"All right."
Kiyohara released the arm that had been wrapped around Tsunade's waist and walked toward the door.
Tsunade quickly followed him, naturally slipping her arm through his and resting her shoulder against his.
When the two of them walked out of the Hokage Tower, the setting sun happened to break through the clouds, spilling the last few rays of golden light across Konoha. The white walls of the newly constructed second administrative district were dyed a warm orange by the evening glow.
There were not many people on the streets. The shinobi were finishing their work and heading home, while several students who had just finished classes at the Shinobi Academy were excitedly discussing what they had learned during today's practical combat lesson.
Someone recognized Kiyohara and Tsunade and was about to approach them to pay their respects, but Tsunade sent them away with a single glare.
The meaning was obvious.
Don't come over and bother us.
The others understood and could only sigh inwardly at how close the master and her disciple were.
When they returned home, Tsunade took off her shoes in the entrance hall and walked barefoot into the living room. Then she threw herself directly onto the sofa.
Her golden hair spread across the armrest, and she let out a long, comfortable sigh.
"Home really is the most comfortable place. Shikkotsu Forest is terrible. There are sticky fungal threads all over the ground, and even when I was sleeping, I could feel natural energy seeping into my pores. I haven't had a proper night's sleep for four days."
Tsunade had gone to Shikkotsu Forest several times over the past few days.
She reached toward the low cabinet beside the sofa and picked up an unopened bottle of ramune. With her thumb, she popped the cap open, tilted her head back, and took several gulps.
The bubbles exploded inside her mouth. She narrowed her eyes and let out a satisfied sigh.
Then she handed the bottle to Kiyohara.
Kiyohara took it and drank from the same bottle.
The bubbles danced across his tongue, cool and slightly sweet.
The things Kaguya liked really were quite good.
After spending several days accompanying Tsunade, Kiyohara finally found some free time to visit Kaguya's home as well.
When Kiyohara arrived, Kaguya was sitting on the sofa in the living room.
She was not drinking ramune today. Instead, she was sitting quietly with her legs folded beneath her.
She wore a simple white robe, while her long white hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall.
The moment Kiyohara pushed open the door, her pure white eyes turned toward him, her gaze settling directly on his body.
Then her brows furrowed slightly.
"Your chakra."
Kaguya's voice was calm, but there was much more emotion in her tone than usual.
She rose from the sofa and walked barefoot across the tatami toward Kiyohara.
The veins at the corners of her Byakugan-covered temples faintly surfaced as she concentrated her ocular power on Kiyohara, carefully observing the chakra pathways throughout his body.
"It's different from before. It has become tainted with an aura that is very familiar to me."
She took another step forward, stopping less than ten centimeters from Kiyohara.
She raised her head and stared directly into his eyes with those pure white pupils.
"It is very similar to mine, but it is not exactly the same. What did you do?"
Kiyohara did not hide anything.
He removed his shoes in the entrance hall, slipped on a pair of house slippers, and walked into the living room. He sat down on the sofa before taking the crystal ball from inside his clothes and placing it on the coffee table.
The light on the surface of the sphere was slightly dimmer than when he had returned from the Limited Tsukuyomi world, but there was still a faint stream of chakra slowly circulating within it.
"The Limited Tsukuyomi succeeded."
Kaguya's pupils contracted.
Clear surprise appeared in her pure white eyes.
"That technique actually worked?"
Her voice dropped lower, filled with disbelief.
Kaguya knelt on the cushion opposite Kiyohara. Her white hair slipped over her shoulder and fell beside the edge of the cushion.
She extended a hand, her fingertips hovering above the crystal ball as she sensed the residual fluctuations of chakra within it.
"I always thought the Limited Tsukuyomi was merely a theoretical technique. In that world, all relationships are reversed. What was I like in that world?"
"The righteous Rabbit Goddess."
Kiyohara leaned back against the sofa.
"In that world, you are the savior who stopped the Sage of Six Paths from destroying the world. You sealed the Sage of Six Paths inside the moon and then guarded the seal in the Pure Land for a thousand years. Meanwhile, the Sage of Six Paths was an evil existence who attempted to reclaim all chakra."
Kaguya's fingers stopped above the crystal ball.
Her eyelashes trembled slightly.
Her lips parted as though she wanted to say something, but in the end, she remained silent for a long time.
Outside the window, the sky had already become completely dark.
The lamplight reflected off her white hair, dyeing the strands with a warm orange glow.
"The righteous Rabbit Goddess."
Kaguya found the idea almost amusing.
"In this world, I am a traitor, a sinner, an existence that must be sealed away. Yet in another world, I am the savior."
Kiyohara did not respond. He simply watched her quietly.
Kaguya rarely spoke this much, and she rarely displayed such obvious emotional fluctuations.
"Is the me from that world doing well?"
"She is alone as well. Her soul is extremely weak, and she travels back and forth between the Pure Land and the living world, struggling desperately to hold herself together."
Kaguya lowered her eyelashes.
Her fingers withdrew from above the crystal ball and returned to her lap, where she folded her hands together.
"I understand."
After a moment, she raised her head again. The expression on her face had already returned to its usual calmness.
"Kiyohara, I have a request."
"Tell me."
"Take me to that world."
Kiyohara raised an eyebrow slightly.
"You want to meet the other version of yourself?"
Kaguya was silent for a moment before gently nodding.
"Your chakra is not enough to activate the Limited Tsukuyomi again. However, it should not be a major problem. The chakra remaining in the crystal ball, combined with the chakra within my body, should be enough to open the passage one more time."
"Then I need to give you a reward."
Kaguya rose from the cushion.
She walked around the coffee table and approached Kiyohara.
Her white hair swayed gently with every step, while the hem of her long robe brushed against the tatami with a faint rustling sound.
Then she bent down.
One hand supported herself against the back of the sofa beside Kiyohara's shoulder, while her other hand gently lifted his chin.
Her lips pressed against his.
The kiss lasted for several seconds.
When Kaguya finally pulled away, a moist sheen still remained on her lips.
Two extremely faint blushes appeared on her cheeks, although the expression on her face remained almost completely indifferent.
"What are you doing?"
"You don't want this kind of reward?"
Kiyohara looked at her.
She was obviously forcing herself to remain calm, yet the tips of her ears had already turned completely red.
He could not help laughing.
When it came to matters like this, Kaguya really was remarkably innocent.
"You chose the right person."
Kaguya's ears became even redder, but she did not turn her head away. Instead, she met Kiyohara's gaze directly.
"I have read the books in your study. They say that after a man and a woman establish a certain kind of intimate relationship, the trust between them will rise to another level. I believe that such trust is necessary for our cooperation going forward."
"Just necessary for our cooperation?"
Kaguya's eyelashes trembled slightly before she turned her head away.
"It isn't entirely for that."
At the same time.
Deep within the old Akatsuki base in the Land of Rain.
Uchiha Madara sat on a stone chair.
Cracks spread across the cheeks of his Impure World Reincarnation body before being repaired once again by the power of Edo Tensei.
Madara was deliberately damaging his own body because he wanted to test just how much chakra an Impure World Reincarnation body could ultimately contain.
At this moment, a White Zetsu emerged from the wall.
Half of its body was still embedded within the stone, leaving only a white head and half of a shoulder exposed.
"Lord Madara, there is news from Obito. He has already found the Speak of Heaven."
"But..."
White Zetsu's voice carried a hint of schadenfreude.
"He found it several days ago, but he still hasn't taken the initiative to report it to you."
Madara let out a cold laugh.
"That brat Obito still likes to keep a card hidden."
"He thinks that possessing the Speak of Heaven gives him the capital to challenge me. How naive."
"That brat's life was saved by me. His Sharingan was given to him by me. Everything he has is part of my plan. A chess piece trying to turn itself into the chess player still has at least twenty years to go."
He stood up from the stone chair.
The Impure World Reincarnation body made a faint cracking sound.
Chakra surged from within him, blowing the dust inside the secret chamber into the air.
"I'll go there myself. Since he doesn't want to report to me, I'll personally go and inspect what he has found."
At that exact moment, a tremendous chakra suddenly appeared from deep within the secret chamber.
The sheer magnitude of that chakra was something Madara had never encountered before.
Furthermore, it seemed to be appearing from all directions simultaneously.
It was as though space itself had been torn open, and some kind of existence that did not belong to this world was emerging from the resulting crack.
Madara turned around.
The power of his Sharingan instantly rose to its peak.
He saw the air within the secret chamber begin to distort.
Then a tall, semi-transparent figure slowly emerged from the distorted space.
The figure wore a white haori with its collar open.
His hair was brown, and his eyes were a pair of Rinnegan.
How could he have the Rinnegan?
Madara froze on the spot.
There was only one genuine pair of Rinnegan in the shinobi world right now.
Even the eyes Madara currently possessed were fake, products created through the Impure World Reincarnation technique.
The genuine Rinnegan were in Nagato's possession.
Then who was this person standing before him?
Confused, Madara carefully examined the newcomer.
The man had a short beard on his chin.
Two horns grew from his head.
His appearance resembled the legendary Sage of Six Paths.
Madara's pupils suddenly contracted.
Could this really be...
"Sage of Six Paths?!"
His voice contained a level of shock he had never displayed before.
"My son, Madara."
The Sage of Six Paths spoke.
His voice was old and weathered.
A thousand years had also caused the Sage of Six Paths' appearance to become considerably aged.
"Do not be alarmed. I have come to find you not to punish you, nor to seal you away."
Madara's body became slightly tense.
The power of the Rinnegan within his body circulated at high speed, and he remained ready to respond to any possible change.
He possessed an Impure World Reincarnation body, making him essentially immortal.
Yet when facing the legendary Sage of Six Paths, he felt an oppressive force whose depth he was completely unable to measure.
"What do you mean?"
"Do you know whose reincarnation you are?"
Madara frowned.
"Indra."
The Sage of Six Paths gave him the answer directly.
"You are the reincarnation of Indra, while Hashirama is the reincarnation of Asura. The chakra of the two of you has become entangled generation after generation, and in every lifetime, you become each other's destined enemies."
"This was my mistake."
"A thousand years ago, I chose Asura as the successor of Ninshu. From that moment onward, I planted resentment within Indra's lineage. That resentment was passed down from one generation to the next, continuing all the way to your current incarnation, where you still ended up fighting Hashirama."
Madara fell silent.
"Back then, I chose Asura because his ideals were closer to my own."
"But in this generation, the reincarnation of Asura is a man named Kiyohara. He actually took the initiative to resurrect Mother."
"Mother is an existence that must be sealed away, yet he has chosen to coexist peacefully with her."
"I cannot accept this version of Asura."
"Therefore, I have decided to entrust my power to you."
Madara looked at the Sage of Six Paths before suddenly letting out a cold laugh.
"Words alone mean nothing. You claim to be the Sage of Six Paths, and you claim that you can give me power. But before that, let me test your strength."
The Sage of Six Paths nodded slightly.
There was not the slightest change in his expression.
"Very well."
He raised his right hand, spreading his five fingers slightly.
Madara formed hand seals with both hands and took a deep breath.
The chakra within his chest was compressed before suddenly erupting from his mouth.
Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!
A gigantic wall of fire more than thirty meters wide erupted from Madara's mouth.
The flames were so hot that even the stone walls of the secret chamber began to melt. Orange-red firelight illuminated the entire space.
The Sage of Six Paths did not even form a hand seal.
He simply raised his right hand and aimed his palm toward the enormous wall of fire sweeping toward him.
Water Release: Water Dragon Technique.
A water dragon condensed into existence from empty space.
Its body was far larger than any water-style technique Madara had ever seen.
The water dragon opened its jaws wide and let out a deafening roar.
The water dragon collided head-on with the wall of flames.
Hiss!
White steam instantly filled the entire secret chamber.
The enormous shock wave sent every White Zetsu clinging to the walls crashing deeper into the stone.
When the steam finally dispersed, Madara's Majestic Destroyer Flame had been completely extinguished.
The ground was charred black.
"Would you like to continue?"
The Sage of Six Paths asked calmly.
Madara snorted coldly and formed another series of hand seals.
Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!
The ground split apart.
A mud dragon rose from the crack, continuously spitting mud bullets from its mouth. Every projectile possessed enough power to destroy an entire street.
The Sage of Six Paths raised his right hand.
He used the same technique.
Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!
However, the mud dragon he created was a full three times larger than Madara's.
The mud bullets it fired were faster and denser.
The two sides of mud projectiles collided in midair.
Madara's mud bullets were shattered one after another, while the projectiles fired by the Sage of Six Paths continued onward without losing momentum, flying straight toward Madara.
Madara turned sideways and dodged.
A mud bullet scraped past his shoulder.
Then the Sage of Six Paths raised his left hand.
Wind Release!
A powerful whirlwind engulfed Madara completely.
The rapidly rotating currents of air carved countless tiny cracks across the surface of his Impure World Reincarnation body.
Madara stabilized himself within the whirlwind and brought his hands together.
Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!
A massive wooden dragon rose from behind him.
At the same time, the Sage of Six Paths also brought his hands together.
Fire Release!
A fire dragon appeared.
The ferocity of its dragon head and the thickness of its body were both far beyond Madara's creation.
The two chakra dragons tore into each other in midair.
However, Madara's Wood Dragon was quickly suppressed by the opposing dragon and burned to ashes.
Madara returned to the ground.
He did not attack again.
The battle just now had completely confirmed something.
The Sage of Six Paths was vastly stronger than him.
The power, speed, and range of every ninjutsu he used were more than one level above Madara's.
This was not merely a difference in the amount of power.
It was a difference in the level at which that power could be utilized.
The Sage of Six Paths walked up to Madara and raised his right hand.
A mass of gentle chakra appeared in his palm.
He pressed that chakra against Madara's chest.
The chakra seeped into Madara's Impure World Reincarnation body like flowing water, spreading along his chakra pathways until it reached every part of his body.
Madara's body suddenly trembled.
He could feel an unprecedented power surging into his body.
Was this Yin-Yang Release?
Madara discovered that his chakra pathways were expanding.
His ocular power was increasing.
Even his Impure World Reincarnation body was beginning to experience something he had never felt before.
It was the feeling of being alive.
The beating of his heart.
The flow of his blood.
The sensation of his skin responding to changes in the temperature around him.
These were sensations that only a living person should possess.
Yet at this moment, all of them were flooding into his body.
He raised his hand and placed his palm against his chest.
An invisible wave of power appeared in his palm.
Limbo: Border Jail.
Madara's eyes widened.
Limbo was the Rinnegan dojutsu technique he had developed during his lifetime. It allowed him to split off clones that existed within the invisible world of shadows, entities that could only be seen by someone possessing the Rinnegan.
However, he was currently an Edo Tensei.
An Edo Tensei body should not have been capable of using Limbo.
That had always been Madara's understanding.
Yet now, after the Sage of Six Paths had granted him this power, his Impure World Reincarnation body could actually use Limbo just like a living person.
"This is the true form of Yin Release."
The Sage of Six Paths' voice remained calm.
"Indra, everything I owed you, I will repay today."
"Use this power to correct the mistakes of this world. Use it to seal Mother once again."
"Do not disappoint me."
"So Kiyohara is my brother?"
Madara's expression became strange.
"No. Senju Hashirama is."
The Sage of Six Paths shook his head.
"?"
Madara was completely bewildered by the answer.
What exactly did the Sage of Six Paths mean?
"Hashirama is also..."
"That's right. He is also a reincarnated soul."
The Sage of Six Paths nodded.
"However, Kiyohara is more special."
At the same time, in Konoha.
Black Zetsu's figure slowly emerged from deep beneath the ground.
His body was almost completely invisible in the darkness of night.
He had just hurried back from outside the village and was exhausted both physically and mentally.
However, he had to find Mother immediately and tell her about the money he had recently gathered so that they could make plans accordingly.
Black Zetsu silently moved through the streets of Konoha.
Before long, he arrived at Kiyohara's residence.
He knew that Mother had been staying at the residence Kiyohara had arranged for her recently.
Although he had considerable reservations about this arrangement, now was not the time to dwell on them.
He separated himself from the shadow of the wall and was just about to knock on the door.
Then he saw what was happening inside through the window.
In the living room, Kaguya was standing in front of Kiyohara.
One hand was supporting itself against the back of the sofa beside Kiyohara's shoulder, while the other was gently holding his chin.
Her lips were pressed against Kiyohara's.
Her white hair had slipped over her shoulder and hung beside the two of them.
Her eyes were slightly closed, her eyelashes casting delicate shadows beneath the lamplight, while two obvious blushes colored her cheeks.
Black Zetsu's entire body froze.
His yellow eyes opened as wide as they could go, his pupils shrinking to two tiny points.
He stood in the darkness outside the window.
His mouth opened.
Then closed.
Then opened again.
Yet he could not produce a single sound.
He had spent so much effort collecting information, only to discover that Mother was here kissing this man!
His body began to tremble violently.
The feeling was like that of a dutiful son who had spent a thousand years exhausting himself to support his mother, working outside every day and doing everything he could for her, only to suddenly discover that some strange man had taken advantage of his absence and stolen his mother away.
Damn it!
Kiyohara really was beyond saving!
Black Zetsu's heart was in complete turmoil.
The very thing he had never wanted to see had actually become reality.
Black Zetsu was furious.
He treated Kiyohara as his brother.
Kiyohara actually wanted to become his father!
(End of Chapter)