Orochimaru selected a mask and put it on. An eerie, invisible aura enveloped the entire room.
The aura was cold and sinister. An ordinary person exposed to it would soon fall ill, and their life might even be endangered.
But who among those present was ordinary?
Wearing the Shinigami Mask, Orochimaru began a twitching dance. As his movements intensified, the atmosphere in the room grew increasingly oppressive, as though the air itself had frozen.
"He's here."
Madara looked behind Orochimaru. The frigid aura instantly coalesced into a huge, tangible figure. A pale specter with the face of a demon from legend appeared behind Orochimaru, a short blade clenched between his teeth.
"So this is the 'Shinigami'?"
Menma watched him, sensing the unusual fluctuations of energy.
Neither chakra nor natural energy. He really is a different kind of being...
Now that the Shinigami had been successfully summoned, Orochimaru's eyes gleamed strangely beneath the Shinigami Mask, revealing an extraordinary fervor and determination.
Suddenly, he thrust out his hand and pointed at Menma!
The Shinigami gave Menma a long look, grasped the blade in his mouth, and swung it at him!
The sudden turn caught everyone off guard. The seemingly translucent short blade actually struck Menma, who appeared not to have reacted in time.
But the expected cleaving blow never came. The short blade in the Shinigami's hand was intangible and passed straight through his body.
Beneath the mask, Orochimaru's eyes flashed.
The Shinigami of the Reaper Death Seal was a being who held power over souls. All his attacks targeted the soul; souls were the only things this blade could cut.
If the Leader was still a living being, this slash would leave every part of his flesh unharmed, but in theory, his soul would already have been...
"I see. A means