A moment ago.
Between life and death.
Here, in the gap between the Pure Land of the Underworld and the living world.
When Hashirama's soul left his body, the ripple of chakra caught the attention of the Sage of Six Paths. He looked down at the familiar energy.
> "Is it about to begin again?"
The Sage's remaining chakra gazed upon Hashirama's spirit and the vow of his second son.
Will Ashura's chakra return to the Pure Land… and follow his brother into the next reincarnation?
He had seen this endless story of chakra reincarnation for a thousand years. He had grown used to it and could only hope the two brothers would reconcile one day.
But this time was different.
Hashirama's soul, carrying Ashura's chakra seed, did not return to the Pure Land. It remained, caught between life and death by some powerful obsession.
This was a problem with the carrier of the reincarnated chakra.
The Sage of Six Paths immediately sensed the danger. Ashura's chakra had always moved on, following Indra's to resolve their endless conflict. How could it stop now?
He frowned, considering one possibility.
Could it be that Indra's reincarnation hasn't died yet?
But even that might be useless.
A soul caught between life and death needs other souls to answer its obsession before it can be freed. Even if Indra's reincarnation died, it might not respond. The proud eldest son's chakra might simply return to the Pure Land and continue its cycle without care for Ashura's.
> "Although this isn't a true crisis for the shinobi world…"
The Sage's remaining chakra sighed and descended.
> "…at least here, in the space between life and death, I can still reach him without a medium."
---
In the darkness between worlds, Hashirama Senju's soul sat beside a small fire. All around him was endless black, a crushing loneliness that would break an ordinary man.
But Hashirama Senju was no ordinary man. His will was strong. Even here his thoughts were clear:
When will I meet Madara?
He tried to dismiss it. He had come to seek an audience with the Sage of Six Paths. Yet the obsession to see Uchiha Madara again overpowered everything, pushing away even the idea of the Sage. He longed to meet Madara in the afterlife, to talk with him again.
It was strange and a little disrespectful to wish for a friend's death just because he himself had died. But the thought wouldn't go away. In this timeless place it might take a thousand years to see him again.
Just as Hashirama wished to see Madara, an eerie-looking old monk emerged from the darkness, pausing like a weary traveller and looking kindly at him.
"Newcomer," the monk said. "May I rest here for a while?"
"Of course," Hashirama replied kindly. He assumed the old man must be cold and made room by the fire.
But as the monk sat down Hashirama felt a shiver of wrongness.
Wasn't this place supposed to be empty? Hadn't Emiya Shihara said only loneliness existed here? Why was there a travelling monk?
"Would you like to talk with me, a former monk?"
The old man slung a staff over his shoulder and smiled. "Why are you staying here?"
"Who are you?"
A note of caution entered Hashirama's voice. "Souls aren't supposed to meet here unless bound by obsession…"
"Newbie," the monk murmured. "Then tell me first—who told you about this place?"
He lifted his gaze, revealing strange eyes like tree rings. Those eyes seemed to draw Hashirama in completely.
"This is the rift between the underworld and the living world," the monk said softly. "Even the dead should not know of it…"
"Those eyes…" Hashirama whispered. "The Rinnegan…"
The legendary Rinnegan of the shinobi world—one of the three great dōjutsu alongside the Uchiha clan's Sharingan and the Hyūga clan's Byakugan.
"Your Excellency is… the Sage of Six Paths?"
Hashirama felt a pang of regret. Before his death he had forgotten to ask Emiya Shihara what the Sage actually looked like.
But who else could this be? Only a godlike being could travel freely between life and death.
Their plan had succeeded.
"I truly did not expect…" the Sage sighed, eyes closing slightly, "…that people still remember me, a mere monk."
"Is it really the legendary Sage of Six Paths?"
Hashirama's heart leapt. He took the chance to speak his obsession. "Forgive me, I stayed here because I want to see my old friend Madara—"
"Hmm?"
The Sage lifted a finger helplessly. "Your friend is still alive…"
"Ah, sorry, that's not what I meant…"
Hashirama tried to rein in his obsession but could only pour out the story of his and Madara's lives—their first meeting, the forced break by their parents, their rivalry as clan leaders.
"I never forgot my friendship with Madara," Hashirama said. "Even though my father forced me to sever ties, I still hoped we could join forces to end this chaotic era…"
The Sage nodded. This was exactly the nature of Ashura's reincarnation: kind, sincere, gathering all forces around them.
"And then I did it. Madara and I built Konoha together."
Hashirama's voice faltered. "But in the end he left. He tried to destroy what we had built. I hunted him for ten years. Even at my death I hadn't solved the problem. He may still endanger Konoha…"
"It's not your fault," the Sage said gently. He knew Madara bore Indra's chakra, and Indra's bearers always worshipped extreme power. Honestly, this generation of Ashura's reincarnation had done well—ending the Warring States era. Only the conflict with Indra remained unfinished.
"So," the Sage asked softly, "your old friend is your obsession?"
"Yes."
"I wish to return to the living world," Hashirama said firmly. "My life is over. Lord Emiya told me only you could allow me to return after death. I came here to beg you…"
"Emiya…"
The Sage murmured the name, searching through millennia of memory. "Emiya… Lord Shihara?"
"Yes!"
Hashirama's eyes brightened.
"Sir Emiya…"
The Sage raised a hand, surprise on his face. "But I remember he died long ago. Even after death he was a good man. I often saw his soul appear here, guiding lost spirits. It shamed me…"
"Ah…"
Hashirama rubbed his neck, embarrassed, and explained that his brother had used the Impure World Reincarnation to bring Emiya Shihara back. "To heal me, my brother summoned his soul…"
The corner of the Sage's eye twitched.
These descendants of Ashura… how bold. Disturbing Emiya Shihara's peace. If the souls in the Pure Land knew this, your brother would be beaten to death by them when he arrived…
"You really are audacious…"
The Sage gave a bitter smile. "He was a medical saint respected by all mankind, revered by the dead in the Pure Land. Even I am far inferior to him. Using forbidden techniques to summon his soul is disrespectful…"
Hashirama scratched his head awkwardly.
"Fortunately," the Sage continued, "Emiya Shihara is magnanimous. He did not hold it against you. I never thought he would hope in me to help you. Although it is an honor, I must apologise to him…"
"I cannot do what he did—to save the suffering people of the world. Now I am only a remnant of chakra. These last traces must be reserved to guard against the true crisis facing the shinobi world, enough to destroy it if left unchecked…"
His voice faded into the darkness.
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