Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 343 Bane: Don't let me find your house number, Death!

Early in the morning, at a hot spring hotel in the commercial street.

Bane was studying the Grim Reaper mask in his room, not because he got up early, but because he hadn't slept all night.

"That doesn't make sense." Bane put the mask on his face, then unleashed his chakra to connect with the mask. A moment later, he took off the mask with some displeasure, muttering curses under his breath.

Damn it, Death is avoiding him, as if he were some kind of monster!

The first time Bane wore the mask, he could clearly feel Death's response and almost successfully summoned Death.

Just as Death was about to project its power onto Bane, it seemed to realize something was wrong and immediately withdrew its soul projection.

This left Bane completely bewildered, and he tried several more times.

Although he could still feel the connection with Death after putting on the mask, no matter how he summoned Death, Death resolutely refused to come out, which was just ridiculous!

Bane kept turning the mask over and over in his hands, occasionally activating it with chakra, his expression growing increasingly displeased.

"Whether it's the Pure Land or Death, they all seem to be terrified of me. What's wrong with them? All I did was eat a couple of mouthfuls of dirt over there. Besides, you were the ones who summoned me there in the first place, but you didn't say a word and then kicked me out. Is there no justice? Is there no law?!" Bane said, staring through his mask.

Unfortunately, the Grim Reaper mask lay silently in his hand, offering no response whatsoever.

"Fine, very well!" Bane's lips twitched, a flash of anger crossing his eyes. "Originally, I was just a little curious about you, but now I've decided I'm going to give you a good beating. I summoned you, and you didn't come out, huh? You just wait."

If I remember correctly, the Third Hokage was supposed to use the Reaper Death Seal technique during the Konoha Crush plan, trying to take Orochimaru down with him, but he failed.

Whether he succeeds or not, Hiruzen Sarutobi has successfully summoned the Grim Reaper.

Although Bane wasn't sure if things would continue in this direction because of his intervention, he decided to push things in that direction as much as possible. He would wait until Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned the Grim Reaper, who dared not show his face, before jumping out to get a close look at the Grim Reaper.

"It is known that apart from the power of the Soul-Soul Fruit, I should not have any element in my body that could pose a threat to the Grim Reaper and the Pure Land. Even natural energy should not be possible. Therefore, the Grim Reaper's reluctance to meet me is likely due to his fear of the power of my Soul-Soul Fruit. Could it be that the Soul-Soul Fruit can even manipulate the Grim Reaper's soul?" Bane threw the Grim Reaper mask on the table and stroked his chin, thinking to himself.

It's not impossible. Death sounds impressive, but in reality, it probably has little self-awareness. The reason it resists itself so much is probably due to instinct rather than a change in its mind.

Whether it's the summoning of the Reaper Death Seal or Orochimaru's seppuku using the Shinigami mask, it's clear that Shinigami have no self-awareness whatsoever.

He is like a medium; you summon, I come out; you offer, I take; the transaction is over, we part ways. Even if you are tricked, deceived, or have your soul, which you have already swallowed, cut open and released, Death does not do anything excessive. Let alone excessive, you can say that he does not react at all.

Perhaps it is precisely because the Grim Reaper lacks a strong sense of self that he instinctively fears the Soul-Soul Fruit. After all, a soul without consciousness, no matter how powerful, can be easily manipulated by the Soul-Soul Fruit.

"If I could make direct contact with the Grim Reaper and mark his soul with the power of the Soul-Soul Fruit, then even if he never dares to show his face again, I should be able to use this Grim Reaper mask as a medium to forcibly touch him," Bane thought to himself as he looked at the Grim Reaper mask again.

Now, the Grim Reaper mask in his hand can be regarded as the key to contacting the Grim Reaper, but the problem is that Bane has never actually dealt with the Grim Reaper, so he cannot lock onto the Grim Reaper's soul aura at all. In other words, he has the key to open the Grim Reaper's house, but he does not know where the Grim Reaper lives or where his home is.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi manages to summon the Shinigami using the Reaper Death Seal this time, then just once will suffice. Bane being able to touch the Shinigami's soul once is enough!

At that time, we can use the Grim Reaper mask as a medium to follow the Grim Reaper's soul aura and go directly to his home!

"If you don't come to see me, I'll come to your door," Bane said with a wicked grin.

After struggling all night without successfully activating the Grim Reaper mask, Bane decided to give up before touching Death.

Bane casually tossed the mask into the dark space, stood up from his chair, stretched, looked out the window, and clicked his tongue, saying, "Since we're already here, why don't we go soak in a hot spring later?"

As he was thinking about these things, there was a gentle knock on his door.

Without going through anything, Bane casually waved his hand in the air, and the door lock opened. A hostel attendant carrying a tray walked in and said, "Sir, this is your breakfast reservation."

"Thank you, just leave it on this table," Bane nodded.

After setting down the tray, the waiter turned to Bane and said, "Sir, before dawn, a guest was already waiting downstairs to see you, but he hasn't dared to come up and bother you. What do you think?"

"A guest?" Bane raised an eyebrow, then said, "Invite him up."

"Yes," the servant replied softly, then left the room and closed the door behind him.

Meanwhile, in the lobby, Jiraiya was sitting on the sofa, feeling restless and itchy from time to time.

This is a hot spring inn. Even if you don't stay here, people often come to soak in the hot spring. Jiraiya has been sitting in the lobby for so long and has already seen several groups of people chatting and laughing as they go to soak in the hot spring.

He was itching to get there; he wasn't in a hurry to see Bane, but rather to get to the hot springs and find a way to spy on him.

Especially among the group of people who just passed by, there were some beautiful women who perfectly suited his playmaking style.

Just as Jiraiya was fantasizing about lewd things, an innkeeper came down the stairs, nodded to Jiraiya, and said, "Lord Jiraiya, that guest invites you upstairs."

As soon as the serious matter was brought up, Jiraiya's expression instantly returned to normal, and all his previous fantasies were swept away. Jiraiya immediately stood up and said, "I understand, thank you."

As he spoke, he took two banknotes out of his wallet and placed them on the waiter's plate, then strode confidently up the stairs.

As Jiraiya approached the door of Bane's house, just as he was about to knock, he heard a voice from inside say, "The door's unlocked, come in."

Hearing this, Jiraiya took a deep breath and said, "Then I apologize for disturbing you, Spirit Lord."

Opening the door and stepping inside, Jiraiya saw the man who had completely overwhelmed him last night with just his aura sitting at the dining table, eating breakfast.

To be precise, he had finished eating and was drinking the last drop of juice.

"That's really fast," Jiraiya thought to himself.

He had just seen the servant bring up a large plate of food, and in the short time it took to go up and down the stairs—Jiraiya probably didn't even have three minutes—it was all gone.

"Jiraiya." Bane wiped non-existent grease from the corner of his mouth with a tissue, then looked at the other person and said, "What brings you here?"

Bane was a rough and uncouth man, and his eating habits and movements were not very elegant. However, perhaps because Jiraiya had a halo effect on his understanding of Bane's identity, he inexplicably felt that Bane was very elegant.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

"I heard that the Spirit Lord has not yet left, so I have come here today to apologize for what happened last night," Jiraiya said, getting straight to the point.

Hearing this, Bane waved his hand and said, "There's no need for that. From your perspective, you haven't done anything wrong."

"No, the people from Mount Myōboku have already informed me of the situation here. We heard that you only recently returned from the Pure Land. To be honest, we in Konoha also studied the mask you took from the former residence of the Uzumaki clan last night and learned that the mask is related to the Pure Land and the Shinigami. Well, the reason I came to visit you today is to clear up the misunderstanding between us. I also wanted to ask if there is anything else that you, Spirit Lord, need Konoha's help with?" As Jiraiya spoke, seeing that Bane's expression seemed unwilling to discuss the Pure Land and the mask, he changed the subject.

"Want some help?" Bane thought for a moment, then stood up, left the dining table, walked to the window, opened it, and looked at the scenery outside.

Jiraiya didn't rush to speak, and waited quietly in the room for a response.

A warm breeze blew in through the window, causing Bane's hair to flutter a few times. It was then that Bane spoke up, "Speaking of which, there is indeed something else."

"Please speak," Jiraiya replied quickly, relieved.

"I've heard that there's a ninja clan called 'Kato' in your Konoha Village, who are skilled in using secret techniques related to the soul. I'm a little curious about this technique," Bane said, slowly turning around to look at Jiraiya.

"Kato!?" Jiraiya was slightly surprised.

He knew about the Kato clan, of course, since Tsunade, the woman he secretly loved, had once been in a relationship with Kato Dan, a young genius from the Kato clan.

Whenever he thinks about this, Jiraiya feels a dull ache in his heart.

However, the Second Shinobi World War caused heavy losses to all the clans in the village, including the Kato clan. Kato Dan, who was hailed as the most talented member of the Kato clan in a hundred years, also died on the battlefield and could never fulfill his dream of becoming Hokage.

After the war, the Kato clan declined, or more accurately, began to recuperate.

This is also a tradition of many ninja families. If they suffer a severe blow or loss, they will quietly reduce their presence for a period of time, or even an era, and stop participating in any ninja affairs. They will focus on recuperating, expanding their population, and restoring their strength.

This is the current state of the Kato clan. They no longer participate in village affairs, and even the young members of the clan do not register at the ninja academy. After all, relying on their family tradition is enough to make them ninjas and continue the family's legacy. But if I don't register, I am not a ninja of the village, and this concept is completely different.

After a few decades, or one or two generations, the Kato clan will flourish again before they get involved in ninja affairs.

Of course, this choice has its advantages and disadvantages, but such a situation does exist.

Nowadays, there are quite a few families in Konoha that have already "gone into seclusion".

However, there are some special and peculiar ones among them, such as the Senju clan. Not to mention Konoha, as one of the top clans in the entire ninja world, the Senju clan basically no longer participates in any village affairs.

Other families go into seclusion because they are too weak, but it seems that they have stopped interfering because they are too powerful.

(End of this chapter)