The two who descended upon this Ice and Snow Space.
They were Otsutsuki Momoshiki and Otsutsuki Kinshiki, who in the original timeline had once forced Naruto, Sasuke, and the Five Kage into a bitter struggle before ultimately being defeated.
They had come to Kaguya's City, on the fringes of this Ice and Snow Space, in search of traces of the clan's traitor, Kaguya Otsutsuki.
They had stayed there for some time.
Originally, a few days later, they should have encountered Uchiha Sasuke, who had come to investigate the information Kaguya left behind, and fought a brief but fierce battle.
But.
Because of the butterfly effect caused by Chen's actions in the Forbidden Ground, Sasuke's plans changed, and he missed his initial encounter with the Momoshiki duo.
Then, while Chen was passing through the Ice and Snow Space in search of the Outer World... by a twist of fate, he led the Momoshiki duo here as well.
Fate was just that wonderful.
The course of major events in the shinobi world had already begun to deviate irreversibly.
"Crack!" Veins bulged at Momoshiki's temples beneath his veil. He surveyed the surroundings with his Byakugan, finally fixing his gaze on the place where Obito and Chen had worked together to open Kamui moments ago.
"Indeed. There are still 'anchor points' left in space that only appear when a Space Gate has been opened. And judging by their shape, this wasn't a door created through spatial power like our clan's. It was crudely torn open, like a hyena's fangs!"
As his words fell, Momoshiki's lips curled into an amused smile. "A lower life-form capable of leaving its fenced-in enclosure? How interesting."
Kinshiki said uncertainly, "Lord Momoshiki, could it be someone from our clan who shares a purpose similar to ours?"
Momoshiki gently shook his head and said with certainty, "No. Our clan does not lack opportunists, but we have no barbarians like this. They are definitely lower life-forms from Kaguya's land!"
Kinshiki asked for instructions. "Lord Momoshiki, how should we deal with these Kaguya natives who trespassed here?"
Momoshiki smiled with domineering beauty. "Is there even a question? Chase them down and devour them whole! That is the most proper way for gods to deal with lower life-forms!"
The two entered the space-time vortex released from Kinshiki's right eye.
Not long after they left, a man with a high ponytail, dressed in white, carrying a Red Light Fish Basket on his back and a red glowing fishing rod over his shoulder, descended above the glacier. Looking toward where Momoshiki and Kinshiki had departed, a playful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Little Momo, you moved fast~."
"But being too impatient can make it hard to eat hot tofu."
"You called me an opportunist, and I'll admit it. But I, Otsutsuki Urashiki, understand how to assess the situation and plan before acting. Charging in blindly without any intelligence, like you two, makes it very easy to come away empty-handed~."
"Of the three humans who just passed through, two were once fused with the Ten-Tails Kaguya left behind, according to the intelligence I've gathered. I have no information on the remaining one, but if he can travel with those two, he must be no pushover either."
Outer World.
The hub of Amenominaka's five great spaces.
It was also where that earth-shaking war had truly come to an end.
A dark green sky hung over deep crimson earth, with rolling hills spread across the landscape.
Among them was a rift valley hundreds of times more massive than a meteor crater, stretching tens of thousands of kilometers into the distance.
At the end of the sky directly above the rift valley floated a magnificent celestial body!
Chen, Madara, and Obito stood at the bottom of that rift valley, looking up at the spectacle overhead.
Madara crossed his arms. "That is... the Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei? A celestial-scale Sealing Stone created by the Sage of Six Paths, using the Ten-Tails' shell, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, as its core!"
Chen rested one hand on his waist. "The moon we observed from Earth is another masterpiece created by this technique."
Obito let his hands hang at his sides. "The moon was Hagoromo and Hamura's work. The one before us was Naruto and Sasuke's."
The memories of drinking and talking through the night with Chen flashed through both Madara and Obito's minds at the same time.
"Speaking of Kaguya's Legacy, that would be the Ten-Tails."
"After Kaguya was sealed by Naruto and Sasuke fifteen years ago, the Ten-Tails' shell, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, was also lost in Amenominaka's Outer World. I will recover the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, then gather the scattered Chakra again and bring the Ten-Tails back into the world."
Reclaiming Kaguya's Legacy was the beginning of the Otsutsuki Purge Plan.
As the plan's initiator, Chen had accumulated strength and overcome countless obstacles.
He had successfully brought the three people capable of making this beginning a reality to this place.
Without question, this moment was of extraordinary significance.
Madara took out a pair of black gloves and put them on.
Obito teased, "Didn't expect you to be so big on ceremony~."
"Hmph." Madara said imperiously, "Chen, prepare the blood."
He caught the vial of blood Chen tossed him and crushed it with a crack, coating the tiger's mouths of his gloved hands in blood!
He formed hand seals steadily, then slammed his hands powerfully against the ground.
"Summoning: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"
"Boom!" The earth trembled. The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, buried for fifteen years, was pulled from the core of the celestial body as it had been back then, seeing daylight once more.
First, its head, eyes wrapped in bandages and fangs bared from its blood-filled maw, burst through the ground's restraints. Then its two thick arms broke free, holding up its body like pillars supporting the heavens!
"Roar...!" The Demonic Statue roared, raising a powerful fleshy palm and, without warning, slamming it toward Chen!
Chen smiled in response. "Such delightful killing intent. Do I look like the easiest one to bully?"
He did not move. Madara would deal with it.
"Insolence." Madara raised his eyes coldly, light flowing through his Rinnegan.
"Crack!" The Demonic Statue's descending palm came to an abrupt stop!
Madara formed the Rat seal before his chest!
Outer Path: Immovable Lotus!
"Boom!" A lotus pedestal lifted the Demonic Statue's lower body out of the ground. Sensing danger, it tried to crawl down from the lotus platform with both hands and feet.
Madara brought his hands together before his chest and changed to the Snake seal!
Outer Path: Demon Binding Chains!
"Clack!" A set of restraints formed from crimson Wood Release and Adamantine Chains rose behind the Demonic Statue. The chains and wooden shackles performed their respective functions, binding its head, neck, arms, and waist!
The restraints coiled tightly around it, forcibly pressing the Demonic Statue onto the lotus platform and locking it into a seated posture. Adamantine Shackles bound its ankles as well!
"Roar!" The Demonic Statue continued its final struggle until the restraints dragged its arms together before its chest, forming a flower-holding pose. When a pair of Adamantine Shackles locked around its wrists, the violent killing intent beneath its eye-covering bandages was finally completely suppressed!
"Crack!" Madara withdrew his hand seals, and the restraints slowly sank into the ground.
"Now it will behave."
Even after all he had experienced, seeing Madara subdue the Demonic Statue with a wave of his hand still left Obito deeply moved. It still had to be you. After Nagato died, I nearly tore apart our base just trying to control the Demonic Statue before I managed to put those shackles on it. Though, of course, that was also because it had already sealed seven Tailed Beasts at the time.
Chen raised his gaze, fixing it on the Demonic Statue's "chest."
"Good. If that weren't there, I would have had to go through quite a bit more trouble."
Madara crossed his arms and looked on fondly.
"That is the Hashirama Clone I cultivated using the Demonic Statue as a vessel back then. Its purity is perfect, equivalent to Hashirama himself without consciousness. Chen, what are you planning?"
Chen said, "Uncle Madara, didn't you ask earlier what I had planned for my Rinnegan? Now is the time to reveal the answer."
"Oh?" Madara's interest was immediately piqued, and he said impatiently, "Then hurry up and show me!"
"Whoosh!" A vortex from Chen's right eye released a coffin onto the ground.
"Crack, crack, crack." The frost and mist symbolizing Time Freeze dispersed from its surface!
"The secret to how I awakened the Rinnegan lies within this coffin."
As his words fell, Chen opened the coffin and rose from within...
Before you continue