With Kaguya Ōtsutsuki completely destroyed, the crimson moonlight that had shrouded the entire planet slowly receded like an ebbing tide.
As their chakra flowed back, the shinobi wrapped in Sage Art: Birth of the God Tree World also slowly awoke from their eternal dreams.
The war ended in a way no one had anticipated.
The world welcomed peace.
But this peace had not been won through understanding and trust. It was a peace imposed by absolute power.
When the Five Kage and the surviving leaders of the Allied Forces learned from the Akatsuki about Infinite Tsukuyomi, Black Zetsu, and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's thousand-year deception, they fell into deathly silence.
Finally, beneath the statue of Pero that symbolized absolute power in Amegakure.
The Five Great Shinobi Villages, representing the entire shinobi world, bowed to the Akatsuki.
Or rather, they lowered their once-proud heads before the being named "Pero."
They had no other choice.
The Akatsuki became this world's new and only order.
Several months later, in Amegakure.
The city of steel, once shrouded in rain all year round, was now somewhat different.
Though the sky remained that familiar gray, the city had gained a vitality it had never possessed before.
Under the Akatsuki's rule, war vanished entirely, barriers between nations and villages were broken down, and supplies and technology began circulating at an unprecedented speed.
As the center of this new world, Amegakure had already become a bustling metropolis.
Meanwhile, in that office.
Pero sat cross-legged on the office sofa, gazing out the window in utter boredom.
Peace really is boring.
He silently grumbled to himself.
After dealing with Kaguya, he had entered this idle, post-release state of clarity.
Every day, aside from basking in the sun, he watched the chaotic daily antics of the Akatsuki kids. His routine was even more regular than when he had been a bus driver in his previous life.
He knew it was time for him to leave.
"But before I go, I should leave a fallback."
Pero stood up and slowly closed his eyes.
He separated a small portion of energy from his main body.
For him, the process was as easy and casual as plucking out a strand of hair.
The mass of golden energy rapidly condensed before him, becoming a golden clone identical to him.
"From now on, you'll guard this place for me." Pero patted the clone's shoulder.
"If I ever can't get by in the worlds out there, I can still use you as an anchor to come back for a visit."
He hid the clone in the deepest reaches beneath Amegakure.
Unless he activated it himself, no one would be able to discover its existence.
With everything done, Pero felt he had nothing left tying him to this world.
He took one last look at this world whose plot he had personally "straightened out (twisted)," a playful smile appearing on his face.
He recalled the daily lives of those Akatsuki kids.
Amegakure.
The training grounds.
"Wood Release: Great Forest Technique!"
Obito formed hand seals, and dozens of thick trees rose from the ground, forming a small forest that surrounded Yahiko and Rin.
"Hey! Yahiko! Rin! Get out here, both of you! Don't think I don't know you're hiding in there!" Obito stood atop a tree with his hands on his hips, shouting smugly.
Ever since he had also become a Pero Jinchūriki, his strength had advanced by leaps and bounds. His chakra reserves in particular were already enough to let him use Wood Release as much as he pleased.
Yet no reply came from within the forest.
"Huh?" Obito frowned, just about to use Kamui to go inside and investigate.
"Hey, where are you looking?"
A voice suddenly rang out beside his ear.
Startled, Obito whipped his head around.
He saw that Yahiko had appeared behind him at some point, a teasing smile on his face.
"When?!"
"While you were forming hand seals." Yahiko shrugged. "You're too slow."
Before he had finished speaking, Rin also appeared on Obito's other side like a phantom.
A knife-hand wrapped in golden flames was already poised against his neck.
"I lost again..." Obito instantly deflated, his entire figure turning gray.
"Because you rely too much on your dōjutsu and Wood Release, Obito." Rin withdrew her hand and said gently, "Your taijutsu still has plenty of room for improvement."
On the other side of the training grounds, Nagato sat cross-legged on the ground, meditating with his eyes closed. His bulging eyelids showed that his eyes had been restored.
When Pero had dropped by back then, Orochimaru had welcomed him very "happily" and even "given" him a pair of eyes as a parting gift.
Nine small Tailed Beast Bombs of different colors floated before Nagato, slowly revolving around him like nine docile planets.
Meanwhile, Konan sat in the office, facing mountains of documents from all over the world and occasionally letting out a helpless sigh.
She felt that she was the most exhausted person in this new world.
Pero pulled himself from his thoughts and lingered no longer.
His figure flickered, disappearing from the skies above Amegakure.
A moment later, he appeared deep in the desert of the Land of Wind, where no one dared set foot.
The Country of Roran's Ryūmyaku lay dormant beneath these yellow sands.
He could not even be bothered to dig, simply extending his perception endlessly into the depths underground.
Soon, he found the source sealed by the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, which contained immense space-time energy-the Ryūmyaku.
His eyes slowly lit up and fired into the ground.
The instant his Heat Vision touched the yellow sand, it melted into glass, forming a crystal-like passage.
Pero kept firing as he walked.
Looking at the kunai sealing the Ryūmyaku before him, he stepped forward and kicked it away.
Violent chakra instantly surged out from underground.
[High-density space-time energy source "Ryūmyaku" detected. Absorb?]
Absorb, Pero commanded silently.
[Absorption commencing. Estimated time...]
"No need for an estimate."
Rumble-!!!
The entire desert shook violently at that moment!
Like countless rivers flowing into the sea, the vast energy of the Ryūmyaku became a purple torrent, pouring endlessly into his body!
[Absorbing energy... 10%... 30%... 70%... 100%!] [Ryūmyaku energy absorption complete. System beginning analysis of space-time laws...] [Analysis complete!] [Congratulations, host. Dimensional travel successfully unlocked!]
Pero slowly withdrew his hand, a satisfied smile appearing on his face as he felt the entirely new power within him.
He raised his hand and lightly slashed at the empty space before him.
Riiip-!
Like a curtain sliced open by a sharp blade, space split, and a churning rift flickering with unstable purple light appeared before him.
A foul aura drifted from the other side of the rift, carrying a trace of something slightly similar to his own scent.
"Looks like the next world is even darker than the world of Naruto."
The corners of Pero's mouth curled into an expectant smile.
Without any further hesitation, he lifted his foot and stepped into the portal leading to an unknown world.
Before you continue