Rising from the Coffin

The two descended into this ice and snow space.

They were none other than 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, located on the edge of this ice and snow space, in search of traces of the clan's traitor, Kaguya Otsutsuki.

And they had lingered there for some time.

Originally, they were supposed to encounter Uchiha Sasuke a few days later, who had come to investigate the information Kaguya left behind, and engage in a brief but fierce battle.

But.

It was still because of the butterfly effect triggered by Chen's actions in the Forbidden Ground that Sasuke's movements changed, and he consequently missed the initial encounter with the Momoshiki duo.

Then, Chen, seeking passage to the Outer World, borrowed the ice and snow space... and by a twist of fate, led the Momoshiki duo here as well.

Fate is truly so ingenious.

The course of the major events in the ninja world had begun to deviate irreversibly.

"Crack!" Beneath his headscarf, veins bulged on Momoshiki's temples. He surveyed the environment with his Byakugan, finally fixing his gaze on the spot where Obito and Chen had just cooperated to activate Kamui.

"Indeed, there are 'anchors' left in the space from the opening of a Space Gate, and judging by the shape of the anchors, it doesn't look like the spatial power our clan uses to create a gate. Instead, it's a savage tear, like the fangs of a hyena!"

As he spoke, a playful smile curled at the corner of Momoshiki's mouth. "A lower lifeform capable of leaving the pen that raised it? Interesting."

Kinshiki said uncertainly, "Momoshiki-sama, could it be one of our clan, here for a similar purpose as ours?"

Momoshiki shook his head lightly, speaking with conviction, "No, our clan doesn't lack opportunists, but there are no barbarians like this. It's a lower lifeform from Kaguya's land, absolutely unmistakable!"

Kinshiki asked for instructions, "Momoshiki-sama, how should we deal with this native of Kaguya's who dares trespass here?"

Momoshiki smiled arrogantly. "Need you ask? Chase after him, eat him dry and wipe clean! That is the most appropriate way for a god to deal with lower lifeforms!"

The two vanished into the spatial vortex released from Kinshiki's right eye.

Not long after they left. A man with a high ponytail, wearing white clothes, carrying a Red Light Fish Basket on his back and a Red Light Fishing Rod over his shoulder, descended above the glacier. He looked at the place where Momoshiki and Kinshiki had departed, a playful smile on his lips.

"Little Momo, you're pretty fast~."

"But, haste makes waste, you know."

"You call me an opportunist, I'll admit that. But I, Otsutsuki Urashiki, know how to assess the situation and plan before acting. Rushing in without any intelligence like you two is a good way to get a bad result~."

"Those three humans who just passed through, two of them, according to the intelligence I've gathered, once merged with the Ten-Tails left behind by Kaguya. As for the remaining one, my information on him is still blank, but for him to travel with those two, he's certainly no pushover."

Outer World.

The central hub of the five spaces of Amenominaka.

Also the place where that great war of ages past truly ended.

A dark green sky, deep red earth, with a landscape of rolling hills.

Among them, there was a valley floor hundreds of times more exaggerated than a meteor crater, stretching tens of thousands of kilometers in depth.

At the end of the sky directly above the valley floor, a magnificent celestial body floated suspended!

Chen, Madara, and Obito now stood at the bottom of this valley floor, gazing up at the wonder above their heads.

Madara crossed his arms. "So that is... the Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei. The celestial-level sealing stone created by the Sage of Six Paths using the shell of the Ten-Tails, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, as its core!"

Chen rested a hand on his hip. "The moon we observe from Earth is another masterpiece created by this technique."

Obito let his hands hang at his sides. "The moon was the work of Hagoromo and Hamura, but the one before our eyes is the handiwork of Naruto and Sasuke."

Madara and Obito both had the same thought flash through their minds: images of drinking and talking late into the night with Chen.

"Speaking of Kaguya's Legacy, that would be the Ten-Tails, wouldn't it."

"With Kaguya being sealed by Naruto and Sasuke fifteen years ago, the shell of the Ten-Tails, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, was also lost in the Outer World of Amenominaka. I must find the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path again, then recollect the scattered chakra, and bring the Ten-Tails back into the world."

Recovering Kaguya's Legacy was the beginning of the [Otsutsuki Purge Plan].

As the initiator of the plan, Chen had accumulated steadily and overcome countless obstacles.

He had successfully brought the three people capable of realizing this beginning to stand here.

Undoubtedly, the significance of this moment was extraordinary.

Madara took out a pair of black gloves and put them on his hands.

Obito teased, "Who knew you were such a stickler for ceremony~."

"Hmph." Madara said without room for argument, "Chen, the blood."

He caught the blood vial Chen threw to him, crushed it with a "crack," and smeared the blood over the tiger's mouth of his gloved hands!

He calmly formed hand seals and pressed them forcefully into the earth.

"Summoning: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"

"Boom!" The earth let out a great roar. The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, sealed for fifteen years, was pulled from the core of the celestial body in the sky, just as it had been back then, and saw the light of day again.

First, its head, wrapped in ribbon-like bindings, its fanged maw wide open, broke free from the earth's constraints. Then, its two thick arms tore themselves free, propping up its torso like pillars holding up the sky!

"Ooooh...!" The statue roared, raising its powerful, fleshy palms, and without any explanation, it swung them towards Chen!

Chen smiled in response. "A truly invigorating killing intent. You think I'm the easiest one to bully, don't you?"

He didn't move. Uncle Madara would handle it.

"Insolence." Madara lifted his gaze coldly, the Rinnegan swirling with light.

"Crack!" The Demonic Statue's descending palm halted abruptly!

Madara formed hand seals before his chest, completing the 'Rat' seal!

-- Outer Path: Immovable Lotus!

"Boom!" A lotus pedestal rose from the earth, lifting the Demonic Statue's lower body. Sensing trouble, the statue tried to scramble down from the lotus platform using both hands and feet.

Madara's hands clasped together at his chest, shifting to the 'Snake' seal!

-- Outer Path: Demon Binding Chains!

"Clank!" A set of shackles composed of crimson Wood Release and Adamantine Chains rose behind the Demonic Statue. Chains and wooden cuffs each performed their function, binding the statue's head, neck, arms, and waist!

The shackles coiled tightly, forcibly pressing the statue down onto the lotus platform, locking it into a seated meditation posture, with Adamantine Shackles fastened around its ankles!

"Roar!" The Demonic Statue still struggled desperately, until its arms were also wrapped by the shackles and drawn together before its chest in a flower-holding gesture. A pair of Adamantine Shackles sealed its wrists, and only then was the violent killing intent beneath the Blindfold Ribbon completely suppressed!

"Crack!" Madara withdrew his seals, and the shackles slowly sank into the earth.

"There. Now it's docile."

Even having weathered countless storms, witnessing Madara subdue the Demonic Statue with a mere flip of his hand, Obito still sighed in admiration: You really are something else. Back when Nagato died, I nearly tore the Old Lair apart trying to control this thing before I could put those shackles on it. Well, not that it helped that seven tailed beasts were already sealed inside the statue at the time.

Chen's gaze lifted, fixing on the Demonic Statue's 'chest'.

"Good. If this weren't here, I'd still have quite a bit more trouble ahead."

Madara crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes lingering as he spoke. "That's the Hashirama Clone I cultivated back then using the Demonic Statue as a culture vessel. Perfect purity, equivalent to Hashirama himself but without consciousness. Chen, what are your thoughts?"

Chen said, "Uncle Madara, you asked earlier about my plans for the Rinnegan. Now's the time to reveal the answer."

"Oh?" Madara's interest was instantly piqued, and he said with some eagerness, "Then let me see it quickly!"

"Whoosh!" A vortex released from Chen's eye, and a coffin landed on the ground.

"Crack, crack, crack." The frost and mist symbolizing Time Freeze dissipated from its surface!

"The secret to unlocking the Rinnegan lies within this coffin."

As the words fell, Chen lifted the coffin lid...

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