The Underworld was vast, and it contained countless souls. Most of them were ordinary civilians.
But there were even more animal spirits.
These little creatures were carefree and could be found everywhere.
Standing in the palm of Susanoo, Mimi reached out her hand. A little bird spirit curiously landed on Mimi's fingertip and tilted its head as it examined her.
"How wonderful~"
Chiri said, "How did this little one manage to fly?"
The implication was that, despite being souls as well, humans could not fly.
"As an artificial creation, it's normal for the Underworld to have loopholes in its rules," Mimi said. "Besides, the Underworld was not originally designed for these little animals."
"What do you mean?" Hitomi asked curiously.
"I don't know," Mimi said. "That's the Sage's idea."
After the little bird's tentative actions revealed that it faced no danger, more and more birds gathered around Mimi of their own accord, flying and circling around her.
"You're really popular with little animals," Chiri said.
"They probably sense something familiar," Mimi said. "An animal's instincts aren't like a human's. Their souls contain my Chakra."
"I see."
But that was not all.
Mimi read the soul's memories and discovered, quite by chance, that the little bird on her fingertip had come from the mountains near Iwagakure in the Earth Country.
It had died during the Second Ninja World War, in the parasitic outbreak at Iwagakure.
But this was neither a coincidence nor an isolated case.
It was expected.
As the Parasitic Insects infected their hosts, they simultaneously began spreading Chakra Seeds. While generating Chakra, they also gave souls a vessel.
This meant that, at the time, no matter who died, their corresponding soul could be found in this Underworld.
Of course, this included everyone in Iwagakure.
The little bird tilted its