"You're welcome. Does this mean you've captured it?"
"The backlash from the pact was far worse than I expected. At least it's now as docile as a sleeping sheep inside me."
"Then is there anything else left to prepare?"
Orochimaru's words did not seem to catch Menma's attention. Or perhaps he simply did not care whether Orochimaru had truly mastered the Shinigami's power.
"Hehe, of course. I'll proceed at once, Leader."
Orochimaru formed hand seals, and the intangible Shinigami appeared behind him again.
This time, however, there was neither the chilling aura from before nor Orochimaru's bizarre dance.
Just as Orochimaru had said, it was as docile as a sheep.
Then Orochimaru changed his hand seals and slapped the ground.
The markings of the Summoning Technique spread out instantly, and a coffin engraved with the character for "one" slowly rose from the summoning circle.
The coffin then opened, revealing a strange body.
Madara, who had been watching the entire time, felt his eyelid twitch.
With his Rinnegan, he could see through to its essence. This body had the same composition as his own...
However, examining it with his Rinnegan revealed that it was not as refined as the body he currently used.
I remember there was another coffin beside me when I was resurrected, marked "four"... If my resurrection was planned, and my body was made afterward, then this body marked "One" predates mine... Does that mean the person they're resurrecting now was originally supposed to come before me?
Then who were two and three used for?
After summoning the body, Orochimaru raised a hand and pointed. Like a puppet, the Shinigami drew a short blade, plunged it into its own abdomen, and slashed sideways!
Several souls flew out of the wound in its belly. All of them had been