Namen Hall.
According to Rinjin's memory, this place houses the mask of the Shinigami.
The Shinigami, an unimaginable existence.
Pale purple skin, twin horns, fangs, holding a short sword in its mouth, with thick pure white hair, wearing a wide white robe.
Not cute at all in appearance, and the technique to summon it is equally unappealing.
Dead Demon Consuming Seal, sacrificing one's own soul to take the enemy's soul along.
The Third Hokage used this technique to take away Orochimaru's hands, and Eternal Sister used it to extract the soul of the Nine Tails.
Comparatively, the Shinigami is just a freeloader.
The Third was old and weak, yet it didn't think to lend a hand, instead, it posed comfortably.
However, speaking of which, the sword in its mouth, is it a Zanpakutō? Can it perform Bankai?
Thinking of this, Rinjin pretended to be a good person, bid farewell to the old man with white beard, and feigned leaving.
Soon after, Rinjin, using the Slippery Ghost Technique, stealthily returned to the side of Namen Hall.
Not far away, the old man with white beard was mysteriously muttering something to another scavenger who had inadvertently entered, with the same expression as when he advised Rinjin earlier.
Seeing this, Rinjin became interested and leaned against the pillar at the entrance of Namen Hall, watching with interest.
Within half a day, the old man had advised away seven or eight scavengers and almost got into a fight with a young man full of vigor.
It seems this white-bearded old man is not a scavenger but rather someone specifically guarding this place, preventing others from approaching.
"Interesting," Rinjin muttered, turning around and entering Namen Hall.
Namen Hall was actually just a large room, with no extra furnishings, only a long narrow wooden railing.
Behind the railing, a whole wall was lined with three rows of twenty-seven masks.
Looking at them one by one, white-faced and horned, with various expressions.
There were bearded elders, smiling women, grinning men, and crying old women.
The next moment, Rinjin suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
The empty eye sockets of these masks seemed to hide pairs of red eyes, all staring at him.
Behind these masks, there seemed to be faces with various expressions.
A chill ran down his spine...
Rinjin was immediately frightened and took a step back.
Damn it, why is this spooky place so terrifying!
At this moment, the old man with white beard appeared at the entrance, his face gloomy.
"Young man, didn't I tell you to stay away from here?"
The eerie voice echoed in the empty hall, extremely terrifying.
Hearing this, Rinjin slowly turned his head, his eyes filled with a strange light, carefully scrutinizing the old man with white beard.
"Old man, you look familiar!"
"Is that so?" The old man sneered, slowly rolling up his sleeves.
"Young man, you look familiar too. On the night Uzushio Village was destroyed, you took quite a few of my clansmen!"
After saying this, he rolled up his sleeves, revealing densely packed sealing symbols.
Rinjin, who knew a bit about sealing techniques, was instantly shocked.
Not for any other reason, but because he had never seen the sealing techniques on this arm.
At this moment, the old man with white hair spoke.
"Young man, it's still not too late to leave, use your space ninjutsu, otherwise, you'll have to stay here with me forever."
As soon as the words fell, the old man's arm suddenly sprayed a large amount of black ink, dripping onto the ground.
Seeing this scene, Rinjin slowly inhaled, his heart filled with shock.
He had already found the familiar source in his memory.
The person before him should not be alive, but rather someone who died many years ago!
He is the creator of Uzushio Village, known as the ancestor of Konoha's sealing techniques, Uzumaki Arina!
Thinking of this, cold sweat broke out on Rinjin's forehead.
This guy should have died long ago! How could he possibly live this long!
"Uzumaki... Arina..."
Hearing this, the old man with white beard was slightly stunned, then stared at Rinjin more gloomily.
"You actually know my name?! Are you from Konoha?"
Rinjin ignored Uzumaki Arina's question and asked on his own.
"Shouldn't you be dead? How are you still alive?"
"Hmph! I did die long ago!"
As he said this, a fierce light suddenly flashed in Uzumaki Arina's eyes.
Got him!
The next second, a circle of ancient black text slowly emerged from the ground, appearing around Rinjin.
At the same time, eight pitch-black chains shot out from the text, instantly locking Rinjin's limbs, waist, and neck.
Seeing this, Uzumaki Arina slowly lowered his arm, the sleeve falling to cover the corpse spots on his skin.
"Kid, you have no chance now, stay here with me forever!"
Hearing this, Rinjin calmly looked at Uzumaki Arina not far away and slowly spoke.
"Staying with you isn't impossible, I'm quite idle anyway.
But, can you tell me how you survived?"
Looking at the curious expression on Rinjin's face, the sinister expression of the confident Uzumaki Arina suddenly faded a bit, and he slowly spoke:
"There's no harm in telling you.
See the seventh mask in the first row?
Behind that mask lies an ancient and evil deity, the Shinigami!
It is because the Shinigami is sealed that the souls of the deceased can return to the Pure Land and gain eternal peace.
If the Shinigami existed in the world, then all the souls of the dead would be eaten by the Shinigami, suffering eternally in its belly.
This led to a sealing technique, or rather an unsealing technique! Dead Demon Consuming Seal!
This technique can temporarily unseal the Shinigami, summoning its projection to sacrifice the enemy's soul to the Shinigami.
Of course, there's a downside to this technique, the caster also has to sacrifice their soul."
Saying this, Uzumaki Arina slowly sighed, pondered for a long time, then continued:
"The biggest regret of my life is not cultivating a qualified successor.
It's precisely because of this that I'm worried, worried that after my death, no one will take my place and continue to guard this Namen Hall.
So I came up with a solution.
I had a clansman use Dead Demon Consuming Seal on me, sealing my soul in the Shinigami's belly.
Then the clansman who had been arranged beforehand wore the Shinigami's mask, broke open the Shinigami's belly, and sealed my soul into my already dead body.
So, I said, I'm not really a living person."
After finishing his words, Rinjin's eye twitched slightly, his heart mixed with emotions.
Damn, the Shinigami must be speechless dealing with you and Orochimaru, being exploited like this!
If I were the Shinigami, I'd crush your souls into pieces before swallowing.
But, it's no wonder.
In terms of understanding these evil deities, there's really no one who knows more than Uzumaki Arina in this world.
Thinking of this, a doubt arose in Rinjin's heart again.
"Old man, why didn't you help when Uzushio Village was attacked by Kirigakure?"
"Bastard, do you think I didn't want to?!
Only within Namen Hall can I use the powers I had in life!"
...
So that's how it is!
No wonder Uzushio Village was destroyed, but Namen Hall remained unscathed.
I guess Kirigakure attacked Namen Hall before, but was repelled by this old geezer.
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