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Shinigami Infobox
死神 Shinigami

  • Reaper
Debut
Manga Naruto Chapter #122
Anime Naruto Episode #72
Movie Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie
Game Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2
Appears in Anime, Manga, Game, Movie
Personal
Species Spirit
Tools

The Shinigami (死神, English TV: Reaper, literally meaning: Death god) is the spectral entity summoned through the usage of certain Uzumaki clan fūinjutsu.

Background[]

The Shinigami was first summoned by Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, as a last resort, with the intention of sealing the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox into his infant son. However, he wasn't able to seal the entirety of Kurama's chakra into the infant, due to the immense amount of chakra the beast possessed being too much for the newborn. Using the Shinigami, Minato was able to seal the yin half of the tailed beast within himself, before going on to use another sealing method to seal the yang half of the fox within his son.[1]

Appearance[]

The Shinigami is a translucent, gaunt spectre with a demonic visage. It is much larger than an average human, possessing long, shaggy, white hair, from which two red horns protrude, as well as purple-hued skin. It is draped in a large white kimono and carries a set of prayer beads. When not using it, the Shinigami is almost always seen with a tantō in its mouth. When removed, however, its mouth is revealed to be full of sharp, jagged teeth, and a very long, almost serpentine tongue. When sealing a target, a series of cursed seals spread across its arms.

Abilities[]

The Shinigami's primary strength lies in its ability to forcibly extract the souls of both its summoner and its summoner's target, cut them free with its tantō, and seal them within its belly. It does this through the Dead Demon Consuming Seal technique, primarily used by Minato Namikaze and Hiruzen Sarutobi. The amount of the victim's soul that can be extracted and sealed is dependent on the summoner's chakra level proportionally to that of the victim's; regardless of the amount of success, the Shinigami will seal away the summoner's soul upon the technique's evocation.

Through use of a special mask stored within the Uzumaki clan temple outside of Konohagakure, the contents of its stomach can be released.

Part I[]

Konoha Crush[]

Reaper death seal

The Shinigami summoned by Hiruzen.

During the Konoha Crush, the Shinigami appeared as Hiruzen executed the Dead Demon Consuming Seal technique in an attempt to seal away the First and Second Hokage's souls. As he bid a heartfelt goodbye to his teachers, he turned his attention to Orochimaru and revealed the technique's double edge as he must sacrifice both his soul and those of his predecessors to the Shinigami. Intending to have Orochimaru join them in the spectre's stomach while throwing aside his former pupil's Kusanagi, Hiruzen attempted to seal Orochimaru's soul as well.[2] After an hour of struggling, Hiruzen came to accept that his old age had left him too weak to completely seal Orochimaru away.[3] Seeing that completely removing Orochimaru's soul was impossible, yet his desire to redeem himself for allowing his former student's escape, Hiruzen decided to instead have the Shinigami take Orochimaru's arms to rob him of using ninjutsu as his way of fittingly punishing Orochimaru for his obsession with power.[4]

Part II[]

Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax[]

Dead Demon Consuming Seal - Release

The souls being released from the Shinigami's stomach.

In an attempt to free the former Hokage's souls from the Shinigami's stomach, Orochimaru led Sasuke, Suigetsu, and Jūgo to the Uzumaki Clan's Mask Storage Temple to pick up a mask from the ruins, and then took the group to the underground hall in the Naka Shrine. Orochimaru proceeded to don the mask which invoked the Shinigami to possess his body. Orochimaru then cut open the Shinigami's stomach, a wound reflected on himself, to release the trapped contents inside the Shinigami.[5]

References[]

  1. Naruto chapters 503-504
  2. Naruto chapters 122-124
  3. Naruto chapters 126, 136
  4. Naruto chapter 137
  5. Naruto chapter 618
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