Chapter 53: The Sage of Six Paths Asked Me to Deliver a Message to You

"The interval between life and death..."

Senju Tobirama's expression shifted drastically as a sudden question struck him. "What kind of place is the interval between life and death? Apart from returning to the Pure Land or being swallowed into the belly of the Death God, do the souls of the deceased appear anywhere else?"

"The interval between life and death is the boundary between the underworld and the mortal world."

Emiya Shihara gazed at Senju Tobirama and continued softly, "In that region, souls cannot find peace because they harbor lingering obsessions that cannot be resolved. It is a place far more desolate than the Pure Land of the underworld..."

"..."

Senju Tobirama frowned and fell into deep thought.

As the creator of the Impure World Reincarnation, Senju Tobirama vaguely understood the distinction between the border of life and death and the Pure Land of the underworld. He could grasp the meaning of a soul being lost and unable to find release.

Naturally...

Only the Pure Land was the true destination of the dead.

The interval between life and death was a far worse place than the Pure Land.

If a deceased soul's obsession could not be resolved, it would be akin to a human's most basic desires remaining unfulfilled, or a body existing in a state of eternal hunger. In the interval between life and death, it must be exceptionally painful, right?

That should be a realm beyond even his Impure World Reincarnation technique, for the technique could only summon the souls of the dead from the underworld.

"The interval between life and death..."

Emiya Shihara's gaze fell upon Senju Tobirama's face as he brought up the truly crucial point: "It is also the space where the Sage of Six Paths exists."

"If one can meet the Sage of Six Paths, that must be quite interesting..."

A faint smile surfaced on Senju Tobirama's face. Without caring whether his soul might become lost, he made up his mind on his own. "I actually really want to seek an audience with the Sage of Six Paths..."

"I must warn you..."

"If the plan fails..."

"Your soul will remain trapped in the interval between life and death forever."

Emiya Shihara looked steadily at Senju Tobirama, earnestly persuading him, "When a person dies with unresolved obsessions, their soul becomes lonely and tormented. While that place seemingly connects to both the mortal world and the underworld, it is ultimately an isolated island in the void between life and death..."

"There is no time, no space, no past, and no future."

"You might not even know what you are doing at any given moment."

"At that time, your soul will have only a single thought: to satisfy the obsession held at the moment of death..."

"Only when that dying obsession is fulfilled will your soul awaken from its stupor. Only by resolving the obsession can the soul of the dead awaken and return to the underworld. Only by returning to the Pure Land of the underworld can your soul finally be at peace..."

"Brother!"

Senju Tobirama suddenly felt a pang of regret. He said in a deep voice, "If it is the interval between life and death, even the Impure World Reincarnation technique might fail to summon your soul..."

"..."

Senju Tobirama unconsciously fell into thought. Ignoring Senju Tobirama's dissuasion, he was instead wondering what kind of obsession could possibly be plaguing him.

"My obsession..."

"It must be Madara, right?"

"..."

Senju Tobirama's face rapidly turned grim.

Brother...

What kind of nonsense are you talking about?

You are practically on the verge of death, yet you are still fretting over Uchiha Madara? Wasn't a decade of chasing him down enough to cure you of that annoyance?

That said, complaints were complaints.

Uchiha Madara was indeed an immense headache.

Although Senju Tobirama was in a foul mood, he could only understand his elder brother's sentiments. A living Uchiha Madara was the only lingering knot in his brother's heart.

After all, the friendship between Senju Tobirama and Uchiha Madara was profound. It had endured the trials of the Warring States period, survived the parting of ways as they walked different paths, withstood the life-or-death clashes of former bosom friends, and finally culminated in a prolonged chase spanning ten years.

"So..."

Senju Tobirama did not entirely understand, but he knew what he had to do. "Do I simply need to walk toward death carrying my obsession with Madara?"

"Precisely."

Emiya Shihara nodded gently, continuing in a low voice, "Allowing the soul's will to manifest in the underworld after death is the easiest way to make contact with the Sage of Six Paths."

"Before that..."

Emiya Shihara raised his palm and explained, "While your life has not yet ended, and before your soul departs from your flesh, I will place your body on the boundary between life and death, causing your consciousness to manifest in the interval between life and death."

"Simply put..."

"You might die, or you might live."

"Your life will temporarily enter a strange state, much like a vegetative patient sent to the Konoha Hospital, and this will persist until your body truly dies."

"This window of time will be extremely brief."

"Because your body has long since reached its limit."

Emiya Shihara frowned, wanting to make Senju Tobirama understand just how fleeting that window of life was. "If the Sage of Six Paths chooses not to intervene, your body will genuinely succumb to death within minutes. We will wait for your soul to return during those few minutes..."

"So it's just a matter of losing a few minutes of life..."

Senju Tobirama suddenly chuckled softly, lying back with a carefree attitude as an unprecedented gentleness appeared on his face. "I hope my luck will be a little better..."

"Then walk toward death carrying your obsession with Madara."

Emiya Shihara narrowed his eyes slightly, pressing his palm against Senju Tobirama's body as he felt the fading of Senju Tobirama's life force. "Die with this obsession, and pray that you may encounter the gods at the edge of life and death..."

"Say a few words."

"Because this may be your last chance."

The chakra in Emiya Shihara's palm pierced into the acupoints of Senju Tobirama's body like sharp thorns, softly reminding his patient.

"I understand."

Senju Tobirama nodded. His gaze swept over little Tsunade, who was still fast asleep, and a smile touched the corners of his mouth before he raised his head once more to look at Emiya Shihara.

"Thank you... Lord Emiya."

"You have truly gone to great lengths for me over all these years..."

As he spoke, Senju Tobirama's voice grew completely weak, and his gaze finally came to rest on the younger brother who had grown up alongside him.

"Tobirama..."

"The future of Konoha..."

"I leave it in your hands..."

"I understand, Brother."

Senju Tobirama nodded with a heavy expression.

During this period, Senju Tobirama had already been publicly nominated and pushed forward in the Konoha village elections to serve as the Second Hokage, and he had long since prepared himself to shoulder that responsibility.

Or rather...

In truth, Senju Tobirama had always shouldered that responsibility, inheriting Senju Hashirama's will to protect Konoha. He would never allow the village his brother built to collapse.

If his brother truly perished...

Senju Tobirama had already made thorough preparations.

"Then it is well... All is well..."

Senju Tobirama's eyelids slowly closed, his chakra seeming to peel away from his body. His lips murmured, calling out the name of the lifelong friend he had pursued throughout his days.

"Madara..."

"..."

Senju Tobirama's expression was no longer angry; his gaze simply grew dark and obscure as he watched his elder brother chant the name of his former bosom friend while stepping toward death.

"..."

The entire room fell into absolute silence.

Senju Hashirama's remains still lay quietly upon the bed.

Vibrant green tendrils of chakra pierced into his body like long needles, barely sustaining a sliver of vitality within him and allowing his physical form to endure.

The consciousness of the First Hokage had completely vanished. He lay there quietly as if he had marched into eternal death, and the First Hokage, who had once towered over the Warring States period, no longer exhibited the slightest sign of movement.

"Is this... a success? Or a failure?"

Senju Tobirama's gaze darted quickly to Emiya Shihara, then back to his brother's bizarre state, and he pressed urgently, "Lord Emiya, at what point can we determine whether our plan has succeeded? When can we know it has failed?"

"Perhaps..."

"It has failed."

Emiya Shihara shook his head, his voice quieting down. "If the Sage of Six Paths were willing to save him, he would have acted at the exact moment his life reached the edge of life and death, allowing his soul infused with power to return from the void into his living body. We can only wait until his body dies completely to know the outcome..."

"However..."

Emiya Shihara suddenly reached out, picking up little Tsunade who was still clutching Senju Hashirama's arm in her sleep, and turned as if intending to leave.

"We should still prepare for Hashirama's funeral in advance."

"..."

Senju Tobirama's face turned somewhat unsightly.

Although he had anticipated this outcome long ago, and even when choosing to trust Emiya Shihara's final gamble, he had foreseen the possibility of his brother's death, his heart still ached with a suffocating pain.

Brother...

Might truly be dead...

Even the final hope had been shattered...

"Why would the Sage of Six Paths refuse to intervene..."

Senju Tobirama gazed at his elder brother's remains, staring at the revered sibling as he had countless times in the past, and asked softly, "Could it truly be as Lord Emiya said, that the era of peace we built is utterly worthless in the eyes of that lofty deity?"

"To him..."

Emiya Shihara pulled the little one in his arms closer, making her sleep more comfortably before replying calmly, "Perhaps this era truly holds no figures worthy of attention, and no one deserves his gaze..."

"Even though your elder brother and Uchiha Madara shone brilliantly across the vast expanse of history, before a deity whose light eclipses the sun and moon and illuminates heaven and earth, they are nothing more than tiny grains of candlelight struggling against the darkness of this room."

"To a god..."

"Such flickering light in the endless flow of time is merely a fleeting spark about to be extinguished, not worth a second glance."

Even...

I am no different.

Even though this matter was not necessarily bad news for Emiya Shihara.

As time ticked away, Emiya Shihara believed his probing of the Sage of Six Paths had yielded its result, and he was just about to leave with little Tsunade when Senju Hashirama, lying on the sickbed, suddenly opened his eyes!

Senju Hashirama!

He had woken up!

"Brother!"

Joy flooded Senju Tobirama's face, and he hurriedly urged Emiya Shihara to turn back. "Lord Emiya, Brother is awake!"

"..."

Emiya Shihara's heart tightened.

Because Senju Hashirama's awakening could only mean one thing...

Had the Sage of Six Paths ultimately chosen to interfere in the mortal world? Just how much power did that legendary deity still possess?

"I'm sorry... Tobirama..."

"Perhaps I will disappoint you..."

"This might only be a brief reunion..."

"Because my life truly seems insignificant compared to the vast currents of history... Hahaha..."

Senju Hashirama chuckled with a sense of release. His gaze swept past Senju Tobirama and came to rest upon Emiya Shihara, an unprecedented look of respect and admiration surfacing on his face.

"Yet in this world... there still exists a brilliance of life worthy of respect even from the gods..."

"The Sage of Six Paths has asked me to convey his apologies to Lord Emiya..."