just come down with a serious illness.
His whole presence had weakened.
Seeing that something was wrong, Tsunade hurried over to examine him and asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
Rowan shook his head and continued, "Even though I swallowed the Shinigami and took its place, the problem is that the Shinigami's power exists on a very high level. With the amount of chakra I have right now, trying to draw on that power is still way too much for me."
Tsunade could see that clearly enough. From the moment Rowan activated that power to the moment the Shinigami vanished, not even five seconds had passed before he was completely spent.
If he wanted to use the Shinigami's power freely to kill enemies, he still had a long way to go.
"If you can't use that power freely yet, then don't use it recklessly. We're all here. We won't let you fall into danger so easily."
Rowan said, "I may not be able to use this power freely myself, but you can."
Tsunade froze.
Rowan continued, "Now that I've replaced the Shinigami, the Dead Demon Consuming Seal is basically wasted. Even if someone learns the technique, they won't be able to summon the Shinigami anymore."
"Because the Shinigami is now me. If I don't agree, no one can summon it."
"But I can form a summoning contract with you and allow you to use the technique to borrow the Shinigami's power."
"And there's another advantage to that."
"The Dead Demon Consuming Seal is basically a mutual-kill technique. Once it's used, the caster's soul is inevitably taken away by the Shinigami."
"But I can modify that contract and allow you to borrow the Shinigami's power against your enemies."
"Whether you succeed or fail, I won't take your souls."
The moment Tobirama heard that, his expression shifted.
That was a good thing.
He knew the power of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal better than anyone. Even the Nine-Tails couldn't withstand it, much less ordinary people.
If the side effect could really be removed, then even against his elder brother Hashirama, he wouldn't be afraid.
Hashirama was incredible, sure, but compared to the Shinigami, he still fell a little short.
Tobirama could absolutely use that technique to send his brother on his way.
Orochimaru was excited too. "If I use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal against Nagato, can I seal him?"
Rowan nodded. "As long as there's enough chakra, sealing Nagato won't be a problem."
Nagato might have the Rinnegan, but he still wasn't on Six Paths level. The Shinigami's power was more than enough to deal with him.
Tobirama asked, "What about the Ōtsutsuki clan?"
If even the Ōtsutsuki couldn't withstand the Shinigami's power, then the ninja world would be safe.
This time, Rowan shook his head. "It's better not to do that. The Shinigami has limits too. The Ōtsutsuki are incredibly strong. Most of them are Six Paths-level fighters. The Shinigami might not be able to handle them."
Thinking it over, Tobirama had to agree. If the Shinigami were really that broken, it never would have been crushed by Kaguya Ōtsutsuki in the first place, lost its sense of self, become an empty shell, and ultimately been swallowed by Rowan.
Just then, Kabuto suddenly said, "Lord Rowan, I have a question. Now that you've become the Shinigami, can you bring the dead back to life?"
The moment he said that, everyone's gaze locked onto Rowan.
Tobirama's eyes lit up. Right—how had he not thought of that possibility?
"No."
Rowan looked around at the hope in everyone's eyes and said calmly, "I'm sorry, but the Shinigami governs death and reaps souls. It cannot resurrect the dead."
Hearing that, everyone was visibly disappointed.
A god of death that couldn't bring people back to life—what kind of Shinigami was that supposed to be?
Sensing their disappointment, Rowan couldn't help complaining, "Do you all have some kind of misunderstanding about what a Shinigami is? It's a god of death, not a god of resurrection, and not a god of life."
"Who told you that every Shinigami should be able to bring people back? That's the biggest prejudice of all against death gods."
After getting roasted like that, everyone realized they had been thinking about it the wrong way and gradually adjusted their expectations.
Tsunade said, "That's true. At the end of the day, it's just a Shinigami."
Tobirama, Orochimaru, and the others all nodded.
But right then, Rowan suddenly added, "Of course, if you're asking whether it's completely impossible… not necessarily."
Everyone: "???"
"No, wait, that's not what you just said," Robin couldn't help pointing out.
Rowan said calmly, "That was then, this is now. I just remembered an interesting possibility."
"A possibility?"
"Exactly. Did you forget that the One Piece world has that very peculiar Revive-Revive Fruit?"
Aside from Minato, Karin, and Kanae, everyone else immediately understood.
Since they had all seen the story, they naturally knew what the Revive-Revive Fruit was.
The Revive-Revive Fruit was one of the most outrageous Devil Fruits in the world of One Piece.
It allowed the user to come back to life once after death and granted soul-related powers, such as letting the soul leave the body as an incorporeal form, pass through walls, scout, and so on.
Brook, its user, had even come back to life after his body had decayed into a skeleton, which showed just how absurd the fruit really was.
If an ordinary person could gain power like that from it—
Then what would happen if Rowan, as the Shinigami, ate that fruit?
Could he gain the power to bring the dead back to life?
Tobirama's position was simple: whether it worked or not, it absolutely had to be tested.
Robin said, "But aren't you planning to eat the Door-Door Fruit? Are you changing your plan?"
Rowan shook his head. "No need. The Door-Door Fruit is tied to whether I can fully control my cheat ability. I have to eat that fruit."
"But I don't want to let the Revive-Revive Fruit go either. Did you forget? Blackbeard managed to eat two Devil Fruits."
"As long as we figure out the secret behind Blackbeard, I can absolutely eat a second Devil Fruit too."
~~~
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