Akira did not wait for the roaring cheers of the ninjas to die down.
In an instant, he vanished—and reappeared directly in front of Madara. Before Madara could react, Akira disappeared again. One by one, Akira teleported before Sasuke, Kakashi, Itachi, Shisui, Yatagarasu, Nagato and finally the Ten-tails. In the blink of an eye, all of them vanished from the battlefield.
Yet even as they disappeared, the deafening shouts of reverence did not stop.
Hundreds of kilometers away, in a vast barren desert, figures appeared one after another.
Madara appeared first, followed by the others, and finally Akira himself arrived, standing calmly at the center.
Madara slowly surveyed his surroundings, his eyes scanning the empty desert. After a brief pause, he looked at Akira and spoke.
"So… should I go to your world?" Madara asked. "I don't think I have anything left in this one."
Akira nodded.
"Yes. You should come to our world," he replied calmly. "In this world, you truly have nothing left to do. And you still have decades of lifespan remaining—perhaps even more. You can try new things there. The Uchiha clan still exists in our world."
Madara listened silently, then nodded in agreement. After a moment, he asked another question.
"Akira… why do you need the Ten Tails?" Madara said. "I don't think you intend to use Infinite Tsukuyomi and I think your strength wouldn't increase much even if you become Ten-Tails Jinchūriki . And if you still want to become Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, your world already has a Ten Tails."
Akira did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked at Madara and asked quietly,
"Madara… do you truly know what Infinite Tsukuyomi is? Or the truth behind it?"
Hearing this, Madara fell silent. He knew many truths—but something about Akira's tone told him there was more.
"…Tell me," Madara finally said.
And so Akira began explaining everything—slowly, clearly, leaving nothing hidden.
He spoke of the arrival of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and Isshiki Ōtsutsuki on this world. Of how the two came not as gods, but as harvesters. He explained the conflict between them, the betrayal that followed, and how Kaguya consumed the Chakra Fruit, gaining power far beyond what this world was meant to endure.
He spoke of the birth of Hagoromo and Hamura, the two brothers born from Kaguya, and how the Great Toad Sage interfered, guiding events from the shadows. Of how the brothers eventually turned against their own mother, sealing Kaguya away and forming the Moon as her prison.
Then Akira spoke of what followed.
Kaguya's will—Black Zetsu, a being created with a single purpose: to revive Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
Akira explained how Black Zetsu lingered in the shadows of history, manipulating bloodlines and wars. How it influenced the rise of the Uchiha and Senju, fueling hatred, deepening conflict, and ensuring that the world would never truly know peace.
He spoke of a thousand years of war—of how generations were sacrificed one after another. And finally, he spoke of Madara.
How Black Zetsu had guided him. Used him. Manipulated not only Madara, but the very destiny of the Uchiha clan.
And at last, Akira revealed the final truth.
"The purpose of Infinite Tsukuyomi," he said calmly, "was never peace."
"It was a ritual."
"A key."
"A method to gather chakra from every living being… and use it to resurrect Kaguya Ōtsutsuki."
Silence fell over the desert.
Madara stood frozen, his expression unreadable. The weight of a thousand years pressed down on him all at once. Everything he had believed in—every sacrifice, every betrayal, every life taken in pursuit of peace—had been part of someone else's design.
Not a god's plan.
But a parasite's.
---
Akira paused for a moment after finishing his explanation.
Kakashi, Sasuke, Itachi, Nagato, and the others did not react strongly this time. They had already learned most of this truth from Akira years ago.
And yet, hearing it again—seeing it unfold through Akira's narration—still sent chills down their spines. Especially the vision of what would have become the Fourth Great Ninja War if Akira had never interfered.
Madara, however, remained silent.
Akira did not give him much time to sink into thought.
"So, Madara," Akira asked calmly, "how do you feel now? Do you think you've finally grasped the full truth of the ninja world?"
Madara slowly nodded. The others followed suit—Kakashi, Sasuke, Itachi, Shisui, Nagato. All of them nodded.
Akira exhaled softly.
"I thought the same once," he said. "I believed I had uncovered everything. I thought that all I had to do was prevent Black Zetsu from reviving Kaguya, stop Isshiki and the other Ōtsutsuki from destroying this world, and keep future Ōtsutsuki invasions away."
He looked at the horizon as he spoke.
"And I did exactly that. I formed the Imperial Council of Shinobi. I unified all villages and nations under a single authority. I created laws—for shinobi and civilians alike. Courts. Institutions. New organizations. New branches of chakra research."
Akira's voice remained steady, but there was a faint weight behind it.
"I developed jutsu that used chakra not for war, but for creation. Not for destruction, but for healing. Not for conquest, but for peace."
Everyone listened in silence.
"I believed that this world would continue like that until my life ended. I thought I would marry, have children, live quietly, and die knowing the world was safe."
He smiled faintly.
"But two years ago… while I was on a beach, on a simple vacation… a single thought came to me that was confusing."
Everyone looked at him.
Akira—who seemed to understand everything—had encountered something he didn't understand.
"As I've told you before," Akira continued, "Ōtsutsuki can be killed."
They nodded.
"But they also possess a method of revival. Before death, an Ōtsutsuki can engrave a mark on a compatible vessel. That mark contains their information, their will, and their soul. After death, that mark overwrites the host—and the Ōtsutsuki is reborn."
Shock flickered across several faces. Kakashi's eyes narrowed slightly—he instantly thought of Orochimaru's experiments, of placing fragments of the soul inside another body.
Akira continued.
"So I asked myself—what happens if an Ōtsutsuki dies without placing a mark? Or the person who carries the mark also dies? I found the answer, in that case, their body is destroyed… and their soul is erased as well."
No one found that strange at first.
"And then," Akira said quietly, "I thought about myself."
Everyone stiffened.
"I carry at least fifty percent Ōtsutsuki blood. So what happens when I die? Will my soul be erased like theirs? Or will I go to the Pure Land, like humans do?"
The desert felt colder.
"And then another question followed," Akira said. "Why can't Ōtsutsuki go to the Pure Land at all?"
Madara's eyes narrowed.
"If Nagato can revive thousands by sacrificing his life… if I can revive tens of thousands while still alive… then why must the Ōtsutsuki rely on such a crude, risky method? Why not just use someone to revive them like Madara planned using Rinne Tensei?"
Akira turned back toward them.
"Why carve marks? Why wait for compatibility? Why gamble on failure? "
His voice dropped.
"Why are human souls preserved after death… but Ōtsutsuki souls are erased?"
Silence fell.
"Something was wrong," Akira said. "Fundamentally wrong."
"And that," he concluded quietly, "was when I realized that even the Pure Land itself… may not be what we think it is.
To verify my doubts, I ordered people I trusted to gather DNA samples and remains from across the ninja world.
Not just from famous clans like the Senju, Hyūga, and Hōzuki—but also from minor clans, civilians, wandering shinobi, shrine maidens from the Land of Demons who possessed prophetic abilities, and individuals from many different eras.
I gathered hundreds of samples.
One by one, I attempted to revive them using Edo Tensei—Impure World Reincarnation.
At first, everything seemed normal. Those who had died recently could be revived without issue. But as the time since death increased, something strange emerged.
The success rate for reviving someone who had died a hundred years ago dropped sharply—from nearly one hundred percent to less than one percent.
For those who had died over two hundred years ago… the success rate was zero.
Not a single success.
That made no sense.
If souls truly went to the Pure Land after death, why should time matter at all? Was there a flaw in the technique? A limitation in Edo Tensei itself?
I asked Orochimaru to investigate.
After months of research, he came to me with an answer.
And what he said shocked me."
"The strength of a soul decreases the longer it stays in the Pure Land," Orochimaru said. "The decay continues steadily for about a hundred years. After hundred years, only exceptionally powerful souls can still exist—and even those are eventually erased completely."
Silence followed.
Madara and the others were stunned. Confused. Disturbed.
"If souls were fading… then where was that energy going?
I couldn't find the answer immediately. But that question led to another.
What exactly is the Pure Land?
How vast is it?
Is it exclusive to our world?
Or do souls from other worlds also go there?
These were questions no living person should have been able to answer. After all, once you die, you can't report back.
So we found another way.
I extracted the soul of a shinobi with exceptionally strong spiritual power. I maintained control and sent that soul into the Pure Land, observing everything through him.
What I saw was nothing like the stories.
The Pure Land was endless white. No sky. No ground. Just an infinite void filled with wandering souls.
For an entire month, I observed.
No judges.
No gods.
No heaven or hell.
No beings different from those of our world.
And during that month, I found something else.
An edge.
I couldn't crossed it.
I circled the Pure Land—twice.
From that data, Orochimaru and I reached a conclusion.
The Pure Land exists only for our world.
Then came the final question.
Who created it?
The term "Pure Land" only began appearing in records after Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo spread chakra throughout the world.
That led us to an unavoidable conclusion.
Hagoromo created it.
The Pure Land is a spiritual space—much like Obito's Kamui dimension—but one designed specifically to accept souls. The condition for entry is simple: the soul must possess a special chakra, or at least the seed of chakra that Hagoromo spread across the world.
Then another question arose.
If Hagoromo truly cared about humanity… why create a system where souls slowly weaken and disappear?
If he were judging souls, or guiding reincarnation, that would make sense.
But he didn't.
Which left only one possibility.
After death… the energy of every soul is being harvested.
By the Pure Land itself."
---
Akira paused for a moment, letting his words sink in.
"I know what many of you are thinking," he continued calmly. "That my reasoning may sound exaggerated. That there might be other explanations."
His gaze swept across Madara, Nagato, Sasuke, and the others.
"So let me ask you a few questions."
Everyone listened in silence.
"You have all seen it yourselves," Akira said. "The Sage of Six Paths can travel freely between the realm of the living and the realm of the dead. You witnessed it today. He appeared in the living world despite having died long ago."
Akira's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Then tell me—throughout the entire history of the ninja world, why is it that only the Sage of Six Paths can do this? Why are there no records of anyone else returning so freely from the Pure Land?"
No one answered.
Akira continued, his voice steady but heavy.
"Next question. Why can the Sage of Six Paths grant godlike power? Why was he able to bestow the Rinnegan upon you, Madara—powerful enough to rival his own? Why could he revive you so effortlessly?"
Madara clenched his fist slightly, but remained silent.
"And if you still doubt all of this," Akira said, "then answer me this."
He looked upward for a brief moment, as if recalling the scene.
"Why did the Sage of Six Paths appear now? Today, of all days. At the exact moment when the Ten Tails was about to be seized."
Akira's gaze sharpened.
"That means he knew what was happening in the living world. It means he can observe it. Continuously."
The silence grew heavier.
"And if that is true," Akira said slowly, "then here is the final question."
"If a being who can observe the living world, who possesses immeasurable power, who can grant Rinnegan, revive the dead, and cross realms at will truly exists…"
His voice lowered.
"Then why did he allow a thousand years of war?"
Why did he allow villages to be erased? Children to be slaughtered? Entire clans to vanish?"
Akira looked directly at Madara.
"Why didn't he intervene when peace was within reach? Why didn't he choose someone—Hashirama, you, or anyone else—and end the cycle long ago?"
No one spoke.
The desert felt colder than before.
---