Time waits for no one.
It had already been a full month since the events involving the Ten-Tails Obito and the Rabbit Goddess, and though the dust had settled, the scars of war still lingered. The Shinobi World was slowly returning to order, tending to its wounds.
But the devastation this time—the shattered moon, the damage to the world itself—was far greater than the combined toll of any war before it. Restoring everything, rebuilding what had been lost, would take a very long time.
After Yuki Yoru publicly revealed the threat of the Ōtsutsuki, time became the most precious and desperately sought-after resource across the entire Shinobi World.
Fortunately, there was a pillar strong enough to hold up the collapsing heavens—Yuki Yoru, the towering pillar of the era. Even though fear still gripped many hearts, people could at least find solace knowing that he stood among them.
Yet with that reassurance came something else—a fervent, almost feverish hunger for power and understanding.
To learn, to master, to survive: the living pursued the path of the Quincy, while the dead embraced transformation into Shinigami.
Some were even astonished to discover that, despite never having trained as Quincy, they already possessed Spiritual power—and could see wandering souls with their own eyes!
The collapse of the Pure Land, combined with Yoru's intervention, had completely replaced chakra with spiritual power. The Shinobi World itself had undergone full spiritualization—a new law of existence.
"The Shinobi World has been completely spiritualized. And as for Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's power—I've already absorbed and fused it entirely.
So tell me, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo—what else do you have left to rely on?"
A faint smile curved Yoru's lips. In his eyes shimmered countless pupils—eyes that seemed to pierce through all of existence.
Another month passed.
Yuki Yoru remained in Kirigakure, overseeing the grand reconstruction of the world. Yuki Kiri and Terumī Mei led the Kirigakure in rebuilding the village, while Uzumaki Hiromi and Fuyuna Yukiko buried themselves once more in their laboratory, researching the Ten-Tails and the concept of perfect spiritualization.
As for the legendary figures of the past—the resurrected predecessors—they spent their days attending classes at the Kirigakure Spiritual Arts Academy. Their favorite pastime, however, was visiting the newly built Kirigakure Library, studying the history and evolution of the Shinobi World across centuries.
Sometimes, debates would turn heated—so they would simply head out to the training grounds behind the academy and duel it out.
"We old men worked ourselves to the bone building our clans and villages to this level—and you useless descendants went and ruined it all?"
"You deserve a beating!"
The meetings between the living and the dead gave the world a strange, almost comical vibrancy.
Of course, not everyone accepted Yuki Yoru.
One white-haired Hokage, even after achieving Shinigami transformation, still stubbornly believed that Yoru was an aberration—just like the Uchiha clan.
But despite such objections, everyone had to acknowledge one truth: Yuki Yoru had become the most extraordinary being of this age.
He was the Sage of Six Paths of the new era—the founder and leader of a new world!
"Such lowly creatures… and yet they've mastered such terrifying power…"
While the Shinobi World revived under Yoru's leadership, in the shadows, Ōtsutsuki Urashiki continued to observe, his heart growing heavier with dread.
The nature of spiritual power itself posed a tremendous threat to him.
Especially the resurrection of the legendary shinobi of the past—their combat strength, now amplified by Spiritual power, was truly horrifying.
They were supposed to be mere lower beings—yet some among them possessed destructive potential equal to certain Ōtsutsuki.
And among the rare few, there were those whose power could rival even their own kind.
Worse still, the warriors under Yuki Yoru's command—each one was stronger than the last, their strength ever-increasing.
"With your strength, coming here is no different from suicide."
Only after witnessing it with his own eyes did Ōtsutsuki Urashiki truly understand what Ōtsutsuki Isshiki had meant by the tiger's fangs.
This world—the one that had brought down Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and forced her into hiding for centuries—was unlike any other he had ever seen. Without absolute preparation, any careless move here would lead only to death.
"It seems you've finally sensed the danger this world holds," came Isshiki's calm voice within the vast Ōtsutsuki dimension.
He gazed at Urashiki, who now—months later—had grown far more composed than before.
"How is your control over Spiritual power coming along?"
Isshiki knew better than anyone just how powerful Yuki Yoru had become. Especially after devouring Kaguya's power, Yoru's strength had reached an extreme that even Isshiki, at his resurrected peak, might not be able to surpass.
At this stage, all they could do was wait—wait for the rest of the Ōtsutsuki clan to arrive, and when that day came, surround and annihilate Yuki Yoru once and for all.
"Tch… what a humiliating situation," Urashiki muttered, his voice seething with frustration.
As a being who roamed the stars devouring worlds, he had always acted without restraint—when had he ever been forced to endure such indignity?
But he had no choice.
The more he observed during this period, the deeper his understanding of Yuki Yoru became.
And with that understanding came fear.
For someone like Yoru—a man even Isshiki dared not confront head-on—to exist in this world was no trivial matter.
Urashiki had many potential vessels across different worlds, but reincarnating into any of them would greatly reduce his power.
Already among the weaker members of the main family, he could not tolerate becoming even weaker.
Seeing the storm of emotions flicker across Urashiki's face, Isshiki remained expressionless.
After a long pause, he finally spoke.
"Yuki Yoru is indeed strong, and Kaguya's cursed descendants still lurk in the shadows, watching. But that doesn't mean we must sit here and wait for death."
"There is a way—to overturn everything."
"Oh?"
Urashiki's head snapped up, his pale eyes locking on Isshiki.
"You have a way? Impossible! If you really had one, you wouldn't have been stuck here for thousands of years! Don't feed me lies, Isshiki!"
"Hmph. Believe what you will," Isshiki snorted.
"When I first descended upon this planet, I crushed the natives with ease. But during the battle, Kaguya betrayed me."
"At that time, I lost a certain artifact I brought from our clan—'The Plough.' It's still somewhere in this world."
"The… Plough!?"
Urashiki's eyes widened in disbelief.
As a member of the Ōtsutsuki main family, though weaker in strength, he was fully aware of the clan's secrets.
The item Isshiki spoke of—The Plough—was one of the Ōtsutsuki Clan's highest-grade sacred tools, a divine artifact capable of traversing space and time itself.
By infusing it with Ōtsutsuki chakra, one could activate its full power.
Even though the Shinobi World was now filled with peril for them, if Urashiki could recover The Plough, he was confident he could defeat anyone—
even Yuki Yoru would no longer be an untouchable opponent.
Of course, that didn't mean traveling back in time to kill a young Yoru.
Even if he did that, it would not change the present world at all—because The Plough did not traverse the past of one's own timeline, but rather opened a path to a parallel universe.
By reversing temporal magnetic fields through immense chakra, it could leap between worlds—just like the ancient Dragon Vein once had.
Even so, its value was immeasurable.
Just imagine—in this era, Yuki Yoru stands unrivaled beneath the heavens, commanding countless resources and energies, his very presence instilling fear throughout the cosmos.
"But what about ten years ago, or twenty years ago?"
Back then, Yuki Yoru was nothing but an inexperienced child, barely out of swaddling clothes! How could such a young Yoru possibly have threatened someone like Ōtsutsuki Urashiki?
During this period Urashiki had not only come to deeply perceive the power of Spiritual power in the Shinobi World, he'd also soaked up a lot of its history. A few decades ago, the average combat power across the Shinobi World barely reached Jonin level — nothing like what it is now.
Even going back further, to the era of the unmatched Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, to the Ōtsutsuki they were still just somewhat larger nuisances. In that age — where the mid ranks were few, Jonin dominated, and Kage-level fighters were supreme — even Urashiki, the weakest of the Ōtsutsuki main family, could have done as he pleased.
"As long as I can use the Plough to go back to that past Shinobi World, capture every Tailed Beast, successfully restore the Ten-Tails' power into myself — then what is a mere Yuki Yoru to me?"
Urashiki laughed loudly, already picturing Yoru's howls of agony. He turned to Isshiki and cried out, "Quick, Isshiki, give me the Plough!"
"You can't activate the Plough now because you haven't completed your full reincarnation, right? No worries — Lord Urashiki, I will save you!"
With the Plough, every present dilemma would vanish. With it he could freely harvest this Shinobi World and, within this energy-rich realm, forge a massive chakra fruit. Then he could finally shed his status as the Ōtsutsuki runt and become a top-tier powerhouse on par with Isshiki.
Urashiki could barely contain his excitement, but Isshiki looked at him as if he were a jester.
After a moment Urashiki calmed down and frowned. "Where's the Plough?" he demanded.
"The Plough?" Isshiki said. "Do you really think I can't complete my reincarnation because I lack a perfect vessel? Urashiki, you're as foolish as ever — truly the runt of the Ōtsutsuki."
"If I wished, I could complete reincarnation anytime. Even if I couldn't fully restore my peak strength, I certainly wouldn't be incapable of handling a bunch of Kage-level foes. The real reason I haven't moved is that when that bitch Kaguya ambushed me, the Plough was lost and scattered in the Shinobi World."
"L-lost?!"
Urashiki was stunned.
"Do you think Kaguya, planning an ambush against me, wouldn't take into account the artifacts I possessed?" Isshiki's words snapped Urashiki awake. Of course she would have considered the Plough — she would never have left even a sliver of possibility for me to turn the tide. She must have calculated everything… just didn't expect that I survived.
"So the Plough is lost — and you say this now?!" Urashiki snarled, his face black. "Were you just teasing me to raise my hopes?"
"I'm not that petty. I only saw you getting unbearable and gave you something to do." Isshiki said indifferently, lifting his palm and gathering a wisp of chakra.
"Although the Plough is lost, it remains my treasured tool. If you approach it with my chakra, it will still react."
"For so many years, because of Kaguya and her descendants, I couldn't act recklessly in the Shinobi World… Now with Yuki Yoru here and my most perfect vessel not yet ready, if you're truly bored, take this chakra and go look for it."
"You take me for a fool!" Urashiki snapped.
Ōtsutsuki Urashiki's expression was dark, but after hesitating for a moment, he finally reached out and took the wisp of chakra.
After all, it wasn't as if he had anything better to do—and the Plough was indeed an artifact of immense value. To leave such a treasure lost forever would be a real waste.
Once he received the chakra, Urashiki didn't linger. He immediately opened the gate to the Yomotsu Hirasaka dimension and stepped through it. Behind him, Ōtsutsuki Isshiki merely shook his head before turning back toward his own pocket dimension.
He knew Urashiki's temperament all too well. That fool wasn't just the weakest fighter among the Ōtsutsuki—his personality was also the kind that constantly sought trouble when idle. Even if the Shinobi World now contained powers beyond his control, if left with nothing to do, Urashiki would inevitably cause some kind of chaos.
Better to give him a task than let him stir up problems during such a sensitive period.
Still… if Urashiki really did manage to recover the Plough, then the predicament before them might truly cease to be one.
Space rippled and twisted. A massive Ten-Tails loomed before Isshiki, its colossal form pulsing as a giant cocoon slowly took shape upon it. Isshiki's lips curved into a faint smile.
It wouldn't be long now. Under the combined catalyst of the Ten-Tails' chakra and his own, this vessel's growth was proceeding at a staggering pace. In no time at all, it would be fully matured.
"Before that," Isshiki murmured, "it's probably about time you go cause trouble for that man."
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki murmured softly, his pair of Rinnegan seeming to pierce through layers of space, landing upon Yuki Yoru, who resided high in Kirigakure.
Not only had that man been played by the Sage brothers, he'd also been exiled into the cosmos by the toad Gamamaru—causing the Kirigakure he had spent years building to be utterly destroyed. Though it was now being rebuilt, Isshiki didn't believe for a second that Yuki Yoru would simply let such an insult go unavenged.
That man… was absolutely one to repay any slight tenfold.
"By now," Isshiki whispered, "my chakra signal should have already reached the nearby star systems. At their speed… they must be almost here."
"So tell me, Yuki Yoru—will it be even greater chaos that comes next… or will you put on a good show for me before the true war begins?"