Chapter 470: The Dead
"By the way, you just said you were only just now woken up." Satsuki's tone from start to finish hadn't shown much of the proper respect or courtesy toward this ninja world founder, carrying the Uchiha's characteristic directness, or rather complete lack of politeness.
Of course, in the Sage of Six Paths' view, compared to his eldest son Indra's cold pride and constant questioning of everything, Satsuki seemed much more adorable... Too bad she wasn't his daughter.
"Mm, that's correct," Hagoromo nodded. "The original Pure Land was an absolute void stripped of almost all sensory stimulation and sense of existence. Souls placed within it lacked the necessary anchor points and environmental feedback to maintain conscious awareness. Therefore, they could only fall into a self-protective, eternal slumber. That wasn't an active choice, but rather an inevitable result due to environmental circumstances."
He saw the next question in Satsuki's eyes—why had only he awakened? What about the other souls?
"Of course, not all souls can immediately adapt to environmental changes, even if these changes are in a better direction." Hagoromo continued explaining. "Human souls are not grass or trees that can immediately revive given sunlight and rain."
"Their awakening speed is closely related to the soul's own chakra intensity and adaptability to change. Simply put, the stronger one was in life, the more massive their chakra, the more active and resilient their essence. In a new environment that permits conscious activity, they can more quickly struggle free from long slumber and restore clear self-awareness."
His gaze swept across those still-motionless, semi-transparent soul shadows on the grassland. "To have all the countless souls in the Pure Land who have slumbered for who knows how long naturally awaken and adapt to this new world will probably... require quite some time."
The reason was very simple—the stronger someone was, the faster they would awaken.
Naruto immediately had a clear answer in his heart. In this Pure Land, aside from the Sage of Six Paths, which souls' intensity might first reach the awakening threshold?
Hagoromo also thought of the same question. His gaze became somewhat complex, looking toward a certain direction in the grassland's depths.
"Alright, then," Naruto spoke at the right time, interrupting the slightly heavy atmosphere. A relaxed smile appeared on his face. "Explaining the situation to those souls about to awaken, especially the previous generation's Indra and Ashura chakra reincarnation vessels, I'll leave that to you to handle."
"Satsuki and I want to first casually stroll around this new place and familiarize ourselves with the environment."
Speaking, he naturally extended his hand and grasped Satsuki's hand. For him, the most important matter at this moment was of course to accompany his wife in properly touring this backyard that he had just personally transformed, belonging exclusively to them.
"You..."
The Sage of Six Paths heard this and his body seemed to become even more transparent, as if angered to even greater weakness. "Can't you show a little consideration for an old person?"
"Don't make yourself sound so old," Naruto's eyes carried a bit of mischievous smile. "Besides, explaining the situation is definitely most suitable for you to do. You're the legendary Sage of Six Paths, the source ancestor of all ninja. Your words carry weight."
"Compared to me, this suddenly appeared, unknown new administrator, Uchiha Madara's temper... Mm, he'd probably be more willing to listen to your words, right? If I went, who knows, I might have to fight him first before he'd quiet down and listen to me. How troublesome would that be."
Logical and well-reasoned, making it impossible for Hagoromo to refute.
Indeed, with Uchiha Madara's obsessively proud personality that only recognized the strong, if he were suddenly told by an unfamiliar young person "the place where you stay after death has changed owners, and the rules have changed too," the most likely outcome would be directly starting a fight.
If he, the founder, came forward, regardless of whether Madara was convinced in his heart, at least on the surface he would show some more apprehension and would more likely accept this preposterous reality.
With those words, Naruto didn't give the Sage of Six Paths any more chance to continue complaining or bargaining. He pulled Satsuki along, and the two figures silently disappeared from where they stood.
They hadn't left the Pure Land, but truly like a couple on an outing, were enthusiastically going to tour this brand new, vast yet full of unknown post-death world.
To explore the boundaries, find a place with good scenery to sit down, enjoy the unique two-person time belonging only to the realm of the dead.
Active for a thousand years, rest time... not even enough for a weekend.
The Sage of Six Paths, forcibly pulled back to work, stood alone in the center of the newborn grassland, gazing at that gentle artificial sun.
His face showed a weary, helpless, yet faintly curious and anticipatory expression, ultimately transforming into a resigned sigh.
Fine. The fate of an old ox. Can't rest. First go meet those two troublesome son-reincarnation vessels.
Hopefully Senju Hashirama (Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnations had all long been released) that kid is still like before... As for Uchiha Madara... So troublesome...
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"...Mm?"
As if struggling to surface from the deepest mire, consciousness broke free from darkness's restraints, recongealing.
Senju Hashirama slowly opened his eyes, letting out a sound carrying thick confusion.
What was happening? Consciousness... had recovered again?
Clear thinking, perception of self, detection of surrounding environment... All of this was so real, absolutely not that muddled state in eternal slumber.
Could it be he had again been summoned from the Pure Land back to the real world by some strange forbidden technique that desecrated the dead?
Memory fragments collided with his consciousness like floating ice—the last impression was during an attack targeting Konoha, being sealed by an Uzumaki descendant wearing a fox mask.
But what happened after that? After that what occurred? Did the war end? How was Konoha?
However, his just-awakened thoughts were soon covered by another more direct, more intense sensation, rapidly denying his speculation of being summoned back to the real world.
Too comfortable.
Consciousness was incomparably clear, without Impure World Reincarnation's haziness and sluggishness. The body's sensation was also abnormally real, light, full of the long-missed "sense of existence," without any stiffness or discord from being forcibly stuffed with foreign objects.
He could even "feel" the soft touch of green grass beneath his feet, could "perceive" that small sun's warm radiance that made souls relax.
This was not Impure World Reincarnation.
Hashirama's memory of that sensation was still fresh—it was the soul being forcibly dragged from its resting place, brutally stuffed into a crude clay vessel, full of desecration and malicious confinement.
Every movement, every thought was accompanied by an indescribable sense of wrongness and separation from deep within the soul.
Like taking a precious silk garment and crudely putting it on a decaying wooden frame full of splinters. Every movement would produce the soundless wailing of fabric being snagged and worn.
That feeling of the soul being toyed with—aside from those with attachments to the mortal world, after experiencing that nauseating discomfort of the soul being forcibly polluted and bound, deep in their hearts they would involuntarily desire to break free, to return to that cold yet at least pure slumber.
But this current... sensation of harmoniously blending with the environment was completely different from Impure World Reincarnation.
This place before him... The scenery was surprisingly good. Blue sky and white clouds, green grass like a carpet, warm sunlight, tranquil unlike the mortal world.
But Hashirama was certain he had absolutely never come to such a place while alive. After death... By common sense, the Pure Land shouldn't be like this either.
"Mm? Tobirama?"
Finally, after slightly adapting to this peculiar conscious state, Hashirama's gaze fell on a figure beside him that made him instantly feel much more at ease.
Standing quietly not far from him—his younger brother, Senju Tobirama.
However, Tobirama's state looked... somewhat strange.
He maintained a standing posture, eyes tightly closed, no expression on his face. Even more bizarre, his lower body's outline appeared somewhat illusory and blurred.
He just stood there rigidly, without any reaction to the environmental changes around him or to his brother's awakening.
"Hey! Tobirama!" Hashirama immediately stepped forward, extending his hand to vigorously shake Tobirama's somewhat illusory shoulders. His voice carried urgency. "What's wrong with you?! Wake up! This isn't the time to sleep standing up! Hurry and wake up! This place is a bit wrong!"
His shaking was not a gentle awakening, but rather a forceful, worry-filled, forced-boot-up-like shaking.
The First Hokage's astonishing arm strength made Tobirama's entire soul body violently sway back and forth.
Senju Tobirama in slumber, his brow furrowed slightly. On that frozen countenance, slowly, clearly, appeared a cross-shaped vein mark.
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