Images began to move across the light screen. They were ancient, blurred recordings, seemingly captured by the Ring of Oaths Monitoring System.
The first scenes brimmed with hope and radiance: Star-Celestial, Uzumaki, Senju, Uchiha, Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest-the Seven Great Civilizations, or representatives of their surviving legacies in some form-gathered here. Before countless witnesses, they signed an alliance and swore to stand together against the Otsutsuki's plunder. Their leaders were spirited and confident. Technology, ninjutsu, sage arts, and the forces of nature converged here, and the Ring of Oaths flourished, becoming the resistance's headquarters and a treasury of knowledge.
"This was... the original alliance." Tears filled Elder Mochen's eyes, and Priest Lingxi was equally moved.
Yet those bright days did not last. The recording sped forward, and the images began to break up and flicker. The Otsutsuki's attacks grew fiercer. Though the allied forces fought bravely, their losses were devastating. Divisions emerged. Some civilizations advocated aggressive counterattacks, others wanted to preserve their strength, and some even began secretly studying Otsutsuki power, hoping to integrate it or find a way to counter it.
Then came the decisive turning point.
The images showed several senior leaders entering a secret room together after a crucial war council: the People of the Stars' high priest, the Uzumaki Clan's chief prophet, the Uchiha Clan Head, who possessed a special Mangekyo, and the Senju Clan's leader. They seemed to be discussing a top-secret plan. The recording cut off there. In the next scene, those leaders emerged from the room, but their expressions... held an indescribable gravity, grim resolve, and even a trace of... despair.
The images then lurched violently, revealing a flood of contradictory fragments:
Fragment A: The People of the Stars' high priest announced that a prophecy had revealed an "ultimate solution,"