Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss!

In a gray, hazy world, gray winds howled without end. As if sensing a trace of life, the gray currents in the air suddenly churned, and Shiro's figure emerged from within them, bringing a new color to this gray world.

Unfortunately, even with that new color, the place was still utterly silent.

To be honest, an environment like this was still extremely rare. The first time Shiro came here, he had stayed for a full half day before heading elsewhere. Aside from collecting data, one of the important reasons had been to take in this awe-inspiring sight.

Of course, Shiro was somewhat used to it by now. After seeing enough Ghost Domains, he had naturally grown accustomed to them.

With that thought, Shiro stood in the air and shook his head, pulling back his wandering thoughts once again. He opened the Automatic Scribe he had gotten from Kakashi and released Sakumo and Rin.

"Shiro, is this the Pure—no, the Underworld?" As soon as Sakumo came out, he was just like Shiro had been the first time he entered this place, shaken by this gray, deathly silent world.

Rin, beside him, was the same. Although the two of them were both dead, strictly speaking, they had never truly entered the Underworld. Instead, they had remained in the passage where they could watch the present world—that is, by that fire.

"Emmm, more or less. This is the Underworld, the boundary between what you call the Pure Land and the passage you were in back then. There are no living or dead here, which is why it's so deathly quiet."

Hearing that, a look of understanding flashed through Sakumo's and Rin's eyes. They had had some doubts about their situation back then, and now they finally had a rough idea of the reason.