Sasuke, Orochimaru, and Kabuto arrived at the abandoned underground laboratory facility outside the Valley of the End.
Orochimaru said, "After the great battle at the Valley of the End, the Second Hokage secretly built this underground facility to hide Madara's body from the First Hokage. After Madara escaped using Izanagi, this facility was abandoned, which makes it a perfect place for us to perform the ritual."
Sasuke handed the mask to Kabuto and instructed, "You've seen the process in my Genjutsu."
Kabuto held the mask, his expression hesitant: "Orochimaru-sama, I still don't trust Sasuke. Therefore, please allow me to be the sacrifice for the Shinigami. If it fails, you will be unharmed, and if it succeeds, you will also be able to retrieve the souls of your hands as you wished. All it will cost is my life!"
Orochimaru said earnestly, "Kabuto, your spirit is commendable, but this ritual must be performed by me personally. You will know why soon!"
Kabuto was unprecedentedly solemn: "I know you have acquired techniques from your future self that don't exist in the present! But how can you be certain that your future self is 'real and true'? What if it's a lie woven by Sasuke-kun, or if Sasuke-kun is also controlled by some unknown entity? Can you completely rule out such a possibility?"
Kabuto seemed overly cautious, but it concerned Orochimaru's safety, so he had to be extremely careful!
He even had a realization… if absolutely necessary, he would destroy the mask. At least that way, Orochimaru wouldn't have to bear an unnecessary risk!
The intellectual Orochimaru did not deny Kabuto: "Even so, my curiosity drives me to personally verify the answer, and I am willing to pay the price of my life for it."
Kabuto volunteered again: "If that's the case! Then let me satisfy Orochimaru-sama's curiosity, with my life!!!"
Orochimaru did not explain further but instead, with a gentle smile, spoke words that struck the heart: "Let me put it another way… Kabuto, your life, in my eyes, is incredibly precious, even more precious than the answer itself. Do you understand?"
Kabuto's eyes welled up with tears: "Orochimaru-sama, I, I, I am unworthy of such…"
Orochimaru smiled and said, "Now… can you help me?"
Kabuto took off his glasses, wiped away his tears, dried the fog from the lenses, put his glasses back on his nose, then stepped forward and solemnly said, "If you fail, I will accompany you to the afterlife!"
He personally helped Orochimaru put on the mask for summoning the Shinigami!
Just like before, Orochimaru unleashed all of his Chakra!
Boom…!!
A white storm rose, and the Shinigami appeared behind Orochimaru!
Kabuto was amazed: "Is this the Shinigami!!!"
Orochimaru said, "Begin… Kabuto!"
Kabuto gritted his teeth, placed the kunai in Orochimaru's hand, helped him move his arm to stab the kunai into his abdomen, and at the same time, the Shinigami behind him simultaneously cut his abdomen with a katana!
Orochimaru said, "Unlike before, this time I only need to release my hands from the Shinigami's belly. Therefore, a small opening just big enough for the souls of my hands to pass through is enough…"
Kabuto understood: "In other words… a minimally invasive procedure?"
Whoosh!
From the tiny wound on the Shinigami's abdomen, the souls of Orochimaru's hands barely flew out, transforming into streams of light that flowed into Orochimaru's arms, and Orochimaru's soul was restored to completeness!
Sasuke clenched his hands, his gaze deep: "It has nothing to do with the size of the wound; the price of releasing the Reaper Death Seal is the soul of the caster. Before, Orochimaru escaped by using Impure World Reincarnation, but this time Impure World Reincarnation cannot be used. This means that the real challenge is yet to come…"
"Hehehehehehe…"
Behind Orochimaru, the Shinigami laughed eerily, his palm passing through the prayer beads, about to extract Orochimaru's soul!
Orochimaru: "Alright, Kabuto, stand back!"
Kabuto retreated to Sasuke's side, his expression extremely tense.
Orochimaru's lips curved upwards, and he formed hand signs never seen before!
—Forbidden Jutsu: Soul Concealment Jutsu!
Whoosh…!!
The Shinigami's soul-devouring hand… actually stopped moving at that moment, and a bewildered expression appeared on the Shinigami's grotesque and terrifying face!
Kabuto was shocked: "Orochimaru-sama, what did you do…!?"
Orochimaru said, "Soul Concealment Jutsu is a technique that can hide the soul. I hid my soul, so the Shinigami cannot find it, and thus, the sacrifice cannot happen."
So that's how it is.
Sasuke smiled and said, "Next… as long as you take off that mask and make the Shinigami disappear, everything will be fine, right?"
However, Orochimaru's lips curved into a profound smile: "That would be good, but it wouldn't satisfy me!"
Swish!
His long hair flew, and his hands were still continuously changing hand signs!
Sasuke was surprised: "You… what else are you planning to do?"
Orochimaru: "Hiding my soul is not to evade the Shinigami's sacrifice! Instead, it is to create the prerequisite for the Shinigami to inhabit my body next!!!"
Sasuke suddenly realized something: "Are you saying that you intend to…!!"
Swish!
The last hand sign was formed!!
Orochimaru: "That's right, this is a sealing jutsu specifically developed for sealing the Shinigami of the Reaper Death Seal!"
—Six Paths Shinigami Coffin Seal!
Although this jutsu has the prefix 'Six Paths', it is unrelated to the Six Paths. It is merely a tribute from the future Orochimaru, as a Ninja, to the progenitor of Ninjutsu, the Six Paths!
Boom…!!!
An astonishing suction force erupted from Orochimaru's body!
Crack! Crack!
At this moment… cracks appeared on Orochimaru's mask. The Shinigami realized something was wrong and tried to forcibly sever the connection with the 'medium', but the sealing jutsu had already activated!
The white stream of light that was the Shinigami was continuously being sucked into Orochimaru's body!!
"Orochimaru-sama…!!!"
The scene unfolding before his eyes had already exceeded Kabuto's comprehension!
Sasuke had witnessed even grander spectacles, so he wasn't so shocked as to lose his composure.
His greater shock came from emotion.
The research he knew of Orochimaru's shouldn't have reached such a level.
He naturally understood: "During the ten years when I narrowly escaped death, lost my will to fight, and was depressed, he was still quietly moving forward, just so that I could challenge the gods once again?"
Before him, after absorbing the Shinigami, Orochimaru's appearance completely changed. Symmetrical horns grew on his head, a white haori that was both real and illusory, black cursed marks that flickered on and off covered his skin, an ancient prayer bead necklace around his neck, a sword at his waist, and a bell-shaped ritual tool in his hand… His appearance had similarities to the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki, but the Chakra's aura was completely different.
Crack!
The mask completely shattered, and Orochimaru's vertical pupils had turned deep gray. On his forehead was a 'swastika'-shaped engraving.
"Without a doubt, this is the Shinigami's Jinchuriki."
Orochimaru said in a deep voice, "In this state, I can use all of the Shinigami's power, and of course, that includes the power of the Four Hokage within the Shinigami's body. Kabuto, now, do you believe Sasuke-kun?"
Having witnessed such a miracle with his own eyes, how could Kabuto have any doubt left?
He pushed up his glasses and bowed in reverence: "From now on, I am willing to use everything I have, alongside Orochimaru-sama, to help Sasuke-sama fulfill his wish!"
Sasuke stepped forward and helped Kabuto to his feet: "That is my honor!"
Orochimaru: "Sasuke-kun, next I will help you take the first step towards becoming an Ōtsutsuki. This is also one of the most important reasons why I wanted to take over the Shinigami!"
He held the ritual tool in his right hand, extended his left arm, and a white illusionary snake flew out from under his haori sleeve, biting Sasuke's neck!
"I will completely transfer Senju Hashirama's Chakra to you. With your current body, at only thirteen years old, it's impossible to bear this power all at once, so…"
Orochimaru smiled: "There's no more suitable method than relying on the 'Cursed Seal'…"
Gugugugu!
As Senju Hashirama's Chakra flowed in, the pure black Cursed Seal gradually transitioned towards pure white…