Shinigami Mask (Volume Finale)

Facing dozens of white snakes lunging toward him, Pain remained unruffled. His left hand, holding a Black Receiver, thrust forward in a rapid series of strikes, each one piercing the bodies of the white snakes.

"Impossible!"

The voice of Orochimaru emanated from the mouths of these white snakes. After being struck by Pain, they curled up and recoiled, coalescing back into the form of Orochimaru.

However, Orochimaru looked incredibly disheveled at this moment. Not only was he being held aloft by Pain's right hand, but his body was riddled with several bleeding holes. These holes were clearly the result of being stabbed by Pain's Black Receiver just moments ago.

Just then, the hand Pain was using to hold Orochimaru began to freeze. Pain frowned and violently flung Orochimaru's body away.

Orochimaru performed several backflips in mid-air before finally stabilizing his form and coming to a stop.

Looking at the black rod in Pain's left hand, Orochimaru asked with a gloomy expression, "What kind of weapon is this? It's actually capable of striking my illusion clone."

Pain did not answer Orochimaru, merely looking at him with calm eyes as he said, "Tell me your choice: join or die."

The Black Receiver in Pain's hand was a material generated by utilizing the power of the Rinnegan combined with Yin-Yang Release.

This substance could damage illusionary bodies composed of Yin Release Chakra. Not only could it be used as a weapon, but more importantly, it served as a chakra sensor for the Six Paths of Pain, acting as the key for Nagato to control them. Naturally, Pain would not explain any of this to Orochimaru.

Hearing Pain's words, Orochimaru fell silent.

Although he was extremely confident in his own strength and had yet to utilize the power within his cursed seal, Orochimaru clearly sensed that the enemy before him was completely different from any opponent he had faced in the past!

This man, possessing a Kekkei Genkai with extraordinary ocular powers, seemed to have reached a higher level than any other ninja.

After pondering for a moment, Orochimaru's expression shifted from gloomy to intrigued. Licking his tongue, Orochimaru asked with great interest, "Joining isn't out of the question, but I must know what the goal of your organization is."

Whether he was joining the organization or looking for an opportunity to escape, Orochimaru needed to first understand the purpose of the other party.

"To collect all the Tailed Beasts and rule the ninja world with absolute power!" Pain said indifferently. His tone was very casual, as if this were a simple and self-evident task to accomplish.

"Interesting, very interesting!" Orochimaru burst into loud laughter.

After laughing for a full ten seconds, Orochimaru finally stopped, looked at Pain, and said slowly, "I'm in!"

Hearing that Pain's goal was to rule the ninja world by collecting all the Tailed Beasts, Orochimaru felt this was a rare opportunity for him as well.

His current Yin-Yang Cursed Seal only contained the Yin Release Chakra of the One-Tail Shukaku, and he wanted to leverage the power of this organization to seize the power of more Tailed Beasts.

As for the One-Tail Shukaku he had just strangled, Orochimaru felt no regret, but rather, he was quite relieved. If Shukaku had been discovered by the other party, not only would it have been taken away, but it would have exposed the fact that he was also collecting Tailed Beasts.

To be safe, Orochimaru also decided not to easily use the Yin-Yang Cursed Seal in front of members of the Akatsuki, lest they discover any clues.

Seeing that Orochimaru had agreed to join the organization, Pain put away the Black Receiver and casually tossed something to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru caught it and opened his palm to see a ring engraved with the character for "Void."

"Put on this ring, and you will be an official member of the Akatsuki. From now on, your partner is Sasori."

On the other side, Yusuke was still unaware that Orochimaru had already joined the Akatsuki ahead of schedule and was preparing to use the organization's power to collect Tailed Beasts.

At this moment, he was sparring with Ryujin Jakka in his mental world, cultivating his soul power through this method.

The humanoid manifestation of Ryujin Jakka remained as imposing as ever. Every strike was wide and powerful, and the flames on its weapon crackled loudly with every swing.

Facing Ryujin Jakka's powerful offensive, Yusuke could only struggle to defend himself, barely parrying the blows while the voice of Ryujin Jakka constantly rang in his ears.

"Control your Reiatsu! Focus your Reiatsu onto the weapon!"

"Don't just focus on defense; you need to find opportunities to attack!"

"You are the worst batch I have ever trained!"

With a loud clang, as Ryujin Jakka delivered a horizontal slash, the weapon in Yusuke's hand snapped in two, and he was sent flying by the immense impact.

Sensing that Yusuke's remaining ocular power was running low, Ryujin Jakka said indifferently, "That's enough for today."

After several months of training, Yusuke could clearly feel the strengthening of his own soul power.

The most direct benefit was the improvement of his ocular power. Originally, Yusuke could only last about ten minutes fighting in the mental world, but now he was nearly able to hold out for fifteen minutes.

Additionally, his stamina had increased. Yusuke now required less sleep than before, yet he was less prone to fatigue during the day, and his mental focus had also improved.

Beyond soul power, another gain for Yusuke was the improvement of his swordsmanship. The school of swordsmanship used by Ryujin Jakka was known as the Genryu, which had been created by Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, one of Ryujin Jakka's former masters.

Under the tutelage of Ryujin Jakka, Yusuke was constantly learning the swordsmanship of the Genryu. This school of swordsmanship focused primarily on the control of Reiatsu, relying on it to enhance the power of sword techniques.

Glancing at the broken sword in his hand, Yusuke asked Ryujin Jakka, "When do you think I will be able to learn Bankai?"

Ryujin Jakka shook its head: "It is far too early for that now. The power of Bankai is not something your current soul can master."

"However, once you can sustain a battle in the mental world for half an hour, you will be ready to attempt the first form of my Bankai!"

After completing his training that day, Yusuke snuck out of Konoha and arrived at an abandoned shrine.

On the roof beam of this derelict shrine was a spiral-shaped emblem; it was a shrine that had once belonged to the Uzumaki Clan.

Hidden here was a divine artifact passed down through the generations of the Uzumaki Clan—the Shinigami Mask.

The Shinigami Mask had a mysterious connection to the God of Death. When a ninja donned the Shinigami Mask, they could summon the God of Death even without using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.

In the original story, Orochimaru had used the Shinigami Mask to summon the God of Death, cut open its stomach to release the souls of the First through Fourth Hokage, and restored the use of his own arms.

Slowly stepping into the dilapidated shrine, Yusuke found a wall covered in masks.

Nearly a hundred eerie, distinct ghost masks hung on the wall, seemingly placed there specifically to hide the true Shinigami Mask.

However, for Yusuke, who possessed powerful mental energy, the Shinigami Mask, which radiated the aura of a soul, stood out among these masks like a firefly in the pitch-black night, identifiable at a single glance.

"Is this the Shinigami Mask?" Yusuke slowly removed the grimacing, horned ghost mask and began to examine it closely.

Yusuke had once mentioned the Shinigami of the Naruto world to Ryujin Jakka, and the blade had been quite interested. After all, as a weapon that once belonged to a Shinigami of the Soul Society, it felt a certain curiosity toward the Shinigami of this world.

However, after hearing Yusuke's description, Ryujin Jakka concluded that the Shinigami of the Naruto world was not a true deity governing the life and death of all beings, but rather a powerful demonic entity that fed on souls.

Thinking about Ryujin Jakka's perspective, Yusuke found it quite logical. After all, in the original story, when Orochimaru cut open the Shinigami's stomach, it only released the souls of the several Hokage and Orochimaru's own arms that had been sealed by the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. This suggested that this so-called Shinigami only controlled the souls sealed by that specific technique.

Analyzing it from this angle, the Dead Demon Consuming Seal was more like a summoning technique: the caster sacrificed their own soul to summon the Shinigami, utilizing it to harvest the soul of their enemy.

In Yusuke's plan, he intended to borrow the power of the Shinigami to complete the 'Reverse Yin-Yang Cursed Seal'. The Shinigami itself existed in a purely spiritual form and fed on souls, meaning it was composed of highly refined Yin Release Chakra, which was very likely to satisfy the cursed seal's requirements for Yin-based materials.

"Although I've confirmed with Ryujin Jakka that, as a Zanpakuto, it can cut down spiritual entities like the Shinigami, I still can't evaluate the Shinigami's strength. If I summon it and find I'm no match for it, I'll have died for nothing."

After some thought, Yusuke decided that for the sake of safety, he would store the Shinigami Mask inside his Storage Scroll. He decided not to rush into summoning the Shinigami until he was certain of his success.

The next day, Yusuke arrived at the Pin-Chun Tea House, his favorite tea shop in Konoha.

"Huh? It's you." At that moment, Yusuke unexpectedly spotted the young waitress he had met once before.

The girl was wearing a floral apron, and her light gray hair was still styled in two braids that flicked against her shoulders, making her look lively and cute.

When the girl saw Yusuke, her face lit up with joy, and she trotted over to him.

"Lord Yusuke, it's been a long time!"

Yusuke smiled and replied, "Didn't you become a ninja? Why are you back working as a waitress at a tea house?"

Hearing Yusuke's words, the girl continued to smile, but a faint sadness flickered in her eyes: "Being a ninja really didn't suit me."

"When I was little, I always looked up to the dashing and heroic ninja, hoping that one day I could become a ninja that everyone admired."

"But only after I actually started carrying out missions did I realize how cruel the ninja world truly is."

From the girl, Yusuke learned that she was actually a former teammate of his disciple, Itachi, and her name was Inari Shinji.

During the mission where Itachi awakened his Sharingan, their team leader Mizunuki Yuki and teammate Izumo Tenma had been killed in action, and Inari Shinji had been severely injured, requiring several months of recovery.

Having felt the cruelty of the ninja world, Inari Shinji realized she lacked the talent to be a ninja, so she gave up that path and returned to the tea house to work as a waitress.

"I don't have the extraordinary talent Itachi has, and I couldn't accept the fact that my comrades died right before my eyes. Perhaps this tea house is the place best suited for me!" As she spoke, Inari Shinji seemed to drift back into some painful memories.

Coming back to her senses, Inari Shinji noticed Yusuke listening to her patiently and suddenly felt embarrassed. Her face turned bright red as she hurriedly said, "I'm sorry, Lord Yusuke, for wasting so much of your time listening to a little girl complain."

Yusuke smiled and shook his head, signaling that she shouldn't worry about it.

The two didn't talk for much longer before Inari Shinji went back to her duties as a waitress.

Watching the girl's busy figure, Yusuke finished the last of his tea in one gulp, his mind filled with a thousand thoughts.

"The Five Great Nations, the Akatsuki organization, countless independent small nations, and people like Obito hiding in the shadows, waiting for their moment."

"This world is truly chaotic, yet incredibly cruel."

"And having come here with a power as great as Ryujin Jakka, is there something I can do for this world?"

(End of Volume One)

As always, thank you all for your support!!!

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