"Brother!"
"Hashirama!"
"Father!"
"Great-Grandpa! Great-Grandpa!"
A wave of panic washed over the room. Even though they had been bracing for this moment, the sight of Hashirama actually collapsing was still a gut punch. They scrambled forward to lift his body.
Only little Tsunade, closest to him, was completely frozen. She stared blankly, tears streaming down her face, as everyone swarmed around her great-grandfather.
"Don't be afraid, Little Tsuna," Hashirama could feel his life force flickering out, but he managed a kind, gentle smile for his most beloved little granddaughter. "I... I just played for too long today. Got a little sleepy, that's all. I just want to... sleep for a while."
This was the child he doted on most, the one who had even inherited his own childhood dream. That pendant he'd given her contained a sliver of his Wood Style chakra, a small piece of himself to stay with her.
"Take her away," Emiya Shirou commanded, his voice devoid of emotion.
"No! I'm not leaving!" Tsunade clung to Hashirama's arm, her throat choked with sobs. "Lord Emiya, please don't send me away! I want to stay with Great-Grandpa!"
She vaguely understood. Something was terribly wrong.
Shirou's demeanor was the same as when he was in the hospital, rescuing patients on the brink of death. Her great-grandfather was one of those patients now.
Lord Emiya could cure any disease in the world, but... he couldn't save everyone. She'd seen it before, the elderly on their deathbeds, the sorrowful cries of their families. She hadn't understood then why he didn't save them.
His answer had been cryptic: "Their lives are coming to an end."
Death, he'd said, was not a disease. No medical skill could cheat it forever. But she still couldn't understand. The only thing she understood now was the heart-wrenching sound of those families' cries, because now she was one of them.
She clung to Hashirama, refusing to let go, fighting against Mito's gentle attempts to pick her up. "I won't go, I won't go!"
"Lord Emiya..." Tobirama's hands clenched into fists, his knuckles white. He suppressed his grief, his nails digging into his palms as he forced himself to be rational. "Let Tsunade stay. If my brother really... at least someone will be by his side."
His voice was heavy. "After all, he dotes on her the most. Perhaps he still wants to talk to her."
His brow furrowed. That afternoon, Hashirama had gathered the family to say his goodbyes, everyone except Tsunade.
He thought he could last until the evening, saving his last moments for her. He and Tobirama had made an agreement: when the time came, only Shirou would be present to reveal the secret of the Pure Land.
But now, Tobirama saw an opportunity.
A chance.
If Tsunade stayed, she might learn the secret. And if he knew the secret, he might be able to save his brother. Or, worst-case scenario, use it to develop new jutsu to fight Madara.
"No," Shirou said after a moment's silence, his gaze falling on the tear-stained child. He told a calm, deliberate lie. "Tsunade is the least suitable person to stay."
For Shirou, she was perhaps the most suitable. If she knew the secret, she could become a perfect pawn for him, and for Black Zetsu. But the truth of the world was a cruel thing for a child. It would shatter her worldview, and could easily twist her towards a path of darkness.
"I want to stay with Great-Grandpa!" Tsunade wailed, still clinging to him. "Lord Emiya... I won't disturb you... please..."
Hashirama's eyes held a silent plea. At the end of his life, he couldn't bear to see her like this.
"Then let her stay," Shirou conceded after a long pause. He raised a finger, and a pitch-black cursed seal landed on her forehead, forming a small rhombus. The immense natural energy within it was too much for her; she drowsily fell asleep.
"Tsunade is fine," Tobirama said, stopping the others. He knew Shirou would never harm a child; in fact, the cursed seal would likely benefit her growth.
"Not suitable?" he pressed, his eyes flashing. "Then who is the most suitable person to stay?"
"If you can bear it," Shirou's eyes slowly lowered, as if he understood Tobirama's ploy all too well, "you can stay too."
Tobirama finally nodded, a grim satisfaction on his face. He turned to Mito. "Sister-in-law, I'll have to trouble you with what comes next."
"I understand," she replied, her expression grave. A golden light of chakra erupted from her body as she entered the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. She would lead the Sensory Team to guard the house, ensuring no one learned of what was happening within. It was a painful duty, but one she had agreed to.
Everyone left. Only Hashirama on the bed, Tobirama standing beside him, and the sleeping Tsunade remained.
"This is the greatest secret of the Pure Land," Shirou began, his voice muffled. "If others were to know, perhaps they would no longer have reverence for death, nor would they respect their own short lives."
"Ninjas rarely seem to fear death," Hashirama replied with a weak smile.
"But what if they no longer cherish feelings?" Shirou's words made Hashirama's expression change. "If they no longer cherish everything in the living world, their relatives, their bonds... and the existence of the Pure Land turns all ninjas into monsters indifferent to time, life, and emotions... then does the world still have any meaning?"
Hashirama's face fell.
"The Pure Land is a special existence," Shirou's voice was unfeelingly cold, as if recalling his soul's past in the underworld. "It is a world of nothingness. A soul can only be eternally fixed at the same point in time. They might experience a long time that is but a moment, or a moment that feels like a thousand years. But they cannot perceive it."
"Time is a luxury there. Only existences with extremely powerful strength can have a concept of time and truly perceive the eternal meaning of death. Such an existence has already transcended the concept of life and death. It is not an exaggeration to call it a god."
"The Sage of Six Paths," Tobirama said the name, his expression grave. In Shirou's words, only one person fit that description.