A phantom of the Shinigami appeared. Uchiha Yan formed hand seals, and his soul emerged from the top of his head before plunging straight into the Shinigami's mouth, leaving behind a single instruction:
"Watch over my body!"
"Yes!"
This was not an out-of-body experience, but a technique Uchiha Yan had created by combining the Spirit Transformation Technique with his Dharma manifestation.
After entering the Shinigami's Stomach, Uchiha Yan found himself facing not some eerie scene of his own, but an alternate dimension suspended beyond the mortal world, shrouded in a soft, hazy glow.
There seemed to be no alternation between day and night here, only an eternal, gentle light, neither glaring nor dim, making it feel as though even time had stopped.
Uchiha Yan glanced back and saw several gray-blue chains connecting to the Shinobi World. He could clearly sense that their other ends were connected to Minato Namikaze's soul.
"Sever!"
Uchiha Yan closed his right hand around empty air, and a golden longsword appeared in his grasp. He swung it hard.
Without Orochimaru controlling them, the chains were exceptionally fragile and were severed in a single stroke. Once broken, they vanished as though they had never existed.
At the same time, Minato sensed that the Shinigami was no longer tugging at his soul. His eyes filled with confusion. Was the Shinigami really just a vessel, rather than an actual god of death?
"Fourth, I can sense that the Shinigami seems to have disappeared. Are you all right now?"
Minato nodded slightly. "I'm fine! It looks like the Fifth succeeded, though we still don't know whether he's found Orochimaru."
Tobirama looked utterly bewildered. "What's the deal with this Orochimaru? Why is the Fifth so wary of him? He wasn't even like this with Uchiha Hikari.
"Orochimaru is already dead, yet