Perhaps this is the meaning of the Pure Land's existence; Otsutsuki Hagoromo gave souls a place to continue existing.
Although he might have had other motives, at least the souls were preserved.
The Ninja World's original authority over death should have been in the hands of the Shinigami, and souls would be eaten into the Shinigami's belly, which was also a way for souls to continue existing.
In other words, Otsutsuki Hagoromo usurped the Shinigami's original authority, allowing the souls of the deceased to be summoned through certain rituals.
If they were inside the Shinigami's belly, no one, except for Orochimaru, that sly snake, should have been able to perform the act of cutting open the Shinigami's belly to retrieve souls.
Gennō lowered his head in thought; he really wanted his child to stay with him forever, but he also knew that this would only result in his child's soul being scattered.
This was an extremely difficult choice.
Ultimately, Gennō said nothing, only slowly nodded, and then walked towards the backyard.
Looking at the stooped Gennō, Ling did not know how to comfort him, mainly because if Gennō's son were to continue existing in an Edo Tensei form, the White Zetsu would inform Black Zetsu.
This might put Gennō in danger, and her whereabouts would also be discovered by Black Zetsu, so letting the father and son meet occasionally was fine, but a long-term presence was not.
Even for Senju Tobirama, Ling planned to let him have four days off each month, so he could return to the Pure Land to recover his Chakra, making it easier for him to continue working for her.
In the backyard, Gennō, under a tree, uncovered a layer of loose earth, opening the entrance to the basement.
He walked down the stairs, looking as if he had prepared beforehand.
Lighting the surrounding oil lamps, this was a not-so-spacious secret room, with a small coffin placed in the center, containing the remains of Gennō's son.
Ling was only summoning Gennō's son's soul, not directly performing Edo Tensei, so no sacrifice was needed, only a medium.
Gennō placed a small piece of bone on the ground, then stepped back and stood aside.
Ling began to form hand signs.
Although it was not a complete Edo Tensei, the number of signs was still extremely long, and Ling had not yet had time to simplify them.
As she formed the hand signs, Ling slammed her hand onto the ground, and a complex rune formula, similar to a Summoning Technique, appeared, instantly connecting to the Pure Land and linking to a young soul through the medium.
A pure white light appeared, as if falling from the sky, but in reality, it was just a soul passage projected from the Pure Land.
A translucent figure of a small boy, somewhat resembling Gennō, floated within the white light pillar, standing before the tearful, distraught Gennō, who had collapsed to his knees.
"You only have half an hour to talk; I'll go out first."
Ling walked out of the secret room, leaning against the big tree and waiting, not using her senses to peek into Gennō's father-son conversation, carefully maintaining the Chakra output.
Without a sacrifice, the Chakra for summoning the soul naturally needed to be provided by Uchiha Rei.
Although it was only summoning a soul, the consumption was surprisingly no less than summoning a large ninja beast.
In the Pure Land, two old men, adorned with white feathered robes and black magatama patterns, stopped their discussion.
They both sensed that a soul was being guided out.
Following the soul passage, they observed that familiar figure, and the young boy's soul that was being guided over.
"Brother, your descendant has learned Edo Tensei, but she has not abused it; this is very good."
Ōtsutsuki Hamura sat cross-legged on nine green Truth-Seeking Orbs, smiling as he looked at Otsutsuki Hagoromo, who was deep in thought.
"From the moment I opened the Pure Land, I had anticipated this situation."
Otsutsuki Hagoromo did not respond directly but spoke to himself.
He understood his brother's meaning, which was merely to praise Uchiha Rei for her sense of proportion and for understanding the meaning of the Pure Land's existence.
"Neither White Zetsu nor the souls in the Pure Land can stop the Ōtsutsuki who come from afar; the future of the Ninja World still depends on the living descendants."
Ōtsutsuki Hamura naturally knew the original purpose of the Pure Land's existence.
He believed that his brother and their mother were similar people; they didn't trust themselves much, nor did they trust their descendants much.
"Originally, with Ashura and Indra, I wasn't very confident, but the appearance of Uchiha Rei has shown me entirely new hope."
Otsutsuki Hagoromo opened his eyes; his Rinnegan showed no emotional color, only supreme majesty, and some imperceptible compassion.
"Is this why Brother sent out a Six Paths Power? Now it seems Ling has not used your power, Brother, but has only treated it as a stepping stone."
Hamura and Hagoromo observed Uchiha Rei whenever they had time.
They saw her collecting Tailed Beast tails and understood her intentions, saying that cultivating a new Ten-Tails was not impossible.
However, the potential of this Ten-Tails cannot exceed that of the true Ten-Tails, unless the new Ten-Tails seedling devours the original Ten-Tails.
"She is on the right path; shortcuts can only bloom for a short time after all."
Ling did not know that she was being constantly monitored by two shameless dead men.
She was attempting to fuse Wind Release Chakra and Water Release Chakra.
Ice Release, in the original work, did not seem like a very strong Bloodline Limit, but Ling believed there was no strongest Bloodline Limit, only the strongest person.
Without the Ice Release Chakra synthesis ratio, forcibly synthesizing Ice Release Chakra by relying on luck was undoubtedly a painful process.
In her right hand were two masses of Water Release and Wind Release Chakra constantly intertwining and separating, while in her left hand was ice created by Ice Formation Curses.
Relying on this method of comprehending ice and hoping for a flash of inspiration was too dependent on luck.
Ice Release might still have a chance to be synthesized, but for Lightning Release Chakra and Fire Release Chakra, the fusion of these two most explosive Chakra natures, Ling could hardly imagine what kind of Bloodline Limit it would be.
After waiting for about half an hour, Ling checked the time and then stopped maintaining the Chakra.
Gennō's son's soul also slowly began to be drawn back by the Pure Land, about to return.
Ling thought about letting the father and son meet again next time if there was an opportunity, mainly because Gennō's son's soul was too weak and would dissipate in a few days at most, so it was unrealistic to let them live together for a long time.
Thinking that Gennō might need to compose himself, Ling did not go in immediately, but patiently waited a few more minutes before preparing to call Gennō out.
She planned to greet Gennō, then she would go to the Land of Fire's grain official to arrange the transportation of grain.
Finishing early would also give her time to see Tobirama.
However, Ling called for a long time, but there was no answer.
Ling's heart immediately sank, and she pushed open the door and walked in, then saw a new, large coffin placed there.
Although there was no smell of blood, Ling used Body Flicker Technique to arrive in front of the coffin, only to find Gennō lying inside, smiling at her.
"Miss Ling, did I scare you?"
Gennō sat up, laughing heartily.
He was getting revenge for Ling exposing his identity in front of him back then and scaring him, and now he had made his son return to the Pure Land on time.
Counting both old and new grudges, Gennō decided to give Uchiha Rei a surprise or a fright, actively using the Turtle Breathing Forbidden Technique to make himself appear like a dead person.
Ling gave this much more cheerful middle-aged man an annoyed glance, mainly because she hadn't had time to use Cursed Energy to sense him, otherwise she would have discovered that Gennō still had emotional colors.
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