Naruto: Sasuke Uchiha Returns from Soul Society

He casually tossed the Grim Reaper mask toward Orochimaru.

"Wear it, and in your own way, snatch the soul from its belly in your arms."

Sasuke's voice was calm, "And let everyone see for themselves what the 'Shinigami' worshipped by the Uzumaki clan really looks like."

"..."

Orochimaru instinctively reached out and caught the mask. It was icy cold to the touch, and a chill that seemed to emanate from his very soul spread from his arm throughout his body.

He looked at Sasuke, a hint of struggle on his face.

"No...no!"

Orochimaru's voice was hoarse and urgent. He gripped his mask tightly and shook his head, "My Reanimation Jutsu hasn't reached its time limit yet. If I force this technique now, I'll die..."

"This container will completely collapse, and my soul will be completely devoured by that thing—it will be true death!"

"So what?" Sasuke retorted, his tone icy.

"..."

Facing Sasuke's indifferent eyes, Orochimaru's breath hitched. He knew that the boy in front of him was not joking.

A moment later, as if grasping at the last straw, he spoke urgently.

"...There is another way!"

Orochimaru's brain worked at lightning speed, and he immediately came up with a solution that would satisfy both sides.

He looked up at Sasuke and said, "I will teach you the hand seals for the 'Dead Demon Seal.' You will find a sacrifice, then use genjutsu to control him, make him wear this mask for me, cut open his abdomen, and perform this ritual in my place!"

He paused, seemingly afraid that Sasuke would not agree, and then immediately added, "The sacrifice must be a ninja with sufficient chakra; otherwise, his soul is simply not enough to support the arrival of the 'Grim Reaper'."

"There are some death row inmates like this in Konoha's prison, so it wouldn't be difficult to get one out."

"What do you think, Sasuke-kun?"

Chapter 143 is like looking up at a god; all one sees is arrogance.

Inside the Namen Hall, it remained dimly lit.

Several figures were escorted by ANBU ninjas and staggered in, then were roughly shoved to the open space in the center.

They are death row inmates deep within Konoha's prison, each of them a ninja whose hands are stained with blood.

At this moment, they all looked numb, as if they had already accepted their fate.

"The ninja leading the group was a special Jonin from Iwagakure. His chakra reserves are quite good; they should be enough to sustain the ritual, right?" Kakashi turned his head and asked Sasuke beside him in a low voice.

"enough."

Sasuke calmly looked at the Jonin, his crimson Sharingan subtly appearing.

"What...what do you want to do?!" the ninja roared, his voice trembling with fear, making a last-ditch effort.

The next instant, the world in his eyes shattered.

Instead, there was an endless, blood-red space.

His consciousness and body had become a puppet controlled by invisible threads, beyond his own control.

In the real world, the rogue ninja's eyes instantly became unfocused.

With an extremely stiff posture, he put on the hideous, pale, bony mask.

"What remarkable eyes," Orochimaru exclaimed sincerely from the side.

"Ugh—!!!"

A suppressed, agonizing roar erupted from the rogue ninja's throat.

He suddenly knelt down, his body convulsing violently, as a vast and filthy aura surged wildly into his soul through the mask.

"It's about to begin." Yoruichi's voice carried a rare hint of seriousness.

Under her gaze, the manipulated rogue ninja trembled as he formed an extremely complex hand seal.

And at that very moment—

The temperature in the entire Namie Hall suddenly dropped to freezing point.

An indescribable, terrifying pressure descended suddenly.

In the darkness, a pale blue phosphorescent flame quietly ignited.

Immediately afterward, a huge, semi-transparent phantom slowly emerged behind the rogue ninja.

It has two horns on its head, a ferocious face, and long, pale hair.

He had a short knife gleaming coldly between his teeth, huge prayer beads wrapped around his body, and empty eye sockets as he indifferently stared at the world before him.

An ancient stillness and hatred spread wildly in all directions from Him as His center.

Orochimaru, on the other hand, had his eyes wide open and a morbidly ecstatic expression on his face.

"They're here...they're here!"

Kakashi instinctively placed his hand on the "White Fang" on his back, his back already soaked with cold sweat.

Sasuke's expression turned extremely serious.

"It was indeed a hoax."

He looked at the phantom, feeling the unique aura emanating from it, and murmured softly.

Last time in Konoha, I couldn't see it clearly because of the Four Purple Flame Formation.

This time, without the barrier separating them, he was certain that this was a Hollow, and a powerful one at that, emanating an aura of at least...

“Wasstod…”

Yoruichi let out a dreamlike murmur, her cat-like eyes contracting sharply, "The intensity of this spiritual pressure is at least... that of a Vasto Lorde-level Hollow!"

The highest level Hollow!

An existence that can easily surpass most captain-level Grim Reapers!

However, just as she was deeply shaken by this, she keenly sensed an extremely strong sense of unease.

She stared blankly at the "Grim Reaper" floating in mid-air, at his empty eye sockets, her eyes filled with confusion.

Something's not right.

Yoruichi tilted her head, her voice full of confusion, "Why does it feel like... this guy... seems to lack self-awareness?"

Upon hearing this, Sasuke immediately shifted his attention.

After Yoruichi reminded him, he realized it too.

The so-called "Grim Reaper" before them exuded an incredibly powerful aura, yet it simply floated there blankly, its empty eye sockets devoid of any intelligent life.

"Unconscious..."

Yoruichi's golden eyes were filled with confusion. She circled the phantom rapidly before finally landing back beside Sasuke, her voice full of bewilderment.

"It's really strange. This guy's spiritual pressure is genuine, but his entire soul is like an empty shell."

Sasuke's brows furrowed tightly.

Why would a being with Vastod-level power lack self-awareness?

Who erased it?

Can't figure it out.

Since we can't figure it out, we need to get down to business first.

He withdrew his probing gaze and used illusion magic to give the puppet Iwa ninja his final command.

The rogue ninja's movements were stiff and slow. He slowly raised the kunai in his hand and, in an almost self-mutilating manner, slashed open his abdomen.

Strangely, no blood flowed out.

Almost at the same time, the huge "Grim Reaper" phantom behind him also made the exact same move.

His arm, which was wrapped in a cursed seal, slowly rose, and the dagger gleaming coldly fell silently into his hand.

Then, the cold blade sliced ​​open His own translucent abdomen.

In an instant, several translucent souls emitting a faint glow drifted out from the ruptured abdominal cavity.

One of the smallest spirits, the moment it appeared, seemed to be drawn by something and flew straight toward Orochimaru.

"Hehe...hehehehe..."

Orochimaru tilted his head back, opened his arms, and revealed a morbidly ecstatic expression on his face.

A long-lost sense of power returned through the connection of his soul, causing him to let out a satisfied groan.

Sasuke didn't have time to appreciate Orochimaru's ecstatic expression and urged him on.

"Reincarnation in the Impure World".

His purpose in coming here, besides confirming the true identity of "Death," was more importantly to pry out more secrets about this world from the mouths of the deceased.

"Hehe...of course."

Orochimaru licked his lips, preparing to resurrect several former Hokage using the Impure World Reincarnation technique.

An unexpected change occurred without warning.

The "Grim Reaper" who had been standing still like a puppet suddenly turned his head towards Uchiha Sasuke.

He seemed to...smell something.

An aura filled with greed and desire erupted from the enormous phantom.

"Roar--!!!"

A roar unlike any human's burst forth from the throat of that "Grim Reaper".

He abandoned the devouring of the sacrificed soul, and the short sword that had just returned to its place in his mouth was drawn out on its own, transforming into a dark blue stream of light, carrying the deathly stillness of severing souls, and fiercely attacked Sasuke.

"Oh no!" Yoruichi's expression changed drastically.

"Clang—!!!"