If the living exist in the ninja world, then it stands to reason that the dead must have a corresponding place to go.
They slumbered within this realm, and when summoned by the Edo Tensei, they retained the wisdom and consciousness of their former lives.
The Pure Land was the place where souls lingered, the place they yearned for.
It was similar to the summoning realms.
An entire world unto itself.
Theoretically, a living human should not be able to enter the Pure Land, let alone survive there.
But Naruto could feel the Pure Land welcoming him.
And he could feel his own affection for the Pure Land.
Every cell in his body was leaping and cheering.
It was as if…
He was a soul.
Or more accurately, he was one of its many manifestations.
"If I create Shinigami and Hollows in the Pure Land, then from a certain perspective, does that make me the god of this realm?"
A mocking curve played on Naruto's lips.
God.
What an alluring word.
The discovery of the Pure Land matched what Naruto had envisioned; in fact, it exceeded his expectations.
Gazing at the small motes of light that drifted through the Pure Land, Naruto smiled and began to contemplate his strategy for reshaping it.
Transforming all the souls into Shinigami and Hollows was, of course, a necessity.
But infusing them with Reiatsu one by one was far too inefficient.
He needed the proper tools.
Naruto strolled through the desert. The orbs of light, the souls, would subconsciously swerve to avoid him. In contrast, the Reishi particles flocked toward him.
It made him wonder.
Did these souls possess consciousness? Intelligence?
If these souls were one day transformed into his own creations, into Hollows or Shinigami, could they still be summoned by the Edo Tensei?
So many questions swirled in Naruto's mind.
He looked away from the souls and cast his gaze toward the bright, azure sky.
He needed something.
A medium, to diffuse his Reiatsu from a high vantage point, allowing him to convert all the souls with maximum efficiency.
Under the constant infusion of his Reiatsu, new Hollows and Shinigami would be born ceaselessly.
The Hollows would grow stronger by slaughtering one another.
But the drawback of this method was obvious.
The newly born Shinigami would be at a great disadvantage, and their survival rate would be far too low.
Naruto frowned, manipulating his Reiatsu.
The next moment, his body began to float slowly into the air.
From his high perch, he surveyed the entire landscape.
The world had no visible borders.
He could build his castle in the deepest reaches, partitioning the Pure Land into a Soul Society and a Hueco Mundo.
He could complete the cycle.
Of course, the difficulty of such an undertaking was immense.
Naruto withdrew his gaze and was about to descend when he spotted a familiar black dot in the distance.
The moment Rock Lee stepped into the Pure Land, he felt a powerful sense of rejection from the world itself.
He couldn't describe the feeling.
But every cell in his body was screaming at him, telling him they hated this place.
Not only that, but the environment began to exert an immense pressure on him.
Soon, a roiling black mist appeared in the air, coalescing before Rock Lee into a grotesque, spectral figure.
It was an ethereal phantom, wielding a scythe.
Incomprehensible, guttural sounds spilled from the phantom's mouth, filling Lee with a profound sense of unease.
Lee sensed the phantom's hostility and immediately snapped into a fighting stance.
"Konoha Root Great Whirlwind!!" he yelled, launching the first attack.
He hadn't been in Root for long, but he had already integrated himself deeply, even giving all his techniques more… unique names.
Thwack, thwack, thwack. His kicks tore right through the phantom, dissipating it into black smoke, but in the next second, it reformed completely.
The creatures of the Pure Land were not afraid of physical attacks.
"Hiss." The reformed phantom swung its scythe in a vicious arc. Lee frantically leaned back to dodge.
The slash was accompanied by the wail of shrieking ghosts, and for a moment, Lee could almost see countless ferocious specters materializing in the void.
The seemingly slow strike made the hair on Lee's arms stand on end.
A fear that seeped into his very soul left him trembling.
He knew, with absolute certainty, that if that scythe hit him, his soul would be utterly annihilated.
"This place is so dangerous. Dammit!" He retreated rapidly, then kicked off the ground with all his might. His body shot forward like a cannonball, and using the momentum, he kicked straight through the phantom, only coming to a stop a dozen meters behind it.
"There's no feeling of impact… Don't tell me this thing is a soul." Before he could even wipe the sweat from his brow, he saw the phantom reform once again.
"Is this the Pure Land's version of a Shinigami?" Naruto's voice echoed across the land. A blinding flash of cold light streaked past, slicing the phantom clean in half at the waist.
This time, the phantom did not reform. It simply dissolved into black smoke and vanished.
Naruto watched the scene, lost in thought.
The phantom's appearance was similar to the image of a reaper in the living world.
Perhaps it was a gatekeeper of the Pure Land.
Its purpose was to eliminate any being that did not belong.
Because he was both human and Shinigami, he wasn't targeted by the phantoms.
Rock Lee, however, was not so lucky.
As a master of taijutsu, he was completely unable to harm the phantom.
If Naruto hadn't shown up, Lee might have been worn down and killed.
"Naruto!" Lee cried out in surprise and relief upon seeing him.
The heavy weight of anxiety in his chest finally lifted.
"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, looking at Lee with a gentle expression.
He had already guessed the reason, and he couldn't help but feel a faint touch of warmth.
"The priestess told me you came in, so I came in too," Lee said, scratching his head with a foolish grin.
Just then, more black mist began to swirl in the distance.
"You should go," Naruto said, his tone calm. "You don't belong in the Pure Land. They will attack you relentlessly."
"Let's go. I'll leave with you."
"Wait a second." Just as Naruto took a step, Lee suddenly called out to him.
"Naruto, don't they attack you?"
Naruto stopped and turned, his expression filled with an unreadable meaning.
"They won't attack me. Because…"
"I belong here."
"This is who I truly am." A breeze swept up the yellow sand, stinging Lee's eyes. Through his blurred vision, Naruto still wore that gentle smile, yet he spoke words that Lee could not comprehend.
Naruto drew Kyoka Suigetsu and, with a single horizontal slash, vanquished a phantom that was lunging toward Lee.
"Watch." He infused his Reiatsu into a nearby orb of light.
The orb immediately transformed into a humanoid shape.
Under Lee's horrified gaze, the figure threw its head back and let out a pained, furious roar.
A black hole gradually opened in its chest, and after a moment of grotesque twisting, it transformed into a Hollow.
"That's…" Lee stumbled back a step, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Having lived through the Konoha Crush Plan, he instantly recognized the creature. It was one of the monsters that had ravaged Konoha, a monster that had struck fear into the hearts of countless people.
"Naruto… you…" He was nearly speechless.
The gentle Naruto in his mind could in no way be connected to a monster like a Hollow.
He thought back to when he first met Naruto.
Back then, Naruto had been so refined, so dedicated to bringing a better future to Konoha.
Didn't he aspire to become Hokage?
How could he create a monster that would destroy Konoha?
That's right!
It must be a misunderstanding!
Perhaps Naruto only developed this power after coming to the Pure Land!!!
"It's just as you see," Naruto said with a mocking smirk, his voice light. "The Hollows that appeared in Konoha before… I created them."