Soul Battle

The moment Masahiko collapsed, he was completely dumbfounded.

Although Hashirama and the others found it perfectly normal for Masahiko to collapse at this point, he himself knew that talk of overdrawing his life force was complete nonsense...

Could I have stood up too fast just now and deprived my brain of oxygen? That was his last thought before losing consciousness.

Kazama Valley battlefield.

After Masahiko collapsed, his three disciples burst into tears.

Hashirama choked up. "Second Grandfather, may you rest in peace. I will never forget everything you've done for our Senju!"

Tobirama looked sorrowful. He stepped forward two paces, examined Masahiko carefully, and his expression turned strange.

"Big Brother..."

Hashirama ignored him and continued talking to himself.

"Big Brother! Stop crying! Second Grandfather is still alive. His breathing is steady; he's just asleep..."

"Huh?" Hashirama looked up, his face full of disbelief.

"Really?" The three disciples were overjoyed.

Deep within Masahiko's consciousness.

Masahiko found himself in a place that was both familiar and unfamiliar.

"This is... the Uzumaki Clan Compound? The location is right, but when did these buildings become so retro? And black and white, too? The compound is huge... Did the population grow again?"

Then, Masahiko witnessed a massive war. He could not hear any sounds or make out anyone's features, only watch the battle through black-and-white silhouettes.

Within those monochrome shadows, countless people fell, and countless others charged forward. Two apparent leaders fought each other until the one at a disadvantage took out a "disc." After a few movements, both were sucked into the "disc," and the battle finally came to an end, leaving behind nothing but ruins.

"A disc? That was a mask..." Masahiko murmured, looking helpless.

"So that's why destroying the Reaper Death Seal only gave me 2 Witness Points. You were behind this, Shinigami..."

"Did I run into a Naruto World version of body possession?" Masahiko gently shook his head, but instead smiled in relief.

Countless transmigrator predecessors had told Masahiko that a transmigrator's soul was twice as powerful as an ordinary person's, and Masahiko had firmly believed it.

The black-and-white scene shattered, leaving only a seemingly boundless space. There were only two people within it—or rather, two souls.

"As expected of the Shinigami. In just two years, you've gone from a weak cluster of soul energy to gradually taking human form. But I... What the hell! Why am I a stick figure?" Masahiko looked down and blanched. Thin arms, thin legs—he was clearly a stick figure.

The Shinigami opposite him instinctively charged over. Masahiko turned and ran.

"Damn it, this is what having twice the soul power looks like? Predecessors, you totally screwed me over!" Masahiko cursed as he ran, feeling utterly wronged.

"Fine... I can only rely on myself. This is my soul world, so I should be in charge, right?" For some reason, the first thing Masahiko thought of at that moment was a stick-figure League of Legends video he had watched in his previous life.

"Grant me strength, League of Legends! Let Leona possess me..." As he thought this, a longsword and shield actually appeared in Masahiko's hands.

Masahiko was overjoyed. He steadied himself, turned to face the Shinigami, and shouted, "Die! Zenith Blade!"

Five minutes later...

A stick figure missing one arm ran across the boundless wilderness. The gap in strength was too great. Masahiko's sword strikes did not hurt the Shinigami at all, and in the end, he had no choice but to bite off a piece of the Shinigami's soul to escape.

Masahiko looked at the relentlessly pursuing Shinigami behind him, his face filled with grief and indignation. This was going too far. Even Uchiha Madara had never treated me like this...

"Damn relying on myself! System, come out and save me!"

Name: Uzumaki Masahiko

Age: 22 (-)

Ninjutsu: 553 (+) Body: 489 (+)

Techniques: 3834 (+10) (Convertible)

Three Body Jutsu:

LV10 (100000) (Max Level)

Shuriken Throwing Technique: LV10 (100000) (Max Level)

Earth Release: LV4 (121223/200000) (+)

Wind Release: (Can Fuse 1/2)

LV6 (425628/600000) (+)

Fire Release: (Can Fuse 1/2)

LV6 (412335/600000) (+)

Water Release:

LV2 (10000/20000) (+)

Lightning Release:

LV4 (103608/200000) (+)

Sealing Jutsu: LV6 (413328/600000) (+)

Yang Release:

LV5 (200000/400000) (+)

Yin Release:

LV-1 (-1000/0) (+)

Special Talent: Perception Ability

Mining LV6 (10030/20000)

Forging LV8 (40059/60000)

Overall Evaluation: S

Witness Points: 41

What the hell was Yin Release LV-1? Was it because one of my arms got eaten?

Still, it was a blessing in disguise. Yin Release had finally appeared on the Attribute Panel. Masahiko decisively added all his Witness Points to Yin Release.

Yin Release:

LV6 (409000/600000) (+)

Masahiko's stick-figure arm grew back. It felt as though someone were pumping him full of air, and his entire soul rapidly swelled.

Once all the changes were complete, Masahiko looked up and discovered that the Shinigami was already in front of him. He reflexively reached out, pressing the Shinigami to the ground in an instant. It struggled desperately, but had no power to resist.

Only then did Masahiko have time to examine his current soul. He had not become a giant as he had imagined. Instead, he looked exactly like his real self, and even felt about as strong.

"Is an LV6 soul already this solid? Then at level 9 or 10, could I appear in soul form like the Sage of Six Paths?" Masahiko thought, then lightly shook his head. "I'm not going to die anyway!"

Masahiko looked again at the constantly struggling Shinigami in his grasp. "If this were several decades from now, when you had enough power to absorb the Nine-Tails, I really wouldn't be able to do anything to you."

"But now..." Masahiko attacked with both hands, smashing the Shinigami apart entirely. The fragments drifted toward Masahiko of their own accord. He let out a small breath, feeling his soul become a little more solid.

Yin Release:

LV6 (510000/600000) (+)

"Very good. That's equivalent to gaining 10 Witness Points, and..."

Another familiar line of Chinese characters flashed before Masahiko's eyes. "Witnessed and completely altered a Naruto World side storyline: End of the Death God. Received 8 (*10) Witness Points."

"Adding the previous 2 points, does that mean the entire Reaper Death Seal was worth 10 points?" Masahiko murmured. "Such an important technique only gave 10 points, while the Kaguya Clan Extermination gave me a full 50. Is it because Kaguya is so important and that was part of the main storyline, or can side stories only give a maximum of 10 points?"

Masahiko could not figure it out. A system without an instruction manual was truly frustrating.

"Time to get out... I wonder how many people are anxiously waiting outside. Did Hashirama shed a few tears when he saw me collapse? Come to think of it, this coma really came at the right time."

With a thought from Masahiko, the soul world dissipated. In reality, Masahiko opened his eyes.

"Second Grandfather, you're finally awake." A gentle female voice reached him.

Masahiko had imagined many people who might be the first person he saw upon opening his eyes, but he never would have expected it to be Mito.

Oh, right. And there was also that eight-year-old little brat, Kenji Senju.