Although Shisui had already severed ties with Konoha, a slight lingering resentment remained in his heart.
He was unwilling to fight within Konoha, even if the target wasn't a Konoha villager.
"…Fine. I'll do it, then."
Seeing Shisui refuse, Hōzuki Gengetsu rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles. "Come to think of it, I haven't fought in ages. Hope you're as exciting as Lord Fourth said, pal. Let's see if you can get my blood pumping even a little."
The grotesque, demonic arm of the Shinigami stretched infinitely, like a serpent striking out to kill Hōzuki Gengetsu.
Minato's gaze was locked onto Gengetsu. The man wasn't moving an inch—clearly, he wasn't planning to dodge at all.
Minato was curious.
This kind of attack targeted the soul directly. No matter how strong one's chakra was or how unique their body might be, unless their power could transcend to a higher realm entirely, once caught—once the soul was separated—it was over. They'd be at the mercy of their enemy.
Even the Nine-Tails was no exception.
That's why the Reaper Death Seal was considered as a life-for-life technique, because as long as it could be executed, you could basically achieve a one-for-one trade with the opponent.
It was like the Eight Gates or the Hero Water—trading one's life for overwhelming power.
The Shinigami came down fiercely, and Gengetsu didn't budge.
Just as the attack was about to land, Gengetsu suddenly drew the blade at his waist—and the sword actually clashed with the Shinigami's arm, producing a piercing metallic clang!
"He… he blocked it?!"
Minato's eyes widened. Not only could this guy see the Shinigami—he could physically defend against it.
Could the rumors about the Shinigami under the Soul Society be real? Were they truly spiritual beings akin to gods of death?
"…Not bad at all, 'Shinigami.'"
Vmmm…
The Shinigami said nothing, but its brief pause betrayed its surprise that Gengetsu could fend it off.
That surprise lasted only a second.
The ferryman of the Pureland, the reaper of mortal souls, launched another attack.
Its infinitely extending arms came at Gengetsu like a machine gun, a barrage of attacks flying at him. Gengetsu parried them all with his blade.
The two silhouettes danced and collided. The way they fought was bizarre, almost surreal. Those few who could perceive it were visibly unsettled.
Especially Yoru.
His mind even conjured the gomu gomu no of a certain rubber man from another story, along with the muda muda muda muda and other sound effects.
Thunk!
Gengetsu bent at the waist, narrowly dodging another swipe. He flipped his Zanpakutō in reverse grip and swung at the extended arm. But midway through, he was forced to abort the attack. With a twitch of his mustache, he lifted his knee, concentrating his spiritual pressure.
"Bakudō #39: Enkōsen!"
A circular barrier condensed at his knee, intercepting another attack from the Shinigami.
His Zanpakutō came crashing down once more, clashing with the incoming strike. Using the momentum, Gengetsu retreated.
The Shinigami didn't pursue, instead retracting its limbs.
"…Feels like fighting a rubber man."
Gengetsu muttered to himself.
The Shinigami's body was tough—similar to Yoru's "Hierro." Comparable to Iwagakure's Steel Release—nearly impenetrable.
Combined with its freely extending limbs, in terms of hand-to-hand combat, this guy was truly troublesome. His fight with it would probably be a 40/60 split, with him at a slight disadvantage.
"…Let's try this."
"Hadō #63: Raikōhō!"
Gengetsu raised his left hand toward the Shinigami. His spiritual energy surged, condensing a ball of thunderous power in his palm.
CRACK!
A beam of lightning exploded outward like a cannon blast.
Floating in the air, the Shinigami calmly removed the short blade clutched in its mouth and slashed downward.
The oncoming lightning was cleaved in two, diverted to either side of the Shinigami and slamming into the forest below in an explosive burst.
BOOOOM!!
Minato stared at that short blade. Well—"short" was relative. It was the size of a regular Zanpakutō, but looked small in the Shinigami's massive hands.
Blade in hand, the Shinigami slashed again.
Gengetsu suddenly felt the world go dark.
A terrifying spiritual slash came roaring toward him. There was no outward shockwave—but it resonated deep within his soul.
"What the—?!"
Eyes narrowing, Gengetsu reflexively raised his sword to block.
A Zanpakutō is an extension of the soul. Its strength is directly tied to its wielder's spiritual power.
In essence, it is not just a Shinigami's strongest spear—it's also their toughest shield.
BOOM!!
The clash rang out soundlessly, a silent explosion of overwhelming spiritual energy. The pressure was far greater than his earlier Raikōhō.
The sheer force caused everyone watching to stagger, their vision darkening, their bodies feeling leaden.
"What is this…?"
Elite shinobi around the Third Hokage couldn't make sense of it. They could only see a pale figure battling an invisible force in the sky—then everything was swallowed by pressure.
Hiruzen felt it too—but at least he understood what was happening.
A battle between Shinigami.
Gengetsu managed to block the blow, though his Zanpakutō shook violently in his hands. Even his shoulder trembled—he had nearly exhausted himself with that one clash.
Shisui frowned and moved to help, but Yoru stopped him.
"Relax. He hasn't even gotten serious yet."
Yoru smirked. "That guy acts lazy all day, but in terms of power…"
He looked at Gengetsu's trembling hands. "He's not weaker than you."
Shisui's expression hardened.
He knew how powerful he was—especially after awakening the Rinnegan and becoming a Shinigami.
He honestly believed he could steamroll the entire ninja world. The Five Kage? The Akatsuki? No contest.
So why would Yoru say Gengetsu was on his level?
"Just watch."
Yoru's eyes twinkled. "Among the captains of the Gotei 13, there are differences in strength, but not that large. Gengetsu? Even including me, he's easily top three."
Shisui said nothing—but beneath his pure white mask, his eyes rippled with the Rinnegan.
Up in the sky, Hōzuki Gengetsu—shaking, breathing hard—lifted his head, eyes locking onto the Shinigami with the soul blade.
"…Damn, it's been a long time since I felt this alive. Guess Yoru was finally right about something."
"This fight… gets my blood boiling."
"Now then…"
"Are you ready, Shinigami?"
"Shikai."
Gengetsu's joking tone turned cold.
He pointed his Zanpakutō straight at the enemy.
A massive wave of spiritual pressure exploded from him, like Conqueror's Haki. It instantly knocked out all nearby elite shinobi.
The sword in his hand shimmered—then dissolved into a wisp of pure white mist, fusing into his arm.
"Roar—Genmaku!" (幻蜃 / "Phantom Mirage")
The mist merged with him. His form didn't visibly change—but his aura spiked violently.
"A power-boosting Shikai?" Shisui muttered, puzzled.
Thankfully, Gengetsu didn't make him wait long. He raised his palm toward the Shinigami.
A compressed beam of blue-white spiritual energy blasted out like a cannon shell—so fast it was nearly teleporting.
Shisui's eyes widened.
The Shinigami blinked aside—barely dodging the attack.
BOOM!
The blast missed, striking the ground and tearing it apart. Minato and Kushina, lying unconscious below, were nearly crushed by flying debris.
"…That blast was on par with Raikōhō."
Shisui analyzed the damage, calculating Gengetsu's power.
If that was all his Shikai could do—it was underwhelming.
Any captain could fire off a few spells like that without breaking a sweat.
"Just watch," Yoru murmured.
He looked at the white mist surrounding Gengetsu's arms.
In Soul Society, plenty of Zanpakutō had unique, bizarre abilities—some downright overpowered.
Yagura's Water Mirror Copy of Rihyou, Shisui's Meikyō…
But when it came to truly busted powers, nothing compared to Gengetsu's Genmaku.
VMMM…
Even though his first attack missed, Gengetsu didn't lower his arm.
Spiritual energy gathered again at his palm.
Then—like a strobe—countless blue-white beams began blasting from his palm, one after another.
They lit up the entire battlefield like a miniature sun.
Like a storm of laser rain, they poured toward the Shinigami below.
The ground shook, the earth cracked, and debris flew in every direction.
"An endlessly firing spiritual cannon…"
Even Shisui was surprised now.
This was true area suppression.
Gengetsu, alone, was a walking artillery regiment.
A terrifying display of absolute firepower!
Thousands of blasts—each on par with Raikōhō—rained down in seconds, completely engulfing the Shinigami.
The night sky turned bright blue.
Even the heavens looked torn apart.
"This degree of offensive..."
Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki below were extremely shocked. Was this still power that ninja could unleash?
No, the other party wasn't a ninja, but a Shinigami.
This meant that their powers were never on the same scale to begin with!
Minato glanced at Yoru in the distance, overwhelmed by conflicting thoughts.
You command a literal army of Shinigami… yet you've never attacked the ninja world.
At the summit in the Land of Iron, Minato had tried to understand Yoru's intentions—but the man showed no interest in conquest.
Why?
What are you really after, Yuki Yoru?
"…There's no time. We must seal the Nine-Tails inside Naruto. Now!"
Minato acted quickly.
If any of this battle touched Naruto, everything would be for nothing.
He pressed his hands together and began weaving seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
With a puff of smoke, Fukasaku the Toad Sage appeared, mid-dinner.
His eyes darted around, first landing on the Nine-Tails, then shifting upward to the raging battle.
As a sage of Mount Myōboku, he could see things normal people couldn't—including Gengetsu and the Shinigami above.
"…A Shinigami?!"
He recognized the form—but still gasped in disbelief.
Then, seeing Minato and Kushina, his concern deepened.
Minato, what's wrong? What in the world happened?"
Minato panted, barely staying conscious. "Fukasaku-sensei… no time to explain. I'm giving you the key to the sealing formula, and I hope you can sign a summoning scroll with Naruto."
"…You want your child to become the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki?!"
Fukasaku's eyes widened in realization.
"How did things get this far—wait… that guy…"
Suddenly, his voice stopped.
His eyes locked onto two figures standing calmly nearby.
He recognized them immediately.
"…You're that frog sage Jiraiya once summoned."
Yoru smiled, waving lazily. "Been a while. You're looking pretty beat-up."
"Yuki Yoru…"
Fukasaku's eyes narrowed.
Back when he brought Minato back from the Land of Iron, Yoru had still been there.
How had he arrived in Konoha so fast?
Now, with Minato dying from using the Reaper Death Seal…
Naruto becoming the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki…
Two Shinigami fighting in the skies…
Fukasaku's mind exploded with conspiracy theories.
"…You're thinking rude things about me," Yoru said softly. "I suppose I'll have to visit Mount Myōboku someday—have a little heart-to-heart with the big guy."
Fukasaku stiffened and quickly looked away.
Even without seeing his fight with Nagato, Minato's descriptions told him enough.
He couldn't even sense Yoru's spiritual presence—he felt like a ghost, like the Great Toad Sage himself.
Was Yoru now on that level?
"…Today's events have nothing to do with Yuki Yoru."
Minato coughed, blood trickling down his lip.
"Fukasaku-sensei… I'm recording the key now. Please take care of Naruto…"
Fukasaku nodded.
Once the seal was complete, he looked down at Minato.
"…Want me to take the kid to Mount Myōboku?"
"No. He should grow up in Konoha."
Mount Myōboku had its benefits—but Naruto would be surrounded by frogs. In Konoha, he'd have a better environment to grow as a human being.
"…I'll be off, then."
Fukasaku glanced one last time at the battle overhead—and at the massive fox nearby.
"…You two take care."
He pressed his hands together and vanished in a puff of smoke.
Minato looked skyward.
The battle between Shinigami was letting his soul linger—but his injuries were draining his life fast.
Time was almost up.
He turned to Kushina.
"It's time to use the Eight Trigrams Seal… I'll seal the Nine-Tails into Naruto. Kushina—if you want to say goodbye, say it now."
Kushina's eyes never left Naruto. Even with the sky ablaze and explosions shaking the air, her world had shrunk to the tiny infant on the altar.
She gazed at him with all the softness a mother could muster. Her voice was little more than a whisper, as though afraid to wake him.
"Naruto… no picky eating, okay? Eat till you're full every day, that's how you grow strong.
And bathe with hot water, no skipping. Don't stay up late—sleep plenty.
Make friends… not too many if that's hard, just a few you can really trust…"
She paused, tears welling but still smiling.
"One more thing: the three taboos for shinobi.
First—money. Don't borrow recklessly, save your mission pay.
Second—sake. None till you're twenty; drink too much and you'll wreck your body.
Third—women. I… I'm a woman so I don't fully get it, but someday you'll be interested. Just don't let strange girls string you along; find someone as wonderful as your mom…"
Her voice weakened, yet she kept smiling even as tears rolled freely.
"Naruto… life will hand you heartache and pain. Keep your own pace… chase your dreams, turn them real, and believe in yourself."
Her shoulders shook.
"There's so much more I want to say—so many days I still want with you. Naruto… when Dad and Mom aren't there anymore, you have to be strong.
And lastly—I love you… Naruto…"
Tears splashed on the altar. The baby's brow furrowed, sensing her sorrow.
"I'm sorry, Minato. I got carried away…"
"It's fine." Minato shook his head gently, turning toward their son.
"Naruto, what Dad wants to say is the same old nagging as Mom's… Someday, become a splendid shinobi."
He sighed, then pressed his hands together.
"Eight Trigrams Seal!"
Intricate sealing formulae blossomed across Naruto's stomach, spreading like black branches. A vortex of power drew the Nine‑Tails' chakra inward.
"Damn you, Fourth Hokage—you'll regret this!" Kurama roared—but the technique was final. His titanic form compressed into chakra and vanished into the newborn.
Minato and Kushina slumped together, backs braced against the altar, watching their child. Their lives were draining fast.
Moonlight dimmed as a tall shadow blocked it. Minato forced his eyes open—Yoru Minazuki, masked and unreadable, stood over them.
"…It's embarrassing to ask, but—could you watch over Naruto, at least a little?" Minato rasped.
"Of course," Yoru replied, nodding. "But nothing's free. I'll need a… payment."
Minato chuckled weakly. "Name it."
"It's barely a price—call it a favor." Yoru's smile curved under the mask. "Your wife struck a deal with the Second just now. In return for helping protect everyone during Kurama's rampage, she agreed to let her soul serve me after death."
Minato's eyes widened.
"Don't pull that face," Yoru said lightly. "If I could, I'd have stolen your soul from the Reaper too."
"A soul experiment…?" Minato fell silent a moment, then sighed.
"Alright then, since I'm already dying, I might as well trade for one of your promises. I hope you can truly look after Naruto somewhat."
"Then we have a deal?"
"A deal."
Hokage and Mizukage—two leaders, one dying—sealed their pact.
...
The Battle in the Sky
Above them, Hōzuki Gengetsu's barrage had reduced a mountain to rubble—but smoke did not equal victory.
From the dust, the pale Shinigami flashed forward, reappearing behind Gengetsu with impossible speed. Its short blade streaked for his throat—faster than human reflex.
A heartbeat before impact, the white mist that usually ringed Gengetsu's wrist billowed behind him, forming a shield that caught the strike.
"Hmm?" The Shinigami's hollow face twitched—surprised.
The mist thickened, becoming a solid wall. Then it split into countless tendrils that wrapped the spirit and its blade.
"Genmaku Shield."
"Seal—Genmaku!"
The airy fog hardened, crawling over the Shinigami's body like living shackles. Gengetsu flicked two fingers, and six luminous rods—Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō—speared through the mist, doubling the restraint.
"Limit of the thousands hands, respectful hands, unable to touch the darkness. Shooting hands unable to reflect the blue sky.—"
"What?!" Shisui's pupils shrank behind his mask. Gengetsu was chanting Hadō #91—an area‑wide super‑spell—right here?
If it went off, every living thing nearby but Yoru and himself would be vaporized.
Shisui glanced at Yoru, only to see him calmly raise his hand, covering Naruto's swaddled body with a layer of ice crystals, then made no other movements
Uchiha Shisui's face darkened, and he instantly appeared beside the Third Hokage, who was already stunned by the Shinigami's battle.
"You..."
"Konoha cannot be without a leader..."
A familiar voice entered Hiruzen Sarutobi's ears, causing the Hokage to widen his eyes: "You, you are..."
Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could speak, Uchiha Shisui grabbed his battle armor and instantly disappeared from the spot.
When they reappeared, the two were already below the Hokage Rock.
Shisui dropped Hiruzen Sarutobi from his hands, and his figure instantly vanished. A few breaths later, the several elite Konoha ANBU were also thrown over.
"Wait!"
After doing all this, Shisui prepared to leave, but the Third Hokage's voice called out from behind him.
Shisui's footsteps paused slightly.
"You actually didn't die... Then why..."
"There's no need for meaningless words. The Fourth Hokage is dead. Konoha suffered heavy losses tonight. If it loses another Hokage, by the time the sun rises tomorrow, Konoha should be removed from the Shinobi World's name."
Uchiha Shisui's voice was incredibly calm, revealing no emotional fluctuations whatsoever. After speaking, his figure vanished and departed.
"Uchiha... Shisui..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi opened his mouth, but the call caught in his throat.
But before he could ponder why Uchiha Shisui, who had supposedly died in the Third Shinobi World War (according to Danzo's mission report), had revived and even joined the Soul Society, becoming a subordinate of Yuki Yoru.
His gaze was already drawn to the distant sky.
Surging Reiatsu vibrated through the heavens. The world, which had been unusually bright under the blood moon, now became gloomy once more.
Dark clouds pressed down on the village, threatening to crush it. The entire sky, at this moment, seemed to be shrouded by an incredibly vast and powerful force!
"Light bullets, eight bodies, nine items, book of heaven, diseased treasure, great wheel.."
The low incantation gradually became high-pitched, and as vast Reiatsu condensed, countless Reiatsu light cones appeared around Gengetsu Hōzuki. Dazzling lights, like meteors streaking across the night sky, gathered power under Gengetsu Hōzuki's guidance, poised to strike.
And with their appearance, the entire world seemed to be illuminated by their light.
The incantation concluded.
Gengetsu Hōzuki looked at the Shinigami bound by Genmaku, a grin spreading across his lips.
"Hadō #91—Senjū Kōten Taihō!"
BWOOOOOOOM!!!
The instant the words fell, all the Reiatsu light beams simultaneously shot out, roaring towards the Shinigami.
Reiatsu exploded. Thousands upon thousands of Senjū Kōten Taiko filled the sky, like countless falling stars. Each one that struck the Shinigami unleashed an unimaginable, terrifying explosion. And when all the light cones had fallen, the entire world seemed to tremble.
Countless Konoha citizens within the Hokage Rock shelter instinctively looked outside.
The light generated by the energy explosion, at this moment, was like the sun, illuminating the entire Konoha sky with a brilliant radiance, attracting countless gazes, yet so dazzling that it was impossible to look directly at it.
"This level of explosion... What a joke..."
"Is that a Tailed Beast Bomb...?"
"Lord Fourth, and the Nine-Tails... What's happening out there?"
Among the guarding ninja in the shelter, Danzo's hand gripped the railing tightly, while the Konoha ninja beside him looked utterly terrified, unable to help swallowing their saliva.
Others might not know, but Danzō Shimura, who was quite familiar with the Nine-Tails, clearly knew that this explosion was not the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb. The energy within it... wasn't even chakra.
If an explosion of this magnitude were to occur within Konoha, the damage it would cause would absolutely be no less than the Tailed Beast Bomb previously released by the Nine-Tails, perhaps even greater.
As the most powerful of the Tailed Beasts, the Nine-Tails' status in the Shinobi World was undeniable and unique, so it was understandable that it possessed the power to easily destroy an entire Konoha.
But what was releasing this explosion now...
Danzō Shimura's fists clenched, his teeth gritted. His gaze suddenly fell upon the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, below the shelter, and he quickly walked towards him.
"Hiruzen!" Danzo roared: "What exactly happened in the Forest of Death? Where's the Nine-Tails? Where's Lord Fourth?"
"Danzo..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze was complex, and he let out a deep sigh: "First, seal off the Forest of Death. Until the battle there is completely over, no one is allowed to enter the Forest of Death!"
"Battle? Who? Lord Fourth and the Nine-Tails?"
"No... There's no Lord Fourth anymore." Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was heavy: " Lord Fourth used the Reaper Death Seal to seal the Nine-Tails into his child's body, and now the ones battling there..."
"Are Shinigami!"
"Wh-what?!"
...
Meanwhile.
In a world of profound silence, a temple overflowing with an inexplicable chakra glow stood quietly atop a mountain peak in this realm.
Inside the temple, an aged elder sat cross-legged, suspended above the ground.
He had two horns on his head, and a blood-red Rinnegan mark on his forehead. He wore a white robe with six black magatama-shaped patterns on his chest and a red whirlpool symbol on his back, below which nine grid-arranged magatama were inscribed.
Behind him, a dark staff floated, one end representing the sun, the other the moon.
Suddenly, the dark staff emitted a faint, crisp tremor. The aged elder slowly opened his eyes, and his pale purple Rinnegan swirled within his eye sockets, eerie and mysterious.
"Brother, your servant, used to guide souls, has suffered extremely severe injuries in the Shinobi World."
The moment he opened his eyes, another aged figure, also clad in white and with two horns on his head, slowly stepped into the temple and spoke softly: "Its very essence has even sustained a certain degree of damage."
The Sage of Six Paths, referred to as the elder brother, did not speak, seemingly deep in thought. After a long pause, he slowly began to speak: "Chakra in the Shinobi World cannot harm the soul servant I created, and that person does not have the aura of chakra. They are not of Mother's clan."
"It could be a native of the Shinobi World. They can already use natural energy, soul energy, and spiritual energy to achieve certain things... What do you plan to do? Indra's and Asura's souls have only recently reincarnated, haven't they? Will you let this go unaddressed?"
"The matter of Shinobi World souls is of great importance. Mother's clan members could descend at any time. Before that, collecting as many 'citizens' as possible was already part of our plan." The Sage of Six Paths spoke calmly: "The plan cannot deviate. Besides, Asura's and Indra's reincarnations need time to grow... We shouldn't take this risk."
As his words fell, an indescribably vast chakra surged from within him...