Where Does the Soul Go?

"Water-attribute chakra, yet you can't touch water. Could it be... a curse?"

As he said this, his expression suddenly turned sour.

"It's a safe bet that those Uchiha bastards are behind this! They wouldn't even spare a child—especially that Uchiha Madara. With his Mangekyo Sharingan, it's not impossible for him to pull off such a sinister trick..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Hibari quickly interrupted him. "Second Uncle, Lord Madara is a man of status, after all; he cares about his reputation. If it were you, would you cast such a curse on a Senju brat?"

Tobirama was stumped by this retort and didn't continue. In truth, he knew well that while that man was detestable, his character wasn't so petty as to target a child. The comment just now had been a slip of the tongue born from habit.

As for the problem with Hibari's body, he actually knew the root cause quite well himself.

It was quite absurd, really—he wasn't supposed to be here at all. The "ticket" he had originally booked was for the One Piece World, but the driver was a novice. They had gotten so caught up in chatting along the way that the driver lost focus, took a wrong turn, and dumped him in this world instead.

There was no turning back from such things. Hibari could have filed a complaint, but on second thought, this world wasn't bad; it was mysterious and quite interesting. Plus, he had hit it off with the driver; aside from the wrong turn, he had a good impression of the guy.

Everyone was just trying to make a living, so Hibari didn't make things difficult for him. He didn't complain and simply settled down here.

The driver had been moved to tears and insisted on giving Hibari a treasure his grandfather had cherished for years as a farewell gift...

Looking back now, this damn condition was all because of that farewell gift. If he could do it over, Hibari wouldn't just file a complaint—he'd want to strangle that driver.

Why? Because the farewell gift that bastard gave him was a Devil Fruit. It was said that when his grandfather used to transport VIP clients to the One Piece World, one of them was so wealthy they didn't want it, so he had secretly kept it.

There was nothing wrong with a Devil Fruit itself. Hibari had been thrilled at the time, thinking his transmigrator's golden finger had finally arrived. Besides, this trip had been an accident, and he hadn't been prepared, so accepting some compensation didn't seem excessive, right?

So, he accepted it.

But why did he want to beat that bastard to death now? Because the Devil Fruit that son of a bitch gave him was none other than the most useless one: the "Zoan: Human-Human Fruit, Human Form."

And this fruit had even followed him through his reincarnation... he couldn't shake it off no matter what!

That said, the current Hibari was, on the surface, a third-generation prodigy being groomed by the Senju Clan, but in secret, he was an out-and-out Devil Fruit user.

What was the use of this ability? Hibari could explain it clearly himself.

Simply put, his name was Senju Hibari, and he had eaten a Zoan Human-Human Fruit. As for the effects... other than becoming a landlubber who couldn't swim, he hadn't discovered anything else yet.

Now he finally understood why that VIP client had been so wealthy that they couldn't be bothered to keep a Devil Fruit. If he had known this thing would follow him into his next life, he would have died before taking it!

However, there were two sides to everything. Although this wretched fruit made him the Senju Clan's number-one landlubber—to the point where he couldn't even use Water Release or step into a bathhouse, with his weakness glaringly obvious—Hibari had pondered in private: he wasn't the reincarnation of some Sage, so why was his vitality so ridiculously high and his chakra reserves so terrifying, just like Lord Hashirama's? After thinking it over, it likely had something to do with this lousy fruit.

After all, it was a Zoan type, and the greatest characteristic of the Zoan class was the enhancement of physical constitution.

As for the massive amount of chakra, Hibari guessed that when he reincarnated, the energy within the fruit had followed him over, and after being converted by the rules of this world, it had simply turned into chakra... that wasn't impossible.

Of course, these were all his guesses, without any proof. The reason he was willing to tinker with those "truths" alongside Second Uncle Tobirama was, on one hand, to figure this whole thing out.

But more importantly, he wanted to see if there was any way to get rid of this damn curse!

Maybe there was no way in the One Piece World, but here, the world had changed, and the rules were different; perhaps there really was a way.

Hibari shook his head, casting those miscellaneous thoughts aside, and looked up at Second Uncle Tobirama, who had returned to his normal state, scratching the back of his head.

"Second Uncle, let's put the Uchiha aside for now. How do you think I should go about treating this condition?"

Second Uncle Tobirama glanced at him and stroked his chin in thought.

"Although my sensory abilities are decent, and I have some insight into the soul and spirit..." He paused, his tone revealing a bit of difficulty. "Your situation is indeed a bit tricky."

As he spoke, he sat back down in his chair and picked up the empty cup on the table.

With a gentle flick of his fingers, clear water appeared out of thin air inside the cup, sloshing around.

Hibari was long used to this and didn't even blink.

Second Uncle Tobirama took a sip of water to moisten his throat before looking over.

"The first method is the simplest to describe, but also the most troublesome." He set the cup down. "That is to find the root of your 'curse' and resolve it at the source. If that works, it should be quite easy."

When Hibari heard this, he was stunned for a moment before he understood.

Find the root? Was he supposed to tear open the world and run back to the One Piece World? If he had that kind of ability, he wouldn't be here worrying about this lousy fruit.

He smacked his lips, his face showing a bit of helplessness.

"Second Uncle, didn't you say it yourself? I've had this thing since I was in the womb. This root... I'm afraid there's nowhere to find it."

"That is true." Second Uncle Tobirama nodded. "So let's put that method aside for now. But things are unpredictable; what if you happen to get lucky and stumble upon it one day?"

Hibari shook his head vigorously.

"I wouldn't dare count on something so mystical." He leaned forward. "Second Uncle, are there any other ways?"

Second Uncle Tobirama glanced at him and spoke slowly.

"The second method treats the symptoms, not the root."

"What method?" Hibari perked up.

"Using yourself as the foundation, develop a specialized 'Sealing Jutsu'." Second Uncle Tobirama explained. "Seal this 'unknown thing' that is entangled with your soul... or rather, your spirit, inside your body. You've even learned the Adamantine Sealing Chains; I don't need to tell you what the effect of a sealing jutsu is, do I?"

That made sense. What was a sealing jutsu? Simply put, it was sealing something away. Just like those unquenchable "Amaterasu Black Flames," they could be sealed away using the "Fire Sealing Method."

It didn't extinguish the fire; it kept the fire in its burning state and stored it.

In that light, if he could really follow Second Uncle Tobirama's line of thinking and develop a sealing jutsu specifically for himself to seal away the Devil Fruit's curse... it didn't seem impossible; in fact, there was quite a bit of hope.

If he could really seal the curse of the Devil Fruit within his body, Hibari figured he might be able to shed his life as a landlubber. By then, forget Water Release—he'd even want to try his hand at Lord Hashirama's Wood Release.

However, this method wasn't perfect. As Second Uncle Tobirama said, it treated the symptoms, not the root.

The curse would just be sealed inside his body, and the root would still be there. If something went wrong in the future and the seal broke, he would immediately turn back into that unlucky guy who went limp at the sight of water.

If he were ever plotted against and thrown into the water, no matter how skilled he was, he'd be finished.

So this trick was at best an expedient measure. Relying on it to keep him safe for a lifetime was like gambling with his life. Hibari didn't want to be that kind of gambler.

"A sealing jutsu..." He scratched his head. "It's not like I can't use it. At least until I find a cure, it'll do for a while. But Second Uncle, do you have any other tricks?"

Second Uncle Tobirama's expression turned more serious this time. He placed the teacup on the table and stared at Hibari for a while before speaking: "Hibari, do you know where the soul goes after a person dies?"

Hibari was taken aback by the question and blinked twice.

"To... another world?" he ventured tentatively.

"That's not wrong to say." Second Uncle Tobirama smiled. "According to my research, there are generally two destinations for the soul after death. The most common is returning to the Pure Land for peace. The other... is handing the soul over to the Death God. Your idea of going to another world is also somewhat relevant."

Hibari breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

He had thought his uncle had seen through his origins, but it turned out he was just pondering this. Of course he knew about the Pure Land and the Death God; he didn't just know about them—he himself had hopped over from a "third kind of place," a truly different world.

After people in this world died, their souls either went to the Pure Land to sleep or were stuffed into some strange places. Many were sealed inside the stomach of the Death God, where they were torn apart and tormented endlessly.

From the moment Second Uncle Tobirama mentioned the word "research," Hibari guessed he was likely already tinkering with the "Reanimation Jutsu."

This jutsu required dealing with the souls of the dead, so it was no surprise he could touch the threshold of the Pure Land. If he didn't even have that concept, the Reanimation Jutsu would be impossible to perform.

As for the Death God business... he probably heard those secrets from Grandma Mito. Some sealing jutsus did indeed send souls to the Death God, the most famous of which was the "Dead Demon Consuming Seal" created by the ancestors of the Uzumaki Clan.

That jutsu was extremely sinister; it was clearly a move of mutual destruction. After using it, it was hard to say if the opponent would die, but the user certainly wouldn't escape.

It stood to reason that while Second Uncle was studying the Reanimation Jutsu, he must have exchanged secrets with Grandma Mito, and that was likely how he dug up the information about the Death God.