Start with a Zanpakuto and build the strongest Mist Village.

With a resolute gaze, Minato Namikaze let out a low shout and controlled the Shinigami to forcibly seal half of the Nine-Tails' soul, along with its chakra, into his own body.

A burning sensation came from my abdomen, and at the same time, it felt as if some terrifying entity had appeared inside me, as if it could tear me apart from the inside at any moment.

"What heavy chakra..."

Minato Namikaze gritted his teeth and used his remaining chakra to suppress half of the Nine-Tails' body. On his abdomen, a pattern representing a sealing array appeared.

Wow…

The sound of chains falling was heard, and the Nine-Tails, having lost half of its body, rapidly shrank, causing the originally tight chains to loosen somewhat.

"So it really was that move..."

Seeing this, the Third Hokage's eyes turned grave. Knowing the cost of that move, he knew very well what Minato Namikaze would face next.

Behind him, several Konoha ninjas arrived one after another and witnessed the scene. One of them said, "But the Nine-Tails is still there. Although it has shrunk a lot, it hasn't been completely sealed yet?"

"No, Minato's idea is not just to get rid of the Nine-Tails. What he wants to do is to keep the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki back in Konoha!"

The Third Hokage saw through Minato's actions and took a deep breath: "And the new Nine-Tails vessel... is that child!"

With the current power of Minato Namikaze and Kushina, it is simply impossible to completely seal the entire Nine-Tails inside Naruto. Not only is it beyond their own capabilities, but it will also be extremely difficult for Naruto to suppress the Nine-Tails in the future.

If the Jinchuriki goes berserk, Konoha and Naruto will likely pay an extremely heavy price in the future.

Therefore, Minato Namikaze chose to take half of Kurama's chakra and soul power with him. Although this weakened Kurama's power to some extent, it also provided Naruto and Konoha with a greater degree of safety.

But the fear is that Minato and Kushina, in their current state, might not be able to do that.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to enter, but the surrounding space seemed to be blocked by an invisible barrier, preventing them from entering.

"A barrier..."

Inside the barrier, Minato Namikaze forcefully swung his arm, struggling to resist the discomfort of Kurama entering his body. He changed hand seals and slammed his palm on the ground, creating an altar for an infant with burning candles.

"Next is the Eight Trigrams Seal..."

The towering Nine-Tails watched this scene from high above. When he saw Minato Namikaze place Naruto on the altar, his eyes flashed with anger. "The altar for sealing... Damn Fourth Hokage, you actually want to seal me again, and seal me into that brat's body?!"

Nine-Tailed Fox was incredibly perceptive; she could clearly see what these wicked people were up to.

Although it had lost half of its power, the Nine-Tails still struggled desperately, extending its sharp claws from within the Adamantine Lock.

Below, Kushina coughed, blood spilling uncontrollably. She had reached her limit, and with the Nine-Tails' struggle, she could no longer maintain the power of the Adamantine Sealing Barrier.

"Kushina!"

Minato Namikaze looked worried and quickly went to help him up.

But in that instant, Kurama's gaze sharpened, and it transformed into a top-tier timing hero, its claws slicing down through the air, its target none other than Naruto on the altar!

"Pfft!"

Time seemed to freeze at that moment, blood splattered everywhere, but the Nine-Tails' claws remained stationary in front of Naruto.

The blood that stained it dripped onto his small body, and standing in front of him were Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki!

The Nine-Tails' claws were blocked by their bodies, which is why Naruto was able to survive.

"Cough...cough..."

Kushina coughed, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, yet she smiled.

"Perhaps this is what parents are supposed to do... Naruto..."

Minato Namikaze gently embraced Kushina in front of him, a smile involuntarily appearing on his face: "Yes, it's a parent's responsibility... Next, it's the final gossip seal... Kushina, I'm afraid we won't see each other again, so say everything you want to say..."

"Naruto……"

"Although this scene is very touching, I have to stop here."

A sudden sound rang out within the special barrier, and three pure white figures burst through the air and appeared inside the barrier to everyone's astonishment.

The familiar voice and the specially made clothing caused Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki to show incredulous expressions, while Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others outside the barrier stared wide-eyed.

"That outfit..."

"It's the Seireitei! Those damned bastards! What are they trying to do? Are they planning to attack the Nine-Tails?!"

"Damn it, we have to stop them!"

Once the Nine-Tails is completely sealed, everything will be perfectly resolved. Even if Kushina and Minato are sacrificed, Konoha will still have the Nine-Tails.

But what if the Nine-Tails is also stolen, or even if the enemy takes this opportunity to attack Konoha again...?

"Water without a moonlit night..."

Minato Namikaze struggled to lift his head. Just a short while ago, Yoru Mizuki, who had been with him in the Land of Iron, was now in Konoha!

Looking at the clothes worn by the other people, Hozuki Gengetsu raised his hand to greet him, which made Minato Namikaze's expression even more complicated.

He coughed lightly a few times, blood spilling from his mouth. The Grim Reaper's scythe behind him seemed poised to sever the connection between his spirit and body at any moment, completely ending Minato Namikaze's life.

"So Seireitei is indeed under your control... What brings you here today..."

"What, are you worried that I'll take the opportunity to capture the Nine-Tails and destroy Konoha?"

Ye chuckled lightly: "Although the Nine-Tailed Fox has some value, please don't misunderstand. If I really wanted to do this, I could have done it long ago; there's no need for me to come out now."

"Too……"

Minato Namikaze breathed weakly, his eyes dim: "Your power... is already on a completely different level from mine..."

“Hey, self-awareness is a very difficult thing. You have self-awareness, no wonder you were able to defeat Orochimaru in the Hokage selection.” Yoru gave Minato Namikaze an approving look and said with a faint smile, “Don’t worry, my presence here has nothing to do with you. You can continue with your business, and I won’t bother you.”

“It wasn’t us…” Minato Namikaze paused, subconsciously pondering the current situation, while also recalling the rumors circulating in the ninja world about the Seireitei.

If it wasn't Kurama and the two of them, then what else could this place possibly have that could attract the attention of a monster like Minazuki Yoru?

Wait, could it be that!

Minato Namikaze's eyes widened suddenly. Although the possibility was extremely low, after eliminating all the impossibilities, the remaining answer could only be the correct one.

His gaze followed Minazuki Yoru's eyes, but this guy's attention wasn't on him or Kurama at all; instead, he was staring straight behind him!

"You can actually... see the Grim Reaper..." Minato Namikaze was utterly shocked.

Death is special; He is the ruler of souls and an existence that ordinary people cannot see.

Aside from the caster and target of the Reaper Death Seal, no one present, including Kushina Uzumaki, could possibly see the Shinigami's presence. Yet, at this moment, Mizuki Yoru's eyes...

"Death..."

As Mizuki Yoru gazed at the ferocious phantom hovering behind Minato Namikaze, he didn't even need to analyze anything; the impatient notification from the system's leader already echoed in his mind.

[Special spirit 'Grim Reaper' detected]

[The ferryman of the netherworld, the harvester of souls]

[Side quest has been triggered:]

[Mission (1): Successfully kill the special spirit 'Grim Reaper', reward 5000000 points]

Five million points are enough to demonstrate the high strength of this guy's soul, but the system has given him the identity of a ferryman of the Yellow Springs Pure Land, rather than a controller or manager.

"interesting……"

Yoru's gaze was fixed on the Grim Reaper in front of him, and the Grim Reaper seemed to sense this gaze as well, looking at Yoru and the other two.

It was fine if you didn't look, but once you did, the Grim Reaper seemed to have been injected with stimulants. He actually raised his palm, his arm extended infinitely, and grabbed at Minazuki Yoru and the other two!

"Wha, what?!"

This scene greatly surprised Minato Namikaze.

He didn't instruct the Shinigami to attack Minazuki Yoru; in other words, the Shinigami is acting on its own now.

How is it possible that Minazuki Yoru could actually trigger a Shinigami to attack on his own initiative?!

Ordinary people may not know this, but Minato Namikaze, who has mastered the Reaper Death Seal, naturally has some understanding of the Shinigami.

In this world, the Grim Reaper is a noble god who holds the reins of death; everything in the mortal realm is meaningless to him. No matter how strong you are, how vast your chakra is, or whether you are young or old, the Grim Reaper cares about none of that.

He only cares about the soul!

By offering your soul, you can make a deal with Death. This is the basic principle behind the Corpse Demon Sealing Technique. Without a soul, no matter how much you give, you cannot make Death work for you.

And because of the special nature of living beings, living beings cannot summon death; only the soul matters. Everything depends on the soul!

That is to say...

Minato Namikaze's brainstorming session quickly came to a conclusion, followed by an incredulous growl: "Minazuki Yoru, you...?"

"hehe."

Yoru ignored Minato Namikaze and instead stared at the approaching Grim Reaper's arm.

This guy's arm was like Luffy's, able to extend indefinitely. In an instant, it rushed in front of Yoru, but then, the arm actually bypassed Yoru and rushed towards Hozuki Gengetsu and Uchiha Shisui.

This situation startled the two people behind Ye, who then used Instant Step to quickly dodge.

"It's not you, bro, it's you who was provoked by Eien-sama! What do you want from me?!" Hozuki Gengetsu appeared from the side, looking at the Shinigami with a somewhat annoyed and unfriendly expression: "I'm telling you, don't go looking for trouble. If we start a fight, you're not someone to mess with!"

"Idiot, this Grim Reaper obviously only targets souls."

Uchiha Shisui said softly, "He wears a fake body and is no different from an ordinary human, so the Shinigami will naturally not look for him. But we are different. We are beings who directly fuse with natural energy with our souls. To the Shinigami, we are simply a beacon in the darkness!"

"...Always bring a girl!"

"You are all Grim Reapers, don't you ever think about going up against your counterparts in this world?"

Ye chuckled, "This is a rare opportunity. A pure spiritual energy battle is incomparable to any special battle where spiritual energy crushes chakra."

"whispering sound!"

Hozuki Gengetsu snorted softly, but he knew that Minazuki Yoru was right; this was indeed a rare opportunity to train himself.

"Shall we do it, you or me?" Hozuki Gengetsu asked Shisui.

"You do it."

Shisui shook his head; he didn't want to make a move in Konoha...

Chapter 160 Hozuki Gengetsu's Shikai!

Although he had severed ties with Konoha, Shisui still harbored some resentment.

He was unwilling to make a move within Konoha, even if the target was not someone from Konoha.

"Alright, let me do it."

Seeing that Shisui refused, Hozuki Gengetsu rubbed his shoulders and loosened his joints: "Speaking of which, it's been a long time since I've fought. I hope you can really get me a little excited and have some fun, just like Eida-chan said."

The Grim Reaper's demonic arm stretched out endlessly, like a serpent, and attacked Hozuki Gengetsu.

Minato Namikaze stared intently at Gengetsu Hozuki, who stood motionless, clearly not intending to dodge the attack.

This piqued Minato Namikaze's curiosity.

This attack targets the soul directly. Therefore, no matter how strong your chakra is or how special your physique is, unless you can truly achieve a qualitative change from a quantitative one, once you are caught by it and your spirit leaves your body, you will be as easy as fish on a sticky plate.

Even something as powerful as the Nine-Tails is no exception.

This is why the Corpse Demon Seal is hailed as a life-for-life technique, because as long as this technique can be used, it can basically achieve a one-for-one exchange with the opponent.

In a sense, this is a technique similar to the Eight Gates Formation or the Hero's Water, where one uses their own life to gain power!

Death came fiercely, but Hozuki Gengetsu neither dodged nor avoided it.

Just as its attack was about to land, Hozuki Gengetsu suddenly drew his sword from his waist, and his sword actually collided with the Grim Reaper's hand, producing a metallic clang!

"Ju... actually... blocked it?"

Minato Namikaze was utterly shocked. This guy could not only see the Grim Reaper, but he could also block the Grim Reaper's attacks.

Could it be that the rumors circulating in the ninja world are not just exaggerated rumors, but facts?

The Shinigami under the Seireitei... are they truly spiritual beings like Shinigami?!

"That's really powerful, you're the Grim Reaper."

"Om..."

Death remained silent, but the slight pause in his hand indicated that he was somewhat surprised that Hozuki Gengetsu had managed to block his attack.

But this surprise lasted only a moment before the ferryman of the underworld, the harvester of human souls, attacked again.