Chapter 74: A Wall Full of Shinigami Masks
"Here." Kenichi tossed the Executioner's Blade to Sasori.
Sasori actually smiled, which was rare enough to feel unreal for a second. The smile was oddly youthful, almost like the kind idols practiced in mirrors.
If nothing else, Sasori's looks were still sharp. In another life, he would have had fans calling him big brother without hesitation.
Kenichi glanced down at Jūzō's corpse and scratched his head.
Jūzō's strength was not bad. But at most, he was an elite jonin. Dying to the two of them was not surprising.
Kenichi used to think elite jonin were terrifying.
Now, he felt like he could kill an elite jonin in a one on one fight. If Sage Mode and the Sharingan still could not do it, he might as well find a block of tofu and smash his head into it.
Sasori drove the Executioner's Blade into Jūzō's chest. Blood seeped up the metal, repairing the damaged sections as if the weapon were alive.
While doing that, he looked up. "Kenichi, why is your lightning black and red?"
"I do not know either," Kenichi said, shrugging. "It turns that color after I enter that state."
As he spoke, he started looting the body.
Jūzō did not carry much, but Kenichi found a sealing scroll. Inside was a large stack of money. He counted it and estimated roughly thirty million ryō.
For a rogue ninja who had not been gone from his village for long, that was already impressive.
To Kenichi, it was a windfall.
He was already calculating what equipment he could buy, and how quickly he could build his own laboratory.
Sasori studied him in silence.
He remembered that creature from before, the one formed from black red lightning. It had done serious damage. He could not help but feel it was connected to Kenichi.
Kenichi ignored the stare and gestured forward. "Let's go. Since we are already in the Land of Whirlpools, I want to find something."
With Sasori helping, it would be much faster, especially since the target was a mask.
Kenichi remembered that the Shinigami mask was in the Land of Whirlpools, but not the exact location. Only that it was in a building surrounded by forest.
Sasori did not ask further.
After Kenichi used Fire Release to burn Jūzō's corpse to ash, the two left together.
As they moved, Sasori finally asked, "Kenichi, why did you burn his body?"
Kenichi glanced sideways.
He understood why Sasori would question it. Cremation was not common in the ninja world. Most people buried the dead.
That habit also made Kabuto's later Edo Tensei disasters possible. If everyone were cremated, far fewer bodies would remain usable.
But Kenichi had Edo Tensei in his hands now, so he had no interest in leaving himself loose ends.
"It's convenient," he said casually. "I'm too lazy to dig a grave."
It was an excuse.
In truth, he was already thinking ahead.
One day, he might really act like a necromancer, casually summoning dead ninjas with a wave, then using them like pieces on a board.
If a conflict with Konoha happened, he could even use Edo Tensei against Tsunade and arrange a clean ambush afterward.
If the enemy was Naruto, the so called chosen one, then Minato and Kushina would be excellent candidates. But they would need to be controlled the moment they were summoned, or they might figure out how to undo the technique themselves.
Kenichi still had body parts from certain people.
When they dealt with Jūzō, Kenichi had also cut off one finger.
Jūzō was strong enough to be useful later.
The Land of Whirlpools was not large.
Kenichi and Sasori searched building after building until they finally found it.
A wall filled with masks.
"So many…" Kenichi stared at them.
They looked like ordinary masks at a glance, but each one carried an ominous chakra that made the air feel heavier.
Looking closer, Kenichi realized the style was similar to Hannya masks.
Sasori studied them, chin tilted slightly. "These masks seem related to the soul."
"They might have special functions," Kenichi said quietly.
These masks were created by the Uzumaki clan after using the Reaper Death Seal. Minato and the Nine Tails' souls should be sealed inside one of them.
There were also theories that the masks represented different gods.
Kenichi did not find that convincing. If it were true, the Uzumaki clan would have been terrifying beyond reason.
Kenichi's own soul was not sealed by the Reaper Death Seal, so he could not identify which mask contained which soul aura. Orochimaru's hands were sealed, which was why Orochimaru could sense his own soul signature.
That was how the correct mask had been found in the future.
Kenichi did not hesitate.
He took all the masks.
They were priceless research materials, and studying them might even lead to real research on the Shinigami itself.
The Shinigami had to be real.
It did not behave like a rigid technique or a mindless formula. It felt like something with awareness, with personality.
Kenichi had been curious about it for a long time.
Edo Tensei could summon souls from the Pure Land, but it could not summon anyone trapped in the Shinigami's belly. And once someone was taken inside, they did not escape on their own.
In the future, Minato and others stayed trapped in there until Orochimaru forced the way open.
So Kenichi wanted to understand the truth.
Was the Reaper Death Seal a sealing technique, or a summoning technique that dragged a spirit down and let it do the sealing?
Kenichi lifted the last mask and tucked it away.
Then he looked at Sasori. "By the way, do you know any rumors or records about gods in Sunagakure?"
Kenichi was genuinely curious.
Gods existed in this world, that was obvious. Hidan's cult proved it. That so called evil god granted him immortality, which was the entire reason the immortal duo was possible.
So if the Shinigami was also a real entity, then the ninja world was sitting on far more terrifying truths than most people realized.
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