Year One of Konohagakure.
Standing atop Hokage Rock, Kai stared down at the construction site that would one day become the Hidden Leaf Village, his mind utterly blank.
There was no doubt about it anymore.
He'd really transmigrated.
And not into some normal Naruto world either. Oh no, that would've been too easy. Instead, he'd landed smack-dab in the middle of a space-time matrix composed of seven parallel Naruto universes.
Each world operated like the canon timeline—except the time periods were all different.
And the system's main quest? Yeah, it was absolutely bonkers:
[Main Quest: In each timeline, select one faction. Help them unify the ninja world. Maintain that unity for twenty consecutive years without collapse.]
Complete the main quest, and the host will achieve: [Instant Immortality & Eternal Divinity]
Good news: He had a system. And the rewards looked incredible.
Bad news: The main quest difficulty was insane. Borderline impossible, really.
This was the Naruto world, for crying out loud!
A high-combat universe where people casually dropped Chibaku Tensei and Tailed Beast Bombs like they were fireworks at a festival!
Just a few minutes ago, Kai had been an ordinary, law-abiding honor student in the modern world. And now the system expected him to unify the entire ninja world?!
Not only that—he had to pick a faction, guide them to total domination, and make sure that unity lasted for two decades without everything falling apart.
Oh, and he had to do this seven times. Once per timeline.
Even with his encyclopedic knowledge of the Naruto series, this was difficulty level: Plus Ultra Nightmare Mode.
Fortunately, the system wasn't completely cruel. It did offer some support:
First: He could freely travel between timelines. Ten jumps per day, unlimited stay duration.
Second: Upon binding to a faction, he'd receive a Newbie Gift Pack.
Third: Every time he successfully unified a world, he'd earn a system reward and unlock new abilities.
Kai mulled it over. With these system perks, maybe—just maybe—this wasn't completely hopeless.
After all, the final reward was stupidly tempting. Instant Immortality. Eternal Divinity. No matter what, he had to at least try, right?!
"Alright, let's see what's in this Newbie Gift Pack."
Kai opened the system interface in his mind and selected: [Bind Faction: Konohagakure], then claimed the Newbie Gift Pack.
Why Konoha?
Simple. Easy mode.
It wasn't that Kai particularly liked Konoha—honestly, he wasn't fond of certain people in the village's leadership at all.
But looking at the entire ninja world's history, no matter the era, Konoha always had top-tier comprehensive strength. It was the optimal choice for unifying the world.
Not to mention, two generations of Ashura and Indra reincarnations would eventually be born here.
What were the other villages supposed to compete with? Hopes and dreams?
Kai had no reason to skip Easy Mode and deliberately pick Hell Mode. He wasn't a masochist. Everything came second to completing the main quest.
[Ding—Newbie Gift Pack Opened!]
[Congratulations! You have received: Rinnegan (Pair)!](Auto-equipped)
[Congratulations! You have received: Ninja Tool (Universal Pouch)!]
[Congratulations! You have received: Modern Item Exchange Coupon x3!]
Kai's face lit up. He immediately pulled out his smartphone and checked his reflection.
A pair of rippling, circular Rinnegan had replaced his normal eyes. His dynamic vision had instantly amplified dozens of times over—he could clearly count the compound eyes of a fly buzzing past in the distance.
It took him a solid few minutes to adjust the sensitivity and adapt to the terrifying visual acuity his new eyes provided.
Beyond that, Kai realized he couldn't actually use any of the Rinnegan's other abilities yet.
The reason? He had no chakra in his body. He didn't even know the chakra refinement method.
Still, even if he couldn't unleash the Rinnegan's full power right now, just having these eyes was enough to intimidate and persuade a lot of people.
Otherwise, approaching the heavy hitters of this era—like Senju Hashirama—as a regular, powerless human? That was a one-way ticket to a very short lifespan.
Perfect.
The system was pretty reliable. This Newbie Gift Pack wasn't half bad.
"Alright. Time to go meet the God of Shinobi himself—Senju Hashirama."
Kai stood up and looked toward the direction of the Hokage Building.
Theoretically speaking, this era was actually the best time to unify the ninja world.
The great villages had just been founded. Konoha possessed an almost absolute crushing advantage in power.
Senju Hashirama plus Uchiha Madara alone could steamroll the entire ninja world.
The infamous "Susanoo-clad Buddha—two men, four nations destroyed" wasn't just a joke. It was a legitimate military assessment. (TL/N: Hashirama + Madara working together could've steamrolled everyone. They just... chose not to.)
But that was also where the difficulty lay—specifically, with Hashirama and Madara themselves.
The stronger someone was, the more ironclad their will and beliefs became. Convincing these two to change their paths? Not exactly a walk in the park.
Not everyone was as easy to Talk-no-Jutsu as Nagato, after all.
One wrong move, and Kai might find himself on the receiving end of a Susanoo-equipped Wood Golem beatdown.
Yeah. Let's… not let that happen.
[Timeline: First Hokage Era]
[Time Period: Year One of Konoha]
[Unification Progress: 30%]
Outside the Hokage Building, Senju Hashirama had just clocked out for the day. He pushed open the door with an excited grin—only for Senju Tobirama's voice to roar from inside the office:
"Big Brother! Where are you going?!"
"Uh…"
"Don't tell me you're going gambling again! Have you forgotten your position? There's still a mountain of paperwork waiting for you!"
"No, no, it's not that…"
"Then it's Madara, isn't it?"
"Eh? How'd you know?"
"Hmph!" Tobirama crossed his arms, his expression souring. "You only smile like that when you're going to see him."
Hashirama scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Haha! Well, Madara asked me to meet him at the Uchiha Clan's Naka Shrine. I think he has something important to discuss."
"Naka Shrine?" Tobirama's eyes narrowed. "That guy's been more reclusive lately. Who knows what he's plotting now. Big Brother, you'd better be careful! Don't let him manipulate you again!"
Tobirama knew he couldn't actually stop his brother from running off to see his beloved best friend(TL/N: Yeah, Tobirama's salty about it), so he just kept nagging.
At least Big Brother had already taken the position of First Hokage. Madara shouldn't be able to stir up too much trouble now.
"Alright, alright!"
"I'm heading out. Tell Mito I won't be home tonight…"
Tobirama's face darkened. "…Are you serious right now?"
Choosing Madara over both paperwork AND your wife. Brother, your priorities are something else.
But just as Hashirama turned to leave—
—something strange happened.
A figure appeared out of thin air in the middle of the hallway.
Not with the Flying Thunder God Jutsu. This was even more discreet. More abrupt. There was no warning. No chakra fluctuation. Nothing.
It made even Hashirama freeze in place.
The newcomer had short black hair and wore a white dress shirt—clothing completely out of place in the ninja world.
But what really caught their attention?
Those eyes.
Deep, rippling violet rings.
Eyes that looked exactly like the legendary Rinnegan from the myths.
Hashirama's body tensed instantly—but his expression remained friendly and easygoing as he called out:
"And you are…?"
"First Hokage, Senju Hashirama," Kai said calmly. "Got a minute to chat?"
Good. I judged correctly, Kai thought. Hashirama was exactly the type of person with overwhelming strength but incredible restraint when it came to using force.
Otherwise, the Five Kage Summit wouldn't have been him bowing and handing out Tailed Beasts like party favors to the other Kage—it would've been the other four Kage bowing to him and thanking him for letting them keep their villages.
This kind of person was the easiest to approach on first contact.
If it had been Madara instead? The moment he saw a suspicious stranger with unknown powers, he'd probably activate Susanoo immediately and swing first, ask questions later.
Only those who can tank a Susanoo blade to the face are qualified to negotiate with Uchiha Madara.
"Big Brother? What's going on?"
Tobirama flickered into view in an instant, his hand already on the hilt of his katana the moment he saw Kai.
"Who are you?!"
"Tobirama, stand down!" Hashirama's voice boomed with authority, his presence radiating power. "Clear the room. I'm going to have a chat with this gentleman. You stand guard outside."
Tobirama bit back his objections, not daring to defy his brother when he got serious like this.
He shot Kai one last suspicious glare—as if Kai were some homewrecker trying to steal his brother away—before stepping out of the room.
Hashirama gestured toward the office.
"Shall we?"
Kai nodded and stepped inside.
This was it.
The true beginning.
The day a foreign god descended upon the Shinobi World—and set his sights on unifying it all.
To Be Continued.