The world begins with refining skills

Chapter 388 Devouring Death! (Please Subscribe)
The scalding blood was already bubbling and boiling as it fell through the air.

Once it landed, it was quickly roasted into a pile of charred powder.

Along with the blood, several fingers with distinct bones, curved and shiny black nails, and thick hair also fell to the ground.

The severed finger was charred black and quickly caught fire.

This is the right hand finger of Enma, the summoning beast of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Just now, when Hiruzen Sarutobi was on the verge of death, Enma's arm emerged from the Vajra Iron Rod and grabbed at the invisible blade that was attacking him.

However, the weapon, formed by the [Fire Release: Unknown Flame] technique, was too powerful, its heat enough to melt steel, and it easily severed the ape demon's finger.

Of course, the sacrifice of the Monkey King was not entirely ineffective. After this brief delay, Hiruzen Sarutobi was able to disappear into the clouds in time.

Although his back was severely injured, he thankfully did not die from Rin Uchiha's blade.

"Ape Demon, your hand."

After temporarily escaping danger, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately noticed his old comrade's injuries.

All five fingers of that strong, powerful hand were gone, and the remaining part of the hand was charred black.

Hiruzen Sarutobi could even smell the scorching smell of flesh and bones.

The ape demon could feel a scorching heat spreading from the wound on his palm upwards along his arm.

If the burned hand is not cut off in time, it will probably not be long before its arm is also injured by the fire.

However, in the current situation, cutting off the injured hand would only make him lose his fighting ability faster.

"Can we hold on a little longer, Hiruzen! How are you?"

"Cough cough." Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed up a mouthful of hot blood, which was still steaming as it fell to the ground.

"Although Rin Uchiha's strike just now didn't injure my heart or internal organs, the fiery energy on the blade was too violent and has begun to erode my heart and lungs."

The injury itself wasn't fatal, but in the current situation, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that his time was running out.

'I never imagined that after a lifetime of battles, I would die at the hands of a child!'

Hiruzen Sarutobi had imagined many ways for things to end, but he never expected it to be like this.

'Pity'

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked around, but all he could see was thick fog. He couldn't see anything more than a meter away, nor could he see the person he most wanted to see.

"Ape Demon, I need one minute!"

As Hiruzen Sarutobi began forming hand seals, Enma, seeing this, also became alert, cautiously surveying the surrounding white mist.

Suddenly, the pitch-black fog began to churn, as if some monster was about to burst out from the depths of the clouds.

The Monkey Demon stared intently at the location where the mist was churning. He saw a five-meter-long chakra ninja sword burst forth from the mist above their heads and crash down towards them.

Just as the ape demon was about to leap to block, something else burst out of the thick fog on both sides.

"Damn it!"

Enma instantly recalled the scene of Hiruzen Sarutobi being brutally beaten by six chakra ninja swords.

"The Vajra Cage!"

The ape demon immediately created dozens of Vajra Iron Rods, forming a square cage that surrounded Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The Vajra iron rods at the four corners of the cage were firmly inserted into the ground, fixing the Vajra firmly to the ground.

Bang!Bang!Bang!
In its Vajra Iron Rod form, the Monkey King possesses defensive capabilities comparable to Vajra, completely blocking all of Rin Uchiha's slashes.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, inside the Vajra Cage, suffered no damage whatsoever except for feeling the impact of the airflow.

"With me here, no one can hurt Hiruzen!"

The ape demon was extremely confident in his indestructible body.

Just as the Chakra Armor Giant's attack failed to have any effect, an invisible blade suddenly appeared, leaving a finger-deep gash on the Monkey King's adamant body.

"Oh no, it's that ninjutsu from before!"

The Monkey King still feels lingering fear about the fire-style attack that severed his five fingers.

While his ape form's defenses are far less formidable than his indestructible Vajra Iron Rod form, they are still far stronger than ordinary steel.

Even so, her finger was cut off by Rin Uchiha's invisible fire-style blade.

Upon discovering that even the Vajra Iron Rod form could not completely defend against this fire-style attack, the Monkey Demon panicked even more.

"Hiruzen! Are you almost done? I can't hold on much longer!"

In just a short while, the blade formed from [Fire Release: Unknown Flame] rained down like a storm.

Deeper and deeper knife marks were left on the Vajra Cage.

The scorching heat instantly invaded the ape demon's body, and combined with the previous heat, the ape demon was almost unable to maintain the form of the Vajra Iron Cudgel.

"Hiruzen!"

The ape demon shouted anxiously, and the form of the Vajra Iron Rod instantly disintegrated, revealing an old ape on the ground, its body steaming with heat and covered in knife scars.

Under the onslaught of the extremely high temperature and fiery atmosphere, the ape demon had completely lost its ability to move.

He hadn't yet dispelled the psychic spell and returned to the spirit world, and was only holding on because he was worried about his old friend's safety.

Rin Uchiha looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was completely exposed to her attacks, and a glint flashed in her eyes.

The chakra beneath his feet erupted with a roar, and the invisible fire-style blade in his hand was swung out once more, slashing straight at Hiruzen Sarutobi's body.

"Lord Hokage, let your head be the foundation for the Uchiha's glory!"

Pfft!

Rin Uchiha's blade struck Hiruzen Sarutobi's shoulder directly.

The blood gushed out instantly, but before it could fully splatter, it was burned away by the intense heat.

"Come to ashes, Lord Hokage!"

The Hokage died in flames; this was the final curtain call that Rin Uchiha had prepared for Hiruzen Sarutobi!
Now, with just a gentle downward pressure, Hiruzen Sarutobi's body would be sliced ​​in two diagonally, and then burned to ashes by the intense heat of the flames.

Even such a simple action was no longer something that Rin Uchiha could do.

"How can it be!"

Uchiha Rin's eyes were filled with astonishment: "My body... why can't I move?"

Not only her body, but also the invisible fire-style blade in Uchiha Rin's hand collapsed in an instant, turning into a dissipated chakra and disappearing into the air.

"What is that?"

Suddenly, Rin Uchiha saw a pair of arms covered in strange runes reach into her abdomen.

Is this what's causing my inability to move?

Looking back along the arms, Rin Uchiha was surprised to find that the arms had actually emerged from Hiruzen Sarutobi's body.

Behind Hiruzen Sarutobi, a strange spirit, over ten meters tall, with two long horns on its head and a knife in its mouth, was staring at her.

"See that? The Grim Reaper, cough cough."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said weakly, "If I had been even a fraction slower, I would have been reduced to ashes by now. Even though I managed to use the Reaper Death Seal in time, my body still suffered severe burns."

My internal organs felt like they had been dried out.

Seeing the Grim Reaper's eerie appearance, Uchiha Rin sensed something was wrong and tried her best to break free.

"There's no need to struggle anymore. This is a forbidden technique of the Uzumaki clan—the Corpse Demon Sealing Technique. It uses the caster's soul as the price to seal the enemy forever within the belly of the Grim Reaper."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's lips curled into a smile that was three parts smugness and seven parts disappointment: "I originally intended to save this forbidden technique for Katsumi Kanbara, but unfortunately..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up and around. Because Rin Uchiha was being controlled, the thick fog surrounding them was dissipating at a rapid pace.

The surrounding environment became clearer: dilapidated streets and buildings burning with flames on both sides.

All of this was imprinted in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, but unfortunately he still couldn't find Maki's figure.

"Since I cannot eliminate the great threat of Katsumi Kambara for the village before I die, I have no choice but to take your flag with me."

"The head of the Uchiha clan, the legendary Mangekyou Sharingan, must be heartbroken to lose such an important figure!"

Thinking of this, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt less disappointed.

"Come with me, and live forever in the belly of Death!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi mustered his last bit of chakra, intending to slowly pull Rin Uchiha's soul out of her body and seal it inside the Shinigami's belly.

As the Grim Reaper's arm exerted its force, a pair of transparent soul arms were pulled out of Uchiha Rin's body, followed by her upper body.

However, just when Hiruzen Sarutobi thought he would be able to seal Rin Uchiha soon, Rin Uchiha's soul suddenly got stuck.

Her soul was seen being pulled out of her body by the Grim Reaper, but her lower body remained firmly inside, showing no sign of being pulled out.

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and exerted even more force, but it still had no effect.

"Can we only go here?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that his injuries were too severe, and he no longer had the strength to completely pull Rin Uchiha's soul out.

But that's enough. Without her upper body and soul, Rin Uchiha is no different from a dead person.

With a thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi's phantom of the Grim Reaper behind him took the dagger from its mouth and slashed down at Rin Uchiha's soul.

Just as the dagger in the phantom of death was about to touch Uchiha Rin's soul.

A white-glowing, armored arm suddenly emerged from Uchiha Rin's body and grabbed at the hand of the Shinigami phantom.

He grabbed the dagger, which could sever a person's soul, along with it.

Death's movements stopped abruptly!
This unexpected scene filled Hiruzen Sarutobi with terror.

"What the hell is this?"

It should be noted that the Reaper Death Seal is a powerful forbidden technique that can even seal tailed beasts, yet it was easily caught by an unknown armored arm.

Could it be an existence like the Grim Reaper?

Many guesses flashed through Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind in an instant. Since there is such a thing as the Shinigami Phantom, it is reasonable for there to be another one like it.

"You were too careless, Rin!"

A familiar voice suddenly rang out.

It's him, Katsumi Kanbara!

Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately recognized who it was and cautiously scanned his surroundings, but found no trace of the other person.

"Wait, what's that voice?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly looked at Rin Uchiha. If he wasn't hallucinating, the voice he had just heard came from inside Rin Uchiha's body.

"Never underestimate any ninja who has a reputation in the ninja world before you have absolutely overwhelming strength!"

A divine armor, surrounded by holy light, slowly emerged from Uchiha Rin's body.

"Especially our Hokage, who is known as the Professor of Ninjutsu, he probably knows more secret and forbidden techniques than you've ever heard of."

"Is that so?" Mu Sheng grabbed the arm of the phantom of the Grim Reaper with one hand and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, saying, "Hokage-sama."

"It's you! Katsumi Kanbara!" Hiruzen Sarutobi exclaimed in shock and anger.

What surprised him was the way Mu Sheng made his entrance, and what angered him was that he actually had the nerve to show his face in front of him.

That cunning and shameless brat tricked him so badly!
If he hadn't been deceived by the other party's sweet talk, he wouldn't have ended up in this situation.

No, it's not sweet talk, it's that evil illusion that can bewitch people!

"You did it, didn't you? The Uchiha clan's encirclement of the Sarutobi clan, wasn't it all your doing?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi blamed everything on Maki, and if he weren't currently powerless, he would have liked to take Maki away right now.

"The Reaper Death Seal... the Fourth Hokage's soul is inside this guy's stomach, right?"

Mu Sheng looked up at the phantom of the Grim Reaper behind Hiruzen Sarutobi. A dark, black light appeared from the gap in the head of the Holy Light Armor.

Kaleidoscope Eye Technique: Pure Land of the Underworld!
The Grim Reaper's arm, which Mu Sheng had grabbed, was instantly sucked into an unknown space.

As the arm was devoured, the phantom of death became distorted.

"How can this be?"

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi completely disregarded Mu Sheng's indifference towards him, staring in shock at the phantom of the Grim Reaper above his head, which was gradually being swallowed up.

'Even the Grim Reaper couldn't resist Katsumi Kanbara?'

Thinking that he had always used the Reaper Death Seal as his trump card against Maki, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt particularly ridiculous!

"Hiruzen."

The ape demon could neither see the phantom of the Grim Reaper nor Mu Sheng's spirit armor.

But he knew that his old friend had encountered a terrible enemy.

Unfortunately, the Ape Demon can no longer do anything.

As the spirit was gradually devoured, fear appeared on the face of the Grim Reaper phantom, and it loosened its grip on the Uchiha soul.

After being freed from its restraints, Rin Uchiha's soul was drawn back into her body, and she regained control of her physical form.

"hateful."

Uchiha Rin glared angrily at Hiruzen Sarutobi, then obediently stood beside Maki.

"Ape Demon, run!"

As the caster of the Reaper Death Seal, Hiruzen Sarutobi could clearly sense that the phantom of the Grim Reaper was about to be completely devoured.

He had already completely failed and couldn't let his old buddy die here too.

"Hiruzen!"

The ape demon was heartbroken, but still dispelled the summoning spell.

In the final moment before disappearing, Enma saw Hiruzen Sarutobi's body suddenly collapse to the ground.

From his unseen perspective, the phantom of the Grim Reaper struggled to grab out Hiruzen Sarutobi's soul.

They were all swallowed up into the [Pure Land of the Underworld]!
(End of this chapter)