"Ten percent instant kill?"
"That's basically the same as zero."
After seeing the effect of the Blade of Judgment, Uchiha Kai curled his lips in disdain.
A trait this useless deserved nothing more than gathering dust in the system's storage.
And the energy cost was enormous.
Only that foolish Shinigami would repeatedly use something like this.
Luckily, Kai possessed the Body of Light. He had perfectly avoided several of its attacks.
Otherwise, if he had taken them head-on, a single stroke of bad luck might have ended him instantly.
"However…"
Though the trait itself seemed useless, Kai's gaze drifted elsewhere.
Toward the crimson pillar embedded in the void.
Even though it stood between the Shinigami and the chains on both sides, there seemed to be a faint, invisible connection.
A medium belonging solely to the soul.
Hidden within the swirling ghostly aura.
And slowly being consumed.
"…This is…"
Kai paused.
Then flicked his finger.
Another black chain and red pillar shot forward and embedded itself directly into that medium.
"UGHHH!!!"
At the exact same moment—
Tobirama, who had been silently resisting the burning pain in his soul, suddenly let out a suppressed but agonized roar.
His Reanimation body trembled violently.
Fragments began to flake off.
Cracks spread across his entire body.
Even with the regenerative power of Edo Tensei, the body was starting to fall apart.
Without it—
He would have shattered completely.
"Tobirama! What's wrong?!"
Seeing this, Hashirama panicked and hurriedly asked.
At the same time, brilliant green light erupted from his body.
Wood Release healing power.
But even pouring large amounts of it into Tobirama did nothing.
Tobirama shook his head as fragments continued falling from his body.
"Brother…"
"That chain…"
"…it's sealing my soul."
Only then did they realize—
The medium Kai had discovered was Tobirama himself.
The anchor point through which the Shinigami had descended into the world.
Using the overwhelming power of the Divine Law Chain: Infinite Lock, Kai had not only bound the Shinigami's arm—
He had also begun invading backward through the contract between summoner and god.
To a deity specializing in souls, the scene would be obvious.
Tobirama's soul—already weakened after sacrificing half of itself—
Had now become the anchor stabilizing Kai's chains.
In other words—
If Kai wished to, he could now extract Tobirama's soul at any moment.
And enslave it.
"YOU BRAT!!"
Realizing what had happened, Tobirama shouted angrily for the first time.
"You actually set me up?!"
He regretted everything.
Why summon the Shinigami in the first place?
He should have simply fought using the endless regeneration of Edo Tensei.
Why resort to such forbidden tricks?
Now his soul was exposed so easily.
And that was completely different from sacrificing it willingly.
Meanwhile, Kai was completely focused on wrestling with the Shinigami.
Trying to rip off one of its arms.
Even if it was only a projection, it would still be incredible.
Hearing Tobirama yelling at him, Kai spared him a quick glance.
His small face immediately showed pure disgust.
"You're a grown man…"
"And you're talking about schemes?"
"Besides, your soul isn't that impressive anyway."
"Didn't you see? Even the Shinigami you summoned can't escape."
"…Troublemaker."
Kai deliberately emphasized those last three words loudly.
Why?
Just to vent a little frustration on behalf of the Uchiha clan.
After saying that, he began fumbling with his chains.
As if trying to pull back the third chain.
But instead of loosening—
The black chain embedded in the medium sank even deeper.
This time—
Not only Tobirama felt the effect.
Even the Shinigami on the other end reacted.
Tobirama: …
He wanted to cough blood.
But as an Edo Tensei body, he couldn't.
Even if his artery were cut open, not a single drop of blood would appear.
Hashirama frowned deeply as he watched his brother's condition worsen.
"Tobirama… didn't you say this technique had a flaw?"
A flaw?
Tobirama froze.
Then slowly frowned.
The dead were never meant to return to the living world.
When he first created Edo Tensei, he had immediately classified it as a forbidden technique, never intending to use it himself.
But now…
He hesitated.
"ROOOOAR!"
The Shinigami seemed to roar something again.
Judging by the tone, it certainly wasn't polite.
Feeling its arm weakening, it finally erupted completely.
Its enormous skull lifted toward the sky and let out a furious howl.
Deep within its hollow mouth—
A dark point of light began rapidly gathering.
A terrifying vortex capable of devouring souls.
The Shinigami had made up its mind.
Even if it violated the contract.
Even if it suffered backlash.
Even if the projection itself collapsed—
It would drag this blasphemous child and everything around him into the Pure Land.
Once there—
Even if the boy possessed strange abilities—
The Shinigami had a hundred ways to deal with him.
"Oh?"
"So you're risking everything now?"
Kai muttered as he felt the sudden surge of sinister resentment.
"Gods really have thin skin, huh… this is barely anything."
With that, he flipped his hand.
A small black Tailed Beast Ball condensed instantly in his palm.
At the same time—
The "Bright Moon" on Susanoo's right shoulder shone brilliantly.
Streams of chilling light poured into the miniature Tailed Beast Ball.
Instant Tailed Beast Ball.
Plus Yin Release amplification.
Plus Light Susanoo.
In the blink of an eye—
The Tailed Beast Ball transformed into something strange.
Half black.
Half white.
Kai stared at it curiously.
"What should I call you?"
"Taiji Tailed Beast Ball?"
"Yin–Yang Tailed Beast Ball?"
"…Or maybe Black-and-White Combo?"
Muttering to himself, he casually tossed it forward.
He wanted to see just how powerful the Shinigami's final attack would be.
SHOOOOOM—
Inside the Shinigami's abyss-like mouth, the dark energy swelled rapidly.
The cold aura was far stronger than before.
Stronger even than its previous death laws.
Like—
Like—
A final, desperate attack.
The chilling rules condensed into pure death origin power.
The Shinigami no longer cared about the consequences.
Even if this projection was destroyed—
It would kill the arrogant ant before it.
Soon, a gigantic vortex formed in the sky above the Hokage Tower.
The air screamed.
A terrifying gravitational force suddenly enveloped the entire village of Konoha.
Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon -> [email protected]/SorenSwiftTL (replace @ with a)