Land of Water – Kirigakure.
At this time, many Mist Shinobi had gathered in the Mizukage's office.
However, Kirigakure had yet to appoint a new Mizukage.
The one in charge was still the elder, Master Gen'yō.
After all, the village had suffered devastating losses in the battle against Simu.
All seven members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had perished.
A large number of elite shinobi had died in combat.
For the time being, there was simply no suitable candidate for the position of Mizukage.
Everyone had gathered here to discuss a single pressing issue: whether to join the other three great nations in launching a united attack.
"Master Gen'yō, no matter how strong Konoha is, it's still just a village! If we don't send troops, we'll definitely be annexed by one of the other nations!"
A Mist Jōnin voiced his frustration.
Many still couldn't accept surrendering to Konoha.
They were all former great powers — and now, with their Mizukage killed and Konoha demanding submission, it was a deep humiliation.
However, the idea of sending troops was immediately opposed.
"Konoha's strength is overwhelming. We wouldn't stand a chance."
"Besides, Konoha already has garrisons stationed within the Land of Water. If we rashly join the alliance, we'd be the first ones to be crushed."
The debate raged endlessly until Elder Gen'yō finally tapped his cane gently on the floor.
"Silence."
The meeting room fell quiet.
Despite his age, Elder Gen'yō still commanded great respect. He had been a central figure since the founding of Kirigakure.
With a raspy voice, he declared:
"Kirigakure will not support the Allied Forces of the Three Great Nations. In fact, if necessary, we will assist Konoha."
"What?!"
The combatants were stunned by this.
But Elder Gen'yō remained expressionless.
"Hanyu Simu's strength is far beyond what we've seen."
His words silenced the room.
But one person still resisted:
"You mean even the combined Allied Forces of Four Nations can't defeat him?"
Gen'yō was quiet for a moment… and then shook his head.
"With power like his… numbers no longer matter."
"Even if Rasa, Ōnoki, and the Fourth Raikage attacked him together, I cannot say with confidence that we would win."
"And don't forget… Konoha is full of exceptional talent."
He spoke with a heavy heart.
If there had been another way, who would willingly choose humiliation?
Suddenly, a deafening explosion echoed from the lake near Kirigakure.
Several Mist Anbu instantly appeared in the meeting room.
"Master Gen'yō! Someone has attacked Utakata!"
Gen'yō's face darkened.
Utakata — the Jinchūriki of the Six-Tails — was Kirigakure's last remaining one.
A black pyramid fell from the sky, smashing the buildings near the lake into rubble.
The Anbu guarding Utakata were killed instantly.
The massive pyramid slammed into the lake, creating a gaping crater, and waves surged onto the shore violently.
From the edge of the forest, a man slowly emerged.
His expression was cold and unfeeling.
He was Ci Xian, a mysterious monk who had lurked in the ninja world for a thousand years.
His pale face was veined with black lines — the mark of the Ōtsutsuki wedge left upon him.
As he gazed at the ruined lake, his face remained emotionless — as if dealing with a Six-Tails Jinchūriki were as casual as shopping or eating.
A crimson Chakra began to rise from the base of the black pyramid.
The lake boiled instantly.
A chilling presence filled the air.
"ROAAAR!"
Thick steam billowed out from the pyramid.
Utakata had already begun transforming.
His body was cloaked in the Chakra of the Six-Tails, and acidic mucus gushed from his mouth, dissolving the dark pyramid pressing on him.
Four thick white tails extended from behind him, slowly lifting the pyramid off.
Then, with a stomp of both feet, the earth and lake cracked violently beneath him.
Utakata threw a massive Tailed Beast Chakra punch at Ci Xian.
Ci Xian's expression didn't change.
The terrifying wind from the blow whipped his cloak, but he simply raised one arm — and caught the punch with his bare hand.
The instant they made contact, a black Uzumaki spiral formed in Ci Xian's palm.
The Chakra cloaking Utakata's body was sucked into it at a terrifying rate.
Feeling his energy quickly draining, Utakata made a desperate move — fully releasing the seal, swelling in size as he began transforming into the full Six-Tails form.
But before he could complete the transformation, Ci Xian raised his other hand.
A long black staff materialized in the air and stabbed through Utakata's chest.
The moment the staff pierced him, all motion ceased.
His Chakra went into chaos and was sucked into Ci Xian's body at a terrifying speed.
Utakata's strength faded rapidly. Even the Six-Tails inside him grew faint and weak.
Just as Ci Xian was about to extract the tailed beast, something unexpected happened.
The ground beneath him shattered — and a long blade shot upward.
Ci Xian was forced to release Utakata and leap into the sky.
A man in gray armor, wearing a gas mask, stood where the blade had come from.
Ci Xian narrowed his eyes.
He had lived long enough in this world to recognize many of its key players.
Wasn't this… Hanzo of the Salamander?
The former leader of Amegakure?
Why was he here?
Could it be… Impure World Reincarnation?
Hanzo was just as surprised to see Ci Xian.
Back at the research institute, Simu hadn't expected Ci Xian to act so soon either.
In the original timeline, he should still have been recovering and biding his time.
Regardless… they couldn't let him take the Six-Tails.
Hanzō of the Salamander clasped his hands together.
In the next second, a large amount of purple poison gas spewed from his mouth, rushing toward Cixian.
Because this poisonous gas was a real substance—not ninjutsu created by Hanzō—Cixian couldn't absorb it directly.
He instantly vanished.
Using the space-warping ability he'd mastered to shrink his body, he darted into the poisonous gas cloud.
As long as he held his breath, the gas wouldn't affect him.
Unfortunately for him, such tactics posed no threat to someone like Hanzō, who had mastered Observation Haki.
No matter how small Cixian became, Hanzō could still pinpoint his location through his Haki.
The long blade in Hanzō's hand suddenly sliced through the air—its arc aimed straight at Bubble's shoulder.
"Damn it! He saw through me?!"
Cixian's voice growled with frustration as his figure reappeared midair, narrowly avoiding Hanzō's slash.
Using his strong waist, Cixian twisted his body mid-air and launched a powerful kick toward Hanzō.
But Hanzō's body dispersed on impact—turning into a puddle of water.
A Water Clone.
Cixian immediately looked up.
From the sky, a burly figure descended like a thunderbolt.
"Hell Stab – Two-Finger Nukite!"
Simu, controlling a new clone, struck with full force.
At the moment, Simu could only manifest two-finger Nukite, but with Armament Haki reinforcing it, the move was no less powerful than Third Raikage's Four-Finger Hell Stab.
His figure flashed downward like lightning, slashing toward Cixian with a deafening boom.
Cixian's expression changed dramatically.
He hurriedly used his Sukunahikona technique again, enlarging the object in his hand.
It was a massive black bowl, which instantly enveloped his entire body.
Simu's devastating blow struck the black bowl with explosive force. The thunderbolt lit up the skies above Kirigakure, even illuminating the dark clouds overhead.
But no matter what the bowl was made of, even the famed "strongest spear" of the Third Raikage couldn't pierce through it.
Inside the bowl, Cixian looked extremely grim.
He had expected that capturing a mere Six-Tails Jinchūriki would be a routine task—but never expected to encounter such resistance.
"…Forget it. I'll wait until I've recovered more of my strength."
As a member of the Ōtsutsuki clan from the same era as Kaguya, Cixian had yet to fully regain his powers.
Even with Orochimaru's help accelerating his recovery in this timeline, he still wasn't strong enough to conquer the ninja world outright.
At that moment, a black rift opened before Cixian—a space portal, the inherent ability of the Ōtsutsuki wedge.
Once spatial coordinates were set, he could teleport to the target location instantly.
Cixian retrieved the black bowl, stepped into the rift, and disappeared from the scene.
Third Raikage—Ai—sighed. The lightning on his body crackled and surged.
Sure enough, using ordinary ninjutsu against someone from the Ōtsutsuki clan—even if it was just a vessel—was far too risky.
By the time Kirigakure's forces arrived, the battle was already over.
They only saw two blurry figures.
Hanzō of the Salamander picked up Bubble, then used Reverse Summoning Jutsu together with Third Raikage to vanish from the battlefield.
The Kirigakure Anbu could only watch helplessly as their village's Jinchūriki was taken right in front of them.
This was the cruelty of weakness.
They didn't even have the strength to resist—nor did they know who their enemies truly were.
The same tragedy was unfolding in Takigakure (Village Hidden by a Waterfall).
On a mission to capture the Seven-Tails, another Simu clone appeared—this time as Uchiha Madara.
At this moment, Fū, the Seven-Tails' Jinchūriki, was being held in a dungeon.
As a Jinchūriki, she had faced years of discrimination and mistreatment. The prison around her was heavily fortified.
Each shift was guarded by five Jōnin—a substantial force for such a small village.
These shinobi were discussing the recent chaos sweeping the ninja world.
Suddenly, a figure descended from the sky.
Breaking through a small village's defenses was effortless—especially for Uchiha Madara, who had mastered Moonwalk.
He bypassed all defenses from above, appearing directly at the dungeon's entrance.
"Enemy attack!!"
One of the scouts finally sensed his presence mid-fall.
Realizing the intruder's goal was the dungeon, all guards immediately drew their weapons.
"Are they from the big nations again?!"
Being from a small country, the ninjas of Takigakure naturally held deep hostility toward the great nations.
After all, these powerful countries had never treated them as equals.
Every Great Ninja War was started by the five major nations—and they never fought on their own soil.
It was always the smaller nations like Takigakure that suffered.
To make matters worse, they were forced to send troops to aid the great nations—or risk being destroyed.
All of this resentment had long simmered into a collective grudge.
And as the only minor village to possess a tailed beast, Takigakure's distrust and anger ran even deeper.
But neither Uchiha Madara, nor the situation, cared.
Even after confirming that there was only one intruder, the guards didn't relax.
If someone dared to infiltrate alone, they were either a fool—or terrifyingly powerful.
And judging by how silently this one had arrived, he was clearly the latter.
"Attack!! Bring down this lunatic!"
One of the Jōnin roared.
Instantly, a barrage of ninjutsu surged toward the sky like a storm.
But the intruder's face remained expressionless.
Even in the face of the oncoming assault, he maintained a relaxed, descending posture.
The air around him stirred.
A blue Chakra skeleton suddenly formed around his body.
Countless ninjutsu, kunai, shuriken, and exploding tags struck the skeletal armor—but to no effect.
A deafening explosion shook the sky, shrouding him in thick smoke.
But the next second, the figure burst out unharmed.
Even the skeletal armor remained pristine.
Compared to Third Raikage's attacks, this was child's play.
Simu scoffed.
Even in its early form, Susanoo was not something these small fry could break.
"Damn it! Hit him harder!"
"Lightning Style: Great Thunder Explosion!"
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
A massive water dragon, entwined with lightning, surged toward Uchiha Madara.
Finally, he opened his eyes.
His Mangekyō Sharingan swept across the field.
Susanoo extended two arms from its side.
From its palms, two glowing blue swords materialized.
One sword slashed the water-dragon-lightning combo in half.
The massive dragon—which looked unstoppable just a moment ago—crumbled into sparks and dissipated like dust.
"Turned into lightning bugs?"
The sight horrified everyone.
Those two ninjas had launched a combination attack—they were the strongest Jōnin in the village.
Even elite Jōnin from the big countries would be hard-pressed to counter that technique.
And yet it was severed by a single sword?
Before the guards could recover from their shock, Uchiha Madara had already conjured another lightsaber in his other hand.
He crossed both blades and slashed down—creating a massive cross-shaped shockwave that tore open the ground.
The dungeon's defenses were completely worthless against it.
"Those who don't resist—don't have to die."
He said coldly, then walked forward step by step—Susanoo clearing the path before him.
Walls, steel, and flesh—none could stand in his way.
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