Naruto: Just Want To Be A Death God

The ninja being used as the "human pillar" could feel his life force rapidly draining away. He forgot Naruto's earlier instructions.

Instinctively, he tried to resist.

Because of his thoughts, the demon acted. It reached out a hand and grabbed his soul, tearing it from his body.

The hand that pierced through the ninja's body reached toward the blond boy in front of him.

Naruto clasped his hands together.

Golden chains whipped across, suppressing it.

Kurama tossed a scroll under the Shinigami's feet. The prepared sealing formation activated, and the power of the Four Symbols Seal surged forward, engulfing the "demon."

Yet it did not resist the pull or erosion of this power and allowed itself to be sealed away.

This went smoother than Naruto had expected.

He thought he'd have to fight this "demon."

But with how this thing acted—could it really be called a "god"?

No time to investigate that now.

More importantly, five souls had escaped from its belly.

One was a pair of wildly flailing arms, darting around inside the barrier, seemingly trying to return to its master.

The remaining four were four men.

Their souls lingered temporarily.

"You can see us?" a white-haired man noticed Naruto's gaze. "That blond brat."

"You must know what's going on, right?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared deeply at the golden-haired youth.

Then the other blond, the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato, explained: "The Reaper Death Seal that sealed us has been undone."

"Naruto, you really pulled it off."

Naruto looked at him. "Dad, you remember meeting me before?"

Minato nodded.

Naruto thought to himself—chakra really was a mysterious force. Not even the Reaper Death Seal could block the transmission of information?

"What about my mom?" He looked among the four. Although one had long black hair, he was a man and couldn't be his mother.

Kurama bared his teeth and shrank back behind Naruto.

He clearly didn't want to see that long-haired man.

Minato replied with a gentle smile, "Kushina wasn't sealed by the Reaper Death Seal."

Naruto felt a pang of disappointment.

So, she's in the Pure Land.

He had thought he might be able to see his mom this time. Looks like he'd have to wait until he found the "Truth Falls."

The long-haired man scratched his head, looking around in confusion. There were seven people in this space, but he only recognized two.

"Could someone explain what's going on? Who are all of you?"

Hiruzen began introducing them one by one. "First Hokage-sama, this is the Fourth Hokage."

Then he pointed at Naruto, his tone complicated: "This is..."

"The son of the Fourth Hokage and a very remarkable ninja in the village—Uzumaki Naruto."

The First Hokage's eyes lit up with excitement. "The Fourth Hokage!"

"So, the village..."

Naruto calmly interrupted his enthusiasm, pouring cold water over it: "I'm no longer a ninja of Konoha."

"You defected from the village?" the white-haired Second Hokage asked sharply. "No wonder..."

"Someone who plays with the souls of the dead can't be a righteous person."

Naruto looked around. "I've only temporarily kept you here before you return to the Pure Land, to ask some questions and learn some things."

He locked eyes with Tobirama: "Compared to those who truly play with the dead—like those who rip souls from the Pure Land using Edo Tensei—what I did hardly qualifies."

There was a pointed tone to his words.

Tobirama's face changed slightly.

Naruto didn't stop. After a brief pause, he said bluntly, "As the creator of that forbidden jutsu, Tobirama, do you really have the right to judge me?"

Hiruzen's face grew grim. "Naruto... did you really defect?"

"You were a good kid..."

Naruto cut him off again. "I'm not a kid anymore."

"And please stop using the word 'defect'—it makes Konoha sound far more innocent than it is."

"I just chose not to be a ninja anymore. I left a place that couldn't be called a home."

"That's all."

Hiruzen bowed his head.

The First and Second Hokage couldn't help but glance at him.

He didn't deny Naruto's statement—"makes Konoha sound innocent."

Could it be... the village really did wrong him?

"Not a ninja anymore?" the First Hokage exclaimed. "You chose that path?"

From below, a powerful force surged up, breaking through the first layer of the barrier.

"There's not much time," Naruto said, shaking his head. "I have some questions I'd like answers to."

He turned to the First and Second Hokage. "What is the Pure Land?"

"How did you get there?"

"Who governs it?"

Hiruzen and Minato clearly didn't know—their souls had been trapped inside the Reaper's stomach ever since their deaths.

"You're curious about the Pure Land?" the First Hokage asked.

Tobirama shook his head.

"Yes. I want to understand it," Naruto said.

The First Hokage, a fairly easy-going man, thought for a bit before honestly answering. "I'm not really sure how we got there. After dying, I just closed my eyes and ended up there."

"As for what it's like…"

"It's a dim world, but peaceful—no wars, no hunger. People you know live together."

"As for who governs it—we've never seen anyone."

So they didn't know how they got there, and they never saw the one in charge.

Naruto nodded slightly, frowning.

Not even the dead had any useful information?

Karin took out a scroll and crouched down, quickly taking notes.

"Tobirama, can you tell me the principles of Edo Tensei?" Naruto asked him.

Tobirama shook his head. "I refuse."

"That's a forbidden jutsu that plays with the souls of the dead. The fewer people who know it, the better."

The First Hokage said, "Tobirama, you should tell him. I feel he's a good—"

Before he could finish, Tobirama turned and coldly snapped, "I refuse."

"I think—"

"Brother, enough!"

"He would never misuse the souls of the dead—"

"Shut up!"

The First Hokage hung his head, looking dejected.

"A perfect match for your personalities," Naruto commented.

"I just want to know if the jutsu is connected to the Pure Land," Naruto pressed. "No need to worry—I understand how to respect the dead better than you do."

Tobirama clicked his tongue and shook his head. "It's not."

Naruto's Kagura Shingan confirmed—he was telling the truth.

Naruto nodded.

So the jutsu related to souls of the dead… has no connection to the Pure Land?

"You believed me that easily?" Tobirama asked, surprised.

Naruto replied, "I'm of the Uzumaki clan. I also possess the Kagura Shingan."

Tobirama immediately understood.

That emotion-sensing technique was an incredible power.

Naruto looked down.

The second barrier had already been broken. That "ruler of the Pure Land" was far stronger than expected, breaking through faster than Naruto had anticipated.

There was no time left for idle talk.

"Dad, is the other half of Kurama inside you?" Naruto asked.

Minato nodded.

"If I extract it from you, will it harm your soul?" Naruto asked.

Minato shook his head. "The seal between me and Kurama isn't life-linked like that."

"But… Naruto, you want to reunite both halves of Kurama?"

Naruto reached back and grabbed the shrinking fox by the scruff of its neck. "We're getting along well now."

"Thanks to your jutsu, he can even temporarily leave my body."

The First Hokage's eyes lit up. "That's Kurama?"

"He's gotten so cute now?"

Kurama bared his teeth and swiped his tail. "Long time no see, Hashirama."

Minato chuckled. "In such a short time, Naruto, you pulled it off. In that case, let him return."

He reached out and placed his hand on his belly.

Chakra fluctuations pulsed.

Crimson tailed beast chakra flowed from his arm and into Naruto's body.

"You can use chakra even in soul form?" Naruto stared at his father's hand, surprised.

Minato nodded. "Yes, but not as powerfully as when alive."

Naruto pondered.

In Konoha's textbooks, chakra is defined as "life energy extracted from the body through mental will." So it should be tied entirely to the body. Then why could his father, now a soul, still use chakra?

This power…

Was it really the chakra they learned about?

Something about it felt strange, especially compared to his past experiences.

The First Hokage walked up and caught Kurama. "You can even get along well with Kurama."

Kurama bared his teeth but didn't resist too much, allowing himself to be held.

"Then why couldn't it work out with the village?" the First Hokage asked solemnly, tugging Kurama's tail. "Why couldn't that succeed?"

He really liked this boy named Naruto.

Just looking at him, he felt a stronger connection than even with Tobirama—like a true younger brother.

Naruto tilted his head. "You founded Konoha."

The First Hokage nodded.

"What was the purpose of the village?" Naruto asked.

This was something he'd been pondering for the past year and a half.

But whether in Konoha or Kirigakure, he never found an answer.

"Back then, what I hoped for was that the village would connect one clan to another," the First Hokage said, stroking Kurama's fur with a solemn expression.

"That it would bring order out of chaos, and maintain peace."

"That it would protect children from meaningless conflict, and ultimately bring about true peace."

He was completely sincere.

Naruto's Kagura Shingan confirmed he was speaking from the heart.

"What a naive idea," Naruto said with a slight smile.

The First Hokage turned to his brother. "Naive? Tobirama said the same thing about me."

"I thought you'd understand."

He sounded resolute.

For some reason, he felt Naruto was just like him.

Naruto met his gaze. "Back then, were ninjas also just tools of conquest?"

The First Hokage nodded.

"To hope that conquest tools could stop conquest," Naruto shook his head. "It's like trying to use a blade to heal a wound."

"Isn't that naive?"

He could hardly believe the founder of Konoha was such a simple man.

(End of Chapter)