What lies beyond death?
Even Yui Xuanyue, who had crossed that threshold himself, could never quite put it into words. It wasn't darkness, nor was it light. It was nothing—true void, like the empty canvas a blind man might imagine. Perhaps the best way to describe it was that sensation when you close one eye: the world before you is clear, but behind the shut lid, there is only formless absence.
Time, too, lost all meaning. With no anchor, it rushed by in a blink. One moment Xuanyue had closed his eyes; the next, he opened them again—and found himself staring at a place achingly familiar.
The Hidden Leaf.
The years had carved lines deep into Hiruzen Sarutobi's face, but Xuanyue recognized him instantly. The truth sank in. Fifty years had passed, yet here he stood once more in the world of the living.
So… it's Edo Tensei.
His gaze fell to his hands, riddled with cracks, his body not his own but a vessel. Xuanyue's mouth curled faintly. Tch. This sacrificed body is garbage. Not even worth a White Zetsu.
No wonder he felt so hollow compared to life. Uchiha Madara had returned in the Fourth Great War like a god only because Kabuto had prepared him the perfect host. Xuanyue, by contrast, was tethered to a shell barely holding together.
And so were the Senju brothers standing beside him.
No wonder an aging Hiruzen had once managed to push them back—it wasn't entirely his merit, but their limitation.
"...It's been a long time, Monkey."
Senju Hashirama's warm eyes softened as he looked upon Hiruzen, nostalgia plain in his voice.
"You've grown old, Sarutobi," Tobirama added flatly, though there was a glimmer of recognition.
Xuanyue remained quiet, studying them both, his lips twitching with a smirk. Even now, the Hokage brothers. Some things never change.
Hiruzen's fists clenched. "To see you both again under these circumstances… Forgive me. It pains me that your rest has been disturbed."
Tobirama turned his sharp eyes toward Orochimaru, his tone a blade. "So. You're the one who dared to complete my forbidden jutsu. To think you'd perfect it to this degree… and yet squander it on folly."
Hashirama sighed. "Tobirama, how many times did I warn you about creating dangerous jutsu like this? You never listened."
Then his gaze shifted—and he froze. His expression brightened. "Xuanyue. It's been a long while."
"Hashirama." Xuanyue's smirk widened. "For you, it's been decades. For me? Just a blink. Tell me—didn't I say Uchiha Madara was more extreme than I ever was? Did things play out as I predicted?"
The light dimmed in Hashirama's eyes, his voice low. "...Madara."
Xuanyue chuckled knowingly. "Thought so. And not just Madara. Your so-called 'peace' was nothing more than a dream." He gestured toward the Hokage Monument looming above the arena. "If the world knew peace after my death, would Konoha already be on its fourth Hokage in such a short span?"
Hashirama's face hardened as he saw the stone faces carved into the cliff.
"...Tobirama. Is it true?"
His younger brother didn't answer at once. Instead, his sharp eyes flicked toward Xuanyue with open suspicion, but Orochimaru cut in with a soft, mocking laugh.
"Enough chatter, old men. It's time we got to business."
Xuanyue's smile faltered into a grimace. Old men? Once hailed as a prodigy of his era, he bristled at the thought.
Hashirama sighed, resigned. "So even in this age… battle is inevitable."
Orochimaru's lips curved. "You'll enjoy it. Won't you?"
Hiruzen stepped forward, fury flashing in his weary eyes. "Orochimaru! To toy with the dead is unforgivable. Those who trifle with time itself will not escape its curse!"
The Sannin merely sneered, unfurling his talismans.
Hashirama and Tobirama stiffened as the seals burned into their skulls, snuffing out their awareness. Their eyes dulled, their souls muffled under the weight of Orochimaru's control.
Xuanyue watched them fall silent, and his lips curled—not in outrage, but in sardonic amusement.
"You're Orochimaru, aren't you? You know who I am. Then you should also know I'm not like those two." He leaned forward, grin sharp as a blade. "No need to shackle me. If it's Konoha's destruction you want… I'll gladly lend a hand."
Orochimaru's golden eyes gleamed with hunger. His tongue flicked across his lips as he studied the legend brought back to life—the man once said to rival the gods themselves. Unlike the others, Xuanyue showed no outrage, no rejection of the jutsu binding him. He offered cooperation.
How fascinating.
How utterly… delicious.
(End of Chapter)