However, everything here wasn't unfamiliar to her—except for the fact that some people who had died in her world were still alive here.
For instance, at this moment, she was facing Rin, Kurenai, and Anko.
"Are you from the same world as Lady Tsunade?"
"More or less," Hokage Shizune nodded in acknowledgment.
She hadn't experienced the Fourth Great Ninja War, so there was still a time gap between them.
"In that case, you and I wouldn't be too familiar with each other, huh?" Rin pondered.
Hokage Shizune felt a bit awkward and said, "Not exactly. We… had a pretty good relationship when we were kids."
The Rin in front of her did feel somewhat unfamiliar.
The image of Rin in her memory had already started to fade—it had been so long, after all.
She was now 30 years old, while the Shizune of this world was only in her early 20s.
Rin had died in her memories when she was just twelve or thirteen.
Nearly 20 years had passed since then.
Twenty years was more than enough time to forget someone.
When Shizune brought Rin in front of her, she had been stunned for a long time.
But Rin merely smiled softly and said, "That's okay. We'll have plenty of time to get to know each other again."
Even though the person felt unfamiliar, such a kind personality immediately made Hokage Shizune develop a good impression of her.
It seemed that her childhood friend was truly a wonderful person.
Kurenai suggested gathering their peers for a meal together so that everyone could meet Hokage Shizune.
Curious about how everyone in this world might differ from those in her original world, Hokage Shizune happily agreed.
After Rin and the others left, Shizune began explaining the nature of this world to Hokage Shizune.
From Hokage Tsunade, she had already learned about some differences between the two worlds—most of which revolved around His Majesty.
"This Emperor… what kind of person is he?" Hokage Shizune couldn't help but ask.
Hearing this, Shizune smiled and said, "Naturally, he is a godlike figure, someone worthy of the utmost reverence from all the citizens of the Empire."
Hokage Shizune recalled their brief encounter.
The man had claimed to have traveled to her original world and saved Konoha.
That alone was something she deeply appreciated.
Meanwhile, Shizune suddenly seemed to remember something and fell silent.
"There's… one more thing."
She glanced around.
Neither of the two Tsunades were in the living room at the moment.
Still feeling uneasy, she pulled Hokage Shizune into her bedroom.
"What is it?"
"It's about… Master and Lady Tsunade."
Hokage Shizune looked at her in confusion.
Shizune hesitated, struggling to find the right words.
Seeing this, Hokage Shizune asked, "Is it… something difficult to talk about?"
Shizune let out a soft sigh and spoke slowly, "His Majesty is the one who ended the wars, unified the world, and built the Empire. He also developed Konoha to what it is today. Calling him a god-like figure wouldn't be an exaggeration. A man like him naturally has countless admirers. His Majesty has many women who are devoted to him, though not all of them have an official status…"
Hokage Shizune listened quietly.
When she heard this, she suddenly remembered that Shizune had mentioned it was about "Master and Lady Tsunade."
Realizing what she meant, Hokage Shizune froze.
"You mean… both Lady Tsunades are also…"
"..."
Hokage Shizune was utterly shocked.
To her, Tsunade was not only her teacher but also like a mother figure.
And both Tsunades? Could it be… together?
Unable to stop herself, she asked, "But Lady Tsunade's age…"
Shizune sighed lightly and said, "It's something that both Master and Lady Tsunade are willing to accept. There's nothing we can say about it."
"..."
Hokage Shizune was speechless.
The images of her revered Lady Tsunade and that unfamiliar Emperor kept flashing through her mind.
No matter how she thought about it, it just felt… off.
Her emotions remained unsettled for a long time.
She couldn't help but ask, "What… exactly is the relationship between the three of them now?"
Shizune was silent for a while before replying, "Their… relationship isn't known to outsiders. Only I… and perhaps His Majesty's secretary, Samui, might know…"
Even she seemed to find the topic difficult to discuss, speaking hesitantly.
"His Majesty… sometimes comes to our place at night… to see Master and Lady Tsunade… And every Saturday, Master also goes to His Majesty's place."
Hokage Shizune was stunned for a long moment before saying, "So, both Lady Tsunades… both of them… have that kind of relationship with His Majesty?"
Shizune silently nodded.
Hokage Shizune carefully thought over Shizune's words.
They lived together, and when the Emperor came at night, he clearly wasn't just looking for one of them…
Realizing this, Hokage Shizune suddenly shook her head.
She felt her heart tremble, afraid to continue down that line of thought.
The Lady Tsunade she revered so much, the woman she saw as a mother figure—the Fifth Hokage of Konoha, one of the legendary Sannin, a master of medical ninjutsu…
How could she accept such a position for herself?
And the Tsunade from another world, the one who had arrived here just like she had, shouldn't have known the Emperor for long… right?
Lord Jiraiya had loved Lady Tsunade for so long and never won her heart.
She had always thought Lady Tsunade still held feelings for her uncle, unable to move on from the past…
But now, at this moment, the once noble and untouchable image of Tsunade in her heart suddenly began to crack.
............
Inside a Sealed Laboratory at the Institute of Biological Sciences
Makoto sat cross-legged in the center of the room, with two pairs of purple Rinnegan floating before him.
He planned to replicate his previous method of merging the Tenseigan weapon system by fusing these two pairs of Rinnegan.
Intricate and profound sealing patterns were inscribed on the ground, glowing with a blue radiance under Makoto's chakra.
For him, the Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique was already second nature.
He dared to proceed with this fusion because he was confident—if the fusion failed and the eyes were destroyed, he could simply retrieve more from parallel timelines.
As the glow from the seals intensified, the four Rinnegan were drawn together, orbiting each other in midair.
The difficulties Makoto had anticipated did not arise.
There was no rejection or interference, likely because both pairs of Rinnegan originated from the same person and were identical.
The four Rinnegan simultaneously emitted a blinding light, their energies intertwining.
Everything was progressing smoothly.
Makoto carefully observed the special chakra within the Rinnegan—it was as if four delicate threads were weaving together into a slightly thicker, stronger strand.
Soon, the radiance faded.
The four Rinnegan had merged into a single eye, its patterns more intricate and mesmerizing than before, resembling a complex Mangekyo Sharingan.
The glow of the sealing formation gradually dimmed as well, and the newly fused Rinnegan gently landed in Makoto's palm.
Makoto studied it intently for a long time before storing it away.
Half an Hour Later
Makoto's figure appeared on a remote island in the vast ocean—an uninhabited land covered in dense vegetation.
He summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and placed it here.
The massive figure of the statue stood like a towering mountain or a colossal, withered tree.
Makoto intended to awaken the Ten-Tails but did not plan to summon it in its full strength.
The weaker the Ten-Tails was, the easier it would be for him to control it.
From the original story's events, it was clear that the Ten-Tails did not necessarily require the full chakra of all the Tailed Beasts to be revived.
When Obito awakened the Ten-Tails, he had not fully captured the Eight-Tails or Nine-Tails, only feeding the Demonic Statue a severed tentacle from the Eight-Tails and chakra from the Gold and Silver Brothers, who carried the Nine-Tails' power.
Perhaps only a small fraction of chakra from each Tailed Beast was sufficient to bring the Ten-Tails back to life.
What exactly that threshold was, however, was something Makoto would have to discover through careful experimentation.
Makoto had no intention of becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.
Although doing so would grant him immense power, he viewed the concept of a Jinchuriki as akin to parasitism.
The Otsutsuki clan obtained power by cultivating the God Tree and consuming its chakra fruit, allowing them to acquire true power that belonged solely to them.
By contrast, a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki was essentially implanting the God Tree within oneself and borrowing its power instead of claiming it as their own.
Makoto found himself instinctively repulsed by such a method.
Instead, he chose to extract a considerable amount of chakra from the One-Tail through Eight-Tails from within the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and then infused it with his own Nine-Tails chakra.
The moment the Demonic Statue absorbed the Nine-Tails' chakra, it let out a deafening roar.
A surge of powerful energy radiated outward, sending shockwaves across the isolated island, causing the surrounding ocean to churn violently.
The Demonic Statue seemed to be in extreme agony—or perhaps, it was struggling against some kind of binding force.
The massive, mountain-like entity twisted and writhed, its withered, tree-like body convulsing as something within it squirmed.
Makoto could feel an overwhelming chakra surging within—the sheer intensity of it far surpassed that of any ordinary Tailed Beast.
He made no attempt to suppress it, merely floating high above in the sky, silently observing the Ten-Tails' emergence.
The process was slow, yet Makoto watched as the Ten-Tails' form gradually transformed, shifting from a humanoid statue into a massive, reptilian entity.
The very climate of the region was affected—hurricane-force winds howled, colossal waves battered the island's shores, and dark clouds thickened in the sky, blotting out the sun.
Before long, the Ten-Tails had grown so large that the island could no longer contain it.
Ten enormous tails loomed over the sky, stirring up storms and unleashing thunder and torrential rain with every movement.
In its final form, the Demonic Statue had become a monstrous being with a massive, crimson Rinnegan marked by nine tomoe.
Its back bore protrusions resembling the trunk of a tree, and from it sprouted ten withered, root-like tails.
Makoto could feel its chakra—a presence so immense it dwarfed that of all nine Tailed Beasts combined.
Yet, it was merely a creature with chakra equivalent to theirs.
The power of the Ten-Tails far surpassed that of all the Tailed Beasts combined!
Makoto was utterly astonished—he had underestimated the Ten-Tails' strength.
At that moment, he suddenly sensed that the monstrous creature below had taken notice of him.
Its massive, crimson Rinnegan with nine tomoe gleamed with a predatory desire.
Currently, Makoto possessed the other half of all the Tailed Beasts' chakra within him.
A colossal surge of chakra began to condense at the Ten-Tails' maw—dark red and blue chakra intertwined, undergoing intense compression.
In an instant, a Tailed Beast Ball of mountain-like proportions materialized, radiating an overwhelming aura of destruction.
Makoto narrowed his eyes slightly as he saw the massive beast opening its ferocious maw, preparing to launch the attack at him.
Yet, he did not evade.
Instead, a pitch-black shield appeared before him in an instant, completely obscuring his figure.
BOOM!
In that moment, an apocalyptic force engulfed everything in its path.
A blinding white light filled the heavens and the earth, so intense that even sound itself was temporarily silenced.
Within that suffocating, deathly radiance, the sheer destructive force of the explosion tore everything in the vicinity to shreds—reducing it all to dust!
A hundred miles away, the explosion appeared as a massive, sun-like sphere of light.
The deafening roar of destruction echoed across vast distances, shaking the very sky and earth.
As the explosion's shockwave gradually subsided, the island beneath the Ten-Tails had completely shattered, leaving the beast's enormous form sprawled atop the turbulent sea.
Towering waves surged madly toward the impact zone, resembling a world-ending tsunami.
Yet, high above in the sky, a small, black sphere floated unscathed amidst the devastation.
Slowly, the black sphere unraveled, revealing Makoto's unharmed figure within.
The sphere had been formed from Truth-Seeking Orbs, shielding him entirely from the devastating attack.
Makoto gazed at the Ten-Tails below, deep in thought.
This creature's power level had already reached a point that touched his own.
If someone were to become the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki, they might truly be able to rival him.
But only might.
Aside from his personal combat strength, Makoto also possessed countless Tenseigan weapons and two Mecha Deities.
Raising a hand, he summoned the special Rinnegan he had fused earlier.
The Ten-Tails, which had been preparing to launch another attack after its first failed attempt, suddenly became docile upon seeing the Rinnegan.
Floating motionlessly on the ocean's surface, it ceased all hostilities.
Makoto observed this reaction for a moment before leaping onto the Ten-Tails' massive body.
Even as he stepped onto its head, the creature remained completely still.
The Divine Tree had not yet reached its final form—it would continue to evolve until it fully transformed into the Divine Tree, its roots once again burrowing deep into the earth to drain the planet's life force.
And the only ways to stop it were either to absorb it into oneself and become the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki—or to awaken Otsutsuki Kaguya.
Initially, Makoto had planned to use the Ten-Tails as an energy source, just like the Tailed Beast cores.
However, seeing it now, he realized his thinking had been too simplistic.
This monstrous being was not something that even the Empire's current technology could restrain.
Placing a hand on the Ten-Tails' body, Makoto began extracting its Tailed Beast chakra.
The Ten-Tails, which originally had only half its full chakra, was now reduced to just one-third.
The beast made no sound, but as Makoto pressed his hand against it, he could feel it wailing in agony.
If he were to extract all its Tailed Beast chakra, it would revert back to the Gedo Statue.
That's why it was begging him.
But suddenly, Makoto's mind became alarmed.
This might not be the Ten-Tails' will at all.
Unlike the juvenile Ten-Tails that typical Otsutsuki carried, this Ten-Tails was different—this one was Otsutsuki Kaguya herself!
The wailing he had just heard—was it truly the cry of a beast?
Or was it the will of that forbidden woman?
--------------
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