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Horyu then asked, "Can you tell me about the Plane of Specters?" The creature nodded, its form shimmering like a mirage. "Ask away."
Horyu, his curiosity piqued, leaned in slightly. "Are your kind the only creatures in that land?" The specter's laugh was a chilling sound, like bones grinding against each other. "Kekeke. Not even close. My plane is home to myriad creatures of different kinds."
"How interesting," Horyu mused, "How have I never heard of it before?" The specter's amusement seemed to deepen, its eerie glow pulsating softly. "Have you not? Certain famous techniques in your world involve our kind."
Horyu's eyes flashed with sudden recognition. "Dead Demon Consuming Seal! The Shinigami!" The specter nodded, its cloak swirling as if caught in an unfelt breeze. "He was a mighty entity of our plane, overseeing the trades of souls."
"Trade of souls?" As far as he recalled, the Dead Demon Consuming Seal allowed a person to seal anything by sacrificing their souls to Shinigami. "Oh, I see now. Equivalent Exchange, so long as you give your soul, you can seal another." The creature's response came with a chuckle that seemed to echo from the shadows themselves. "You are wrong, Master."
Horyu tilted his head, intrigued. "How so?"
"So long as you give 'a' soul, not necessarily your own. Shinigami desires a soul, indifferent to its origin," the creature explained, its voice a whisper that seemed to carry the weight of ancient secrets.
Horyu nodded, the revelation sparking a myriad of strategic possibilities within his mind. However, the creature added, "And he doesn't only seal. Humans are unimaginative creatures. He can do much more."
Horyu was amazed. The revelation shattered his previous understanding of the Shinigami's workings. The idea that a soul, any soul, could fulfill the Shinigami's hunger was a strategic goldmine, albeit a dark one. It painted the Dead Demon Consuming Seal in a completely different light, one that was far more versatile—and dangerous—than he had initially thought.
The specter's mention of the Shinigami's broader capabilities intrigued him further. The notion that the fearsome deity of death could do more than just seal souls hinted at untapped potential. Horyu's mind raced with the implications, weaving through the newfound knowledge with the precision of a master strategist. The possibilities for leverage, for control, were vast. Yet, he couldn't help but recall a moment from the anime that now seemed slightly off-kilter.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's battle against the resurrected forms of Hashirama and Tobirama, summoned by Orochimaru, had always been a point of intrigue for Horyu. Hiruzen had managed to seal two souls with his own as the price. The math had never quite added up for Horyu until now. He pieced it together silently, 'Orochimaru used Zaku and Kin's bodies to summon the Hokages, which means there were already two souls there. Hiruzen used their souls to seal the two Hokage and then his own to seal Orochimaru's arms. Talk about a poor deal.'
He smirked at the realization, a sense of ridicule for Hiruzen's "quick thinking" mixing with a pang of amusement. The Dead Demon Consuming Seal was powerful, yes, but its cost was monumental. The revelation that souls could be traded, manipulated like currency in some macabre market, was a double-edged sword. It offered power, certainly, but at a steep price.
Turning his attention back to the specter, Horyu's gaze was calculating. "Your plane... it holds creatures other than the Shinigami, you said. Creatures with their own abilities, their own desires?"
The specter nodded, its form flickering like a flame in a draft. "Indeed. The Plane of Specters is vast and varied. My brethren and I are but one aspect of its inhabitants. There are others, each with their own capabilities and limitations."
Horyu's interest was piqued. The strategic value of such allies, entities bound not by the physical laws of his world but by the ethereal rules of their own, was immense. Yet, he was acutely aware of the dangers. To call upon such forces was to walk a razor's edge, balancing on the thin line between control and catastrophe.
He then said, "I assume your price is souls as well." The specter shivered in excitement, its form blurring at the edges as if vibrating with anticipation. "You got it right. But don't be mistaken, Master. Just like Shinigami, we feed on life force, not souls. Shinigami seals them in his stomach, whereas we feed on them in other methods. The stronger the soul, the tastier it is. That is why, Shinigami sometimes makes an exception when he is offered with a big and strong soul."
Horyu hummed, his interest piqued by the creature's explanation. "Interesting," he mused, already cataloging this information for future use. Before the conversation could continue, he remembered the curious door through which the specter had emerged. "Before you go, what was that door? It seemed oddly familiar."
The creature turned back towards the ethereal door, its form becoming more translucent. "You might have seen it before, since you are from Konoha. That was Rashomon." With those final words, the specter vanished behind the door once again, leaving Horyu staring after it, his mouth agape.
"Rashomon? Fuck," Horyu muttered under his breath, the realization striking him. The summoning gates of the legendary Rashomon, known to be used by Orochimaru and his protégé, Sakon and Ukon, were a defensive technique of immense strength. The fact that this door, this gateway to the Plane of Specters, bore the same name and possibly the same origin, suggested a connection he hadn't anticipated. It was a link between the shinobi world and the spectral realm that he hadn't considered, a nexus of power that was both fascinating and, admittedly, slightly unsettling.
But what made Rashomon interesting was not merely its defensive prowess; it was that it wasn't originally Orochimaru's technique at all. It was first utilized by the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju. This revelation sparked a trail of thought in Horyu's mind. Perhaps Hashirama, despite his legendary status, either hadn't fully understood the depth of what Rashomon represented—a gateway to the Plane of Specters—or chose to keep such knowledge shrouded in mystery, preventing others from delving into the spectral realm in search of power.
Then he thought, "Could Hashirama have taken it from the Uzumaki clan? After all, the Dead Demon Consuming Seal was taught to others by the Uzumaki as well. They also had a temple where they kept the Shinigami's mask. Seems like the Uzumaki Clan had a deal with the Plane of Specters."
Horyu's mind raced as he pieced together the fragmented knowledge of shinobi history with the new insights provided by the specter. The Uzumaki's proficiency in sealing jutsu, their mysterious temple, and the Shinigami's mask—it all pointed towards a deeper, more complex relationship between the Uzumaki Clan and the spectral realm than was commonly known.
"The Uzumaki... more involved with the specters than anyone realized," Horyu murmured to himself, his gaze lingering on the space where the door had been. The implications of such a connection were profound, suggesting that the Uzumaki's sealing techniques might have origins or influences from the Plane of Specters, a realm of power untapped by the broader shinobi world.
With a determined stride, Horyu moved to his desk, pulling out a map of the Elemental Nations. He traced a line to the Land of Whirlpools, the former home of the Uzumaki Clan. "If the Uzumaki had a deal with the Plane of Specters, there might still be remnants, artifacts, or even lost techniques waiting to be discovered," he plotted, his fingers pausing over the location.
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