Shinigami in the Ninja World

A flash of light gleamed in the Sharingan.

At the same time, the same glow appeared in Sasuke's eyes.

Sasuke frowned, feeling a sudden urge to gag.

A crow emerged from his mouth.

It was Itachi Uchiha's summoning beast, but this crow was different from the others Itachi had summoned before. This one had a scarlet eye—a Mangekyō Sharingan with four blades.

The eye spun, and the chakra within it activated a "dōjutsu."

But it wasn't aimed at Sasuke.

It was aimed at Itachi Uchiha himself.

The remnants of the Edo Tensei crumbled and vanished instantly.

"Has the Edo Tensei's bond been broken?" Sasuke muttered, raising a hand to cover his mouth. "Is it because of this Mangekyō or the technique?"

Itachi Uchiha kept his hand seals: "This is Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan."

The name Shisui left Sasuke momentarily stunned.

He remembered Shisui—a prodigy from the clan, known as "Shisui of the Body Flicker." The clan had hoped he would one day rival the Fourth Hokage.

Like his brother, Shisui was gentle and kind.

But when Sasuke was very young, Shisui had "committed suicide" under mysterious circumstances.

He learned of this from Danzo's memories.

Shisui's death was caused by Danzo's treachery.

"Is this the technique called Kotoamatsukami?" Sasuke whispered.

Itachi Uchiha nodded: "You know of it?"

"Of course."

"You've been close to Naruto Uzumaki."

"He would have told you."

Even though Itachi had been under control since the Edo Tensei and unaware of what had happened after his death...

Sasuke mentioned that "Danzo" had been killed by Naruto Uzumaki.

And the current situation had come to this.

It could only mean one thing.

Kotoamatsukami was useless against Naruto Uzumaki.

Danzo wouldn't have hesitated to use this ability.

Even with the risk, the reward would have been enormous—an unparalleled ninja in the entire world, comparable to, or even surpassing, the First Hokage.

This was why he didn't waste the opportunity to use Kotoamatsukami on Naruto Uzumaki.

As for Sasuke...

If he couldn't use it on Naruto, what would be the point of "correcting" Sasuke?

"This must be your ultimate move," Sasuke said calmly, swinging his sword. "And now you're using it on yourself?"

"Have you given up?"

Itachi Uchiha shook his head: "No, Sasuke."

"I thought you would understand."

Chakra fluctuated.

Sasuke Uchiha suddenly froze, standing rigidly in place, his face vacant, but his chakra surged around him, as if he were still battling someone in his mind.

Itachi Uchiha frowned and looked aside, disappearing in an instant.

The next moment, he appeared before Naruto Uzumaki, who was extracting chakra.

"Has Sasuke already lost?" Naruto asked calmly, seeing him.

In his perception, Sasuke's chakra and life force were still strong.

Itachi Uchiha remained silent.

He pulled out two shurikens and hurled them at Naruto.

After a brief exchange, he was kicked away.

"Are you still dreaming foolishly of stopping me?" Naruto pointed a finger, and the Adamantine Chains flew out, aiming to bind Itachi's limbs.

But...

In that instant.

Naruto, like Sasuke, suddenly froze, the Adamantine Chains halting in mid-air.

Hashirama Senju exclaimed in surprise: "Naruto?"

"No need to shout, First Hokage-sama; he can't hear you," Itachi Uchiha said, shaking his head.

Tobirama Senju narrowed his eyes, staring at Itachi's empty eye sockets: "A technique at the cost of the Sharingan?"

At this moment, Itachi's eyes were dull and lifeless, the scarlet hue of the Sharingan fading, along with the distinctive pattern of the Mangekyō.

"This is a forbidden technique of the Uchiha clan," Itachi Uchiha explained. "It's called 'Izanami.'"

"It's an ultimate ninjutsu that imprisons a person."

"Sasuke, and Naruto too, will be trapped in the same memory, endlessly repeating."

"To break free..."

"They must accept their true fate, sincerely repent, and deny all their past mistakes."

"Otherwise, they will remain trapped forever."

Though blind, Itachi Uchiha's tone remained calm.

"For the sake of the village, this is the only thing I can do now."

The First Hokage frowned.

The Second Hokage ignored Itachi's proclaimed loyalty, deep in thought. Even with his extensive knowledge of the Uchiha clan, he had never heard of a technique called Izanami.

"This should end the war," Itachi continued.

"Regardless of the outcome..."

"They will either be imprisoned for eternity..."

"Or, if they repent and break free..."

"They will no longer..."

His words were cut short by a soft voice: "What gave you the illusion?"

"That I would remain trapped in your technique?"

This voice...

It was Naruto Uzumaki's!

Itachi turned sharply, but his ruined eyes could no longer see anything: "When did you break free?"

Naruto did not answer but instead asked, "Sincerely repent..."

"What an absurd notion."

"Is it truly about recognizing one's mistakes, or distorting one's mind to align with yours?"

Itachi's expression darkened.

These were the very words he had spoken almost immediately after "sealing" Naruto.

So from that moment...

Naruto had already escaped from Izanami?

"This technique is strong," Naruto continued. "It's different from Kotoamatsukami or ordinary illusions; it's a true genjutsu based on the five senses."

"It reminds me of someone."

"However..."

"Whether in ability or the 'greatness' you so often boast about, you fall far short of him."

Naruto placed his hand on Itachi's shoulder.

"Ninjas are tools born to fulfill others' desires."

"And to better become a tool, you kill your own family, friends, and threaten, even coerce, your own brother."

"How disgusting."

Spiritual energy surged, penetrating Itachi's body.

Draining his chakra.

"The Uchiha clan is inherently evil," Tobirama Senju said coldly, arms crossed. "Nothing they do surprises me."

For once, Hashirama Senju didn't scold him.

He stared at Itachi in disbelief.

To kill all of his clan for the sake of the village.

Such an action...

Too extreme, too terrifying.

"How did you break free from Izanami?" Itachi asked.

"Because you are weak," Naruto replied with a smile.

In the capital of the Land of Iron.

Inside a residence.

"This is bad," Kabuto Yakushi muttered, looking at a map and sensing the disappearing chakra. "The ninjas reanimated by Edo Tensei don't seem to be giving Naruto Uzumaki much trouble."

"The First Hokage's chakra was the first to disappear."

Uchiha Madara spoke calmly: "If that person is as strong as you've described, it's not surprising he could do that."

"But dealing with just one reanimated Hashirama is nothing to boast about."

"What concerns me more is his methods..."

That was what truly caught Madara's attention.

Being able to extract the chakra of those reanimated by Edo Tensei, separating "chakra" from "soul."

This was not just about canceling Edo Tensei.

It was "stripping away power."

Madara wasn't afraid of Naruto Uzumaki.

But he was wary of such techniques.

Kabuto smiled: "Madara-sama, are you planning to step in personally?"

Madara said nothing, merely shaking his head: "How far have Obito and the others progressed?"

As he spoke, a black-and-white Zetsu emerged from the ground: "Madara-sama, they're nearing the Land of Lightning after departing from Waterfall Village."

"However..."

"Cloud Village is one of the few villages, like Konoha, where most of the high-ranking officials refused to join the alliance, making it difficult to capture their jinchūriki."

"Obito's plan is to first collect a portion of the tailed beasts' chakra."

"Next, it's Rock Village."

"Once all nine-tailed beasts' chakra is gathered, the goal can be achieved."

Madara nodded: "Such a slow pace."

"This won't do."

"Bring that person named Hiruko back."

Zetsu nodded in agreement.

Outside Cloud Village, in the Land of Lightning.

"The security is tight," the white-haired man frowned. "Unlike you, I don't have strange ninjutsu; breaking in won't be easy."

Obito Uchiha frowned as well.

At that moment.

A head emerged from the ground.

"Hiruko," he called out a name.

The white-haired man responded.

"Madara-sama needs you back in the Land of Iron," Zetsu said in his raspy voice, with a commanding tone.

"Are we terminating our cooperation?" Hiruko narrowed his eyes.

Zetsu shook his head: "Of course not."

"Madara-sama has decided to give you your reward in advance."

"But..."

"The terms of the deal will change."

Hiruko made a small sound of surprise.

"Madara-sama wants you to support the main battlefield," Zetsu continued. "That Naruto Uzumaki has a method that restrains the Edo Tensei."

Hiruko chuckled: "Of course, those reanimated by Edo Tensei fear nothing more than this."

"What about the tailed beasts?"

Obito Uchiha's expression turned serious: "We've collected most of them; our goal isn't to capture them entirely, just to obtain a fragment of their power, enough to complete our objective."

"Delaying that Naruto Uzumaki is the most critical task."

Hiruko nodded and left with Zetsu.

Obito Uchiha watched their backs, frowning.

This was a bad sign in his agreement with Uchiha Madara.

He had to speed things up.

Perhaps...

The current power of the "Five Great Nations" wouldn't be enough to buy the time they needed.

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