"Sasuke-kun, how about giving me one of the Five Direction Ghost Emperor positions?"
Senju Hashirama laughed heartily, as if he were asking for a casual favor.
Sasuke couldn't help but smile.
This man—revered as the God of Shinobi—rarely carried the imposing aura one would expect. Most of the time, he seemed almost carefree.
And yet, when the situation demanded it, the true weight of the Ninja God would surface.
"That won't be a problem," Sasuke replied calmly. "In fact, in the future, you did take one of those positions."
Hashirama blinked.
Sasuke's gaze swept across the gathered shinobi before he added mysteriously,
"Every position in the Underworld comes with immense benefits."
The group stiffened.
Benefits?
"Becoming a member of the Underworld," Sasuke explained, "is like being placed on the empire's payroll. And once you're on the payroll, you receive the advantages that come with serving the world itself."
He spoke without exaggeration.
"Your cultivation speed increases. Occasionally, you'll even enter a state of heightened clarity."
Enlightenment.
A fleeting but priceless state.
Unfortunately, in the future timeline, the system had only just begun to stabilize when war with the Ōtsutsuki Clan erupted. Very few had truly enjoyed its long-term advantages.
As for Sasuke's survival until the very end—
That, too, was tied to the special nature of the Underworld.
Only beings at the Six Paths level could forcibly intrude into the realm of reincarnation. Ordinary entities, unless possessing extremely rare abilities, could not even perceive it.
Simply by establishing the Samsara Underworld, the shinobi world had already surpassed the majority of civilizations in the universe.
The others naturally understood what "being on the payroll" implied.
In the Uzumaki Empire, holding an official post meant surpassing ninety percent of the population. It meant access to resources, recognition, and honor.
Serving the empire—contributing to the world's development—was considered a source of pride for entire clans.
Just as Sasuke continued sharing fragments of future knowledge—
A tremendous upheaval erupted on Naruto's side.
Naruto pushed Yin–Yang Release and the Five Elements chakra to their absolute limits.
In this universe, chakra itself was one of the foundational forces of existence.
When Yin–Yang Release fused perfectly with the Five Elements, it possessed the power to create worlds.
Just as Ōtsutsuki Kaguya had forged her personal dimensions—
But Naruto's mastery now far surpassed hers.
Using the Pure Land as a base, he elevated it into something entirely new—
The World of Reincarnation.
BOOM!!!
The sky trembled.
Even the outer cosmos reacted.
Around the star system where the shinobi world resided, divine light shimmered endlessly. The disturbance rippled outward, attracting the attention of distant observers.
"Yin and Yang evolve—earth, fire, water, wind!"
Naruto's voice reverberated like a decree.
"The Yellow Springs—manifest!"
He extracted a fragment of Yellow Springs energy from the sealed Ghost Capital, refined it with nether energy, and fused it with his own chakra. What emerged was true Yellow Springs water—the river that would carry souls.
"Naihe Bridge!"
"Three Lives Stone!"
"Eighteen Hells—descend and suppress the Yin World!"
Space fractured.
Barriers formed.
Lightning split the sky. Infernal flames ignited without fuel. Entire layers of hell carved themselves into existence.
The Underworld was taking shape.
And then—
In a distant void within the Pure Land, space twisted violently.
A vortex formed.
The fluctuation was so intense that everyone immediately sensed it.
Naruto, however, remained fully immersed in constructing Samsara.
"Who is that?" Sasuke's gaze sharpened.
From within the vortex, a tall figure stepped out.
Nearly two meters in height.
Its body was patterned in alternating black and white, and a strange mask concealed its face.
A suffocating pressure followed its arrival.
The Six Paths Sage's expression turned grave.
"Is this… a Void God?"
The term startled everyone.
Void God?
Sasuke frowned slightly.
In the memories passed down by his future self, he had only been told that a Six Paths–level member of the Death God Clan would appear. In that timeline, Sasuke had eventually reached an agreement with him—granting him one of the Five Direction Ghost Emperor positions.
Even in the future, those seats were not easily filled.
The Six Paths Sage spoke slowly, clarifying the confusion.
"A Void God is a rank within the Death God Clan equivalent to a Six Paths–level Ōtsutsuki."
"In other words, what we call a Six Paths Ōtsutsuki… they would classify as a Void God."
Understanding dawned across several faces.
But the Sage was not finished.
"Above a Void God is a Demigod."
"And above a Demigod… is a True God."
His voice carried ancient weight.
"A True God is no mere title. It is a being acknowledged by the universe itself—the deity that governs universal law."
Silence followed.
The masked figure stood motionless within the void of the Pure Land.
The air grew heavier by the second.
And yet—
Even such an existence had arrived at the threshold of Naruto's newly forming Samsara.
The implication was clear.
The birth of the Reincarnation Underworld had already shaken powers far beyond the shinobi world.
The Six Paths Sage spoke slowly, his voice carrying the weight of long years.
"In the past, I did not know of the existence of True Gods. But in recent years, I have paid close attention to the changes within the shinobi world."
He had once encountered a Void God.
When an Ōtsutsuki reaches the stage of extreme bloodline evolution—approaching ancestral regression—their power can rival the creation of dimensions. Much like Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's Amenominaka, which freely shifted space itself.
Back then, by accident, he had opened the Pure Land—the resting place of souls.
Any realm tied to souls would inevitably draw the attention of the Death God Clan.
And thus, he had made contact with a Void God.
"The Death God Clan," the Sage continued, "is an extremely special race within the universe."
"A Void God is not a True God. However, reaching that rank means breaking free from the limitations of lower-tier Shinigami. It is a fundamental transformation."
"Below Void Gods," he added, "such as the two Shinigami currently stationed within the Pure Land—they are called Voids."
Understanding dawned among the gathered shinobi.
So that towering, almost human-like being before them—
Was truly a member of the Death God Clan?
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. He had once summoned the Shinigami through the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. That skeletal, monstrous entity bore no resemblance to the being standing here.
The difference was astonishing.
This evolution was too complete—too refined. It was almost indistinguishable from a living human.
Then—
"Hahaha! Old man, you actually know about our clan?"
The black-and-white figure finally spoke, his voice deep and resonant.
He stepped forward leisurely, his presence pressing subtly against the void.
His gaze swept across the assembled shinobi, pausing only briefly on each before settling entirely on Naruto.
"So this is the heaven-defying opportunity those two useless subordinates mentioned?"
His name was Yakumo.
The two Shinigami stationed in the Pure Land had discovered Naruto's actions first. As beings inherently tied to death, they were acutely sensitive to fate and danger.
They sensed immense opportunity—
And immense peril.
If they approached rashly, they would likely be reduced to nothing.
Thus, they reported the matter to their superior.
Yakumo.
The Void God whom the Six Paths Sage had once encountered was actually the former superior of those two Shinigami. That individual had long since relocated elsewhere in the cosmos. His previous appearance in the Pure Land had merely been coincidence.
In a remote place like this, where even an Ōtsutsuki had once taken root, he had shown a degree of restraint.
After all, the Pure Land required Shinigami oversight. Once stationed, it became routine. In the vast universe, such soul realms were not rare.
But this—
This was different.
Yakumo narrowed his eyes.
"This is not something easily seized…"
In his perception, Naruto no longer seemed like a single individual.
He felt like a world.
Visible—
Yet untouchable.
At the same time, something stirred deep within Yakumo's being.
An instinct.
A longing.
A genetic tremor.
It was as though the young man before him was performing an act of immense cosmic merit—one that resonated directly with the foundation of the Death God Clan itself.
An opportunity.
One closely tied to their race.
Yakumo's unwavering gaze on Naruto immediately displeased the others.
Sasuke's expression darkened slightly.
Although he knew the future outcome—knew that Yakumo was not inherently malicious—his feelings toward the Death God Clan were far from positive.
In the future timeline, Naruto had once been cunningly sealed by another powerful member of that very clan.
That memory was not something Sasuke could easily forgive.
Even if this Yakumo was different—
Trust did not come so cheaply.
(End of Chapter)
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