Chapter 3: Finally Arriving in the Ninja World
Watching himself "die" right before his own eyes—and having personally experienced it—Shen now calmly observed the life-and-death battle unfolding before him. Although the outcome had already been decided, he could still watch with a detached sense of ease.
Without his command, the group quickly fell apart under Kaguya's assault. With a few swift moves, she scattered them, separating everyone just like how she dealt with Naruto and Sasuke—throwing each of them into different dimensions and eliminating them one by one.
The first to fall was Ryosuke, the one with the most massive chakra reserves. Shen had originally thought he would be the last one standing, but unexpectedly, Kaguya targeted him first—perhaps wary that his lightning abilities might affect the unborn child.
First, she bound him with sand, completely stripping him of any ability to resist. Then came a strike of Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack. Shen watched as Ryosuke was smashed into a pulp, his remains blending into the sand, staining a vast area crimson.
Ryosuke's death left Shen speechless. It was unclear whether the Ōtsutsuki clan had simply gone too long without real warfare, but aside from a few field operatives, their combat experience was genuinely lacking. Take Ryosuke, for example—when dodging attacks, he had no understanding of positioning or prediction.
Once he was forced into a one-on-one battle with Kaguya, the disappearance of his teammates threw him into complete panic. He even forgot he could fly. On top of that, he couldn't maintain his footing on the sand. With just a few shifts of the dunes under Kaguya's control, he was knocked flat onto the ground. At first, he relied on his Byakugan to evade sneak attacks from the sand waves, but as panic set in, he began getting struck repeatedly.
Getting knocked away wasn't even the worst part. He could have gotten up and fled—he even managed to escape two or three times in the beginning. But in the end, he just lay there… waiting to die.
Waiting to die. Could you believe it?
A proud member of the Ōtsutsuki clan, lying on the ground, not even resisting. Not even trying.
Shen had already taught him how to use lightning-style attacks, which naturally countered earth-based sand techniques. Lightning was inherently offensive—if he couldn't win, he could at least attack while retreating. But he didn't attack at all. He only dodged—and poorly at that. And when he couldn't dodge anymore, he simply gave up and waited for death.
Truly worthy of the Ōtsutsuki name, wasn't he? Earlier, he had righteously condemned Kaguya for sullying the noble bloodline by mingling with natives. But now? Lying there waiting to die—wasn't that an even greater disgrace?
Well, no need to worry about that now. He wouldn't have a future to disgrace anyway.
The second to die was Uno, the frontline tank. Shen had originally guided him down a path similar to Tsunade's—enhancing his physical strength to increase both defense and striking power. It was a balanced approach, maximizing survivability. Unfortunately, he was thrown into a gravity dimension, pinned to the ground, completely unable to move. A single All-Killing Ash Bone ended him. Just like Shen, he was reduced to dust.
The rest were dispatched just as quickly. Kaguya didn't even need much time—after Shen's shadow clone died, the remaining seven didn't last even thirty minutes.
Shen watched as his former companions died one by one before his eyes. Not only did he feel no sorrow, he found it pathetic that he had ever considered them comrades. Even in death, he would never acknowledge them as such.
Perhaps he simply didn't like the Ōtsutsuki, who looked down on mortals as if they were ants.
After killing all eight of them, Kaguya swiftly exited the alternate dimension. She had already felt discomfort in her abdomen and needed to return quickly to rest and recover.
Shen, still attached to her, was carried along out of the dimension. Having finally arrived in the Ninja World, he let out a quiet sigh of relief. Carried by the wind, he detached from Kaguya's body and began drifting freely through the air.
Before long, he was blown out of the territory of the Rabbit Goddess's palace. Then, riding a stronger current, he flew rapidly onward. After drifting for about two hours, he finally reached the edge of the coastline and stopped.
Undoing his Transformation Technique, Shen stood suspended in midair.
Looking back toward the direction of the palace, he saw a towering God Tree stretching between heaven and earth.
To be honest, the energy of the Ninja World was immense. Even after condensing a top-grade chakra fruit, there was still an enormous amount of energy circulating through the world. From Shen's perception, this energy seemed inexhaustible.
For a moment, he began to doubt Gamamaru's words.
After all, Gamamaru hadn't been lying—planets planted with a God Tree would indeed have their energy drained, eventually becoming dead worlds. And he had said that the Ninja World's energy had already been largely extracted and was on the verge of depletion. Only by killing the God Tree could the world be saved.
But judging by the current state of things, the world showed no signs of withering.
It seemed those seemingly honest and straightforward toads weren't necessarily trustworthy either.
Gazing at the God Tree in the distance, Shen's eyes burned with intense desire. But he knew—this wasn't something he could covet right now.
At the very least, he would have to wait until the Sage of Six Paths was dead.
Fortunately, both Ōtsutsuki Hamura and Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo were of mixed blood. Their lifespans, while long by Ninja World standards, were still limited.
Among the Ōtsutsuki, however, anyone who consumed a chakra fruit became effectively immortal.
Just look at Kaguya—sealed for so long that even her sons had long since died, and countless generations had passed. Despite being imprisoned on the moon without chakra, she emerged still youthful and unchanged.
That was the power of a pure-blooded Ōtsutsuki.
No wonder the toads of the Ninja World feared her. With such longevity, once Kaguya fully digested the chakra and the God Tree bore a second fruit, there would be very few beings capable of defeating her.
Even within the Ōtsutsuki clan, obtaining the chance to consume two top-grade chakra fruits was exceedingly rare.
If Kaguya were to consume a second fruit, even Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki himself might not be able to capture her.
Because of that, Shen had no intention of interfering with Gamamaru's scheme against Kaguya's family. Right now, the priority was to find a place to hide—and avoid being discovered by the toads and snakes.
As for the slug, he wasn't particularly concerned. According to future records, the Slug Sage had existed far longer than either Gamamaru or the White Snake.
Since even Kaguya hadn't been stopped at this point in time, it was unlikely that such a being would pay attention to someone as insignificant as himself. Perhaps he might even get a chance to learn Sage Arts from it.
Unfortunately, he didn't know where Shikkotsu Forest was. In fact, he didn't even know the locations of Ryūchi Cave or Mount Myōboku. The three great sage lands seemed to exist in special spaces far removed from the Ninja World. Judging by Mount Myōboku's environment alone, it was almost impossible for it to exist within the Ninja World—though not entirely impossible. Places like the Lightning Country's Valley of Clouds and Lightning were similarly unique.
In short, Shen flew toward the densest part of the forest.
In this era, humans rarely lived in such deep wilderness. Even in the future era of the Five Great Ninja Villages, few people would choose to reside in such places.
After finding a flat area near a water source, Shen began building his shelter. For him, this was no difficult task. By cutting down nearby trees, he spent an entire afternoon constructing a temporary dwelling. As for a permanent residence, that would require more time and refinement.
He dug out a fire pit in the center of the room and lit a fire, then headed back out.
Aside from the house and a bed, he had absolutely nothing. Pots, bowls, and utensils might be common items, but they were essential. Since he intended to live in the forest long-term to avoid people, preparing daily necessities in advance was a must.
After flying to a location about two kilometers from human activity, he used a Transformation Technique to disguise himself as a middle-aged man and walked into a nearby village.
On the way, he hunted two animals—both to exchange for supplies and to subtly display his strength, discouraging unnecessary conflict.
At the village entrance, he noticed guards on watch. At first, he thought this wasn't an ordinary mountain village, but after asking around, he realized he had misunderstood.
Due to Kaguya's earlier wars, the village had become highly vigilant, wary of fleeing soldiers bringing disaster. At the same time, they also guarded against wild beasts emerging from the forest.
After entering the village, Shen found a household offering the best trade value and exchanged his prey for basic living supplies. Carrying the pottery and containers on his back, he prepared to leave.
Before he departed, the village chief suggested that Shen could continue trading goods for game in the future. Shen declined.
This was just a small mountain village with barely over a hundred residents—far from enough to sustain him. Their real intention was for him to hunt on their behalf, allowing them to resell the game at a higher price for profit.
After securing basic necessities, Shen returned to his shelter. Along the way, he gathered wild fruits, edible mushrooms, and hunted a rabbit for dinner.
Returning home with his day's harvest, he looked at the still-burning fire in the pit and smiled.
From now on, he could live here freely. No longer would he need to serve the clan.
After arranging his belongings and adding firewood to the flames, he began preparing the rabbit—skinning it, removing the organs, skewering it, seasoning it, and placing it over the fire to roast.
Once it was set on the rack, he left it alone to cook, planning to return in about ten minutes. In the meantime, he intended to craft tables and chairs.
Thinking about it, he had only arrived in the Naruto world for a single day.
From the moment Ōtsutsuki Hien found him in the morning, to now settling down on the Ninja World's planet—it had all happened within a single day.
It felt surreal.
That morning, he had been worrying about how to survive under Ōtsutsuki Hein until Fūseki returned to the clan. Then he heard that Kaguya had stolen the chakra fruit, and a team was being assembled to capture her.
He had been considering how to join the mission.
Unexpectedly, Hien made it unnecessary—he arranged everything for him directly.
If they ever met again, would Hien be scared to death?
After all, as far as Hien was concerned, Shen was already dead.
Of course, the most important matter now was those clan members still trapped in the alternate dimension. Once Kaguya had time, their deaths would be inevitable.
When Shen had been attached to Kaguya earlier, he had sensed something unusual.
She was likely about to give birth.
For a moment, he wondered whether he should attempt an assassination right after her childbirth.
But he quickly dismissed the idea.
If Kaguya died, who would seal the spatial rift of the alternate dimension? He didn't have the ability to close it himself. If he did, he wouldn't have been trapped there in the first place.
Looking at his modest yet stable wooden house, Shen felt a quiet sense of satisfaction.
Though it was simple, at least it was a place where he could finally sleep in peace.