53 Arrival

Coming down in rows the newly formed bodies surrounding the souls were all wearing the same white clothes perfectly suited for them. There were no major altercations between each person's clothing except for the gender of the people they were being worn by. Watching the souls float down to the ground they seemed to stand there idly.

"They kinda look a little zombified." Fuyumi looked slightly creeped out as she saw the growing mass of people standing there idly. "Ya it is pretty strange but it looks like the amount of them is beginning to slow down." Seiki pointed out the souls slowly lessening as they descended as the tube area being overlooked by them was completely filled with people.

That sharp decrease was probably due to how normal souls lingered. Right now the Soul Society has grabbed hold of every loose soul in the world. Now with the bulk out of the way, a small yet steady stream of souls from natural or manmade deaths was all that remained. "That's an insane amount of people. I feel a little nervous just standing up here."

Seiki scratched the back of his head when he heard Rei's voice from behind him. "As long as we avoid the initial panic we will be fine." Rei patted Seiki on his shoulder before walking towards the edge of the platform. "When did he- What?" Seiki's nervousness turned to confusion as he looked towards Zabuza who just smirked.

'I made sure they all arrived in an unconscious-like state so they didn't get lost but it's time to wake them up.' Raising his hand Rei snapped his fingers which released a pulse of energy through the air. As that energy swept over everyone and their soul's people began to wake up and move.

Slowly but surely one at a time they all began to wake up. "Where am I?" One of the souls looked around seeming confused. 'Who am I? Why do I only remember my name.' Everyone began murmuring themselves as they all woke up glancing at one another. "Do I know you?" A woman pointed to a man who was standing right next to her.

"I don't think so?" Rei let them all fully wake up from their stupor as he placed fingers on his throat. "Bakudo #22: Omuniboisu." A slight trace of blue light appeared and then disappeared as Rei cracked his neck. "May I have your attention," Rei spoke calmly but his voice was echoed through the entirety of the Soul Society.

It sounded as if it was coming from every direction and yet at the same time while it was surprisingly intimidating it wasn't overwhelmingly loud. It simply created the perfect tone to grab attention and make people listen. "I'm sure you all have your questions and they will be answered in time. Firstly however I have a question for all of you."

Despite there being so many people here everyone behind Rei was surprised to see he was able to keep them all silent. "Do any of you have any memories of your past?" No one really spoke up as Rei saw a bunch of people talking to one another and seeming confused. But from that, he could also see some people simply shook their heads while looking depressed.

'I see. So not only do stronger souls not disappear as quickly but they are the only ones able to retain before death memory. That should make controlling things easier.' Rei smiled slightly as he spoke out loud again. "Then let me personally greet you all, this Soul Society. In human terms, you can consider it the afterlife the place souls go after death."

Originally Rei had thought about keeping the fact they were in the afterlife a secret. But considering a few of them would end up going outside on missions or simply dealing with issues he found no point. Best deal with the issue before they grow into something uncontrollable. And of course Immediately after Rei spoke the faces of the crowd began to change.

"Wait what did he just say?"

"What does he mean afterlife? I'm dead? I can't be dead!"

"He's so young he must be joking or playing a prank."

Panic was by far the most natural yet hard thing to control when it came to humans even as Souls. And it was becoming obvious that panic is what was starting. However, Rei remained calm as he began leaking Reiatsu from his body. It was like a calm burning fire however against weak souls coupled with his voice it felt oppressive.

"I advise you all to remain calm. Yes, you are dead however considering you made it here should be a fortune. Everyone will have a dedicated home which will be disclosed after I'm done talking." Rei began going through a list of things to explain how the Soul Society would work for the souls here.

Some tried to wander off however Rei had already placed a barrier ahead of time keeping everyone in. If not for the fact he was using a mix of a Bakudo spell and Reiatsu there would definitely be a panic. But luckily he managed to avoid that even after he was done explaining everything.

"That being said how you live in the Afterlife is mostly up to you. Only those with the proper skills and abilities are and will be able to obtain certain jobs. And beyond that those with the proper capabilities to fight will be able to join our ranks. Don't see this as a burden." Rei tilted his head and gave off a smile.

"You're no longer human so your lives are not limited to numbers like zero to eighty and what not. Remember them or not compared to your previous lives you'll be living in the closest thing to paradise." Rei turned his head and looked back at Shisui, Haku and Zabuza. "You three are up."

Sorting everyone out the normal way would take too long considering how many people were here. Rei planned on having the three of them combine clones and the barrier they were going to bottleneck every person out into their own homes. It would give people time to calm down and get them used to the authority figures in the Soul Society now.

Of course most of all it would give them time to think about their future. Humans were adaptable no matter how they act. While it may take years to get used to this new life they still would. And even more so people were very competitive by nature. The moment someone starts reaping the benefits of having the ability to create clothes, food and what not people will follow.

'I just have to wait and keep things under control until then.' Soon everyone got into motion just like Rei had explained. Creating clones they all disappeared from the platform Rei and the others were standing on. Making sure they were all in place first Rei began controlling the barrier holding everyone in the Residential Center area letting a few dozen out at a time.

They would keep doing this till everyone was sorted out and then Rei would drop the barrier since the big bulk of souls will have been dealt with. As he did this Rei thought to himself about something. 'I wonder… There shouldn't have been a limit when it came to distance in pulling in souls. Does that mean some of the stronger ones I sensed earlier will be here?'

Glancing down at the crowd below Rei scanned it but found there were too many people to discern from. 'I guess that's one bonus of having picked up Zabuza, Haku and Shisui early on instead of later. But still, maybe the stronger souls were brought here and there down there somewhere. Or maybe only the ones close to fading were pulled in.'

Rei rubbed the back of his head before sighing. "What's wrong? I thought you would be more relieved instead of worried." Ren walked up beside Rei looking down at all the people being led to their new homes. "Ya well, the issues never end. There's always something that's gonna be bugging you at the back of your mind."

Rei wasn't directing this towards Ren but more in general. Ren looked up at Rei and then down at the platform beneath his feet. "I might actually be able to help you with that." Rei looked slightly surprised and looked at Ren. "Not now though. I'm still working on it but once it's done I wanna show it to you."

Rei didn't know what Ren meant by that but he couldn't ask before Seiki and Fuyumi practically jumped on him. "Where are we going to be teaching!" Fuyumi asked first as Seiki almost shattered Rei's ears. "Which building do I get to use! Is it that big one?" He was so used to speaking to Shisui he forgot how loud the two of them were.

As he tried to pry them off Rei didn't notice a few pairs of eyes looking at him and had a sharp glean. One of the people looking at him was a woman with violet eyes and long red hair. She was slim and still looked as if she was in her early twenties. She pulled her gaze from Rei back to the barrier and the various clones leading people to their new homes.

'I died… How many years have I been dead for? It felt like it was just a few hours ago.' This redheaded woman was none other than Kushina Uzumaki, the wife of the Fourth Hokage. As she slowly followed the crowd she could clearly remember her saying her goodbyes to her son. She had every reason to be emotional right now.

Considering she was dead, yet in the afterlife without knowing if her son was ok. The world could have completely changed and maybe it was hundreds of years later and her son was dead. All kinds of thoughts like that invaded her mind but Kushina remained calm. While everyone else was blanked on memories of their past she still had it all.

And that included her training as a Ninja. 'Ok calm yourself Kushina. If I want to learn anything I need to stay calm. The pressure the boy in the middle gave off was different from anything I have ever felt before. And if that was just for an introduction then I don't want to know what happens if someone causes trouble.'

Using that as a base for herself Kushina crossed off sneaking around as an option. Looking around she saw people were still very confused despite listening to Rei. 'It really seems no one has their memories. I might be an exception, I can't let anyone know about that.' There were a lot of things she had to be careful of and things she didn't know.

But one thing, in particular, did stick. Rei had brought attention to the divisions and the semi disclosed benefits of joining. If she could rise in the ranks she might just be able to learn something. Taking a deep breath Kushina slammed her fist into her palm. 'Doesn't matter how hard it's going to be.'

Hours past and as the sunset soon everyone was put into their new homes. The night began to fall and with people being people even with their memories gone they tried to cause issues. But with Rei basically being able to control the entirety of the Soul Society and monitor it from the top floor and of course, Haku, Zabuza and Shisui using clones all offenders were dealt with.

"Not bad for the first day your intimidation during your speech really helped." Leaving their clones to be active, Shisui and the others were walking down the hall alongside Rei. "Ya I expected a lot more resistance but I guess people do fear the unknown." Zabuza turned his heads towards the both of them before speaking.

"Of course it's because they're afraid. They don't know the range or scale of our ability or control of this 'afterlife' as you so gently put it. If you're smart you should use that to your advantage to keep this place tamed." Zabuza proceeded to walk off with Haku as Rei glanced at him and back to Shisui.

"Fear might work initially however I advise against. Zabuza has a point when it comes to utilizing that fear but you would have to balance it out." Rei took Shisui's words to heart and turned it into food for thought as well. Of course, he had no intention of being tyrannical since that would just lead to issues.

'Well, I'll have some time to get it right.' Without any major concerns with the outside world in the way Rei fully devoted his time inwards. The first few weeks were rough, to say the least. People were still wrapped up in the fact they were dead. Some ventured as far as they could until they reached the wall while some simply adapted and spent their time relaxing.

More and more issues popped up almost as fast as they were dealt with. It was hectic but eventually, things began to smooth out. The population began to slow, even more, reaching a steady growth and in the blink of an eye, five whole months passed.