To refine the Death God mask, one must wear and transform it into the Death God. However, the appearance of Death God is too terrifying, and Zhang Miao doesn't want to scare anyone, so he never conducts refinement while in Konoha.
Now that he had no concerns about the Land of Waves, he decided to refine the Death God mask.
Following his instructions, the system immediately produced two Death God masks and placed them in front of him, along with two small piles of glittering ninja fragments.
Seeing this, Zhang Miao nodded and laughed.
"This system is becoming more considerate. Alright, let's begin! Eleven-star Death God, here I come!"
There are 27 Death God masks, of which Zhang Miao has already refined eight. Now, 19 remained.
Zhang Miao had already collected enough ninja fragments to refine the remaining masks, but refining them all at once was impossible.
Unlike recruiting ninjas, refining the Death God mask required careful work—one drop of blood from a finger for each ninja fragment.
When Zhang Miao was still a beginner sage, it took about ten seconds for his finger to heal after being bitten. Now, with the Six Paths body, his healing ability was extraordinary; the wound would heal instantly after being bitten.
Thus, refining one Death God mask required constantly biting his finger, which was not easy.
Even though Zhang Miao considered himself tough, biting his finger thousands of times was his limit; doing it tens of thousands of times was impossible due to the unbearable pain.
So, he decided to spread this arduous task over ten days.
"I'll refine two Death God masks each day, and on the last day, I'll refine one. Though it takes more time, this is the only way."
With this plan, Zhang Miao embarked on his "painful journey" of refining the Death God masks.
Of course, during this period, Zhang Miao didn't just refine the masks; he also took time to inspect the entire ninja village and the Land of Waves. The results of his inspection left him very satisfied.
With leaders assigned to critical departments, everyone's work efficiency increased significantly. The ninja village's strength gave the nation confidence, and economic development made the people prosperous. The Land of Waves was thriving.
In many aspects, the Land of Waves was no less than the Five Great Nations, aside from its territory size.
Zhang Miao felt at ease seeing the Land of Waves developing so well.
"After I finish refining all the Death God masks, I'll bring back Tsunade and Shizune from Tanzaku Town. With the village growing, many get injured daily due to missions, and the hospital needs someone competent to oversee it."
With this in mind, Zhang Miao accelerated the refining process, finishing three days ahead of his ten-day schedule.
After completing the last Death God mask, Zhang Miao couldn't help but feel emotional.
"Finally done! It's been over four years since I got the Death God masks, and now they're all refined. It wasn't easy!"
Saying this, he smiled with joy.
"But now, with the eleven-star Death God summoned, I can finally relax. Hahaha... System, tell me how to recruit the Death God. Is it like summoning other ninjas with a summoning jutsu seal?"
"No need!" The system immediately responded. "You've already refined all the Death God masks. Now, just place them all together!"
"I see!" Understanding the system's explanation, Zhang Miao nodded. "Got it. Bring out all the Death God masks from the system space!"
"Yes, Your Grace!"
Following Zhang Miao's command, the system brought out all the refined Death God masks.
They began to change once the 27 Death God masks were placed together.
The masks shattered one after another as if struck by an invisible hammer, emitting a blinding light that made Zhang Miao squint.
"What's happening?"
To Zhang Miao, these 27 Death God masks, refined over four years, represented countless hours of painstaking effort. Seeing them shatter, he couldn't help but panic.
Sensing his thoughts, the system's voice echoed in his mind.
"Don't worry, Your Grace. The masks breaking is normal and necessary for the Death God to appear!"
Hearing this, Zhang Miao calmed down and squinted at the shattering masks.
Soon, all 27 masks shattered, their fragments converging into a basketball-sized light orb hovering before Zhang Miao.
Before he could react, the light orb flew into his stomach.
Seeing this, Zhang Miao was stunned.
"What... What's happening? I was summoning the Death God, right? Where is it? And what's with this light orb going into my stomach?"
As he spoke, the system's voice responded again.
"Don't worry, Your Grace. This is normal. For the eleven-star Death God to appear in this world, he needs either a suitable sacrifice or a suitable body."
"A sacrifice? A body?"
Frowning at the explanation, Zhang Miao said, "I understand sacrifices, like in the original story where Minato and Hiruzen used the Reaper Death Seal to sacrifice their souls. But what about the body?"
"You're correct but not entirely. The Reaper Death Seal summons only a part of the Death God's consciousness, a mere avatar. Now, you're summoning the Death God's true form, requiring a suitable body."
"Huh?"
Zhang Miao's eyes widened. "You mean my body? No way! My body is mine alone. No one else can use it. Get him out now!"
Fearing that the Death God might possess him like a ghost, even overtaking his body like Orochimaru, Zhang Miao panicked.
But to his surprise, the system immediately denied his fears.
"No, Your Grace, you misunderstood. The Death God, being 100% loyal and respectful to you after refining the masks, won't harm you or take over your body!"
"Not taking my body?" Zhang Miao frowned. "Then why enter my stomach? Is it going to be born from me after a ten-month pregnancy?"
Although he spoke jokingly, the system confirmed it.
"Exactly. Only you possess a true god's body in this world, so the Death God's body needs to be nurtured by you, not for ten months, but for twenty-seven months!"
Zhang Miao: "Σ(°△°|||)︴"