either minato was the first one to use reaper death seal or it has been broken before

[kibaclaw]

So why weren't there any other souls in the shinigami? Either minato was the first to use it or someone else released souls before.minato used it. I wonder how the uzumaki met a shinigami and acquired its mask..

[Uchiha Josephus]

He was probably the first to use it.

Plenty of forbidden jutsu have been created and then never used.

[TheSyren]

... well, if someone used it before him and then let them out, it might explain how Orochimaru knew how to release the things trapped inside the death god. its not like he had a way to test it.

[Thee Beyonder]

I think Minato was the 1st to use it or Orochimaru only took what he wanted

[Kirikoe]

who knows ... a lot more could have been released but we only saw what was important to the manga...

[★Skylar Knight]

I don't think he was the first one to use the jutsu. There is a mask for a reason, and it has probably been used before... at least that's what I think.

[AceOfAll]

Or all those mask were for rds and that just happened to be the one Minato uses

[Sabuto Hayashi]

Good question, I'd expect RDS has been used in the past, so there's bound to be more things sealed within it.

[gas83091]

minato created the technique so i'm sure he was the first to ever use it and he only taught it to hiruzen so it makes sense there is only the few souls we've seen inside

[Frikid]

or maybe it is possible that minato was the one who created it, with help of uzumaki clan ofcourse.

[sargon106]

Good question.

[I love pancakes]

who knows ... a lot more could have been released but we only saw what was important to the manga...

well, what is the 5th soul? it could not be kyuubi's other half (if you believe that theory) because that half was sealed inside minato, so who is the 5th soul?

[kekerot]

he invented it.....

[9tailsJinchuuriki]

It's an Uzumaki jutsu, so he obviously wasn't the first one to use it.

[marksonm]

No minato did not invent it, please why are people blinded by fanboyism. We can clearly see that they went to an Uzumaki building to get the death God's seal mask not Minato's house looool... Minato did not develop it, it was an Uzumaki sealing technique that he learnt and someone must have undone it before hence why they have a scroll with details on how it is undone. Perhaps the inventor of the Jutsu wrote it or the Uzumaki clan wrote the scroll. easy as ABC

[Kages]

He was probably the first to use it.

Plenty of forbidden jutsu have been created and then never used.

Nope.

OT- Yeah, someone probably didn't use it on someone but just trained using it.

[Altaneen]

He was probably the first to use it.

Plenty of forbidden jutsu have been created and then never used.

Probably this, or maybe the other masks were not decoys like I believe, and they were in fact other shinigami, and the one that Minato/Hiruzen summoned only sealed those four. Hard to say.

[sargon106]

I wonder if sasuke will figure out if Minato is Naruto's dad..

[rdees1011]

The uzumaki clan where known for their sealing techs. Minato became famous because he learned some of the clans techniques. I'm willing to bet FTG was originally an Uzumaki jutsu he altered and made his own.

[Uzumakisan]

well, what is the 5th soul? it could not be kyuubi's other half (if you believe that theory) because that half was sealed inside minato, so who is the 5th soul?

Orochimaru arms.... you can see it going back to his arms.

[TheSyren]

I wonder if sasuke will figure out if Minato is Naruto's dad..

that will be a funny situation.

oro addresses each hokage and talks with minato about naruto
Sasuke: dafuq? youre naruto's dad?
Minato: well duh, he does look like me.
Sasuke: then why does he have uzamaki as his last name?

the world may never know...

[Shroompowah]

There was a set number of sacrafices, so only those Orochimaru wanted from the shinigami's belly came out. If they had more zetsu clones they couldve extracted more peeps.
I suspect the other half of kyuubi chakra will be extracted soon, or else Minato has it and will give it to Naruto at some point, completing the kyuubi.

[Itachi Rane]

I wonder what's the utility of the other shinigami masks cause oro was looking for one mask in specific....

[supino]

Probably this, or maybe the other masks were not decoys like I believe, and they were in fact other shinigami, and the one that Minato/Hiruzen summoned only sealed those four. Hard to say.

Kinda agree with this interpretation. Itis possible that the other masks were 'seals' for other death gods and Orochimaru picked the right one.... I mean they all were inside the shrine...

[dhaoracle]

So why weren't there any other souls in the shinigami? Either minato was the first to use it or someone else released souls before.minato used it. I wonder how the uzumaki met a shinigami and acquired its mask..

The Uzamakis were FUINJUTSU Masters and after seeing the seal that Naruto use on Karuma being linked to Rikudo Sennin I'd say that they have a plethora of jutsus and ways to summon that are foolproof and ancient.