People in Demon Slayer: The Journey That Began with Demon Slayer

"Minato, now that no one will bother us, let's continue the seal!"

Minato Namikaze nodded and sealed the last positive Nine-Tails once more.

Sensing that it was about to be sealed back into the body of a Jinchūriki, a newborn brat, Kurama let out a furious roar of resentment.

In pursuit of that last sliver of hope, Kurama, disregarding the potential harm to itself, unleashed the Tailed Beast Ball once more.

"seal!"

As the positive Nine-Tails was sealed into the Nine-Tails' body, the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball exploded within the scarlet flower's stamen.

At the last moment, Yosuke opened a hole in the crimson flower's stamen, allowing Minato Namikaze's shadow clone to send Naruto out.

Minato Namikaze's shadow clones handed Naruto's child over to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Third Hokage, please take good care of Naruto. This is my last request to you as Hokage."

A violent explosion occurred inside the scarlet flower's core, rupturing it completely. The aftershocks of the explosion tore up the surrounding buildings until silence fell.

Minato Namikaze's shadow clone was dispelled the moment of the explosion, successfully creating the illusion that his real body had died.

Looking at Naruto in his arms and the Bagua seal on Naruto's abdomen, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a deep sense of guilt.

"I'm sorry, Minato, it was all for Konoha. I will take good care of Naruto."

The deaths of Minato Namikaze and Yosuke filled Danzo with immense joy, and he revealed a greedy look as he looked at Naruto in Hiruzen Sarutobi's hands.

"Hiruzen, leave the training of the Jinchuriki to me. I guarantee I can train him into a perfect ninja."

Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately refused, saying, "No! This was entrusted to me by Minato before he died."

"The Jinchuriki is the Fourth Hokage's child, and he has many enemies. Only the Root organization can better protect him!"

"Now that the Fourth Hokage has sacrificed himself, I will temporarily assume the position of Hokage of Konoha. My first order is that no one present is allowed to reveal Naruto's identity, and from today onwards, his name will be Uzumaki Naruto!"

After issuing the first order, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked sharply at Danzo: "Danzo, are you aware that Orochimaru has appeared in Konoha?"

Danzo feigned ignorance, saying, "Orochimaru? I didn't know he came to Konoha."

"Danzo, don't let me find out you've done anything to betray Konoha, or even if you're my old friend, I won't show you any mercy!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi carried Naruto away from the battlefield.

Danzo's expression shifted between light and dark, before he chuckled, "Heh, the Fourth Hokage is dead, there's no one standing in my way anymore, Konoha and the Jinchuriki will be mine sooner or later."

Beyond the Land of Fire.

Yosuke, Minato Namikaze, and Kushina Uzumaki appeared once again.

A second before the explosion, Minato Namikaze, having completed his sealing, used the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape the blast radius, thus saving the three from certain death.

After parting ways with Naruto, Kushina Uzumaki, whose Nine-Tails was sealed once again, collapsed from exhaustion.

Minato Namikaze held Kushina Uzumaki in his arms, his face full of heartache.

Yosuke asked, "Minato, what are your plans next?"

"I'll take Kushina to a place to rest for a while first, and then I'll investigate the identity of that masked man and the mastermind behind the scenes that the Sage of Six Paths commissioned."

Minato Namikaze, who has always been very gentle, now had a somewhat cold expression.

"And you, Mr. Yosuke?"

"I'm going to find Orochimaru."

"Looking for Orochimaru? Is he the one you're looking for?"

Yosuke nodded and said, "It wasn't before, but it is now. The person I'm looking for has possessed Orochimaru, so I have to find Orochimaru."

Minato Namikaze handed a scroll to Yosuke.

"This is a scroll for communication. I will also help search for Orochimaru's whereabouts. If I have any news, I will pass it on to you through the scroll."

Yosuke took the scroll: "Thank you."

"No need for thanks. It is Kushina and I who should thank Mr. Yosuke. If there is any situation, Mr. Yosuke can also notify me through the scroll, and I will come over as soon as possible."

Yosuke parted ways with Minato Namikaze and left the Land of Fire.

Minato Namikaze removed the Konoha headband from his forehead, clutching it tightly in his hand, a tear sliding down his cheek from the corner of his eye.

Minato Namikaze, who was once proud to be a member of Konoha, is now betrayed by his own comrades in the village, making him feel that all his efforts have been in vain.

With a heavy heart, Minato Namikaze threw his headband to the ground, but his eyes never left it.

After a while, Minato Namikaze picked up the headband again and put it in his pocket.

"Third Hokage, I hope you can take good care of Naruto. Don't make me disappointed in you or in Konoha again..."

Chapter 180 Orochimaru and the God

The Land of Fields, one of Orochimaru's underground bases.

Orochimaru's body was covered in tubes connected to instruments for a physical examination.

"All indicators are normal, and there are no signs of surgery. What on earth has entered my body and is controlling me?!"

Orochimaru angrily pulled out all the tubes from his body and destroyed all the equipment.

"There's no need to reject me, Orochimaru."

The voice of the God Lord echoed in Orochimaru's mind.

“You are the one I have chosen, and you should be happy and proud of it.”

Orochimaru was now only furious: "What exactly are you?"

"My name is God Lord, and I am the one who can help you stand at the top of the world." God Lord's phantom appeared in front of Orochimaru.

"You're a soul? Have you mastered the forbidden art of immortality?!"

Orochimaru saw the phantom of the god and his face was filled with disbelief, then his eyes turned gloomy.

"I know what you're thinking, Orochimaru. You want to complete your unfinished forbidden technique, transferring your soul into someone else's body in order to get rid of me. It's useless. My soul has already merged and bound with yours. Now we are one. No matter which body you transfer to, I will be with you."

The god who could access Orochimaru's memories directly saw through Orochimaru's thoughts.

Orochimaru, who had been put on the defensive, calmed down and asked, "Why did you choose me?"

"Because of your strength and your ambition, I chose you. I could have chosen to annihilate your soul and replace everything you had, but I didn't do that because I wanted to train you to be my successor."

Orochimaru scoffed, "Successor? Ha, what do you have that makes me want to follow you?"

"Everything I have! Even if your forbidden reincarnation technique is completed, there will be an unavoidable flaw: the compatibility of our souls!"

Orochimaru frowned: "Soul compatibility?!"

"Everyone is born with their soul growing alongside their body. The soul will grow into the form most suitable for the body. However, your forbidden reincarnation technique ignores this point. Therefore, even if you successfully transfer your soul to another body, your soul will suffer indelible damage due to the incompatibility with the body."

Orochimaru had never considered this point raised by the God, because he only considered how to transfer the soul to the body, without considering whether the soul was compatible with the body.

"If that's all there is to it, I can make up for these shortcomings on my own."

"I believe you have the ability. I've said before that I will teach you everything I have, including granting you true immortality and my power, the Divine Art of Words!"

"Word magic?"

"That's right. Word Magic is an ability born from those chosen by the world. It has infinite power. Only those who are also chosen by the world can resist Word Magic. So once you master my Word Magic, you will stand at the pinnacle of the world."

Orochimaru had no concept of the divine power of words that the god had spoken of, so he shared a part of his memories with Orochimaru.

Orochimaru felt somewhat excited after witnessing the power of the God's Word of Power.

But it was just excitement. Orochimaru, who had also witnessed the power of the Rinnegan, felt that the divine power of the God's Words and Pain's Rinnegan abilities were somewhat similar.

More than the divine power of the gods, Orochimaru desired the Rinnegan, the supreme eye power known as the "eye that controls life and death," which was said to be possessed only by the Sage of Six Paths.

Ever since his defeat by Pain, Orochimaru has been coveting the Rinnegan.

However, the Rinnegan is far beyond reach, while the power of the God Lord is within reach.

"Then what about the price? I don't believe in the idea of ​​a free lunch."

"You are too weak now. I need you to keep growing and win something for me."

"what?"

"You're only at the Kage level right now, you're not qualified to know yet."

Orochimaru frowned, thinking to himself, "Even a Kage-level ninja isn't qualified to know? What kind of strength would be needed to find out?"

"To show my sincerity, let me give you a gift first."

The god waved his hand and opened a rift. A huge corpse appeared in Orochimaru's underground base. It was the corpse of the Yamata no Orochi that Yosuke had killed.

"what is this?"

"The legendary monster, Yamata no Orochi!"

"Yamata no Orochi?!"

"You modified your body, researched how to combine your human form with the form of a snake, and used it in the form of ninjutsu. However, the snake genes you used were far too weak. This is the gift I am giving you."

Before meeting Orochimaru, Orochimaru would definitely have scoffed at the idea that using snake genes was too weak, as stated by the God.

The snake genes used by Orochimaru were extracted from the skin of a white-scaled serpent that had lived in Ryuchi Cave for over a thousand years and was revered as the "White Serpent Sage."

However, after seeing the corpse of Orochi, Orochimaru had to admit that the White Snake Sage's genes he used were too weak.

The hierarchy among snakes is strict. Orochimaru, who genetically modified himself to resemble a snake, felt a natural, bloodline-based suppression when he met the White Snake Sage in Ryuchi Cave.

Even now, facing the dead Yamata no Orochi, Orochimaru felt an even more violent suppression from his bloodline than he did with the White Snake Sage.

The appearance of a legendary creature before Orochimaru ignited his curiosity as a scientific researcher.

Looking at the slash marks on the body of the Yamata no Orochi, Orochimaru asked the God, "Who could slay such a legendary creature as the Yamata no Orochi?"

"Ubuyashiki Yosuke".

Orochimaru asked in surprise, "That samurai?!"

“That’s right. He is also one of the chosen ones of the world, and he is my nemesis. He is definitely looking for you right now. There is no need for us to confront him directly.”

Orochimaru recalled his battle with Yosuke and asked, "What exactly was that posture of his? His aura was even more ominous than that of a tailed beast."

"Yosuke Ubuyashiki is the origin of the demon king,"