"Has something serious happened in the Land of Water?"
In the Land of Wind, Sasori raised his eyebrows as he examined the scroll in his hand. An unexpected incident in the Land of Water had caught him off guard, but at least he had managed to obtain the Chakra of the Six-Tails.
"Though I didn't get the Chakra of the Three-Tails, it's not surprising—after all, that belongs to the Mizukage."
Sasori set the scroll aside, his gaze shifting toward the towering fortress-like barrier in the distance.
"Still, the Mizukage is the Mizukage, but the Kazekage is different. I never expected the Jinchūriki of the One-Tail to become the Kazekage. But for me, it's not much of an issue."
As he pondered, Sasori slowly walked forward. It had been a while since he last returned to Sunagakure, and he was curious to see how the village was faring now.
Meanwhile, back at the Akatsuki's base, the members were still waiting for news from Sasori. Most of the Akatsuki seemed indifferent, but the "higher-ups" were visibly anxious. The consequences and influence of Ōtsutsuki Minamoto-shiki's actions continued to haunt them.
"Nagato, that guy is terrifying. Can we really deal with him?" In one of the rooms, Konan couldn't help but speak in a low voice. "He took down another god. We..."
"If we don't act, who else can deal with him? Rely solely on Kitagawa Minamoto?" Nagato sighed, his expression resolute as he responded.
"Depending on others is never as reliable as depending on ourselves. Don't worry, Konan. As long as I can become the Jinchūriki of the Ten-Tails, I will be able to walk the path of the Sage of Six Paths once more!"
"Sigh..."
Seeing Nagato's unwavering determination, Konan could only nod in the end. Their friendship, forged through years of trials and pain, had become unshakably strong. No matter what decision Nagato made, she would support him.
But could becoming the Jinchūriki of the Ten-Tails truly allow them to defeat Ōtsutsuki Minamoto-shiki? This question didn't just weigh on her mind—it was also plaguing Black Zetsu. His concerns ran deeper and were far more agonizing.
"Should I activate Infinite Tsukuyomi? Should I release Mother?"
Rescuing his mother had always been his lifelong wish, but if he truly freed her, wouldn't he be handing Ōtsutsuki Minamoto-shiki a new "ladder to godhood"?
After much contemplation, Black Zetsu suddenly thought of a solution!
"The relics from the Hyūga clan haven't been dealt with yet, and Obito is already planning to provoke the Fourth Great Ninja War. In that case..."
An idea began to take shape in Black Zetsu's mind as he carefully plotted his next move. Nearby, Madara Uchiha suddenly spoke up.
"It's truly unbelievable. Could the Sage of Six Paths have foreseen this Ōtsutsuki Minamoto-shiki character?"
Madara held the "Senju relics" in his hands, studying them intently. His body had fully recovered, and he naturally noticed the information contained within.
"'The ninja world may harbor unknown dangers and conspiracies; be cautious.' Was this meant as a warning to Hashirama and the others?"
"That, I'm not sure." Black Zetsu snapped out of his thoughts, feeling a chill run down his spine as he looked at the relics he himself had forged.
"But it's possible. After all, Ōtsutsuki Minamoto-shiki..."
"Then why is the Uchiha relic different?"
Madara's expression grew strange, his question causing Black Zetsu to nearly gasp in shock. Of course it was different—the Uchiha relic had been altered by him!
Fortunately, Black Zetsu reacted quickly, adopting a puzzled expression as he continued Madara's line of thought.
"Indeed. Could it be a matter of timing?"
"Timing?"
"Exactly. For example, what if one first sees the Senju relics, and then later the Uchiha stone tablet?"
"That does seem plausible..."
Madara fell into deep thought. Seeing the Senju relics would naturally prompt caution against conspiracies. And since the Sage of Six Paths had sought reconciliation between Asura and Indra, wasn't it likely that...
"Like when I invited Hashirama to view the Uchiha stone tablet with me?!"
Suddenly, Madara recalled past events, his breathing quickening as he pieced it together.
"After seeing the stone tablet, one would naturally understand the power of universal forces. And then use that power to address the unknown dangers—the Ōtsutsuki?!"
"..."
Black Zetsu blinked, shocked that Madara had managed to rationalize the situation so perfectly. He immediately played along, speaking with a solemn tone.
"However, the Senju relics were lost, so they couldn't access this information. The Sage of Six Paths' solution might have been intended for after the war ends?"
"True. After the war ends, new conflicts will arise, leading to fresh battles."
Madara, having lived through that era, had witnessed how the ninja world had deteriorated following Hashirama's death. He nodded in agreement.
"At that point, using the 'Eye of the Moon' plan would be ideal. But it feels like something is missing—why did it skip straight to the 'Eye of the Moon'?"
"..."
Black Zetsu fell silent, Madara's reasoning was almost too perfect.
"Lord Madara, we've overlooked one thing—the descendants of the Sage of Six Paths' brother."
"Kitagawa Minamoto?"
Madara raised an eyebrow, suddenly understanding.
"You mean, he should have relics as well?"
"Exactly. If the descendants of the Sage of Six Paths have relics, then surely the descendants of his brother..."
"Indeed. Minamoto is incredibly strong, even referred to as a 'progressor' by Ōtsutsuki Minamoto-shiki. The Sage of Six Paths must have anticipated his existence."
"So, besides strengthening ourselves, we also need to focus on the relics of the Sage of Six Paths' brother."
Black Zetsu hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. He had finally found a way to delay the "Eye of the Moon" plan and devise a strategy against Ōtsutsuki Minamoto-shiki.
If one wasn't enough, then two. If two weren't enough, then the entire ninja world together! Surely, there had to be a solution. As long as the Hyūga relics were dealt with, there was still a chance to change everything...
While Black Zetsu was pondering how to rewrite history once more, Obito was contemplating how to obtain the Ten-Tails. However, Isshiki, residing within Obito's consciousness, wore an odd expression as he sensed something.
"Though it's not entirely clear, my instincts are definitely correct—Urashiki is nearby!"
He had initially thought Urashiki was finished, but upon reflection, realized that he must have left a Kāma behind.
"And he's within the Akatsuki. It seems I can awaken him early and establish contact..."
Most importantly, he needed to clarify everything! He couldn't allow Ōtsutsuki Minamoto-shiki to continue spreading rumors. At the very least, he needed to set the record straight now.
Late that night, in Naruto's room, exhausted from a day of training, he had fallen into a deep sleep. Yet, he still felt somewhat uneasy.
"Damn it, that jerk Minamoto, why doesn't he include me in anything lately? Am I really that bad?"
Naruto mumbled drowsily, fighting against sleep.
"And that bastard Sasuke too, always running off to the hospital. He won't even train with me when I ask. Seriously..."
Though he continued to grumble, Naruto was already drifting off, sinking into a hazy state of consciousness.
Just as he was about to fall asleep, two shadowy figures appeared and placed their hands on him. Instantly, the Chakra within him surged, startling him awake.
When he opened his eyes and saw the two individuals before him, he froze in surprise.
"Huh? Why are you... here?"
Elsewhere, under the moonlight, two white-haired figures sat together. In the building below them, a brown-haired girl gazed up at the sky in confusion. Everything seemed foreign to her, especially after learning certain news.
"How did things turn out like this..."
Meanwhile, on the moon, Kitagawa Minamoto's figure silently appeared. Looking at the fully restored interior world of the moon, and the moon rising within the moon itself, he nodded approvingly.
"This place has a really nice environment. It would be good to come up here and relax whenever I get bored in the ninja world."
As these thoughts crossed his mind, he approached the location of the giant Tenseigan. Being a man of action, after handling the Edo Tensei issues, his real body had directly traveled to the moon.
"I wonder how Naruto is doing, and Kakashi and the others..."
A smile played on his lips as he sat down before the giant Tenseigan. Finding Kaguya, who was sealed within the Chibaku Tensei, wasn't going to be easy.
Before obtaining Urashiki's "Pill," accomplishing this would have been extremely difficult. But now, his situation had improved significantly. Beyond the "talents" contained within the Pill, the advancement in his bloodline development allowed him to see a more "colorful" world, enabling better positioning.
"Now then..."
Closing his eyes, his Chakra began to resonate with the giant Tenseigan. As the Tenseigan's Chakra surged forth, he established a complete connection with it. In that moment, he could see countless spatial nodes hidden within the moon, as well as the deepest region, sealed by endless Chakra!
"Is that the place?"
Minamoto whispered, his consciousness rapidly advancing toward that direction. Soon, he arrived at the spatial node and peered inside.
Within this sealed space, a woman floated silently. Her white hair cascaded down to her ankles, two horns extended from her forehead, and her entire being exuded cold nobility.
Even through the powerful Chakra and the twisted space, he could sense the formidable nature of this woman's Chakra.
"Ōtsutsuki Kaguya..."
Minamoto murmured softly. In that instant, Kaguya seemed to sense something. She abruptly raised her head, her cold, emotionless Byakugan seemingly piercing through space to fix directly on Minamoto.
"Who are you?"
Her voice was icy, devoid of any emotion. But before Minamoto could respond, her expression suddenly changed, and her Chakra erupted violently!
"Ōtsutsuki?!"
"So you've finally come!"
"..."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📚 BOOK COMPLETED ON PATREON!📚
This story has reached its conclusion on my Patreon!
🔥 Full story available now
💎 Exclusive bonus content & early access to new books
👉 Join my Patreon community today!
[✨ patreon.com/GoldenLong]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━