On the far side of the Shinobi World's Planet lay a mysterious land beyond the mapped territory of the Five Great Nations.
This land had been destroyed by warfare during the Six Paths era. Even after ninshu had spread far and wide over many years, its blessings had never reached this place.
The soil was barren and infertile, unable to support agriculture.
The earth's veins were so badly damaged that roads, bridges, and other transport infrastructure could not be built.
The climate was harsh, with frequent earthquakes, flash floods, volcanic eruptions, storms, acid rain, and other disasters.
After several mass migrations, it had become a completely deserted wasteland... no one had visited it for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years.
These were the ruins of the Ancient Kingdom of Kucha, whose history stretched back even further than that of the Ancient Kingdom of Roran!
Just how bizarre was the Ancient Kingdom of Kucha...?
Its anomalous geomagnetic field prevented even the light of Infinite Tsukuyomi from penetrating. In this lifeless wasteland, even the tendrils of Divine Deep Forest Emergence would wither!
So... even everyone in the new Konoha Ninja Village beneath Kikyo Mountain, commanded by Kakashi Hatake, had entered Infinite Tsukuyomi for further training.
Yet Jiraiya and his student Konan, who were exploring the Ancient Kingdom of Kucha, had managed to escape the whole affair.
A recap.
After Sasuke's Ten Battles Plan concluded, Jiraiya had chosen not to settle on Blue Moon Island out of personal preference.
But he wanted to contribute to the future. After sorting through the chain of cause and effect from his previous life, he decided to serve as the Sasuke Faction's vanguard, scouting out Kara, the organization under Ōtsutsuki Isshiki!
After Nagato's death... Konan had also found a new direction in life: following her former teacher, Jiraiya,