Two immense forces of chakra, utterly different in nature, held Tobirama's faint, transparent soul firmly suspended in midair like invisible hands. On one side was his elder brother's power, warm as the sun yet carrying an unquestionable authority. On the other was a force sharp as ice, filled with scrutiny and killing intent... his younger self.
Time and space seemed to freeze at that moment.
Tobirama's soul core worked at full speed, casting aside every unnecessary emotion. He knew that any hesitation or wrong response would lead to his instant purification or sealing. He could not fail. Ling and the Konoha of the future were still waiting.
Rather than struggle or show hostility, he steadied his soul's fluctuations into their calmest, most open state. At the same time, he actively transmitted a strand of pure soul information, imbued with the essence of Water Release and a specific spacetime signature, toward the sources of those two chakra forces like an encrypted beacon-with Hashirama Senju as its primary recipient.
That strand contained no actual words, lest differences in speech patterns arouse further suspicion. Instead, it conveyed pure imagery: pure water burning itself away in the darkness, on the verge of being extinguished, representing Ling; a profound darkness seeking to devour everything and warp reality, representing the Sacred Lord; and the faint trail of a soul traveling backward, seeking the sole source of light, representing Hashirama.
"..." Hashirama Senju's immense chakra visibly paused for an instant, and a trace of startled uncertainty entered the thoughts he sent back. He felt the tragic resolve and sacrifice within the image of "pure water," and sensed the evil and ominousness emanating from that "profound darkness," enough to make even his heart tremble. More importantly, deep within the soul before him, he detected an essence sharing the