sonovelo Chapter 436 436: Arranging Positions
Chapter 436 436: Arranging Positions
Hearing Brook's forceful, unquestionable words, every Kage fell silent.
Even the unruly Madara wore a grim expression, clearly unsure of what to do.
He already knew his Rinnegan had been taken during the Sage of Six Paths' summoning, and that alone had filled him with resentment toward Brook.
Brook simply sat on his high seat and waited, giving these former Kage level experts time to think.
Submit and exist forever, or refuse and die, or worse, be thrown into reincarnation.
"Lord Brook," Tobirama was the first to speak, his sharp mind already working through the system. "Do you mean that once we undergo the transformation of the [Heavenly Path], we can remain in this state indefinitely, becoming officials of Pure Land Hell and controlling the reincarnation of souls throughout the entire ninja world?"
"That is correct," Brook answered calmly. "A priest has the right to decide a soul's next life."
He glanced at Madara and smiled faintly.
"For example, if you, Tobirama Senju, became a priest, and Madara chose to rebel and die rather than submit, then you could erase his memories, throw him into the Animal Realm, and have him reborn as a pig."
"You could stand above in Pure Land Hell and watch Madara Uchiha spend that life rooting around in mud. Then after he was slaughtered, his soul would return here, and in the next life you could send him back as a dog."
Brook spoke with a perfectly straight face, though inwardly he was laughing. He did not believe these former rulers could remain calm after hearing something like that.
As expected, the expressions of every Kage changed.
Even Madara's face darkened immediately.
The thought that their next life could be decided by another, and that they could be turned into livestock at will, was more horrifying than death itself.
"Lord Brook!" Tobirama said at once, stepping forward without hesitation. "I am willing to serve. I request a position within the Department of Reward and Punishment. I have more than enough experience as a judge. Please grant it."
The moment those words left his mouth, the others were jolted awake.
This was not just survival.
These were positions that held true power over life, death, and rebirth.
"Tobirama Senju!!"
Madara glared at him with murderous fury. If Brook's pressure had not filled the hall, he would have attacked on the spot.
"Tobirama, you do not actually intend to turn Madara into a pig, do you? That is too much!" Hashirama blurted out at once, then hurried to calm his furious old friend.
The two began bickering immediately, one furious, the other flustered.
Hiruzen, meanwhile, did not dare utter a single word.
He had been the one to witness Brook's arrival. He had also been the first to be pushed into despair by him. Now even the Sage of Six Paths had fallen. What chance did Hiruzen have to resist?
On the other side, the First Tsuchikage, Ishikawa, suddenly realized the true meaning of all this. His eyes lit up.
"Lord Brook! I am willing to serve as the master of the Heavenly Palace and select suitable souls to become officials of Pure Land Hell!"
He had instantly seen the most important point.
The Heavenly Palace was above the Department of Reward and Punishment. It controlled the selection and management of the officials themselves. That was authority far beyond the seat of a village Kage.
His move stirred the others at once.
Now that Pure Land Hell was still in its infancy, whoever seized the key positions first would become a true power holder in the future.
"Just because you want a seat does not mean you are qualified for one," Brook said indifferently. "You will all have to learn how Pure Land Hell operates first."
A wave of disappointment swept through them, but none dared object.
"Each of you will be assigned a position. After a period of time, once more people are recruited, I will make adjustments. At that point, you may apply for reassignment."
"I want the position of acting lord of the [Asura Path]," Madara said in a cold voice.
He had already grasped the structure.
Only the officials of the Asura Path and some of the soldiers of the Hell Path could leave Pure Land Hell to carry out missions in the living world.
The officials of the Heavenly Realm managed and judged. The Hungry Ghost Realm carried out punishment. Those roles had to remain in the Department of Reward and Punishment and the Eighteen Hells for long periods. They could not easily leave.
Without enough chakra or a proper vessel, these souls could not set foot in the mortal world.
Brook had already sealed the boundary between Pure Land Hell and the world of the living. From now on, all soul related ninjutsu in the ninja world would become useless.
Anyone who wished to go to the human world would either need the energy of Pure Land Hell itself or a prepared body.
If they used only an energy body, they could appear in the living world for only a short time.
If they used a physical body to carry out missions, they could stay longer, though they would have to be careful not to expose their identities.
"I will now assign your positions," Brook said. "And later, once enough subordinates have been selected, we will adjust them again."
"If none of you wish to be reborn as beasts, then step into the Heavenly Reincarnation and become Heavenly souls, fit to serve as officials of Pure Land Hell."
With that, Brook led them to the Heavenly Palace.
One by one, they stepped into the Heavenly Reincarnation and had their souls reforged. Their once hazy chakra forms became nearly solid, perfectly suited for survival within Pure Land Hell.
Even Madara did not dare resist.
No matter how proud he was, he had no intention of becoming a beast.
When the transformation was complete, Brook finally began assigning positions.
"Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju, you will enter the Department of Reward and Punishment and serve as Judges of Reward and Punishment. I expect neither of you to show favoritism to the people of Konoha."
"The ninja world has already been unified. You no longer belong to your old villages or countries."
Brook recorded their names and positions in the divine registry with an indifferent expression.
"What?" Hashirama sighed. "So in the end, the great nations and hidden villages really are gone..."
The others also fell into silence. Some lamented. Others were far more concerned about where they themselves would be assigned.
"Silence."
Brook's voice immediately shut them up.
"Uchiha Madara, you will serve as the acting lord of the [Asura Path]."
"The First, Second, and Third Raikage will serve as demon generals of the Asura Path under your command."
That instantly satisfied the group of brutes. Their smiles made it obvious that they liked the arrangement.
"The First Mizukage, Byakuren, the Second Mizukage, Hozuki Gengetsu, and the Third Mizukage will enter the [Hungry Ghost Realm]. One of you will serve as chief, and two as deputies. You will be responsible for punishment in Pure Land Hell and for selecting ghost soldiers."
"The First Kazekage, Reto, the Second Kazekage, Shamon, and the Third Kazekage will enter the [Hell Path]. One of you will serve as chief, and two as assistants. You will maintain order in Pure Land Hell and select demon soldiers."
"The First Tsuchikage, Ishikawa, and the Second Tsuchikage, Mū, will enter the Animal Realm. One of you will serve as chief and the other as deputy, overseeing the souls sent by the Department of Reward and Punishment into the cycle of reincarnation through the Animal Realm."
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, you will enter the Human Path and oversee those sent into reincarnation through the Human Realm."
After finishing the assignments, Brook looked over them all again.
"Next, I will open the Yellow Springs Gate of Pure Land Hell."
"You will judge the souls that were previously suppressed here, along with the new souls gathered from the recent wars. Select your own subordinates and build up your respective temples."
"Remember this well. The number of positions in each Six Paths Palace is limited. Choose carefully."
"If you find suitable candidates who deserve to become priests, bring them to me. For now, I will personally oversee the Heavenly Palace."
With that, Brook led them toward the vast expanse of Pure Land Hell.
There, countless lost and bewildered souls were already waiting for judgment.
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To be honest, this was Brook's first time visiting the Pure Land's soul prison and seeing that sea of densely packed ninja souls with his own eyes.
The power of the Pure Land suppressed them all, keeping them in a constant daze, their minds frozen at the final instant before death.
Once a soul was nearly worn away, the Sage of Six Paths would reclaim its soul chakra for himself.
If someone used the Impure World Reincarnation, these souls could be summoned back out. Otherwise, they could only remain here and slowly fade away.
Those Kage level experts had originally been prisoners of this very place as well.
The Sage of Six Paths had merely moved those outstanding souls elsewhere, planning to use them when the time came.
These newly appointed Kage level priests silently followed behind Brook as he led them toward the Pure Land's main soul confinement grounds.
Hiruzen was especially excited.
He had never expected to become the Lord of the Human Path Palace. Even if it was only temporary, the thought alone already stirred his heart.
When the time came to choose subordinates, he had already decided that he would bring his parents and wife into the Human Path first and make them palace guards.
The three Raikage, meanwhile, had only just realized that the Hidden Cloud had failed to secure a palace lord position and had instead ended up under Madara's command. The thought alone infuriated them.
Still, the rank of demon general was far better than that of a mere demon soldier or ghost grunt. In practice, it was no worse than the status of the other palace masters.
Tobirama was already making plans of his own.
He intended to quietly turn the Department of Reward and Punishment into Senju territory. He also wanted to pull Hiruzen's Human Path Palace into the same faction and build the strongest force in Pure Land Hell.
Of course, he knew he could not anger Brook, the true ruler here. Otherwise, Brook could strip him of everything and throw him into the Animal Realm to be reborn as livestock.
When Brook brought the priests to the Pure Land's main soul confinement grounds, even these former Kage were stunned.
Ever since the Pure Land had been transformed into Pure Land Hell, it had also begun receiving the souls of mortals and animals. The result was that the entire place had grown even more crowded.
"This is absurd!"
"There are too many!"
"How long would it even take to sort all of this?!"
These Kage level priests were terrified just looking at it. The number had to be counted in the hundreds of millions.
"Lord Brook, are you sure only a handful of us can handle this? And fresh souls are still coming in all the time!"
Brook gave a light cough.
"Leave this part to me."
He did not look troubled in the slightest. On the contrary, he looked at those souls with unconcealed excitement. He did not care whether this broke the balance of reincarnation. If those souls were gone, then they were gone.
He directly opened his own Yellow Springs Ghost Gate and devoured a vast number of souls, turning them into his personal soul power without the slightest regard for how sharply the number of newborn lives in the ninja world would drop afterward.
Then he connected the channels of the [Animal Path] and the [Human Path] to this place, allowing the souls of ordinary mortals and animals to pass directly into reincarnation without him even needing to look at them.
Moreover, as those souls passed through the channels of the Animal Path and the Human Path, their chakra, natural energy, and soul power were all stripped away, leaving them as the lowest grade of souls before they were cast back into reincarnation.
After growing again in the mortal world and recovering their strength, they would eventually return to Pure Land Hell once more, thus forming an endless cycle that continuously fed Brook.
"Next, each of you will choose your own subordinates. Three days from now, all remaining souls will be reset and sent into reincarnation!"
After giving the order, Brook personally went to pick out a number of souls for himself, souls like Nohara Rin, Hatake Sakumo, Yuhi Shinku, Senju Nawaki, Uchiha Chiri, Uzumaki Fuso, and several others related to his current subordinates or otherwise worth keeping.
The Kage level priests also rushed into the soul prison grounds and began selecting their own subordinates and relatives from among the souls at Chunin level and above.
When Madara found Izuna and Tajima, he could not help but let out a long breath, his eyes trembling faintly.
After all, only someone with truly intense emotions could awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan. Madara's domineering nature had always hidden just how deep his feelings ran.
Hashirama and Tobirama, meanwhile, found Mito, Butsuma, Itama, Kawarama, and Momoka. The moment they did, both brothers were visibly shaken.
The other priests frantically searched for their own relatives as well, wanting to bring them along into immortality.
Because these souls had not yet passed through the cleansing of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, they still remained dazed after being brought out, and none of them had recovered their memories.
Three days later, Brook looked at the priests in silence.
They had chosen far too many souls, practically digging out every relative, friend, neighbor, and former subordinate they had ever cared about.
"Did you actually think I was going to restore the memories of all your relatives and let all of them remain in Pure Land Hell?"
The moment Brook said that, the expressions of the priests changed drastically.
"Lord Brook! I only ask that my family be revived! I can give up everyone else! I will serve you with everything I have, even if it costs me my life!"
Hiruzen was the first to step forward. He immediately sent a number of collateral relatives and extra subordinates back to the soul prison grounds.
"Do you know how much chakra is required just to maintain the operation of Pure Land Hell and sustain the existence of the priests, prison generals, prison guards, and all the rest?"
"Pure Land Hell has no use for idlers. Every one of the Six Paths Palaces has limited capacity. You will have to make choices."
"Still, I can preserve the souls you have selected for now. Do you understand?"
Brook's tone turned cold.
"In the past, the entire Pure Land supported only one being, the Sage of Six Paths. Now it has to support the entire Six Paths Reincarnation system and me as well. So of course it has to be streamlined."
"Understood!"
The Kage level priests all answered at once.
Brook then moved the selected souls to a separate holding area, and also placed all the souls at Jonin level and above into another separate location.
Only then did he turn his gaze greedily toward the countless remaining souls.
Brook opened the Gate of Hell and devoured them all, transforming them into power.
Part of that power was used to strengthen himself, and part of it was used to continue refining and stabilizing Pure Land Hell. At the same time, the scraped soul seeds were cast into the [Animal Path] and the [Human Path], where they would be planted back into the ninja world.
Sooner or later, those souls would grow again, gather chakra once more, and eventually return to Pure Land Hell to continue the cycle.
As for reviving the ninjas who had died in these wars, that was absolutely impossible.
They had already become Brook's food.
A week later, Brook stood before the Kage level priests once more.
"Now that Pure Land Hell has been emptied out, maintaining and operating it will be your responsibility from this point on."
Brook had already dealt with the enormous backlog of ordinary souls, but the selected souls and the Jonin level souls had not yet been processed.
The Kage level priests were all burning with anticipation.
They could not wait to awaken their loved ones and turn them into true members of Pure Land Hell.
.....
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