Shinigami in the Ninja World

The soul of Obito was trapped in Naruto's grasp, a mixture of chakra and spirit, with the most striking feature being his Mangekyō Sharingan.

His living body had been destroyed, but his soul still lingered.

Here, in the "space between life and death," the power left behind by the Sage of Six Paths manifested more quickly than ever before, with overwhelming strength.

"I'm still...," though his soul was incomplete, Obito's consciousness clung tightly to existence.

He had already channeled the remaining energy of his life into the Ten-Tails.

He should have died.

Was this his soul?

"Am I going to lose myself, like those ninja resurrected by the Edo Tensei?" Obito rasped, recalling how those revived souls had been stripped of their chakra.

Naruto's grip tightened around him, his voice cold. "Lose?"

Or perhaps something else.

These final words were meant for Madara Uchiha, who lifted his gaze to the enormous form of the Ten-Tails. Its massive, spiraled bud, like a giant snail shell, was slowly unfurling.

A glimmer of excitement flickered in Madara's eyes, much like the blooming flower in front of him.

Naruto, however, ignored the sight, keeping his focus on Obito. "Death isn't a punishment for someone like you."

"Neither for your body nor your soul."

Obito stared at Naruto, confused by his words.

If death wasn't the punishment, did Naruto plan to seal him?

"Your eyes shouldn't go to waste, either," Naruto added.

Karin seemed to realize something. She instinctively reached for her waist, touching the Dragon Vein. "You plan to turn him into a Zanpakutō?"

"Of course," Naruto replied without hesitation. "But unlike Kurama, this blade will be different…"

He had learned a lot about forging Zanpakutō from dealing with Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

While he couldn't bring himself to experiment on Kurama, he was curious about the process.

Now, he had found the perfect material.

For Obito Uchiha, he felt no reverence for life.

"Is it even possible to use a human for this?" Karin asked, not questioning the ethics of the decision, but more whether a human could be used as material for a Zanpakutō.

Naruto didn't answer.

In the Soul Society, the material for creating Zanpakutō was spirit energy—hollows, shinigami—these were the building blocks.

In the ninja world, Naruto had chosen to use natural substances rich in chakra instead, but it didn't mean human souls couldn't be used.

Fear filled Obito's eyes.

A sword?

He, who had fought against ninja, who opposed becoming a tool, would now become a weapon to be wielded by someone else?

Naruto performed the Four Symbols Seal, the technique spreading from his palm, encasing Obito's soul and condensing it into a small, red and black orb the size of a thumb.

He tossed it casually to Karin and then lifted his gaze toward the Ten-Tails.

The bud had separated from its body and shot upward, piercing through the space, bursting through layers of rock and soil as it emerged like a sprout breaking through the earth.

The forms of the tailed beasts, from the One-Tail to the Nine-Tails, each resembled a unique creature from the sky, land, sea, or some combination of human and animal.

But when combined, their ultimate form was a "tree."

Naruto wasn't surprised; Kurama had told him long ago about the ancient legend of the God Tree, which came to this world with the Sage of Six Paths' mother.

The God Tree's enormous presence was overwhelming. Even though its bud had not yet fully bloomed, it already cast a shadow that blotted out the sun.

Kurama emerged from Naruto's shoulder, also staring at the tree. "I can feel it…"

"Their presence."

"How did they manage to do this?"

Naruto's gaze shifted toward the white-haired man with glasses, who quickly raised his hand, pointing to the two men in the corner—one with blonde hair, the other with gray hair—before Naruto's sharp eyes could fall on him.

"The two from the Cloud Village," he said.

"Kinkaku and Ginkaku," Kurama muttered, recalling the names from his memory.

Naruto grunted in acknowledgment.

"They were descendants of the Sage of Six Paths," Kurama explained, his voice low. "Two reckless little brats."

"They thought that by using the Sage's artifacts, they could seal me away, just like they did the Eight-Tails."

"Of course, the result was that I devoured them."

Naruto gave Kurama a strange look.

It had... eaten people?

"That was the first—and the last—time," Kurama grumbled, turning his head away in embarrassment. "Didn't even get to taste them, just swallowed them whole."

"And then they clawed their way out, taking a chunk of flesh with them before I spat them back out."

"If it wasn't for my respect for the Sage of Six Paths..."

"They would have been long dead."

Kurama didn't think much of it. At the time, it had no knowledge of techniques like Edo Tensei, and whether or not the Second Hokage had developed the technique by then was uncertain. Not to mention, Kinkaku and Ginkaku had perished alongside the Second Hokage.

Who could have predicted that such events would lay the groundwork for today's situation?

"The God Tree is being awakened," Kurama whispered.

Naruto shifted his gaze from Kurama to Madara.

The man also turned, locking eyes with Naruto.

"I knew I couldn't count on Obito, but I didn't expect him to be so useless," Madara said quietly, though his voice betrayed some effort to remain calm. "And now, here we are."

Naruto waved his hand, causing the blue particles to gather and reform into the Vortex Blade.

"Dead men shouldn't interfere with the living," he said softly. "Madara, you've crossed the line."

Madara shook his head, his voice resolute. "The strong dictate the world."

"Whether dead or alive, only the strong have the right to decide."

"I don't know if it's their incompetence or your interference that's thrown everything into chaos," he continued, glancing at the sword in Naruto's hand. He vaguely remembered Naruto invoking some words before using the blade—"Disrupt, Vortex"—which seemed to match the way Naruto disrupted all his plans.

"Nagato's Rinnegan was stolen by you."

"Obito, who was implanted with Hashirama's cells, never managed to fully awaken the power of the Rinnegan."

"I had hoped that after becoming the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki and wielding the power of the Six Paths, he would accomplish something to turn the tide."

"How disappointing…"

"Even Hashirama and Tobirama were fooled, but you—who knew nothing of the truth—have constantly thwarted my plans."

"It's infuriating."

Naruto gripped his blade tighter, his tone calm. "Should I take those words as your final farewell?"

At that moment, the Ten-Tails' body merged entirely with Madara's, the massive blossoming bud piercing through into the real world.

"No," Madara replied, his Susanoo shaking its head in unison with him. "I'm telling you this…"

"Because you've proven to be a worthy opponent, one who deserves my respect."

"And also to stall for time, because battling you in this state of Edo Tensei is far too difficult."

He paused, lowering his head to glance at Kabuto, who was lurking behind Kinkaku and Ginkaku, a small white snake coiled around his arm.

"And this little guy over there—let's not forget about him."

Raising his hand, Madara continued. "Naruto Uzumaki, I must admit that you've earned my respect."

"I once thought that people like me, like Hashirama, would never appear again in this world."

"If they did, it would be a thousand years from now, just as it took eons between the Sage of Six Paths and us."

Madara formed a hand seal, channeling his chakra.

"Six Paths Ten-Tails Coffin Seal."

The massive beast condensed into a ball of flesh and was absorbed into Madara's body.

Naruto remained calm, watching him closely.

"I had been planning this long before my death, waiting for the right candidates—Obito and Nagato," Madara continued, his gaze cold. "Once the preparations were complete, Nagato would use the Rinnegan I bestowed upon him to resurrect me."

Naruto narrowed his eyes.

So, Nagato's Rinnegan hadn't been his own after all.

Madara's Susanoo, compared to other Uchiha, was different—larger, more solid. In the blink of an eye, it grew muscles, donned armor, and transitioned from transparent to semi-transparent, shielding Madara's body completely.

With a hand seal held in front of his chest, Madara muttered, "Edo Tensei: Release."

Somewhere, unseen by the naked eye, a tether snapped.

Kabuto looked up, his face filled with surprise.

Edo Tensei…

It could be undone by the revived ninja themselves?

Or had Madara simply broken free of his control through sheer willpower?

The small white snake opened its mouth, letting out a sigh in Orochimaru's voice: "Don't be surprised, Kabuto. Any technique can be undone."

"That is Madara Uchiha…"

"The man who, alongside Hashirama, stood at the pinnacle of the ninja world after the Sage of Six Paths."

Kabuto lowered his head again. "Orochimaru-sama, aren't you worried about what Naruto will do after he finishes dealing with Madara?"

The small snake smirked.

"Aren't you confident that Naruto will win?" Kabuto asked, narrowing his eyes with a smile.

"Madara is certainly formidable, able to toy with life and death, stirring up turmoil in the world even in death," Orochimaru replied. "If it were me, with that power and knowledge, I wouldn't have done better."

"But Naruto is different…"

"He is a Shinigami."

"No matter how much a dead man surpasses death, in the end, he's still a dead man."

Kabuto nodded thoughtfully.

Naruto released his sword, letting it fall. "So you think wielding Obito's former power is enough to make you so confident?"

"The same power in different hands can produce vastly different results," Madara said proudly. "Just like the Wood Release."

"More than one person has inherited the Wood Release, but only Hashirama became the God of Shinobi."

"The Rinnegan, the Ten-Tails, the Six Paths' power—it's the same."

Naruto didn't respond. Just as his sword was about to hit the ground, he invoked the release incantation.

"Disrupt, Vortex."

Blue particles stirred up a whirlwind, spreading into fine dust, nearly invisible to the naked eye.

Madara leaped into the sky, soaring upward.

He escaped through the rift created by the Ten-Tails' destruction, flying out of the space between life and death.

Naruto grabbed Karin's hand, pulling her with him as he followed.

In the space between life and death, Kabuto scratched his head awkwardly, looking up at the sky.

"They can fly… but I can't…"

"How am I supposed to get out of here?"

The small white snake in his hand opened its mouth, spitting out a sticky, saliva-covered scroll.

Above the space between life and death was a vast forest, located at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain.

Naruto moved faster. Even though Madara's Susanoo had the advantage in size, Naruto quickly caught up.

Blue wind surged faster than the massive warrior.

"Weren't you so confident in your power?" Naruto's calm voice carried over the wind, perfectly reaching Madara's ears. "Why are you running before we've even started?"

As he spoke, the back of Madara's Susanoo began to crumble. Its wings vanished in the blink of an eye.

Next were its tengu-like mask and the armored legs.

This ability, considered one of the greatest among the Sharingan's powers, crumbled like fragile glass under the force of Vortex.

Madara's body was gradually exposed.

Naruto reached out, about to grab him, just as he had done to Hashirama and other Edo Tensei ninjas, intending to pull out their chakra from the revived body.

But Madara twisted his body, forming hand seals. The pale purple of his Rinnegan shifted, turning blood-red.

Black tomoe patterns appeared on the circles of the Rinnegan, growing clearer.

The sky twisted, and the wind howled violently.

A massive meteor, large enough to cover half the sky, descended.

The day turned to night.

"Tengai Shinsei."

~~~

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