"Naruto: My Ninja Skills"Chapter 188: After the Fall of the Shinobi World
Ōtsutsuki Kinshiki sensed a particular summoning and detected the anomaly within it, then maintained and forced open the space-time channel.
He lacked the ability to jump through timelines on his own, but Shichimi had already prepared the groundwork for him—there was nothing more to be said... The name Ōtsutsuki carried a certain special significance, even if Kinshiki was merely a lower-tier Ōtsutsuki.
Yūshin stared at the giant before him, feeling utterly surreal.
Just recently, Kiyosuke Shimizu had been tugging at his sleeve, saying "The Shimizu clan may fall, but it will never compromise its principles." Yūshin had still been contemplating retirement. And now?
This massive threat loomed before him—what was he supposed to do?
"This is bad!"
The situation left no room for Yūshin to lament. Ōtsutsuki Kinshiki merely shook his head after manifesting, and his eyes locked onto Yūshin.
Intense lightning began coiling around Yūshin, but purple electricity was already racing toward him!
Kinshiki didn't possess the Rinnegan, but his taijutsu prowess... far exceeded that of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
Whether Yūshin had abandoned Storm Release was irrelevant—he simply couldn't evade Kinshiki's techniques.
But this wasn't Yūshin's fault.
Kinshiki's Divine Pursuit was a technique capable of overwhelming even one-armed Sasuke—even Six Paths-level combatants weren't his match, let alone someone like Yūshin.
Yūshin felt his brain momentarily disconnect from his body. When his senses and awareness returned, he found his back pressed against the vertical barrier surface.
The barrier remained intact but rippled violently like a lake struck by a stone.
"Cough, cough..."
Yūshin coughed up blood profusely, feeling his torso had been shattered. But there was no time to recover—Kinshiki was already before him again.
Yūshin was lifted by the throat, then glimpsed Shichimi in a similar grip, its body pierced by countless dark crimson light spears.
Kinshiki casually tossed Shichimi aside. Yūshin couldn't afford to think—his hands rapidly formed seals.
His speed was impressive, but halfway through the sequence, he felt himself enveloped by some form of rule-based power.
Yūshin instinctively glanced at Shichimi and indeed found it staring at him with those Mangekyō eyes.
"Damn it, don't—it's unnecessary, I can... I can handle this guy."
Yūshin possessed trump cards. Though the Ōtsutsuki were formidable, they weren't invincible. Kinshiki was purely a stats monster—to defeat such beings, you simply needed superior numbers!
However, Yūshin was being choked like a chick, with no opportunity to speak. Judging by Shichimi's condition, it was likely acting on pure instinct and couldn't hear him.
Shichimi was an obedient fox—though it didn't obey Yūshin, in the final moment, it still wanted to save him.
"If things go wrong, send Yūshin to a peaceful era after war has ended"—someone had once instructed Shichimi thus.
Then Yūshin's figure simply vanished.
At the same moment Yūshin disappeared, an aged figure limped through the barrier, shuffling unsteadily to Shichimi's side and gently stroking its fur with withered hands.
"Ah..."
A sigh, seemingly eternal.
...
Yūshin felt as though his head had been submerged underwater for twenty full minutes. When he could finally gasp for air, thunder roared in his ears while torrential rain lashed his face.
"Cough, cough..."
After a dizzy spell, he finally sensed his heartbeat and breathing. As consciousness gradually returned, he realized he was lying on grassland.
His injuries were severe, but fortunately Yūshin had been defeated so quickly that his chakra hadn't been wasted—he was essentially at "99% battery" status.
Under the influence of abundant Yang-attribute chakra, his shattered body and organs began rapidly healing.
But this time his injuries were too severe—he was basically in a "shattered yet stable" condition. It took several hours and consumed over eighty percent of his chakra before he regained mobility.
Yūshin wiped rainwater from his face and struggled to sit up.
"Where is this place? Where have I ended up? Am I still in the shinobi world?"
The downpour was heavy, and the sky was as dark as night—or perhaps it actually was nighttime.
Visibility was extremely poor. Yūshin looked around and felt he was situated on a vast grassland.
"Who used such a massive barrier to trap me? What happened to Kinshiki? Did he destroy the shinobi world?"
Yūshin felt physically weak, and being in an unknown environment, he sensed endless crises lurking in the darkness.
"Wait, the old popsicle... cough, Sakumo Hatake grew up normally and never noticed the shinobi world facing an extinction-level crisis. This means Kinshiki was silently eliminated."
"In the current shinobi world, who possesses the capability to handle an Ōtsutsuki? The ever-lingering Sage of Six Paths? Madara Uchiha still incubating his plans? Or... that Nine-Tails?"
From a raw power perspective, the Nine-Tails was most likely.
This reasoning demonstrated just how muddled Yūshin's mind was... Hours ago he suspected the Nine-Tails of orchestrating a world-ending catastrophe; now he thought it had performed a great salvation.
Standing alone on the vast grassland in such thunderous weather, what should a human be most cautious about?
Right—lightning strikes.
Crack! Boom!
A lightning bolt struck Yūshin directly on the head, leaving him charred outside and tender within.
"What is this? Lightning trial? Exorcism?"
Fortunately, at the crucial moment Yūshin used Lightning Release for guidance and grounded himself well—the strike only caused minor surface burns.
But using Lightning Release in this weather wasn't wise—it was like a goddess streaking through a men's bathhouse... More lightning bolts crashed down toward Yūshin.
Yūshin was already irritated, and this made him even more so.
"Is this ever going to end?"
So Yūshin leaped up and performed an "aerial lightning-cutting" acrobatic routine... Yes, inventor Yūshin, invention: "Chidori."
Rather than performing tricks, he was venting his frustration. Even though Shichimi had tried to save him at the last moment...
Well, though Yūshin had been instantly defeated and looked pathetic...
Kinshiki was indeed formidable, but not an insurmountable enemy.
The fox meant well but bungled things—canine brain capacity really was limited, hopeless.
After bouncing around the grassland for over half an hour, the storm somewhat subsided, though the sky remained overcast. The setting sun briefly appeared before vanishing again...
It had just been afternoon, and now night had finally fallen.
The surroundings remained unclear, but the good news was that Yūshin had finally completely overcome the concussion caused by both Kinshiki and the space-time jump—his senses and perception had fully recovered.
His chakra remained nearly depleted, but as long as Kinshiki didn't follow, this small amount would suffice for most situations.
Then he sensed watchful eyes in the darkness.
"Come out—I've spotted you."
Rustling sounds emerged from the grass. Realizing Yūshin had been staring in their direction, they were forced to reveal themselves.
Five ordinary people.
Upon reaching Yūshin, they immediately dropped to their knees without a word.
No, this wasn't mere kneeling—they prostrated themselves in complete humility.
"S-sage, we meant no disturbance..."
Their language was somewhat peculiar, but Yūshin could barely understand.
"Sage? Haven't you seen ninja before?"
Yūshin found their speech confusing, and they found his equally difficult to follow—but they listened far more intently than Yūshin... Failing to understand a sage's words and angering a divine being would mean certain death.
"Ninja? What's that? A type of sage?"
Yūshin frowned. Their reaction suggested two possibilities: first, he'd been transported to some unknown world; second, this was still the shinobi world, but ninja had gone extinct. Didn't someone always say "the age of shinobi is over"? So perhaps this was a post-apocalyptic reconstruction scenario.
"Stand up."
The kneeling people nervously rose. Yūshin noticed their rough, monotonous clothing beneath rain cloaks... Everything aligned with characteristics of humanity rebuilding civilization after its collapse.
"You truly haven't heard of ninja?" Yūshin asked again, hoping for a different answer.
"No, supreme sage."
Yūshin shook his head and said:
"I'm not a sage—I'm an ordinary person just like you."
"But we all witnessed you controlling lightning."
Not only had they witnessed it—they'd been terrified... Well, at least it was raining today.
Controlling lightning? This didn't sound like flattery.
"It's a special ability—anyone can learn it."
Yūshin couldn't tolerate constant kneeling. Further revealing his abilities was also meant to see if he could trigger any memories about ninja from these people.
"Anyone can learn it? Even us?"
Unexpectedly, "anyone can learn it" instantly excited them. What could he say? Humans always seek to master divine powers.
"Sage, please come with us. Our tribe is just ahead... If we could befriend someone like you, our king would surely be delighted."
The harsher human life becomes, the sharper their minds grow. Regardless of whether Yūshin was truly a sage, these people had already recognized his immense value and immediately began attempting to recruit him.
Yūshin also urgently needed understanding of this world, so he followed them.
After walking some distance through the night, Yūshin saw a massive settlement—at least much larger than Konoha.
The five brought Yūshin to the largest circular thatched house in the settlement's center, carefully asking him to wait briefly while one hurried off to report.
Soon, a long-haired man rushed out.
"Sage, please enter. Meeting you today is our supreme honor... Sage, do you require special ceremonies for your reception? Do you need any offerings?"
"Offerings? Could I get a hot towel?"
"..."
In any case, communication between mortals and sages was quite difficult—initial wavelength mismatches were normal.
Yūshin had dropped from the sky without warning, nearly died, then got up and split lightning with his hands—if this wasn't a sage, what else could it be?
After considerable back-and-forth, Yūshin finally followed the chieftain into his thatched hut.
Oil lamps flickered dimly. The hut's interior was spacious, with walls decorated by plants and various animal bones... definitely a primitive tribe.
"Lord Sage, I heard you can control lightning. Could you demonstrate this? I don't doubt your abilities, but... I'd like to witness it myself."
Yūshin thought that even as a chieftain, this man was a genuine ruler—his domain was even larger than the Hokage's—so he naturally possessed a ruler's characteristics.
Yūshin spread his palm, allowing lightning to dance between his fingers.
"Controlling lightning! He truly can control lightning!"
The chieftain jumped three feet high, excited beyond measure, as if he'd received electroshock therapy.
"Lord Sage, you said ordinary people can also learn this power—is that really true?"
Spreading chakra? Establishing ninjutsu? Yūshin's heart stirred—his future title wouldn't be "New Sage of the Wasteland," would it?
"Lord Sage, we're actually facing the threat of war. If we could obtain your power... perhaps we'd have a chance of victory."
The chieftain's words were quite conservative—with a sage's assistance, wouldn't victory be guaranteed?
The wasteland still had wars? Yūshin suddenly understood—wastelands needed wars even more... To take something, you must first fight for it. He decided to offer some benefits.
"Please extend your hand."
Yūshin possessed excess lightning-attribute chakra obtained from White Zetsu, so he directly transferred it to this chieftain.
He then provided some instruction, and soon the chieftain could also control lightning.
"Lord Sage, can others acquire divine power this quickly?" the chieftain asked.
Taking shortcuts easily becomes addictive. Yūshin firmly shook his head:
"You're a special case. Others must use ordinary training methods. Those with talent can learn this power quickly, but the dull-witted... who knows how long it would take."
"I understand—you've granted me special favor... Notify the entire tribe immediately—gather all the intelligent young people."
Huh? You want to use the sage like a workhorse? We've just met—this seems inappropriate.
And after receiving benefits, you're not even showing gratitude? Yūshin still wanted to inquire about this world's basic situation.
"Is it that urgent?"
"Lord Sage, you may not realize—war is imminent."
With that, this fellow busied himself with arrangements. Yūshin had no choice but to close his eyes and rest, silently recovering chakra.
After a full night of commotion, dawn broke, and many young people had gathered outside the chieftain's hut.
"Sage..."
At the chieftain's prompting, Yūshin opened his eyes again.
"You see..."
Yūshin couldn't keep following the other party's rhythm. He asked:
"You mentioned war is beginning—who are your enemies?"
"The enemies... Please look this way."
The chieftain brought Yūshin to a window on the hut's other side. Following his guidance, Yūshin was instantly stunned.
He saw something massive reaching straight to the heavens...
The God Tree—the God Tree stood at the horizon.
"The enemy is called... Goddess U, another very powerful deity."
This wasn't after the shinobi world's destruction—this was before the shinobi world's creation!
In that flash of realization, Yūshin's mind became crystal clear.
When he became the "White Zetsu-Man," it was already destined he would come to this era.
Yūshin looked at the chieftain and his assembled young people with a complex expression. If his suspicions were correct, these people would all become White Zetsu.
Yūshin had always wondered why some White Zetsu could become experience packs while others could only serve as cheerleaders.
Previously, Yūshin thought it was merely a matter of production batches and quality differences.
But that wasn't it.
"It's my own chakra..."
"Sage, what are you saying?"
"I said, all the chakra I've been reclaiming was my own."
The so-called "experience packs" were all Yūshin's own chakra.
Yūshin spread chakra in this era, the God Tree packaged the chakra into White Zetsu, then delivered it to a thousand years later...
To himself.
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