Hiruzen Sarutobi's surgery was only one scene among many.
After Kamui finished the surgery.
She immediately headed for Namen Hall on the outskirts of Konoha.
At night, the cold moonlight spilled down, illuminating the silent outskirts.
A dilapidated temple stood in this deserted wilderness.
Back then.
When Nagato attacked, even this place had not been destroyed.
Because it was far enough away, it had instead survived by sheer luck.
"Heh heh... This is the place..."
Orochimaru stood beside Kamui.
The two looked up at the temple.
Aside from some talismans, all kinds of masks hung there.
This place was the "Namen Hall" of the Uzumaki Clan.
On the surface, it was utterly unremarkable.
In reality, however, it concealed the means of undoing the Uzumaki Clan's S-Rank secret jutsu, the Reaper Death Seal.
"Which one is it, exactly?"
Orochimaru examined the masks.
Kamui stepped forward first and plucked a horned demon mask from among them.
"This is it."
Kamui brushed the mask, wiping away the dust.
Back then.
The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had relied on the S-Rank forbidden jutsu, the Reaper Death Seal, which he had learned from Kushina Uzumaki.
He had forcibly sealed away half of the Nine-Tails' Power.
This also meant that the Nine-Tails had been split into two parts.
One part belonged to Naruko.
The other half was inside Minato Namikaze.
And as the price for using the forbidden jutsu, the Reaper Death Seal.
Minato Namikaze's soul, along with half of the Nine-Tails' soul, had been swallowed into the Shinigami's stomach, where they would remain entangled forever.
That was also why Impure World Reincarnation could not summon Minato Namikaze.
Because...
Minato Namikaze's soul was neither in the real world nor in the Underworld.
It was inside the Shinigami's stomach!
After the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and the