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Chapter 296: The Pure LandKonan raised her right hand, palm facing forward.
The power of her Kekkai Mora gathered at her fingertips, emitting terrifying chakra fluctuations alongside violent spatial tremors. Then, with just a gentle swipe—
Riiiip—
The air in front of her parted silently to both sides like a torn veil, revealing a deep, dark rift.
A freezing, gloomy aura spilled out from within. It was a cold unlike any winter wind; it didn't seep in through the skin, but rose straight from the depths of the soul. It felt as though something ancient was slumbering on the other side of the tear, its very breaths making the entire space feel suffocatingly heavy.
This was the legendary afterlife created by the Sage of Six Paths—the final resting place for the souls of all who had died in the ninja world.
Alex stood by her side, his gaze falling into the rift.
"Let's go," Konan said, taking the first step.
The two stepped into the unknown realm, one after the other.
. . .
The moment they crossed the threshold, the world abruptly changed.
The sky was a boundless grayish-white devoid of sun or stars, bathed only in an eternal, melancholic glimmer. Beneath their feet lay an endless tundra, the ice so thick its bottom couldn't be seen. The surface was smooth as a mirror, perfectly reflecting their blurred silhouettes.
In the distance, a forest of icebergs stood tall. They came in all shapes and sizes—some sharp as swords, some round as hills, others rolling endlessly like frozen waves. Narrow ice valleys separated the mountains, and when the wind blew through them, it carried a low whimpering sound, like the muffled weeping of countless wandering souls.
An ancient, rotting scent permeated the air. It was the stench of death.
Alex looked around, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes.
"Whoa, it's pretty big." He expanded his senses to probe the boundaries of the space and slightly raised an eyebrow. "It's no smaller than the moon in the ninja world."
The Sage of Six Paths had forged the moon using Planetary Devastation, utilizing a gravitational core to attract countless boulders until the celestial body took shape in the night sky. Yet this Pure Land... whether in scale or structural complexity, was completely on par with the moon.
Alex closed his eyes, extending his sensory perception in every direction.
Beneath the tundra and within the icebergs, the aura of sealing jutsu was everywhere. The seals were layered and nested together, forming a massive, incredibly precise system. There were also traces of Six Paths Senjutsu woven into the seals, guiding souls into this realm and preserving their forms to prevent them from dissipating into the world.
"The Sage of Six Paths..." Alex muttered to himself. "His mastery over sealing jutsu and senjutsu really isn't low."
But that was the extent of it.
His current strength far surpassed that of the Sage of Six Paths in both disciplines. Standing here was like an architect standing in a house built by someone else. Not only could he understand the purpose of every beam and pillar, but he could also spot the flaws, see where improvements could be made, and know exactly which parts would collapse first under the erosion of time.
He opened his eyes.
"The Sage of Six Paths is dead."
"This world's administrator is gone. As time passes, the seals will gradually loosen, and the senjutsu will slowly dissipate. The Pure Land..." He paused. "Will sooner or later cease to exist."
Konan listened quietly, saying nothing.
Alex thought for a moment, then turned to her. "How about you integrate the Pure Land into your Core Space?"
The Core Space was the alternate dimension Konan had opened after advancing to Kekkai Mora. It possessed five different regions, each with its own unique properties.
"You have plenty of room in there anyway," Alex smiled. "Fusing another dimension will increase the stability of that world. Plus, with the reinforcement of your power, the souls here can be preserved for much longer."
Konan fell silent for a moment before nodding.
"Alright," she said. "I'll do it once we get out."
Alex gave an affirmative hum, and the two continued moving forward.
The icy surface stretched out beneath their feet, while the undulating icebergs on either side cast deep blue shadows. The occasional sound of ice fracturing echoed in the distance, sounding exceptionally crisp in this dead, silent world.
Alex's gaze landed on one of the icebergs.
Its side was densely packed with countless hexagonal cells, arranged as neatly as a honeycomb. Inside every single cell, a soul was sealed away.
The souls' eyes were shut. Their semi-transparent bodies looked as if they had been carved from thin ice. They were frozen in various postures—some standing, some sitting, some curled into a ball—but all wore the same peaceful expression, completely oblivious to the outside world.
Curious, Alex flew up to an iceberg and pressed close to one of the cells for a better look.
The soul inside was a middle-aged man with a weathered face. He wore ancient armor, looking very much like a samurai from the Warring States period. His hands were crossed over his chest, gripping a rusted blade, and the intricate patterns on his robes were clearly visible.
"They're even wearing the clothes they had on before they died," Alex noted, a little surprised.
Konan flew over as well, her gaze falling on the soul.
"The older the soul, the heavier the scent of decay," she said softly.
Alex nodded and flew toward another iceberg.
The souls in this one were even older, wearing clothing that looked like it belonged to the era of the Sage of Six Paths. Their facial features had already blurred, and cracks webbed across their bodies from head to toe, making them look like fragile porcelain on the verge of shattering.
Alex swept his gaze over them, silently calculating in his mind.
"At five hundred years, cracks begin to appear on the soul." He flew to an even older iceberg.
The souls here were almost unrecognizable as human. The cracks were so dense they resembled a spiderweb ready to crumble at the slightest touch, though the faint outlines of their faces and the remnants of their clothing could still be vaguely distinguished.
"984 years," Alex said, raising an eyebrow. "The absolute limit is 984 years."
He turned to look at Konan.
"It seems the maximum lifespan of a soul is only a thousand years."
Whether they were ordinary people or ninjas, a soul in the Pure Land could exist for a thousand years at most. Once their time was up, the soul would shatter and completely dissipate into the universe, losing even the chance to enter reincarnation.
However, after achieving Kekkai Mora, a person's soul underwent a qualitative transformation, far surpassing these ordinary spirits.
Alex had been continuously cultivating the Mental Secret Technique he obtained from the Black Fragment. As a result, his soul strength had already surpassed Konan's.
The two continued their journey.
The tundra grew wider, and the icebergs became more densely packed. Countless souls were sealed within the honeycomb-like cells. There were the old and the young, men and women, ninjas and civilians. There were samurai from the Warring States period, elders from the era when the hidden villages were founded, and countless victims of war.
Konan's footsteps suddenly slowed.
Her gaze was fixed halfway up the slope of a particular iceberg.
There, two cells were placed tightly next to each other.
In one cell rested a red-haired young man. His features were handsome, and his closed eyes exuded a sense of gentleness and unwavering resolve. He wore a long black cloak embroidered with red clouds—the Akatsuki uniform.
In the other cell rested an orange-haired young man.
Nagato.
Yahiko.
Konan stood before the iceberg, gazing up at the two cells without saying a word.
Alex stood behind her, waiting quietly.
After a long while, Konan finally spoke.
"Yahiko... Nagato..."
Her voice was incredibly soft, as if she were afraid of disturbing their slumber.
"Wait just a little longer."
She paused, her tone growing even gentler.
"You'll be resurrected soon."
"A brand new world is waiting for you."
Within the iceberg, the souls of Yahiko and Nagato kept their eyes closed, showing no reaction. But Konan felt as though their souls had trembled ever so slightly, as if they had heard her words.
She didn't say anything more. She simply turned and walked away.
They pressed on, crossing tundra after tundra, bypassing iceberg after iceberg.
Finally, Konan stopped again.
Her eyes settled on a relatively small iceberg. Halfway up its side, two cells rested side by side.
In the left cell was a young man. His facial features bore a striking resemblance to Konan's, carrying a gentle smile around his eyes. He wore plain cloth garments and had a short blade tucked into his waistband, looking like an ordinary samurai.
In the right cell was a young woman. Her face was soft and beautiful, an exact mirror image of Konan. This was her mother, dressed in a plain kimono, her long hair cascading over her shoulders and a faint smile gracing her lips.
These were the souls of Konan's parents.
She stood frozen before the iceberg, staring up at the two cells.
The wind blew across the tundra, fluttering her long hair and the hem of her skirt. Under the grayish-white sky, her silhouette looked exceptionally frail, as if she might be blown away by the wind at any moment.
"Father... Mother..."
She spoke softly, her voice carrying an indescribable complexity.
These were titles she had never used.
Before her memories as a toddler had been awakened, she didn't even remember having parents. She had always thought she was an orphan, wandering the streets for as long as she could remember, scavenging for food in alleys and seeking shelter from the wind and rain under eaves.
But now, she knew.
She did have a home. She had parents. She had experienced over two years of a warm—albeit terribly brief—life.
Her father would lift her high above his head so she could see the vast sky. Her mother would hold her in her arms, telling her stories on cold winter nights to coax her to sleep.
Those memories felt so distant, almost like they belonged to someone else's story. Yet they were undeniably real, every single frame piercingly clear.
Konan took a deep breath, suppressing the tumultuous emotions churning in her chest.
"Konan." Alex stepped forward, standing by her side. "What do you want to do? Are you going to resurrect them now?"
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