"Huh... wait a minute."
"Maybe the entrance to the Pure Land isn't in the sky at all, it's underground."
"Otherwise, when Ninjas kill each other, why doesn't anyone ever see the souls floating upward?"
"If souls really escape underground, that short distance would be almost impossible to notice..."
He waved his hand dismissively. "Forget it, that's not important right now. What matters is whether this idea of mine actually works."
Uchiha Gen stopped midair, muttering to himself for a while before resuming his flight through the gray expanse of the Pure Land.
Meanwhile, in the present world, Whirlpool Country, deep inside Orochimaru's secret research base.
Tsunade sat motionless in the hall, her eyes red and swollen, staring blankly at the remains of the Edo Tensei.
Orochimaru's shadow slowly reappeared, his footsteps echoing deliberately to bring her back from her daze.
He wasn't without empathy. After spending some time letting her speak with Nawaki and Dan, he had quietly stepped away to give her space.
But when he returned, he smiled faintly.
"What, can't bear to part?"
"Do you want me to keep them here in the living world forever?"
Tsunade flinched and immediately looked up. "Is that… possible?"
"Of course," Orochimaru replied easily. "Once the Edo Tensei is cast, the reanimated dead become immortal and nearly indestructible. Unless their souls themselves have a lifespan limit, they'll never die, not even if the caster does."
Then he smirked, gesturing to himself. "Well… except me. I don't die."
He went on, his tone light but sharp. "Of course, there are differences between them and living humans. They've lost most of what makes us human, organs, flesh, the ability to eat, reproduce, and so on."
Tsunade's expression hardened. "I don't care about that. I just want them… to stay with me for the rest of my life."
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed. "If you're willing to risk soul fragmentation, I can help you."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
He chuckled softly. "Haha… From what I know of my apprentice, he doesn't just help people out of kindness. Not even a beauty like you is an exception."
"I might not be interested in women myself, but he certainly is. I'd guess he took quite a liking to you."
"If I'm right, you've already made some sort of deal with him, haven't you?"
Tsunade said nothing, her gaze cooling as she slowly nodded.
Orochimaru folded his arms. "Edo Tensei might seem indestructible, but there are still ways to counter it, like Sealing jutsu itself, or Gen's Mangekyō ability."
"Seals can restrain the reanimated, but Gen's power… that terrifying ability to devour souls, there's no comparison."
He let the words hang before continuing, almost lazily, "Nawaki's fine; he wouldn't mind. But Dan's different. If his soul is devoured, his final trace in this world disappears completely. Edo Tensei would never work on him again."
He gave her a thin smile. "If you're willing to risk that, I don't mind spending more time casting the jutsu."
"After all, considering our past, me, you, Dan, and Nawaki, it's only fair, don't you think?"
Tsunade stood silently for a long while, her face unreadable. Then she exhaled and shook her head.
"Hmph… Forget it. Let them rest in peace in the Pure Land. Seeing them once was enough. I shouldn't be greedy."
"Besides, bringing back people who've been dead for years… it would throw Konoha into chaos."
She looked up at him, her tone firm. "Orochimaru, your forbidden techniques shake the balance of this world. You should use them with caution."
Orochimaru blinked, then burst out laughing. "Hahaha! You're lecturing me now?"
He spread his arms mockingly. "This forbidden technique was created by your own second grandfather and he was the first to use it."
"Should I revive him so you can lecture him too?"
Tsunade's face flushed with anger. "Orochimaru! You are not to desecrate my grandfather or my second grandfather!"
He waved her off, smiling faintly. "Relax. I'm still a Konoha Ninja. Unless absolutely necessary, I won't disturb their rest."
"That better be true," she muttered, her expression softening slightly.
In truth, she couldn't bring herself to stay angry. Knowing Orochimaru, he'd probably already collected detailed samples and data on both of her grandfathers and countless other powerful shinobi besides.
Fighting him would be useless. What else could she do but warn him and let it go?
Back in the Pure Land.
Uchiha Gen slowed to a stop, gazing into the endless gray.
"I've been flying for ages and still haven't found anything. Is this place always this empty?"
"Do souls just… lie here, sleeping forever?"
He sighed. "Forget it. I should focus on the main task first."
A sliver of his soul detached from his body and descended toward a faintly glowing white mound. Inside it lay a stern-faced middle-aged man, perfectly still.
Gen's ethereal form drifted down, reaching carefully toward the glowing light.
To his surprise, the coffin lid offered no resistance, his hand passed right through.
Just as excitement flickered in his eyes, the man's soul suddenly opened its eyes. They were full of confusion, as if waking from a long dream.
Without hesitation, Gen released an invisible pulse from his eyes.
The man's soul instantly went blank and in the next moment, a streak of light shot upward, vanishing into Gen's soul-mouth.
"Hahaha!"
"It worked! My idea was right!"
He clenched his fists, eyes gleaming with triumph. "From now on, the countless souls in this Pure Land are like crops in a field—I can harvest them whenever I want!"
"And with the Soul-Soul Fruit's power, I don't even need to worry about memory confusion, personality collapse, or spiritual chaos after devouring them!"
"My growth is about to skyrocket!"
Gen threw his head back and laughed wildly, his voice echoing across the gray wasteland.
As the middle-aged man's soul vanished, the luminous coffin beneath him shattered like glass, scattering into countless white motes that sank into the dark soil.
After releasing all his excitement, Gen resumed devouring one soul after another.
Only when that fragment of his soul reached its limit did he finally stop, satisfied, and continue his exploration.
After flying for a while longer, something caught his attention—a dazzling pillar of light piercing through the gloom.
If the strongest soul mound he'd seen earlier had glowed like a bright lamp, this one was a super searchlight, cutting through the fog from miles away.
Curious, Gen descended and peered into the transparent, luminous coffin. His brows rose.
"Huh… an old acquaintance."
Inside lay a long-faced man with slick yellow hair, dressed in a black-and-white striped high-collared coat fastened with a black sash and a green undershirt. He had no eyebrows, a handlebar mustache, and a sharp gaze even in death.
Hōzuki Gengetsu, the Second Mizukage of the Hidden Mist. A legend who'd made quite the impression during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
Gen studied him for a moment, then smirked and drifted away.
"Not gonna touch him yet. Even if I could, the souls that enter the Pure Land don't have enough quality to feed on his level."
"And besides," he muttered, "I kind of like the guy."
There were just too many souls here. Devouring them one by one would take forever.
So he continued on, glancing at each brilliant pillar he passed—seeing familiar faces from every corner of the ninja world. Most had once been great figures, at least Jonin-level or higher. He even spotted the resting places of multiple Kage.
"Tsk tsk..."
Eventually, he stopped in his tracks, eyes widening.
The sight ahead dwarfed everything he'd seen before. The pillars of light stretched endlessly, bright enough to blind, a radiant city of the dead piercing through the endless gray.
"This..." he murmured, awe flickering across his face. "This is too much."