Beneath a distant starry sky

Year 101 of Konoha, on a planet far from the Shinobi World.

The man's purple-gold, slit-pupiled eyes gazed at the gaunt face illuminated by dim candlelight. He could still faintly see the spirited youth of years past.

Candlelight flickered as his low, hoarse voice broke the silence. "Sasuke-kun, you don't have much time left..."

Sasuke lay in the hospital bed, emaciated beyond recognition. Tubes from various medical devices covered his body, keeping him alive. With his eyes shut, never to open again, he smiled wistfully.

"I never thought I'd spend the last days of my life with you, Orochimaru..."

Orochimaru's calm, soft voice carried an indescribable weight. "There was no other choice. After all, everyone except you and me died in that battle, Sasuke-kun..."

Candlelight flickered wildly, and Sasuke's memories flashed through his mind.

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, he and Naruto had joined forces to seal Kaguya. Then he had lost to Naruto in their battle at the Valley of the End. That battle had opened his heart, and he had resolved to become the guardian of Naruto's Ninja Way.

But sealing Kaguya had not ended the threat of the Ōtsutsuki. Fifteen years after the war, he and Naruto had defeated Momoshiki and Kinshiki together. Alongside Boruto, Jiraiya from the past, and Naruto, he had also defeated Urashiki!

But in the subsequent battle to destroy Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, he and Naruto had paid a terrible price!

After that battle, he had lost his Rinnegan, and Naruto had lost the Nine-Tails. Both had officially stepped back from the front lines.

Fortunately, the next generation, led by Boruto and Kawaki, had risen to take their place. A scientist named Amado, formerly of Kara, had also revealed the secret behind the Ōtsutsuki clan's power.

According to Amado, Ōtsutsuki Yae had consumed dozens of Chakra Fruits and mastered "Divine Techniques," powers above ninjutsu and Senjutsu. He was the being closest to a god!

Using only genes extracted from Shi Mei's "remains," Amado had created terrifying artificial humans such as Eida and Daemon [the setting follows the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations manga through chapter 75].

At the time, Sasuke and Naruto had both been shocked to learn of Shi Mei's existence. But after learning that he was probably dead, or had reached a higher dimension and could no longer threaten their world, they had relaxed.

The truth, however, was that Shi Mei was still alive! His apparent death after discarding his physical body had merely been a prolonged slumber before his final leap to godhood!

On the day Shi Mei awakened, he had glimpsed the Shinobi World's existence through the Divine Technique called Clairvoyance, then launched an attack on its planet!

And so the battle to defend the Shinobi World had begun!

That battle—no, perhaps it could not even be called a battle—had been a one-sided massacre!

Sasuke's closest friend, his beloved, his daughter, his cherished student, and the Shinobi World he had silently protected for so many years had all been crushed by Shi Mei's overwhelming power!

Sasuke should have died as well. But to preserve one last hope, he had used the Right Eye inherited from his late elder brother to cast Izanagi.

Although Izanagi had allowed him to escape death, he had still suffered injuries that were almost beyond recovery. At that critical moment, the other survivor, Orochimaru, had taken the gravely wounded Sasuke aboard a spacecraft left behind by Kara and escaped their planet!

Shi Mei had known everything, yet had not pursued them—or perhaps had not considered them worth pursuing. He had replanted the God Tree on the Shinobi World's planet and drained the life energy of the entire world to cultivate a new Chakra Fruit!

That fruit had allowed Shi Mei to make his final leap and become the supreme God of Ōtsutsuki!

Having attained godhood, Shi Mei had departed for a higher dimension, leaving behind a silent, dead planet and torment for its only two survivors!

Returning to the present, Sasuke pulled the tubes from his body with his remaining arm and sat up. On the brink of death, he voiced his final wish.

"Orochimaru, I want to see my homeland one more time..."

Orochimaru nodded with a smile. He possessed a large supply of cloned Sharingan from Uchiha Shin. With his skills, he could have restored Sasuke's sight at any time, but Sasuke had spent all these years running away—from his enemy's strength, and even more so from his own heart.

The transplant surgery was soon complete.

With Orochimaru supporting him, Sasuke went outside. Looking up into the starry sky, he immediately spotted the dead planet that had once been his home!

Its once-blue surface was now nothing but lifeless dark gray, scarred with craters.

Sasuke could not help imagining it. If that catastrophe had never happened, surely he and Naruto would both have retired by now?

Sarada would have inherited the burden of being Hokage from Naruto, while Boruto would have inherited his Ninja Way and silently guarded the Shinobi World. Their two families would truly have become one, enjoying the happiness of children and grandchildren gathered around them!

What a heartwarming scene.

But in the end... there were no ifs.

The reality was that he could only stand beneath this distant starry sky, mourning his dead homeland, left with nothing but lingering hatred for an enemy he could never reach!

Two trails of tears slipped from the corners of his eyes.

Watching his profile, Orochimaru spoke gently. "You still can't accept it, can you, Sasuke-kun?"

"No, I can't. How could I? But what difference does that make? Even thinking we could defeat someone like that was arrogance. Why should thousands of years of accumulated genetic power lose to our mere decades of resolve to protect the Shinobi World?"

Sasuke clenched his withered right fist.

"I've thought it over countless times, only to reach a conclusion that even I despise! Only an Ōtsutsuki can defeat an Ōtsutsuki..."

Orochimaru lowered his eyes thoughtfully. "Perhaps this is all hindsight now, but even setting aside the Ōtsutsuki factor, your growth since the Fourth Shinobi World War was somewhat forced, Sasuke-kun. If you hadn't received the Sage of Six Paths' gift when you were sixteen, you might have become even stronger..."

Sasuke turned to look at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru continued, "That is the conclusion I reached after repeatedly studying the evolution of the Uchiha's ocular powers. Every dōjutsu needs a transitional period. During your Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan stage, a new dōjutsu should have been developing within you. But before it could awaken, you activated the Rinnegan prematurely. The short-term increase in power was astonishing, but in the long run, it severely limited the heights you could reach."

"Furthermore, Madara, who was also Indra's reincarnation, awakened the Rinnegan in both eyes shortly before his death by transplanting Hashirama Senju's cells. You could have awakened it in both eyes as well, but you received only a little of the chakra Lord Hashirama left behind."

"The union of Senju and Uchiha produces Six Paths power, and the Six Paths lineage descends from the Ōtsutsuki. When we compared the genes of the Sage of Six Paths' remains we found in the ruins of the Land of Redaku with those of a pure-blooded Ōtsutsuki, the former lacked certain genetic segments from the Ten-Tails and Hamura..."

"With my current techniques, I can build upon Six Paths power, supply those missing genetic segments, and recreate the power of an Ōtsutsuki. In other words, as long as you attain Six Paths power, Sasuke-kun, I can turn you into a true Ōtsutsuki..."

After hearing Orochimaru's words, Sasuke lowered his head despondently and let out a long sigh.

"Hope arriving at the wrong moment leaves nothing but regret. The people I wanted to protect have long since been buried..."

But Orochimaru's next words suddenly brought light back into Sasuke's dim eyes.

"Sasuke-kun... if I could make it happen, would you be willing to start again?"

Sasuke stared at Orochimaru with eyes that were not his own. Though he already had a suspicion, he still asked for confirmation. "Start again? What do you mean?"

Orochimaru answered with a smile. "I mean returning to the past."

"You can do something like that?"

"Come with me."

Back inside, Orochimaru took out a wooden box that had gathered dust for years. He removed the sealing talisman on it, revealing a strangely shaped turtle inside!

Even after so many years, Sasuke recognized the turtle at once!

"Karasuki...!?"

It was the treasure Urashiki Otsutsuki had carried years ago. Given enough chakra, it could travel freely through time!

Back then, knowing he could not defeat Naruto and Sasuke, Urashiki had traveled to the past to steal the Nine-Tails from the young Naruto. Sasuke and Boruto had discovered his plot and followed him, joining forces with Naruto and Jiraiya of that era to defeat Urashiki.

After defeating Urashiki, Sasuke and Boruto had used Karasuki's power to return to their own era. Karasuki, which possessed its own consciousness, had then decided to travel through space and time alone. No one had heard from it since!

To think... it had somehow ended up in Orochimaru's hands!

Sasuke asked, "Where did you get it?"

Orochimaru replied, "That's a long story. Once I learned of the God of Ōtsutsuki's existence, I sensed that the Shinobi World would face this disaster sooner or later. Unfortunately, Naruto-kun kept me under such strict surveillance back then that I had no choice but to hide this treasure after obtaining it..."

Sasuke said, "You plan to use Karasuki's power to take us back to the past? Its time travel transports our present selves there intact, meaning two versions of us would exist at the same time. I'm old and frail now. Even if I returned, the only thing I could do would be to entrust the future to my past self. But that probably wouldn't work, would it?"

Knowing the answer, Orochimaru smiled and asked anyway. "Oh? Why wouldn't it work?"

Sasuke turned away, hiding the expression on his aged face from Orochimaru.

"Ah." After a long silence, Sasuke sighed.

"Even Naruto... couldn't get through to the old me. What could I possibly do in this state?"

Orochimaru seemed to enjoy this. "That's true. Still, seeing you embarrassed for the first time in so long is rather entertaining, Sasuke..."

Sasuke turned back, his expression serious. "So... you already have a solution, don't you?"

"Yes." Orochimaru grew solemn. "There is another way to use Karasuki: sending only your soul back into your past body. In effect, your present self would be reborn in your younger body. However..."

Sasuke asked, "What?"

Orochimaru replied, "There are two drawbacks. First, the user cannot choose the moment of rebirth. Second, it can transport only one person, and once activated, Karasuki will be destroyed..."

Sasuke's expression grew heavy.

He knew exactly what that meant.

He would be reborn at an unpredictable point in time, but that was secondary. More importantly, he would have to part forever with Orochimaru, who had been by his side for so many years!

This man had once been both his mortal enemy and his teacher. During the last ten years of his life, he had become like family...

A bond that profound had long since gone beyond what words could express!

Orochimaru raised his hand, and a white sphere of light appeared.

"Sasuke-kun, this is a chakra construct containing all my knowledge, memories, and emotions. It is my gift to my past self. It will reside within your soul and accompany you into the past. When you meet the old me, don't hold back. Defeat him and give him this sphere. He will understand everything, inherit all my research, and become your ally!"

Sasuke did not reach for it.

Orochimaru smiled. "Don't look like that, Sasuke-kun. There are people you want to protect again, aren't there?"

Sasuke asked, "What about you? Once I leave, you'll truly be all alone, won't you?"

Orochimaru replied, "I'll have truth for company. I won't be lonely."

Sasuke still did not reach for it. He was no longer the boy who thought only of himself.

"This journey will be dangerous. Shi Mei is so powerful that even if I become an Ōtsutsuki and start again, I'm not confident I can change the future..."

Orochimaru smiled. "Then if you do succeed, remember to come back and tell me. Give me something to look forward to in my solitary life. How does that sound?"

Those words finally allowed Sasuke to accept!

"Then it's a promise!"

He reached out and took the sphere of light. It dissolved in his hand and merged with his soul!

Whoosh! Orochimaru's hair rose as he poured chakra into Karasuki!

Bzzzt! Golden light blazed from Karasuki's eyes. A dazzling beam descended from above, carrying Sasuke's soul out of his aged body and toward an unknown past!

"Orochimaru, thank you for everything you've done these past years. Wait for my good news!"

Smiling, Orochimaru watched Sasuke's soul disappear into the Vortex of space and time!

Whoosh! Crack!

The light faded. Karasuki had exhausted its power, and cracks covered its shell!

Crack! Cracks signaling destruction appeared across Orochimaru's body as well!

—Sasuke-kun, I'm sorry. I didn't tell you that the price of activating this technique is the destruction of both the caster and Karasuki. I was never going to live to hear your good news. So please, carry my final wish with you—and march toward the future!

"Heh... at the very end, I became the kind of person I once hated most. But... this isn't so bad."

Orochimaru's body crumbled into ashes across the floor.

The roaming dragon would return to the sea; the white snake had finally turned to dust!

Orochimaru's tale—though he was no hero, it surpassed a hero's—came to an end alongside this dying world.

And then... returning from the end of the world, the soul that had crossed space and time entered its youthful body. He opened his eyes, only to see—

"—Rain?"