Fourth Shinobi World War

Richard looked at the moon above as it turned blood-red and said slowly, "I think I know which point in the timeline we're in."

"Mm, I had the same suspicion." Katsuyu nodded.

The blood-red moon gradually transformed into a blood-red, pinwheel-shaped eye. Heh, Infinite Tsukuyomi. Honestly, the Uchiha Clan was pretty easy to fool. Whether it was Uchiha Madara or Obito Uchiha, they actually believed in something as idiotic as Infinite Tsukuyomi.

Obito Uchiha was one thing; he had been insane from the start. He only wanted to live with Rin in a dream.

But how could Uchiha Madara believe Infinite Tsukuyomi would bring peace? What, was everyone supposed to stop eating and drinking just to dream? Fine, let's assume no one starved to death. What about the next generation? Was the Ninja World only meant to be peaceful for one generation? If nobody reproduced, wouldn't the Ninja World go extinct once that generation died out?

Before the group could head outside to confirm the current timeline, an abrupt turn of events interrupted them.

With that blood-red moon in the sky, Richard and Katsuyu had more or less confirmed the timeline.

The Fourth Shinobi World War, around the time before and after Kaguya's unsealing.

"Come on. Let's go watch the show in person." Richard waved a hand and sped toward the Land of Rain with the others.

At this point in time, the center of the battlefield had to be the Land of Rain. Tsunade and her apprentice were too slow, so he might as well take them there himself. Otherwise, they would arrive too late.

The entire Fourth Shinobi World War had not lasted very long to begin with. Especially the later stretch, from Obito Uchiha betraying Nagato, to Uchiha Madara betraying Obito, then Black Zetsu betraying Uchiha Madara and releasing Kaguya, followed by Naruto and Sasuke battling Kaguya and sealing her away again.

It sounded like many earth-shattering events had occurred, but it had not actually taken much time. If they moved too slowly, the Fourth Shinobi World War might be over before they got there.

Still, one thing was certain: this was merely a parallel world, not the future of their original world. In the original Ninja World, Richard had wiped out the Akatsuki and taken the Rinnegan. There was no way they could have caused such a huge commotion.

The farther he moved from the Loulan Ruins, the more Richard sensed an invisible pull. It was the pull of spacetime power. Once the residual spacetime power on them ran out, they would be ejected back to their original world.

It did not take long for them to reach the border of the Land of Rain. Here, the Allied Shinobi Forces from several major nations were fighting the White Zetsu army, and the sight was quite spectacular.

Richard observed the battlefield carefully. Things had already progressed to the point where Uchiha Madara had betrayed Obito, fused with the Ten-Tails, and was crushing the Five Kage.

Then the triumphant Uchiha Madara was betrayed by Black Zetsu once again, and the dutiful son Black Zetsu was about to release Kaguya.

Richard found a secluded spot at the edge and sat down to wait for the show to begin.

Before long, Black Zetsu used Uchiha Madara's body as a guide to summon Kaguya's will. Uchiha Madara's massive body after merging with the Ten-Tails slowly changed, ultimately taking the form of Kaguya Otsutsuki.

At the end of the day, Kaguya was the ancestor of Chakra in the Ninja World. Even after being betrayed by the Sage of Six Paths and his brother, she still possessed extremely high authority over Chakra.

And Uchiha Madara had become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, gathering so much Chakra. How could he possibly avoid drawing Kaguya's attention?

Then all Black Zetsu had to do was betray Uchiha Madara and coordinate with Kaguya from within and without. Wouldn't that be enough to bring Kaguya out?

Looking at the large, white-haired woman floating in the sky, complete with two horns on her forehead, Richard found her hard to appreciate. All he could say was that some people had truly strange tastes.

"What is going on? Who is that woman in the sky?" Tsunade felt uneasy. Uchiha Madara's presence just now had been far too powerful. Even the small fraction of strength he displayed while toying with the Five Kage rivaled her grandfather's power at his absolute peak.

She could tell that Uchiha Madara had long surpassed even his former peak and reached an entirely different level. She did not know whether Richard possessed that kind of strength, but seeing how calm he remained, he probably did.

Yet even someone as powerful as Uchiha Madara had been ambushed without any ability to resist. Wasn't that pitch-black fellow the one Richard had captured in the Land of Rain not long ago?

And then an apparently even stronger white-haired woman had appeared. She urgently needed Richard to explain the whole story to her.

"Fine, I'll explain it. But let me say this first: I'm not very good at telling stories. I'll just tell it as best I can, and you can listen as best you can.

"The matter itself isn't complicated. Remember when I told you that Nagato's Rinnegan belonged to Uchiha Madara? Uchiha Madara was close to dying of old age at the time, so he chose Obito Uchiha as a pawn to keep watch over Nagato.

"After Nagato gathered all Nine Tailed Beasts, Obito Uchiha betrayed Nagato, merged with the Ten-Tails, and became the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki. With his strength soaring, Obito Uchiha got carried away and decided not to follow Uchiha Madara's plan, so Uchiha Madara, who had prepared for this all along, betrayed him.

"Uchiha Madara himself was also a pawn chosen by Black Zetsu, as well as a vessel for Kaguya Otsutsuki's descent. Once Uchiha Madara completed his mission, Black Zetsu ruthlessly betrayed him and turned him into the vessel for Kaguya's arrival.

"Black Zetsu, meanwhile, was a life-form created a thousand years ago when Kaguya Otsutsuki was betrayed by the Sage of Six Paths and his brother and was about to be sealed away.

"Black Zetsu had plotted for a thousand years for the sake of releasing Kaguya Otsutsuki.

"Kaguya Otsutsuki is the ancestor of Chakra in your Ninja World, the Rabbit Goddess. An alien who came to the Ninja World a thousand years ago.

"The Sage of Six Paths and his brother were her sons. A thousand years ago, the brothers fell out with Kaguya over certain matters, then joined forces to seal her away.

"That's roughly what happened." Richard explained the entire chain of events in one breath. Though his account was rather brief, Tsunade and her apprentice at least understood the cause and background of the matter.

"So the woman in the sky is the ancestor of Chakra? She's lived for more than a thousand years?" Tsunade was more concerned with Kaguya's lifespan.

"The three Slug Sages have all lived for over a thousand years. Do you really think it's difficult for someone at Kaguya's level to live that long?

"Enough, shut up. Let's keep watching." Richard was speechless.

The group turned their attention back to the battlefield.

Although Kaguya had reclaimed the Ten-Tails, the ninjas running all over the ground looked no different from food running around everywhere. It was simply a waste.

So Kaguya directly used God: Deep Forest Emergence, hanging everyone in the Ninja World from the God Tree. Most people in the Ninja World had already fallen under Infinite Tsukuyomi's genjutsu, so almost no one resisted.

"Tch, troublesome." Richard looked at the God Tree branches surging toward them and said disdainfully.

He should not have been exposed, but the Chakra in Tsunade and Shizune's bodies could not evade the God Tree's perception of Chakra.

After everyone else had been hung from the tree, Richard's group became conspicuous.

Kaguya quickly noticed them.

Richard sighed. He had originally intended to wait for Naruto and Sasuke to show up and fight Kaguya to the death, then reap the benefits himself.

But Naruto and Sasuke were nowhere to be seen. They were probably still getting their power-ups from that old Sage of Six Paths. Yet Kaguya had discovered him first. What a ridiculous mess.

Don't let me fight Kaguya to the death only for Naruto and Sasuke to profit from it. That old Sage of Six Paths would probably laugh himself to death. What noble character indeed.