"Monster! Monster!"
Because the crowd had surged forward in a chaotic rush, many had been pushed to the ground.
Those who should have been trampled to death were spared due to Naruto's intervention.
But upon seeing the gruesome scene of dismembered bodies, they screamed in terror and tried to flee in the opposite direction.
For these, Minato swiftly dealt with them, each receiving a shuriken to the head.
Only two were left alive.
Minato, having fought his way to the position of Hokage, was no stranger to such bloody scenes.
However, after dealing with the small fry, the area was a horrifying mess.
Naruto decided to simply fly into the air with Minato, Kushina, and the two captives. Otherwise, they'd have to walk over a pile of corpses.
Kushina scanned the area from above, searching for the location of the Mask Storage Shrine.
Finally, in the outskirts of the Land of Whirlpools, after passing through a dense forest, they found a dilapidated shrine.
However, the shrine didn't appear to have been destroyed by human hands, and instead had collapsed due to age and lack of maintenance, causing the supporting pillars to give way.
Since it's built in a secluded forest in the suburbs and relatively small in size, the shrine had remained hidden for so long that no one had discovered it.
Naruto landed with the four, with the two captives now under his Genjutsu control.
"I didn't expect this place to be the least changed."
Kushina gazed at the half-collapsed shrine with emotion.
She had come here with her parents to pay respects when she was very young.
"Speaking of which, Naruto, what's the point of bringing these two along?"
Minato asked, looking at the two captives following Naruto like zombies.
Naruto smiled: "Sacrifices."
Both the Impure World Reincarnation and the Dead Demon Consuming Seal required sacrifices.
Naruto had studied the Forbidden Techniques from the Scroll of Seals, so he naturally knew how to use Edo Tensei.
So Naruto planned to use Edo Tensei to reincarnate Minato directly, avoiding any issues with the soul.
As for the sacrifice to the Shinigami, Naruto had no intention of wearing the mask himself. In the original work, Orochimaru had dared to wear it because he had his unique Body Replacement Technique to exploit a loophole and the White Zetsu's body to use.
Naruto couldn't exploit such a loophole, so he decided to control someone else to perform the sacrifice.
Naruto led the way into the shrine.
Minato, Kushina, and the two captives followed closely behind.
The interior of the shrine was cold and damp, exuding an eerie atmosphere. The most striking feature was the 27 demon-like masks neatly hung on the walls, staring intently at anyone who entered.
For someone with weak resolve, stepping through the door would immediately fill them with fear and dread.
"The layout here hasn't changed at all."
Kushina examined the shrine's interior.
Though her memories of many things were hazy, the arrangement of the masks remained vivid. The environment was indeed unforgettable and spine-chilling.
"Minato, you remember what the Shinigami looks like, right?"
Naruto asked Minato. There were simply too many masks, and they all looked similar.
Each one had a fierce, green face with fangs, appearing terrifying and intimidating.
Minato carefully examined the masks on the wall and quickly identified the Shinigami Mask.
"Third from the right on the top row."
Naruto looked at the mask and had one of the captives step forward while the other collapsed, unconscious.
Using chakra to form an arm, Naruto first transferred a portion of the Nine-Tails' Chakra into the captive's body. Then, he took the Shinigami Mask and placed it in the captive's hands.
"Step back first!"
After the three of them stepped back several steps, the captive put on the mask.
Immediately, enveloped in Chakra, the captive's body began to twist and contort uncontrollably.
Finally, facing the trio, the captive spread his arms.
Behind him, the massive, white-clad figure of the Shinigami appeared, a dagger clenched in its teeth.
Naruto controlled the captive, who in turn controlled the Shinigami.
Under layers of control, the Shinigami raised its hand, gripping the dagger in its mouth, and slowly sliced open its own abdomen.
A blue orb emerged from the Shinigami's stomach, floating in the shrine. Minato immediately felt a sense of familiarity.
At the same time, the captive wearing the mask also developed a massive wound across his abdomen.
Clang!
Thud!
The Shinigami Mask slipped from the captive's face, and he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
After all, he was just an ordinary person with some combat skills.
Without hesitation, Naruto quickly formed hand seals. Black lines snaked across the ground, and Edo Tensei was completed.
The blue soul instantly merged with the sacrifice placed in the center of the seal.
As paper fragments swirled and rose, Minato, wearing the Hokage's ceremonial robe and a Konoha Jonin vest, appeared before them, his face marked with cracks.
Edo Tensei Minato appeared.
"This is..."
Suddenly, Minato was brought out by the Edo Tensei, and he obviously didn't understand the current situation.
'I remembered that I was arguing with the Nine-Tails in a dark world just now, so how had everything suddenly brightened?'
Just as he looked around, his eyes suddenly widened.
"Ku... Kushina!"
The Edo Tensei Minato stared in disbelief at the red-haired woman before him, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
As for the two blondes, one big and one small, standing beside her, he instinctively ignored them.
The chakra clone of Minato was, after all, just a shadow clone. Until the clone was dispelled, the original wouldn't have any memories of this period.
Now that the original had emerged, the clone chose to dispel itself.
He dissolved into a wisp of Chakra and merged into Edo Tensei Minato.
"This… this is..."
Minato's face first showed a flicker of confusion, then rage, followed by hesitation, bitterness, and finally acceptance.
Having absorbed all the memories from this period, Minato looked up at Kushina and Naruto again, his eyes filled with deep guilt.
"I'm sorry, I..."
"Don't apologize yet!"
Before Minato finished speaking, Kushina interrupted him.
"Kushina..."
Seeing the mischievous look on Kushina's face, Minato suddenly had a bad feeling and took a step back.
"He won't disappear no matter how much he's beaten, right?"
Kushina asked Naruto. Although she had already beaten him before, it had been a clone, so she had held back, leaving her feeling unsatisfied.
Now, she could finally vent properly.
"Yeah, that's right. No matter how much damage the reincarnated body takes, it'll recover."
"In that case... Minato, let me blow off some steam first!"
Kushina grinned menacingly and pounced on Minato.
Though he couldn't feel pain, Minato let out exaggerated screams to let Kushina vent her frustration.
Watching their playful scuffle, Naruto's thoughts began to wander.
'Once Minato was fully revived, there's no need to be in a hurry to extract the half of Kurama.'
'With half of Kurama and the Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato could help solve many problems.'