"Immortality…"
"Ah~"
"Naruto-sama… don't forget me… I am… Shiro 4399~!"
"Ahhh~!"
Crash—
In an instant, White Zetsu No. 4399 was engulfed by a swirling torrent of dense paper fragments. His body began to distort, expanding and contracting unnaturally.
Naruto narrowed his eyes. A faint chakra signature reached him—ethereal, yet unnervingly familiar. It had the same resonance as the beings he had classified as "ghosts and gods."
"Spiritualization…"
"I'll catch you, Naruto-sama~!"
"Mmmm~ Lord Naruto smells so nice~!"
Bang—!
"Stay still!"
Thankfully, Naruto had left a shadow clone to handle distractions. The White Zetsu variants swarmed the clone's body, inhaling madly like addicts. To any outsider, it would've looked like they were feeding.
They twitched violently on the ground with every exaggerated breath.
Meanwhile, Naruto's real body had already slipped into a deep slumber.
He had entered the state he dubbed the "Ghost-God Transfiguration"—a technique born from his studies of spiritualization, theorizing that even so-called "spirits" retained physical elements. They were not wholly incorporeal but instead resided on the edge between realms, tethered to pseudo-matter.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
His soul, now freed, expanded rapidly. In mere seconds, the spiritual form of Naruto towered like a spectral giant.
The more divine—or cursed—the essence, the more ferocious the resulting apparition.
"Compress."
With a single word, his form shrank, becoming manageable again.
That's when he noticed it—a door, ancient and cracked with age, materializing above White Zetsu 4399's head.
Naruto's eyes narrowed. "That's the Pure Land access point?"
"It resembles the kind of spiritual realm summoned through occult rites…"
Without a moment's pause, he dove through the door.
Deep within the Pure Land—a psychic sub-realm possibly designed by the Fabricator General himself—Rin stirred.
Something called to her. A tug not of chains, but of warmth.
Her soul awakened within a vast, infinite blue expanse.
Her body began to rise. Above her floated an archaic gate etched with runes long forgotten. Below, countless souls lay dormant, trapped in stasis.
She remembered now—she was dead.
And yet… she was being summoned.
Above her, the gate slowly opened, exerting a subtle suction.
Whoosh—
Suddenly, deep blue eyes met hers.
So familiar.
"Minato-sensei…?"
As Rin's spirit drifted past Naruto's, an immense force seized her.
"Huh?"
She tilted her head, her confusion plain.
"A younger version of Minato-sensei?"
So handsome... No wonder Kushina-sensei had such a fierce grip on him...
Because they were both spirits, Naruto could hear her thoughts without obstruction.
"As long as you're not bound by Impure World Reincarnation, this gate will remain open," he explained as he held her in his arms.
Then he paused and corrected himself.
"No, more likely—like the realms of gods and ghosts—as long as your soul fully departs the Pure Land, the ritual completes."
Rin's expression turned dazed again. "Then… I'll wait here for Minato-sensei."
Naruto looked at her. She smiled.
It was a smile pure enough to be currency.
Back in the physical world, Naruto's Sage Mode clone was still searching for the true entrance.
The Shinobi continent was absurdly small in the grand scheme. Even with all his enhancements, Naruto couldn't help but marvel at the Sage of Six Paths' concealment skills.
If the entrance wasn't on land, it had to be in the ocean.
And if not there… the moon awaited.
"Minato-sensei… you're not really him?"
Rin clutched her forehead. "Then… you must be Minato-sensei's child?"
"You're so similar… but why not Kushina-sensei's hair color?"
Still hopelessly naïve.
When Naruto fully crossed the threshold into the Pure Land, a weak repulsive force began to act on him. Not enough to stop him, just a reminder.
This realm… it feels newly constructed.
The laws here are incomplete, fragmented. Possibly propped up by the Six Paths himself.
It's like a mimicry of the divine realms—a ninja-world version of the spiritual dimension. Designed… perhaps to prevent souls from falling prey to true gods and monsters.
Before this, did all souls return to the realm of spirits… only to be devoured?
Naruto gazed into the serene, blue-tinted Pure Land.
A soft touch brought him back. Rin's small hand brushed his cheek.
"I'm not dreaming, right? I remember… Kakashi…"
She twisted slightly as the pull from the gate intensified.
She couldn't see the world beyond it—but something within her had awakened.
"You're holding me a bit too tight for a sensei's kid…"
Naruto sighed.
"Don't move."
He hoisted her into the air.
"Wha—what are you doing?!"
Her cheeks turned bright red.
Naruto blinked in disbelief. "Six Paths… you really went this far with the setup?"
"This entire plane… was it made using Kaguya's residual power?"
He turned her sideways and gently aligned her with the gateframe.
Rin: "…"
Whoosh—
As soon as he let go, Rin's legs phased cleanly through the gate—which was now partially closed and turning transparent.
"No way…"
He reached out, grabbed her like a sack of grain, and hoisted her again.
"If the door closes, I'll have to search the entire world for another exit into the realm of the living... or just beat up the old man Sage of Six Paths and make him let me out."
"Let's not rush it. Who knows what tricks the old man might still have up his sleeve? Better to wait until everything's ready before confronting him."
Naruto glanced at Rin, whose large eyes were blinking as she stared curiously at him.
"Don't move. Don't speak."
With that, Naruto held Rin in his arms.
Whoosh—
In the next moment, Naruto soared above the Pure Land World.
He looked upward—endless, boundless.
Below, countless souls stood silently on the ground, eyes closed, as though caught in an eternal sleep.
Why does this look so familiar...? Spirit clones of White Zetsu?!
Naruto shook his head, then frowned as he activated the faint trace of chakra at the center of his forehead.
"Let's find Mom first. No need to mark this spot—just let Rin go and she'll be pulled back by the door."
Fwoosh—
He followed the thread of Kushina's chakra embedded in his spirit.
Suddenly, he felt it—a vague, invasive sensation brushing against his soul.
Naruto's eyes narrowed.
With a silent snort, he released a wave of spiritual power—darker and more forceful than the prying gaze—and crushed it.
"Hmph. This world even has instinctive surveillance... just like the realm of ghosts and gods."
Unbothered, Naruto lowered his altitude and sped up, a blur across the dreamlike horizon.
Rin, still in his arms, tensed.
The sight of so many slumbering souls made her already pale face even paler. She tightened her hold around Naruto's neck, closed her eyes, and trembled slightly.
If Kakashi saw this, he'd probably cry... "Midnight Killer," huh? You're scared of ghosts?
Found her!
Naruto came to a sudden stop. Floating ahead of him was a woman with long red hair, her eyes closed.
Her body shimmered faintly, and her abdomen was partially transparent.
"Mrs. Kushina...?"
Rin blinked, eyes going wide with disbelief.
"She's here too? Mrs. Kushina… how did she…?"
Naruto didn't answer.
He reached out and gently touched Kushina's forehead with a finger.
Immediately, the energy from the Mori Mori no Mi activated, latching onto the residual power sealing her.
That restraining chakra began to unravel under its influence.
Slowly, Kushina opened her eyes.
Naruto caught her and released Rin.
Within seconds, Rin was pulled upward by the residual force of the spiritual gate.
"Huh?"
"Rin...? Naruto...? Naruto?!"
But as Kushina's consciousness returned, it quickly faded again.
Naruto absorbed her soul—nutrient essence drawn into his Baihui acupoint, deepening his demonic power reservoir.
His ghost-god abilities had matured enough to physically manifest. The Mori Mori no Mi's abilities remained fully active and stable.
"Let's go."
He followed the residual pull on Rin's soul and flew back at a breakneck pace.
Bang!
The return was even faster.
As soon as they passed through the ancient gate, it shut behind them with a final creak.
Elsewhere, in a quiet corner of the Pure Land, an old man opened his eyes.
He looked in the direction of the closed gate, scratched his head, and—without a word—closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.
Back in the real world, Naruto looked down at the dead White Zetsu No. 4399.
Its eyes were shut in peace, its body covered with layers of paper tags.
The Impure World Reincarnation failed... but White Zetsu died in the process. It became a sacrifice—just like the offerings used in ghost-god summoning. If I wanted to revive him, I'd probably have to cut open the stomach of the Sage of Six Paths himself.
"You're really enjoying your retirement, huh, old man?"
"You're… Naruto?"
Rin's voice was quiet, her arms still wrapped around his neck.
Naruto didn't respond. He simply absorbed her soul essence, then returned to his physical body.
Three seconds later, his spirit and body were fully synchronized again. The ghost-god power consumed during the process would be replenished the next time he devoured plant nutrients.
He knelt beside Rin's flower-wrapped body and placed his finger against her brow.
A thread of soul energy slipped back into her.
After a few moments, her eyes fluttered open.
The memories rushed in.
She looked at Naruto—and her pupils shrank.
"It was all real... I thought it was just a death hallucination."
"And... Lady Kushina... Naruto?"
"Yes, Aunt Rin. Rest here for a few days. Your body's been dead too long—it'll take time for your soul to fully adjust and recover."
"As for everything else... Mom and Dad will fill you in later."
Without waiting for a reply, Naruto used the Flying Thunder God Technique and disappeared.
Rin sat in silence, completely dazed.
He looked about my age… but he called me 'aunt'...?
After a moment, she pouted.
"...I guess it's not wrong to call me that."