Konoha, Land of Fire.
It was deep into the night. The sky was clear, scattered with stars, and a bright full moon hung high above, its silver light casting a hazy glow across the village.
"…Honestly, what are Tsunade and Ren even doing? They just dumped all this work and disappeared."
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, flipping through documents with a sigh.
Despite his complaints, there was a hint of satisfaction in his heart.
Even though he had stepped down…
he was still the Hokage, in spirit.
"Perhaps they have something more important to handle," Shikaku Nara said helplessly from the side.
That answer clearly didn't sit well with Hiruzen.
"More important? What could possibly be more important than Konoha?"
"Tsunade is really something… not only did she go along with Ren's nonsense, she even took half the ANBU with her, along with Jiraiya."
"And I've heard that nearly half of Root was mobilized too…"
Hiruzen suddenly stiffened.
"…Shikaku."
"…Do you think they went to attack another village?"
His face turned pale.
Because—
it wasn't impossible.
Ren… was far more extreme than he appeared.
He wasn't the kind of man who would say, "If there is war, kill everyone."
But he absolutely was the type to think—
"If war exists because there are too many people and too few resources… then just eliminate half the population."
When he couldn't solve a problem…
he would solve the people who created it.
"…Damn that Danzo," Hiruzen muttered internally.
Shikaku swallowed.
"…I don't think so… right?"
"Even if they mobilized over a hundred people…"
He trailed off.
Because those weren't ordinary shinobi.
They were Root and ANBU elites.
And leading them were—
Ren, Tsunade, Jiraiya…
…and that mysterious Uchiha from Root no one was allowed to speak about.
That kind of lineup…
could absolutely wipe out a village.
"…This is bad," Shikaku muttered.
The office fell into silence.
Cold sweat ran down both their backs.
Then—
knock knock.
"Come in."
An ANBU operative entered.
"Lord Third Hokage…"
He hesitated.
"What is it?" Hiruzen asked sharply, suddenly standing up.
"…Has a village been attacked?!"
The ANBU blinked.
"…No, sir."
"We have no reports of attacks."
Hiruzen let out a long breath of relief.
"Thank goodness…"
Shikaku rubbed his temples.
"…Just say what you came to report."
The ANBU hesitated, then walked to the window and pushed it open.
"…It's hard to explain."
"You should see it yourselves."
"The moon… seems strange tonight."
"…The moon?"
Both men frowned.
They walked to the window and looked up.
The night sky was clear.
The moon was full.
Beautiful.
Peaceful.
But after a moment—
Hiruzen's expression changed.
"…Do you feel that?"
"…The moon…"
"…is it… trembling?"
Shikaku and the ANBU exchanged glances.
"…We can tell something is off…"
"…but we can't feel any vibration."
Hiruzen frowned.
"When did this start?"
"A few hours ago," the ANBU replied.
"The sensory unit detected chakra fluctuations on the moon."
"But we couldn't investigate further."
"It's too far."
"…So we reported it."
"…I see…"
Before they could say anything else—
"Look!"
All three of them froze.
Across the moon—
a white-gold pillar of chakra suddenly erupted.
It shot into the sky.
In that instant—
the entire world was illuminated like daytime.
The moon trembled violently.
And then—
the consequences arrived.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Earthquakes erupted across the world.
Mountains collapsed.
The ground split apart.
At the coastlines—
massive tsunamis rose like towering walls.
In the Land of Earth, volcanoes erupted.
In the Land of Wind, storms raged.
In the Land of Lightning—
catastrophic earthquakes sent boulders crashing toward villages.
"…What is happening?!" Hiruzen shouted.
Even the Land of Fire was affected.
Though usually safe from natural disasters—
the ground now shook beneath them.
"Mobilize immediately!" Hiruzen ordered.
"Begin disaster response!"
"Prepare for falling debris!"
"Yes, sir!"
The ANBU vanished instantly.
But Hiruzen remained staring at the moon.
That pillar of white-gold light…
burned into his eyes.
And a terrifying thought surfaced.
"…Don't tell me…"
"…Ren did this?"
Meanwhile—
inside the moon.
Hamura Shrine.
Ren stood quietly, observing the surroundings.
The world had fallen into darkness.
The artificial "sun" had vanished.
Everything felt like it had returned to chaos.
"…It's over," Ren said calmly.
Behind him, Tsunade and the others approached.
"…Yeah," she replied.
But her expression was complicated.
Everyone's expression was.
Because what they had just witnessed—
was beyond comprehension.
Ren's strength…
had reached an absurd level.
Unlike before—
this time he hadn't relied on overwhelming scale.
Instead—
he demonstrated absolute control.
Floating in the sky.
Casually unleashing power that could destroy worlds.
Even his opponent—
that old Ōtsutsuki—
had been terrifying.
That golden blade…
that overwhelming force…
had felt like absolute despair.
Yet Ren had responded with the same technique—
and erased everything.
Silently.
Completely.
No shockwaves.
No noise.
But total destruction.
The sky vanished.
Rivers evaporated.
Forests turned to dust.
An entire paradise—
gone.
"…Don't look at me like that," Ren said with a shrug.
"You're making me uncomfortable."
"Anyway…"
"Now that things are settled outside…"
"Let's explore inside."
He walked deeper into the shrine.
Everyone followed.
"They're all dead," Tsunade said.
"…But something's strange."
"They were strong."
"But their combat ability was terrible."
Ren nodded.
"They lacked real battle experience."
"Compared to the shinobi world…"
"…they're far behind."
Tsunade scoffed.
"…Must be nice."
"We've been fighting wars for generations…"
"…while they lived comfortably up here."
Jiraiya sighed.
"…If only the shinobi world could be like this."
Ren glanced at him.
"…You really think so?"
"If it was that good…"
"…why did the Hyuga ancestors leave?"
Silence.
Then—
they arrived before a massive door.
Ancient.
Heavy.
Covered in carvings.
Behind it—
a powerful energy pulsed.
Ren pushed it open.
Golden light flooded out.
Inside—
a vast hall filled with books and relics.
And at the center—
a massive construct.
Within it—
a glowing golden eye.
The Tenseigan.
"…So this is their power…" Jiraiya murmured.
Kakashi winced.
"…It's overwhelming."
Even his Sharingan felt suppressed.
Hikari stepped forward.
Then frowned.
"…This thing…"
"…is made from countless Byakugan."
Everyone froze.
Looking closer—
they realized it was true.
That "eye"…
was a fusion of hundreds of eyes.
"…So they really fought each other," someone whispered.
Ren clapped his hands.
"Enough staring."
"Search the place."
"There should be historical records here."
"And…"
"…something else."
The shinobi immediately began moving.
Tsunade approached Ren.
"…Do you think we'll find what we're looking for?"
Ren smiled faintly.
"Even if we don't…"
"…this place alone is a treasure."
Then—
he pointed at the Tenseigan.
"…Do you feel that?"
"There's a power inside it."
"A power similar to ours."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes.
"…You mean—"
"It might be able to enhance us."
Ren nodded.
"And not just that…"
"…there's something else here."
"…Something calling to me."
Soon—
they found it.
A strange tree trunk.
Only Tsunade and Hikari could see the markings.
Just like the Uchiha stone tablet.
Tsunade clenched her fists.
"…Those bastards…"
"They stole our clan's relics."
Ren chuckled.
"At least we found them."
Then he turned to Kakashi.
"Use your Sharingan."
"Read it out loud."
Kakashi obeyed.
As he read—
everyone fell into shock.
"…The Sage of Six Paths…"
"…Indra… Ashura…"
"…they were real?"
"…And they were brothers?"
The room erupted into murmurs.
Tsunade spoke quietly.
"…Ashura is the ancestor of the Senju and Uzumaki."
"…Indra is the ancestor of the Uchiha."
"…This… is the Sage's message to us."
Silence.
Then—
Kakashi read further.
"…Indra and Ashura were manipulated…"
"…their conflict was provoked…"
Everyone froze.
"…What?"
"…Someone caused it?"
"…The war… wasn't natural?"
Tsunade's fists trembled.
"…Yes."
"…Someone instigated everything."
"And that hatred…"
"…lasted a thousand years."
The room fell silent.
Even the Uchiha were stunned.
They had fought for generations…
over a lie.
Jiraiya spoke hoarsely.
"…Then why didn't the Sage stop it?"
Tsunade read the final part.
"…Because of the Ōtsutsuki clan."
Her voice turned grave.
"They are a threat…"
"…capable of destroying the entire world."
"The Sage allowed the conflict…"
"…to strengthen humanity."
"To prepare us."
"To make us capable of fighting them."
Silence.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
Then—
Ren clapped his hands lightly.
"…Now do you understand?"
He looked around calmly.
"Look at the people on this moon."
"They're powerful."
"But they lost."
"Why?"
"Because they lack experience."
"Because they never fought real battles."
He leaned back slightly.
"…We did."
"That's why we survived."
"That's why we're stronger."
"…This is what the Sage wanted."
No one spoke.
But everyone understood.
The suffering of a thousand years…
had forged something invaluable.
Later—
Tsunade dismissed the troops.
"Do not spread this information."
"We'll handle it carefully back in Konoha."
Everyone left.
Only a few remained.
"…So who manipulated Indra and Ashura?" Tsunade asked.
Ren smiled slightly.
"…The answer is already there."
"Someone who stayed close to the Uchiha."
Shisui's eyes sharpened.
"…You mean—"
Ren shook his head.
"Not necessarily in Konoha."
"…There are other Uchiha."
"Obito Uchiha."
"Itachi Uchiha."
Tsunade nodded slowly.
"…That's a lead."
Ren continued calmly.
"They'll lie low for a while."
"…But not forever."
He glanced at his system panel.
Then—
at the dim Tenseigan in the distance.
"…Three years."
"That's how long we have."
His voice was quiet.
But firm.
"In three years…"
"…everything will begin."
And for him—
those three years—
would determine everything.
Because by then—
he would step into the realm of Bloodline Limit: Kekkei Mōra.
And when that time came—
even the Ōtsutsuki…
would no longer stand above him.
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