Imu could already guess Black Zetsu's intentions behind releasing the demon Satori from the Box of Ultimate Bliss, the demon Mōryō from the Land of Demons, and now mobilizing this army of a hundred thousand White Zetsu.
It was likely because the emergence of the World Government had disrupted his long-laid plans, gravely affecting his goal of 'saving his mother'.
Thus, he was doing everything possible to create chaos, hoping to stall the complete conquest of the shinobi world—buying time to think of a new strategy.
"Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, huh..."
Imu knew that Black Zetsu itself wasn't the real threat.
The key lay on the Moon—where Kaguya remained sealed.
In truth, even now, he was still undecided about whether to release Kaguya or not.
Logically speaking, when facing the threat of the Ōtsutsuki civilization, Kaguya's stance would be aligned with that of the World Government.
But the issue was—Kaguya's power was simply too overwhelming.
Imu wasn't confident he could keep her under control.
And if he couldn't—
If Kaguya decided to act recklessly, what could stop her then?
Would he have to rely on Hagoromo and Hamura to seal her again?
"Better to keep her sealed a while longer. Once I'm sure I can handle her... then we'll talk."
Imu sighed with a hint of regret.
After all, he was quite intrigued by Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
After all, she was a being of immense power—an alien beauty with the aura of a queen, who had lived for at least a thousand years and showed no signs of aging. Her personality was reclusive and domineering, and her appearance was distinctly unusual.
"…And then there's that Satori, too," Imu murmured.
...
The Shinobi Continent.
At the southernmost tip of the Land of Fire, by the sea.
The landscape remained one of towering icebergs, snow-covered plains, and bone-chilling cold.
The only notable change was that the terrifying blizzard from before had vanished without a trace.
Two men who had just fought an intense battle now sat across from each other at a wooden table.
They were Senju Hashirama and Kuzan.
"So this is the World Government..."
Hashirama murmured to himself as he stared at the virtual projection slowly fading into darkness overhead.
He had just finished watching the latest version of the 'World Government promotional video'.
What was the World Government?
Which administrative departments operated under its flag? What military forces did it command?
What did the World Government's home world, Starfish World, look like?
How were the other worlds it had conquered developing?
And so on, and so forth—these were all questions that Hashirama now had basic answers to, thanks to that 'propaganda video'.
It laid a solid foundation for the conversation that was to follow.
More importantly, Hashirama now understood one thing—
The World Government's goal was not destruction, but domination.
It also made him realize that the Shinobi World had absolutely no chance of resisting it.
"Lord Hashirama, we're actually somewhat familiar with your story."
Kuzan spoke with a calm and gentle demeanor, watching the lingering astonishment still on Hashirama's face.
"In life, you devoted yourself to peace in the Shinobi World. You were strongly opposed to sending children onto the battlefield."
"That's why you allied with the Uchiha clan to found the Hidden Leaf Village, and even took the bold step of distributing the tailed beasts to other villages."
As he spoke, a complicated look surfaced in Kuzan's eyes.
Even he felt that such actions were far too naive—foolish, even.
By comparison—
He actually agreed more with Uchiha Madara's belief that peace could only be achieved by unifying the Shinobi World under one rule.
Even so—
Kuzan still held a deep respect for Hashirama.
After all, this man had genuinely devoted himself to achieving peace for his world.
"It really is a bit shameful," Hashirama said with a helpless shake of the head. "I never imagined that giving the tailed beasts to the other villages wouldn't create a balance of power. Instead, they just became weapons for mutual slaughter."
"The World Government can realize your dream!"
"...What?!"
Kuzan's words left Hashirama stunned.
The World Government could bring peace to the Shinobi World?
It sounded absurd.
After all, the World Government was currently invading, stirring up war and bloodshed across the continent.
But if he thought about it more carefully...
Watching the 'propaganda video' further, Hashirama observed the developments and changes in the so-called 'Kabane World', 'Demon Slayer World', and 'Teigu World'—and overall, things did appear to be improving.
If the 'Shinobi World' were to fall under the World Government's rule...
Then the various nations and shinobi villages would no longer be able to start wars at will.
And with the sheer size of the World Government, there would be no need for children to fight on the battlefield.
As for adult shinobi being deployed to other worlds for warfare—
Hashirama didn't particularly mind.
He wasn't so saintly as to worry about other worlds.
Besides, didn't that just give shinobi somewhere else to put their skills to use?
Thinking about it like that, the World Government's invasion… might actually be a good thing.
Hashirama found himself momentarily stunned by the thought.
"It seems you've understood," Kuzan said as he slowly stood. "Then let's be on our way."
Hashirama raised an eyebrow. "Where to?"
"First, to Konoha. I imagine you're quite concerned about the situation there. After that, we'll return to Rōran together. Someone will personally show you everything you saw in that video, for real."
As he spoke, Kuzan used his power to form an ice-crafted bicycle before him.
"Ahlalala~ I wonder if you know how to ride one of these?"
"A bicycle, huh? I used to ride one with Tobirama when we were kids. Not sure if I still remember how…"
Hashirama rose, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
Then, using Wood Release, he created a wooden bicycle of his own.
In the following few minutes—
Kuzan watched with a grin as Hashirama practiced riding.
From wobbling clumsily to eventually finding balance,
The whole scene was filled with laughter and occasional shouts of surprise from both men.
And when Hashirama and Kuzan finally stood side by side, each on their own bicycle—
Their friendship had been formally sealed.
"Well then… let's go!"
"Sure! Let's see who gets to Konoha first!
Hashirama burst into laughter.
In that moment—
He was suddenly reminded of the days of his youth, skipping stones by the river with Uchiha Madara.
Madara… I don't know where you are now, Hashirama thought to himself, but if you knew about the existence of the World Government, I bet you'd be thrilled. Weren't you always complaining about having too few worthy opponents?
"Ahlalala~"
"You won't beat me—I used to ride my bike across entire oceans!"
Kuzan's laughter echoed through the snow and wind.
Their figures on bicycles gradually vanished into the snowy distance.
...
Shinobi World, Pure Land.
"Madara, this fight's mine! Hahahaha!"
Roger's booming, kingly laughter rang out,
Drowning out even the distant sounds of crashing and rumbling.
On the broken and shattered earth,
Only he and Uchiha Madara remained—Madara half-kneeling on the ground.
"Hmph."
Madara slowly rose to his feet,
Lifting his head expressionlessly to gaze into the sky, no longer looking at Roger's smug face.
But in truth, there was little anger in his heart.
If anything, he felt pleased.
Defeat? So be it.
Though it was frustrating, he'd already grown accustomed to the feeling thanks to Hashirama.
What truly stirred him now was the joy of encountering a powerful opponent.
And this man named Roger... was indeed intriguing.
His personality, in fact, was somewhat reminiscent of Hashirama.
"But it looks like your side is losing this war," Madara said coldly.
Roger raised a thick eyebrow at that.
Instinctively, he glanced overhead, thinking to himself:
It's true. The aura of the King of the Dead has become chaotic… and significantly weaker.
Is that so-called 'Sage of Six Paths', the lord of the Pure Land, really that powerful?
But Roger withdrew the blade at Madara's throat and grinned.
"Well, not necessarily. Your 'Sage of Six Paths' isn't looking too great either."
"They're probably evenly matched—just like you and me. But I'm the one who won in the end."
Madara snorted again. "Then let's keep watching."
...
Above the Pure Land—
That mass of fire and light, radiating outward from the black hole,
Still resembled a giant, pitch-black eye.
It stared emotionlessly at the ground below, where shinobi and powerful beings from various worlds clashed in combat.
In truth, the battles across the lands of the Shinobi Sect—
Just like the clash between Roger and Uchiha Madara—had come to an end.
But unlike the mutual respect between those two heroes,
The southern battlefield told a different story: the Second Mizukage, Hōzuki Gengetsu,
Had perished under Rayleigh's blade, his soul utterly destroyed, gone without a trace.
The Second Tsuchikage, Mū, survived thanks to the powerful invisibility granted by his technique, and his whereabouts remained unknown.
And for reasons unknown, Rayleigh did not continue advancing toward the Shinobi Sect.
Instead, he moved laterally across the battlefield, cutting down every shinobi he encountered.
On the western front—
Kakashi's father, Hatake Sakumo, was slain by Kozuki Oden.
Faced with the overwhelming pressure brought on by Kozuki Oden,
Uchiha Kagami unexpectedly awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan in the midst of repeated brushes with death.
At this moment—
Kozuki Oden was fiercely engaged in battle against Byrnndi World, who had used the Moa-Moa no Mi to accelerate himself, amidst the shattered lands of Kuri.
In the distance stood a tall flagpole, from which the corpse of Amatsuki Toki hung high above.
Although Kozuki Oden didn't know the reason behind it,
His fury had consumed all rational thought.
With bloodshot eyes, he wildly swung his twin blades, roaring Byrnndi World's name again and again.
This was the power of Uchiha Kagami's Mangekyō.
It could project the target's deepest fears into a mirrored spatial domain within the real world.
As for the second Mangekyo technique, it could manifest the object of the target's deepest fear or hatred into the mirrored space.
However, the manifested strength was linked to the level of ocular power Kagami could output.
Similarly—
The size of the mirrored domain depended on the initial amount of chakra infused into it.
Even so, the strain was enough to make blood pour from Uchiha Kagami's crimson eyes.
Fortunately, unless Kozuki Oden had a means to cut through space itself,
Even defeating the illusory Byrnndi World before him wouldn't let him escape.
Lastly, on the northern front—
That battle had ended swiftly and decisively.
Gaban, swinging his pitch-black twin axes crackling with lightning, used a technique to slice both the Third Kazekage and the Second Raikage into pieces, laughing heartily as he charged into the heart of the Shinobi Sect.
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