svetikya Chapter 49 The Corpse Demon Seal
Chapter 49 The Corpse Demon Seal
At this moment, Orochimaru was terrified but powerless to resist the Grim Reaper, so he could only ask Zeref for help. Jiraiya also watched Zeref warily, who for some reason did not resist.
Zeref remained completely unmoved by Orochimaru's pleas for help, merely tilting his head slightly and looking up and down at the Shinigami behind Hiruzen Sarutobi with great interest.
When Zeref heard Orochimaru say that any soul would be sealed inside the stomach of the Shinigami, there was no sign of panic on his face.
On the contrary, after Death's arm burrowed into his body, Zeref's eyes even held a hint of curiosity and anticipation.
Orochimaru received no response from Zeref, and a sense of despair gradually crept into his heart.
Whether Zeref is already overwhelmed with his own problems or has decided to stand by and do nothing, it's no longer possible to place any hope in Zeref.
Along with the despair in Orochimaru's heart, a ruthlessness and determination also arose from the depths of his soul.
What a joke! How could he just die here like this, taking down that old man Hiruzen Sarutobi?!
He also wants to gain eternal life and learn all the ninjutsu in the world!
Orochimaru gritted his teeth and laboriously beckoned with his finger, causing the Kusanagi Sword on the ground to move.
Suddenly, the Kusanagi sword, controlled by Orochimaru, pierced Hiruzen Sarutobi's chest from behind.
The moment he was pierced by the Kusanagi sword, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood. His hands, which were gripping Orochimaru, trembled, and the Shinigami arm that was holding Orochimaru's soul froze for a moment.
A perfect opportunity! Orochimaru's pupils contracted, and he immediately seized the moment when Hiruzen Sarutobi's movements froze, attempting to pull his soul back into his body.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's pause was only for a moment. With his strong will, he endured the pain in his chest and continued to pull at Orochimaru's soul, and the two were locked in a stalemate for a time.
At this point, Hiruzen Sarutobi was already at his limit, but Orochimaru's resistance was not what worried him most at the moment...
The souls of Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju have been swallowed by the Shinigami, and Orochimaru's soul has also been seized by the Shinigami, but Zeref's situation is completely different!
The Shinigami summoned by the Reaper Death Seal successfully extracted the souls of Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Orochimaru.
However, the shadow clone controlling Zeref was unable to extract the soul from Zeref's body!
This is simply impossible!! A look of horror flashed in the eyes of Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was well-versed in the forbidden technique of the Corpse Demon Sealing.
Even Jiraiya, who couldn't see the Grim Reaper, sensed something was wrong with what was happening to Zeref.
After all, the reanimated bodies of the First and Second Hokage had already turned to dust, and compared to Orochimaru's utter shock, Zeref's expression and demeanor were rather overly calm...
Jiraiya frowned, tilting his head slightly to look questioningly at the shadow clone of Hiruzen Sarutobi in front of Zeref.
The shadow clone looked serious as it forcefully pulled the Grim Reaper's arm, which had been protruding from its chest, out of Zeref's body.
However, to the shadow clone's astonishment, the Grim Reaper's hands were empty!
The shadow clone stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
Why is this happening?! The Corpse Demon Seal is ineffective against Zeref?!
Unlike Hiruzen Sarutobi's shock and worry, Zeref's expression became extremely complex, a mixture of mockery, sorrow, and anger... These complex emotions gradually settled into a deep, cold demeanor.
He looked at the Shinigami behind Hiruzen Sarutobi, who also seemed to be puzzled by their inability to seal Zeref's soul, and uttered a sentence: "A guy who can only do this much dares to call himself a Shinigami?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi: ......
Jiraiya: ......
Orochimaru: ......
grim Reaper:......
Regardless of what onlookers think, Zeref's words were undeniably sarcastic to Death.
Whether or not the inhuman Grim Reaper understood Zeref's meaning, the enormous and ferocious Grim Reaper suddenly moved, actually stretching out its own arm towards Zeref—the Grim Reaper was actually going to use its own body to imprison Zeref's soul!
The Grim Reaper's arm pierced through Zeref's body, but to the astonishment of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru, the Grim Reaper failed once again!
No matter how many times he tried, Death could never pull Zeref's soul out of his body.
—It was as if Zeref's soul was imprisoned within his own body by some other strange force.
At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi recalled what Mavis had said about Zeref's immortality, and gradually came to a conclusion.
What he didn't expect was that Zeref's immortality could even withstand the corpse seal...
The shadow clone of Hiruzen Sarutobi in front of Zeref gave Zeref a deep look before turning into smoke and disappearing with a bang.
Having anticipated that Zeref might use methods unfamiliar to the ninjas to counter the Reaper Death Seal, Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly made the decision to give up after a slight sense of regret.
Even if we can't seal Zeref away as well, we must at least do our best to imprison Orochimaru in the stomach of the Shinigami forever!
The recall of the shadow clone allowed Hiruzen Sarutobi to regain some chakra, and the tug-of-war between him and Orochimaru gradually tilted in Hiruzen's favor.
Orochimaru sensed something was wrong and was worried that Jiraiya beside Zeref would return. A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes as he controlled the Kusanagi sword in Hiruzen Sarutobi's body to continue stabbing deeper.
"Ugh..." Hiruzen Sarutobi groaned, and Orochimaru's soul, which had been separated, actually returned a little to Orochimaru's body.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had reached his limit, turned his gaze and saw Jiraiya rushing over.
In a daze, Jiraiya's figure, backlit by the light, gradually transformed into Jiraiya's childhood appearance in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes.
Turning his gaze back to Orochimaru opposite him, unsurprisingly, Orochimaru's figure seemed to gradually revert to his childhood appearance.
Even as he faced imminent death, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but smile.
He said to Orochimaru, "Orochimaru, even if I can't seal your soul, I'll take all your ninjutsu with me."
Orochimaru was stunned upon hearing this, and the next moment his eyes widened in horror as he saw the Grim Reaper brandishing his dagger and slashing fiercely at the part of Orochimaru's soul that had been extracted.
"No!" Orochimaru roared, but could only watch helplessly as the Grim Reaper's dagger severed a part of his soul.
"seal up!"
As Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking, Orochimaru instantly felt that he had completely lost feeling in his hands, and his arms fell down uncontrollably.
The soul in his arm has been taken by Death!
"You old geezer! How dare you..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer hear Orochimaru's venomous roar.
With a faint smile, he fell into Jiraiya's arms, who had just arrived. The last thing he saw was the image of Orochimaru as a child.
After taking in Hiruzen Sarutobi's soul, the Shinigami behind him seemed to give Zeref, who couldn't harvest souls, a faint glare before disappearing in displeasure.
The Third Hokage of Konoha Village died.
Looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi in his arms, whose lips still held a smile until the moment of his death, Jiraiya was somewhat dazed as he thought of his beloved disciple Minato Namikaze, who had also sacrificed himself for Konoha.
A sudden wave of sorrow and exhaustion overwhelmed Jiraiya instantly.
I've truly failed... I couldn't save either my apprentice or my teacher...
After a moment of disorientation, Jiraiya, who had witnessed too many tragedies in the ninja world, finally came to his senses.
He gently set down Hiruzen Sarutobi's body from his arms, stood up, looked at Orochimaru, and said sternly, "You can't escape, Orochimaru!"
Losing his hands meant losing most of his ninjutsu. Orochimaru gritted his teeth and looked at Jiraiya with a somewhat ferocious expression, pondering a way to escape from Jiraiya's grasp.
Before Orochimaru could come up with any effective solution, Zeref, who had been completely indifferent to Orochimaru's predicament, suddenly appeared beside him and helped him.
Zeref's actions not only made Jiraiya frown, but even Orochimaru, whom he was supporting, was taken aback.
Orochimaru couldn't help but say with some surprise, "This is truly astonishing... You were so ruthless just now..."
Ignoring Orochimaru's cryptic remarks, Zeref glanced at Mavis and her group who were returning from the Nine-Tails' lair and said to Jiraiya, "I still have a use for this guy. I'm sorry, I can't let you capture him."
As Jiraiya's brow furrowed deeper, Mavis and Kakashi's team arrived.
Jiraiya glanced at Naruto and the others, and his brow relaxed when he saw that they were unharmed. Just as he was about to speak, he noticed something in Mavis's arms. Upon closer inspection, he was shocked to discover that what Mavis was holding was a miniature version of the Nine-Tails!
What kind of trouble has Kurama gotten into this time?! The ever-changing Kurama?! Jiraiya didn't understand but was greatly shocked.
The first thing the arriving group saw was Hiruzen Sarutobi lying on the ground.
Kakashi's pupils suddenly contracted, and his eyelashes trembled involuntarily. As an elite Jonin, he had already deduced from Hiruzen Sarutobi's unfocused pupils that the Third Hokage was dead.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, however, lacked Kakashi's keen insight.
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi lying on the ground, Naruto instinctively thought that the Hokage was injured and hurriedly ran over to check on him, but was stopped by Kakashi, who had noticed that Zeref and Jiraiya were facing off.
Jiraiya looked at the bewildered Kakashi and his two teammates, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "The Third Hokage has already sacrificed himself in the battle against Orochimaru."
Even though he had already guessed the truth, Kakashi's heart still sank, and he couldn't help but sigh.
Sasuke and Sakura stared wide-eyed in disbelief. That was the Hokage! The strongest ninja in all of Konoha had actually died in battle...
Unlike Sakura's simple grief, Sasuke subconsciously looked at Zeref and Orochimaru standing together, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes, gone in an instant.
Just then, Naruto seemed to finally realize what Jiraiya had said, and he shouted, "Perverted Sage, what nonsense are you spouting! Grandpa Hokage is just injured!!"
Naruto's voice was very loud, as if speaking loudly enough meant that what he said was true, and that the Hokage was not dead as Jiraiya had said.
But no matter how loudly Naruto spoke, tears still flowed uncontrollably from his eyes.
Kakashi, who was about to continue explaining the truth to Naruto, suddenly stopped talking after seeing Naruto's tears.
From Naruto's tears, he realized that Naruto actually understood everything, but was just unwilling to accept the fact.
With tears streaming down his face, Naruto turned to ask for confirmation, only to be met with Jiraiya and Kakashi's pitying and sorrowful eyes.
Naruto felt a pang of pain in his heart, finally unable to deceive himself any longer.
Scenes of the care and guidance he received from the three previous Hokage flashed through Naruto's mind.
Naruto glared fiercely at Zeref and Orochimaru, his pupils turning into red beast eyes, the patterns on his beard deepening, and red chakra faintly visible around him.
He suddenly charged at Orochimaru, shouting, "You bastard! I'll avenge Grandpa Hokage!!"
Naruto's sudden action startled everyone else, and in the blink of an eye, Naruto was already standing in front of Orochimaru.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes dangerously, but before he could make a move, Naruto, who was coming straight at him, was knocked to the ground by Zeref.
Seeing this, Jiraiya quickly brought the unconscious Naruto back, and only breathed a sigh of relief after finding that Naruto was just unconscious and not seriously injured.
Zeref showed no intention of continuing his attack. His gaze swept around the room and landed on Mavis and the Nine-Tails in her arms: "I will stay in Orochimaru's territory for the time being."
After explaining his destination to Mavis, Zeref, supporting Orochimaru, turned and walked in the opposite direction.
Jiraiya watched Orochimaru's retreating figure, his teeth clenched, feeling the depletion of his chakra, and ultimately suppressed the urge to chase after him.
A gust of wind blew up dust, obscuring the figures of Zeref and Orochimaru. When the dust storm subsided, Zeref and Orochimaru had already disappeared from everyone's sight.
Watching Zeref and Orochimaru's departing figures, Sasuke suddenly spoke up: "Are we just going to let them leave like that? They are enemies of Konoha, aren't they?"
Jiraiya glanced at the Uchiha boy who Naruto often mentioned and said calmly, "Konoha suffered too many losses in this battle, even the Hokage was killed. The most important thing now is to quickly settle things within Konoha. Also..."
Jiraiya turned around and looked at the miniature fox lying quietly in Mavis's arms. He finally had a moment to ask, "Can anyone tell me what's going on with the Nine-Tails right now?"