Chapter 265: Shinigami

*

Having dealt with the student, Shikamaru, in high spirits, decided to drop in on Haku. He wasn't going to wait or continue with chakra realizations. Right now, he needed a test subject to test the results of the first step of his Body Tempering Technique. For this situation, the Kage of the different villages, with whom he already wanted to fight, would come in very handy, not only because of Tsunade, but mainly to test his own strength. He had already defeated at least three of them, at least two of them purely by his own strength. It's time to take on the rest.

Moving to the second floor, Shikamaru walked up to Haku's room and knocked. Receiving no response, he calmly walked inside. The pleasant aroma immediately touched the sensitive nose, and he smiled involuntarily.

“At least some use from the Inuzuka. At least I can enjoy such fragrances better than ordinary people…”

Haku sat on the bed wrapped in a blanket and looked at the arriving guest with a displeased look.

- Hello, how are you? Shikamaru smiled, remembering the past...

Haku muttered in annoyance.

- It doesn't get any better... I can't walk.

— How did you get here?

The boy looked at the man with displeasure and turned away in embarrassment and asked:

- Did you want something?

"I'm leaving the village temporarily," Shikamaru pulled the scroll out of the ring and threw it on Haku's sheet.

“This is a tower control scroll, not half done yet, but it will allow you to keep an eye on the entire situation. The control center is on the second floor. I want you to look after everything. Akatsuki people may arrive in the village as soon as this happens - direct the flow of chakra into your pendant, I will feel it and come back.

After a moment of silence, Shikamaru finished speaking.

"If the elders or Jiraiya arrive at the tower, tell them that I'm busy for now, let them arrive in a month."

Haku nodded.

- Okay, I understand. Are you for long?

“We'll see,” turning around, he added: “Oh yes, if any of our friends wake up, give them a free room and the path is waiting for me. Don't let anyone out, with the scroll you can easily seal them, and... Take care of yourself." Saying this, Shikamaru immediately teleported to the first floor to the teleportation formation and touched a small pedestal with his hand. Gathering his strength, he directed the chakra there and immediately disappeared. His next destination was the area near the Land of Waves. He returned to his hidden base and then left that as well. Now he was on his way to the Land of Lightning.

While order reigned in Konoha, and with the presence of elders led by Hiruzen, the need for the Hokage for the next month is optional. During this time, Shikamaru wanted to deal with the rest of the Kage and finally meet the Senju princess. What happens in the end doesn't really matter. The position of the Fifth Hokage is not such a significant thing, but everything that happens in the process is much more interesting.

"I can't wait to enjoy the look on her face..."

Battles with the Kage.

Resurrection of Minato.

Checking your strengthened body.

These three goals were of paramount importance, everything else is just details. Shikamaru focused on them and set out on his journey to the Land of Lightning. Using his chakra and wings, he reduced the travel time by several times. Unlike his carefree journey in the past, he wasn't going to miss a beat now. Even if he wasn't in a rush to go anywhere at all, he still wanted to put the time to good use and have a rest in the next three years, and the future is still uncertain. First of all - strength, there is never too much of it, Shikamaru fully believed in it.

***

Land of Lightning.

In one of the longest mountain ranges, a terrible thunder rumbled. Many mountains of the country were located in the water, covered with thick fog. That night, blue lightning often cut through the thick darkness and sparkled in the distant dusk.

In one of these mountains, someone carved a deep cave and, with the impudence of a dragon, decided to perform a rather dangerous ritual there.

Of course, that person was Shikamaru. Only he possessed such an oppressive aura, escaping even through the mountains, striving for heaven. But surprisingly, he was not alone. Directly opposite him lay an unconscious and beaten black man.

Not too long ago, Shikamaru was crossing the mountains and came across a small island village, and it just so happened that he was lucky enough to run into a couple of bandits, one of them he took with him for company. On this day, he was preparing to perform the ritual of summoning the dead. Since he had arrived in the Valley of Clouds and Lightning, he had already sensed the presence of Gyūki's vast chakra reserves a few kilometers away. It became clear who could be in those places. So Shikamaru was in no hurry, he wanted to summon Minato, and get something before this campaign. In addition, the night had come, it was necessary to occupy yourself with something. He would like to make a pill based on the recipe for one special forbidden technique S rank he obtained in the past, but the number of bandits was out of luck. These two nerds had the strength of at least genin and the two of them easily robbed ordinary people. Shikamaru, of course, did not care about such nonsense, he was more interested in the call, and not the sinfulness of these souls. Although, of course, it is better to kill a bandit than a simple farmer.

Since there were victims, he immediately set about. Even in the past, he had learned the technique of the Impure World, so he could apply it without any problems. Of course, he did not learn it as Kabuto would have done in his time, as he was more busy developing his own jutsu. But, for now, the simplest version developed by Orochimaru will suffice. Shikamaru wasn't about to give Minato the same chance he gave Kushina. Whether he was from the Uzumaki clan or an Uchiha, he could also think, otherwise, he is of no use. If Shikamaru didn't even plan to resurrect the First, let alone the Fourth...

First of all, he proceeded to the obligatory step, without which the call is impossible.

Pulling a creepy-looking mask from his pocket, Shikamaru examined it with a grin. Horns from the forehead, rows of sharp teeth and an evil grin paired with completely black eyes, with a small, barely noticeable pupil. A truly unpleasant sight. On the back of the mask, there were Fuin inscriptions, probably related to the summoning of the Shinigami. They were very old, literally carved into the mask and filled with dried blood. In addition, the mask itself was clearly not made of ordinary materials.

"Uzumaki always knew how to surprise ..."

Putting on a terrible guise on his face, Shikamaru moved away from the victim and immediately felt an alien force in his body - its power was impressive! Even with his strong body, he could barely control himself. But, he did not resist, allowing this strange spiritual energy to penetrate deeper, and then, he felt a strange connection with a dangerous entity. The infusion of the spirit went well.

A transparent avatar of a huge monster with purple skin instantly appeared behind the boy's back. The Shinigami bared his teeth as he continued to hold his tantō in his sharp teeth. Shikamaru felt complete control over him and pulled the blade from his teeth. With a clawed paw, he extended the blade to the avatar's belly and stabbed it with all his might. Having made a deep incision in the belly, Shikamaru's stomach immediately appeared exactly the same deep cut, all of his organs were instantly separated. But in just a second, the wound began to heal at an astonishing rate.

"Damn, that inspires respect..."

Mentally, he was amazed at the sharpness of this blade, because it just passed through his strengthened body as if nothing had ever happened! Like a knife through butter, it cut through everything in its path. Fortunately, regeneration quickly returned to normal, and just at the same moment, Minato's sealed soul escaped from the Shinigami's stomach.

The most important stage has been completed.

Shikamaru immediately regained control of his body, tucked the mask back into the ring, and folded the hand seal, slapping the ground. Numerous fuin covered the stone floor of the cave, enveloping their pre-prepared prey. With a wave of his hand, he sent Minato's released soul to the prepared target. The black circle on the ground lit up and easily surpassed the brightness of the fuin symbols on the wall that illuminated the cave, and immediately after that, the unconscious man woke up from terrible pain and let out a painful screech!

- Heeeeeeeee! Ashes and dirt began to cover his body. A couple of seconds later, a blond-haired man was already standing in the prepared formation. Minato Namikaze - the famous Fourth Hokage has finally been resurrected!

Shikamaru looked at the results of his labors with a smirk and grinned ominously.

- Hello, Fourth...