Chap 40 - Post-War.

Orochimaru didn't even know what to think. It was obvious that his theory about Ryuuji's spiritual weakness was completely wrong, but not even in his wildest nightmares did he imagine that Ryuuji could destroy the Shinigami.

Orochimaru was always afraid of death, but when he looked at Ryuuji and thought about what this red haired boy just did in front of the entire Konoha army, the Snake-Man always thought that death shouldn't be that bad.

At least, it seemed to be better than having your soul and body mutilated and having to live like a bug.

Looking at the youth in front of him, Orochimaru simply accepted his fate. He played his role as a Konoha shinobi and failed, he could only hope the consequences of that weren't too bad.

" I s-surrender. "

Ryuuji didn't say anything else and snapped his fingers. In the next instant, all of Konoha's shinobi had their movements and chakra sealed by a golden chain.

Ryuuji turned his gaze to his mother and only needed to give a slight nod of his head for the woman to understand what he wanted.

Benihime quickly began directing Uzushio's shinobi to his duties, which consisted of taking Konoha shinobi to Uzushio's prison cells.

Meanwhile, Ryuuji, with the help of some shinobi from his army, began to recover the bodies of Uzushio's shinobi who died in that battle.

…

Ryuuji and his small group of subordinates didn't need much time to move Uzushio's 374 corpses.

" I want them to be cleansed and prepared for a funeral worthy of their sacrifices, understood? "

" Yes! " x5

Receiving the answer he wanted, Ryuuji went to his grandfather, who was also finishing handling all of Konoha's surviving shinobi, while sealing the Konoha corpses in storage scrolls.

" Grandpa, I'll leave things here in your hands. I'll prepare the monument that will honor those who died to protect our home. "

Ashina looked at her grandson and waved lightly.

" You can leave everything to me, Ryuuji. Go do what you have to do. "

Ryuuji began to float and made his way to downtown Uzushiogakure, where various public constructions were in progress.

Ryuuji intended to turn this area into a large recreational complex, and in his mind, having the monument that honors those who died to protect this place in the place where the members of his Country will enjoy themselves is nothing but obligation.

Ryuuji shaped his chakra and with a wave of his hand, the entire earth around him began to shake. In the next instant, a structure made of diamond began to sprout from the ground, getting bigger and bigger.

10 meters.

20 meters.

30…40.

When the structure reached 50 meters in height, Ryuuji cut off the chakra supply.

Looking at the giant Uzushiogakure symbol, made entirely with his Diamond Release, Ryuuji nodded his head in satisfaction.

To finish off, Ryuuji used his Diamond Release again to create ten pillars around the structure.

As Ryuuji was doing his work, the people of Uzushio, who were surprised by the appearance of the large sculpture made of crystal, began to gather around the place where Ryuuji was.

After building the pillars, Ryuuji reshaped his chakra and used Wood Release, in conjunction with Natural Energy, to literally create a forest park around the monument.

What caught the attention of the people of Uzushio the most was the beautiful red color of the leaves on the trees.

Ryuuji, with his perfect chakra control, could do things with Wood Release that Hashirama Senju couldn't even imagine. In this specific usage, Ryuuji created thousands of Red Maples, because red is and always will be the color of his Uzumaki Clan.

The people of Uzushio just watched in surprise to see the village leader changing the landscape around them.

After finishing creating the forest park, Ryuuji slowly walked towards the diamond pillars he created with his Diamond Release. The redhead controlled some of the solar energy in his body, concentrating much of it on his fingertip.

With the tip of his finger, Ryuuji began writing the names of all the shinobi who died in combat against the Konoha army.

After nearly an hour, Ryuuji finally finished recording the names of all his fallen comrades.

Ryuuji could already feel that almost the entire population of Uzushiogakure was present in the forest park.

The redhead looked at the thousands of people who were there and floated until his image was in everyone's view.

" My people, I need to share something with you all. "

Silence reigned in the place, with each of Uzushio's residents giving their undivided attention.

" You all know that the world is going through the Second Shinobi World War, and today, Konoha tried to bring that war into our home.

Fortunately, in our home there are men and women willing to lay down their lives for the peace we enjoy. Unfortunately, even with all my power, I can't control life and death, so I can only honor the names of those who died for us.

This monument behind me was created just so that we would never forget the names of the people who died for the peace that was kept today.

In the near future, this forest park will be transformed into a place where we'll enjoy Uzushio's welcoming culture, entertainment and family, and while we are doing this, we'll always be remembering that our peace was assured by those dear to us.

For the people who have directly lost loved ones today, I, as the Daimyo of the Country of Whirlpools, give my word that you'll not be left helpless and that I'll make sure to give you all the necessary support.

I ask that you do not grieve for those who died today. It's normal to feel sadness or loneliness, but know that those who died today were strong to give their own lives for our home, our safety and our future. Now it's time for us to be strong and move forward, respecting their sacrifice. "

Ryuuji waited for his people to assimilate his words and was silent for the next ten minutes.

Benihime, carrying a silent Hikari in her arms, approached Ryuuji and stood beside him, showing her silent support.

Gradually, the population became silent again, with the exception of the few people who lost a family member.

Ryuuji took advantage of the silence and spoke again:

" Two days from now, we'll hold the funeral for our brothers and sisters who died today. I ask that you all be there so that we can say goodbye to our loved ones and let them depart for the Pure Land with the greatest possible honor. "

After saying those words, Ryuuji took Benihime's hand and disappeared in a flash of red. Letting the people of Uzushiogakure look at the new area and the new monument honoring the heroes of Uzushio.

…

…

After spending some time with his mother and daughter, Ryuuji went to the place where Orochimaru was being held.

Beside him, a black mass sprouted from the ground and began walking beside him.

" Ryuuji-sama, do you intend to make Orochimaru your subordinate? "

Ryuuji just smiled.

"Zetsu, Orochimaru is not someone I can trust. I intend to make him my servant, sure, but in a very peculiar way. To be honest, I can't even say if he's still Orochimaru after I finish what I'm going to do with him. "

Zetsu looked at his master and swallowed hard. Even though he is totally loyal to Ryuuji, Zetsu still remembers how he felt pain at having his own existence altered by Ryuuji's Solar Chakra.

The black mass dropped to the ground, not wanting to see the moments of pain and suffering that Orochimaru will go through now.

…

Entering Orochimaru's saddle, Ryuuji smiled lightly.

" Orochimaru, how are you? "

Orochimaru looked at Ryuuji and swallowed hard.

" What are you doing here, Ryuuji Uzumaki? I won't give you any kind of information about Konoha. "

Ryuuji couldn't hold back the laugh that escaped his lips.

" Don't worry, Orochimaru. I don't need you to tell me anything about Konoha. I'm very confident that after a few hours, the two of us will be in a very close relationship. "

Still laughing, Ryuuji sent four Adamantine Sealing Chains towards Orochimaru, totally immobilizing the man's chakra and body.

By doing several experiments on Zetsu's body, deepening his understanding of Yin Yang Release at the most complex level possible, Ryuuji discovered several ways in which the body and soul interact with each other and how chakra, when controlled and strong enough, can force certain interactions between these two pillars that make up the human body.

Ryuuji, who became so proficient in Chakra Control and Fuuinjutsu, that he could write Fuuinjutsu formulas and matrices on any type of surface and without the aid of the special ink used by Fuuinjutsu users.

With all that, Ryuuji intends to turn Orochimaru into his newest, but a little more special, Zetsu.

The red-haired boy approached Orochimaru and placed his hand on his forehead.

Ryuuji made his Solar Chakra invade Orochimaru's body, totally dominating the man in the most aggressive way possible.

When Ryuuji does this to his loved ones, he does it with all the care in the world so as not to cause any pain. But in this case, the more pain Orochimaru feels, the less the man will be able to block Ryuuji's access to his soul.

Ignoring Orochimaru's screams, Ryuuji fully mastered Orochimaru's chakra.

With his Solar Chakra taking over Orochimaru's body, Ryuuji released his spirit and took over the man's body.

At the same time, Ryuuji used his spirit to attack Orochimaru's soul, which he could do nothing to resist.

Controlling his chakra that was invading Orochimaru's body, Ryuuji began creating Fuuinjutsu formulas, which were gradually being imprinted directly into Orochimaru's soul.

Ryuuji and Orochimaru remained in this situation for nearly two hours, with the red-haired boy ignoring the pleas for mercy that Orochimaru's soul constantly screamed.

Ryuuji painstakingly controlled his chakra and finished the set of Seals that would make Orochimaru's soul completely loyal to him.

The marks on Orochimaru's soul began to converge towards the center of his chest, forming the symbol of the Uzumaki Clan.

Finally, Ryuuji guided his spirit back to his body and entered Sage Mode. Using senjutsu, Ryuuji used Yin and Yang Release and remade Orochimaru's body, creating a body that was made purely of his chakra, but that was identical to a normal human body.

After this, Ryuuji took control of Orochimaru's new body and merged it with the marked soul, turning Orochimaru into a new creature, with all of normal Orochimaru's memories and experiences, but with an unwavering sense of loyalty to Ryuuji.

A few minutes later, Ryuuji released "Orochimaru" from his chains and the man promptly dropped to his knees on the ground.

" Ryuuji-sama, please order your servant! "

With a smile, Ryuuji nodded in satisfaction.