Play or Not? Play or Not?

Between Life and Death.

The space between the Netherworld Pure Land and the Shinobi World of the living.

In this region existed many strange and peculiar souls.

Some souls still had regrets in the living world and had not found release. Others had yet to leave their final words with those to whom they remained attached.

For all kinds of reasons, these souls remained here without finding release. They could not return to the world of the living, and only after finding spiritual release would they be willing to journey to the Underworld.

Within this rift, these souls waited for the people in the living world who could release them to die and ascend. Like dim candle flames, they lingered alone in their respective areas.

Though these souls appeared close to one another, they were forever unable to draw near, as though separated by the very heavens. They would never know that there were many other souls like themselves.

Of course.

Within this space between life and death.

Only one faintly glowing figure floated above.

The figure sat in the void with his eyes shut, dressed in a white Ninja Sect robe. A Monk's Staff rested on his back, and nine pitch-black spheres floated beneath him.

The Sage of Six Paths.

Or rather, the Sage of Six Paths' remaining Chakra.

As a god from the legends of the Ancient Era, the Sage of Six Paths, who had inherited part of the Otsutsuki bloodline, truly possessed power comparable to that of a god.

Even after his life had reached its end, the Chakra within him could drift through the world in this form, still stubbornly guarding the Shinobi World.

It was precisely because the Sage of Six Paths' remaining Chakra existed that Shirou Emiya had always remained cautious and vigilant, wary that the other party might appear in the living world and ruin his plans.

Back in the Ancient Era, Shirou Emiya had chosen to disguise himself as a truly kind and wise man. He established the way of Medical Ninja, a creed even greater than that of the Ninja Sect, because he needed to use lofty righteousness to deceive the Sage of Six Paths.

After all...

The Sage of Six Paths could not be judged by common sense.

Before Shirou Emiya was truly confident that he could contend with the Sage of Six Paths, he would never rashly approach him. In fact, he had never even met the Sage of Six Paths.

During his lifetime, the Sage of Six Paths had always wanted to meet Shirou Emiya.

Yet Shirou Emiya had never appeared before him. Even when Gamamaru, the Sage of Six Paths' friend, personally invited him, Shirou Emiya refused on the grounds that he needed to heal the sick and save lives.

Only after the Sage of Six Paths died did Shirou Emiya choose to take the risk of stealing his corpse. That was also Shirou Emiya's only contact with the Sage of Six Paths.

Shirou Emiya had even acted without hesitation to eliminate future trouble. He destroyed the Ninja Sect for the sake of the world, then chose to repent and revive its members because of Ashura's words. It was certainly to deceive Black Zetsu, but even more so to deceive the Sage of Six Paths.

Shirou Emiya had died.

After Shirou Emiya's death, his Chakra had become powerful enough to let his soul roam freely between the Netherworld Pure Land and the rift between life and death.

More than once, Shirou Emiya's soul had observed the Sage of Six Paths' remaining Chakra drifting through the rift between life and death. Yet he had never chosen to approach him. He even feared being noticed, and would occasionally take the initiative to help souls trapped here find release and return to the Underworld.

Sometimes...

Even Shirou Emiya felt like he was a good person.

From the Ancient Era to this present age, no matter who questioned him, Shirou Emiya could say with a clear conscience that he had never committed a single evil deed. Even all the good deeds done by the Sage of Six Paths and his descendants combined fell far short of his own.

As for occasionally causing someone's death...

That was merely taking on the role of punishing evil when order was in chaos.

After all, Shirou Emiya did not consider himself some great saint. If people who had committed countless evils jumped in his face, they clearly felt dissatisfied with this life and wanted to be reincarnated as human again.

By any reasoning, Shirou Emiya's actions should not have aroused the Sage of Six Paths' vigilance. Still, he ultimately needed to be extra careful.

After all...

Shirou Emiya was a transmigrator.

As a transmigrator in this unfamiliar world, no amount of caution was excessive. He needed to find a way to make one final test: whether the Sage of Six Paths would worry about someone from the Ancient Era doing a few small things in an age a thousand years later.

Hashirama Senju.

A man whose life was about to reach its end...

He was also the most suitable person for testing the Sage of Six Paths' intentions.

If the Sage of Six Paths wanted to intervene in the living world, he would surely save Hashirama Senju's life when he stood on the brink of death. If the Sage of Six Paths was indifferent to everything in the living world and cared only about Kaguya Otsutsuki's resurrection, then Hashirama Senju would simply die of old age.

Of course.

Judging by Hashirama Senju's condition, Konoha's First Hokage was still brimming with vitality. He did not look like someone whose lifespan had reached its end at all.

When Shirou Emiya arrived at Hashirama Senju's home, he saw Hashirama Senju playing dice with a chubby little girl with fair skin.

A mat was spread across the floor.

Hashirama Senju sat cross-legged with impeccable posture.

The First Hokage wore a solemn expression. He looked even more serious than when he fought Madara Uchiha, and his hand tightly pressed down on a dice cup.

"Tsunade, bet big or small!"

"Um..."

The little girl sitting opposite Hashirama Senju was equally serious. She bit her finger with her tiny teeth, looking conflicted, before moving her New Year's money to one side.

"Big!"

"Then I'll reveal it!"

Hashirama Senju lifted the dice cup with one hand!

The three dice beneath it showed only one pip each.

"Three ones, small!"

Hashirama Senju burst into laughter. Winning against a child seemed to satisfy him greatly. "Hahahaha... Little Tsunade, you lost again!"

"Grandpa cheated!"

The little girl pouted in dissatisfaction.

"Grandpa didn't cheat..."

Hashirama Senju spread his hands to show that he had done nothing, then grinned as he rubbed her forehead. "Little Tsunade, once you're at the Gambling Table, no matter the result, you can only accept it. Since we chose to gamble, if we lose, we can only accept the loss..."

"But I've never won even once..."

The little girl's face held a trace of anger. She was deeply dissatisfied with Hashirama Senju's gambling wisdom. "I've been learning for so long. The sound of the dice clearly meant small, so why did I still lose?"

"Maybe it's a matter of luck..."

Hashirama Senju's face was filled with satisfaction.

Because Hashirama Senju knew he had not cheated. When gambling with his little granddaughter, he had discovered that his luck was always extraordinarily good.

For someone who loved gambling, there was nothing happier than encountering an opponent with terribly bad luck.

However...

Little Tsunade, who had terribly bad luck, did not seem to be in a good mood either.

Hashirama Senju understood his little granddaughter very well. He picked up a stack of money from the mat and handed it to Little Tsunade, smiling as he said, "This is money Grandpa is lending you. I won't charge interest. Now that you have money, do you want to keep playing?"

"Play!"

Little Tsunade immediately beamed and began counting the money.

"..."

When Tobirama Senju saw this, his expression became unreadable. At times it turned extremely grim, and at other times it relaxed slightly.

As the older brother he had admired since childhood, Tobirama Senju did not want to see his brother being so improper even while looking after a child. Yet Tobirama Senju also knew that his brother's life was nearing its end, and he did not want to disturb the few pleasures his brother had left.

"Hm?"

When Hashirama Senju sensed someone arriving, he turned around and saw Tobirama Senju and Shirou Emiya. His eyes immediately lit up.

"Has Lord Shirou returned?"

Hashirama Senju was happy to see Shirou Emiya. Over the past ten years, they had often met in various places throughout the Shinobi World, and they had become familiar old friends.

Hashirama Senju quickly invited Shirou Emiya to sit with them and introduced the little one opposite him. "This is Little Tsunade, Tsunade, my granddaughter..."

Hashirama Senju secretly glanced at Little Tsunade, who was still counting her money, then whispered into Shirou Emiya's ear, "Little Tsunade has terrible luck. As long as you gamble with her, you'll definitely win!"

After saying that, Hashirama Senju warmly invited Shirou Emiya to join the game. "Lord Shirou, do you want to gamble a round? Winning money is quite fun..."

"Brother..."

Tobirama Senju looked helplessly at his older brother.

This sort of thing...

Anyone could tell it was impossible!

How could someone as important as Shirou Emiya possibly gamble?

According to the information Tobirama Senju had secretly received over the years, Shirou Emiya did only three things while traveling through the Shinobi World: searching for the God Tree Remnants, healing the sick and saving lives, and writing case records.

Someone like that...

How could he possibly indulge in such a bad habit?