Blurring the Boundary of Life and Death
After listening to Uzumaki Ashina's meticulous explanation of the Reaper Death Seal's precautions, Naruto formed the Snake hand seal and channeled chakra into the Edo Tensei technique.
As the link tethering him to the physical world weakened, Uzumaki Ashina undid the Four Symbols Seal on his body. His once-pristine, albeit reanimated, form—covered in cracks and decay—began to disintegrate.
A radiant white light, resembling the guiding passage to the Pure Land, enveloped Ashina's soul as it ascended.
Naruto gazed at the vanishing figure. If his assumption was correct, this was the threshold between the living world and the afterlife, the same realm the Sage of Six Paths once traversed.
Before he could examine further, Ashina's presence disappeared completely.
Naruto withdrew his gaze and focused on the task ahead. Per their agreement, he would re-summon Ashina's soul via Edo Tensei in twelve hours.
Yet, a lingering thought gnawed at him. What was the true nature of the Pure Land?
Long ago, he theorized its connection to the God Tree—a hypothesis still unproven. Only through Ashina's return could he confirm if the afterlife had any ties to the Otsutsuki clan's ancient machinations.
Beyond the Pure Land, the world held many anomalies linked to the God Tree.
For instance, the Dragon Vein beneath Roran possessed time-warping abilities, enabling his past self to meet Minato Namikaze—who had yet to become Hokage—and together, they thwarted Mukade's attempt to alter history.
Pondering this, Naruto's gaze drifted toward the chakra imprint of Minato within his mindscape. He frowned slightly.
Would Minato's chakra fragment possess foreknowledge of these events? If one traveled via the Dragon Vein, would they reach the past of this world—or a parallel timeline?
Shrugging off the thought, Naruto resumed taijutsu training to pass time—his physical prowess still lagged behind that of peers like Sasuke Uchiha and Rock Lee.
In the blink of an eye, half a day passed.
Retrieving a Zetsu clone from the storage chamber, Naruto arranged a Kuchiyose array, pressed his palm against the ground, and activated Edo Tensei, targeting Ashina's DNA.
But something was wrong.
Naruto's brows furrowed—he failed to summon Ashina's soul.
Edo Tensei involved three steps: locating the departed soul, channeling it back, and binding it within a host. Yet despite multiple attempts, Ashina remained beyond reach.
Had something happened to him in the Pure Land? Or… did the gatekeepers of the afterlife obstruct their efforts?
Naruto spent the next seven days repeating the summoning ritual.
At noon on the seventh day, he finally succeeded. Ashina's soul descended, inhabiting the White Zetsu vessel.
The old patriarch chuckled upon seeing Naruto's impatient expression.
"What's with that look? Didn't I just linger in the Pure Land for a few extra minutes?"
Minutes?
Naruto caught the discrepancy immediately. He pressed further:
"Did you discover anything? Encounter other souls? Is there order in the Pure Land?"
Ashina pondered for a moment before replying:
"I sensed powerful entities, but no matter how I moved, I couldn't approach them. Sometimes their presence was strong, sometimes faint. It felt as though our positions kept… shifting."
Naruto's mind raced. After a pause, he revealed his thoughts:
"Old Patriarch, you say you only investigated for a short while, yet a week has passed in the ninja world. I suspect time flows differently there—or perhaps, the Pure Land exists beyond the concept of time itself."
Ashina stroked his chin, amused.
"You may be right. Time never felt real in that place. But then again, it's the land of the dead—why should it mirror the world of the living?"
Naruto nodded, then gave Ashina a sharp look.
"Old Patriarch, remind me of the experiment's details. I can't seem to recall them…"
Ashina's expression stiffened.
"Hah, trying to test me? You suspect I'm no longer myself?"
Naruto smirked.
"A necessary precaution. After all, this is the realm of the dead—we can't be too careful."
Ashina sighed but relented.
"Fair enough. But tell me, why are you so fixated on the Pure Land? Power?"
The elder always found it strange—Naruto, already stronger than Tobirama Senju, stood unmatched in this era.
Naruto's answer was blunt:
"To counter Edo Tensei. I'm not the only one who knows this technique."
He hesitated, then admitted a deeper suspicion.
"Besides… I have a bold theory. What if the souls in the Pure Land, capable of thought, aren't truly dead?"
Ashina raised a brow.
"Boy, I lost my body—what part of that isn't dead?"
Naruto countered:
"And yet, your consciousness persists. For most, physical death means the end, but for those of our caliber, is it?"
He continued:
"If a powerful shinobi avoided the Pure Land and remained here, how long would their soul last?"
Ashina mulled it over.
"A few days at most. Without a body, a soul deteriorates rapidly."
Naruto pressed further:
"What if you changed bodies before death? Wouldn't that extend your existence?"
Ashina frowned.
"In theory, maybe. But the ninja world doesn't have such technology—"
Naruto shook his head.
"It does. Some have already achieved body transference to prolong their lives."
Two names immediately came to mind:
Orochimaru, who perfected Living Corpse Reincarnation, and Sasori, who converted himself into a near-immortal puppet core.
Even the Sage of Six Paths, through the Pure Land's timeless nature, persisted far beyond mortal limits.
For beings like him, the boundary between life and death blurred—so long as their power remained intact, they could exist indefinitely.
As Naruto pondered this, Ashina did the same.
After a long silence, the elder sighed deeply, making a solemn decision.
"Naruto, if you seek to unravel the Pure Land's mysteries to resurrect the dead, I won't stop you…"
His voice hardened.
"But promise me—never resurrect me. Living too long is a curse. The boundary between life and death must not be erased."
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