Main World.
Konoha Year Twenty-Two, autumn.
British Continent, New Capital.
Imperial Palace, study.
Warm autumn sunlight spilled into the study, yet the atmosphere was heavy.
Tsunade sat across from the desk, holding a cup of hot tea, her expression utterly grim. The truth Toyotomi Yinglang had just revealed echoed over and over in her mind, every word piercing her heart, weighing so heavily on her that she could barely breathe.
Hashirama Senju was universally acknowledged as the God of Shinobi, unmatched throughout the Shinobi World, yet in the eyes of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, he was ultimately nothing more than a slave chieftain.
The shinobi wars, which spanned decades and left countless dead and wounded, were, from a higher dimension, merely a farce of slaves slaughtering one another.
The brutal truth shattered Tsunade's long-held understanding, but more than shock, what filled her heart was endless worry.
After a long deliberation, Tsunade raised her eyes to Toyotomi Yinglang behind the desk and asked gravely, "Yinglang, if the Ōtsutsuki Clan really descends upon the Shinobi World, what do you intend to do?"
Toyotomi Yinglang set down his weasel-hair brush, leaned languidly against his chair, and gave her an indifferent glance. "The Shinobi World was always a farm where the Sage of Six Paths raised his stock, private territory whose boundaries were set long ago. Its owner ought to handle any real crisis himself."
Tsunade's brows knitted tightly. "What about you? Are you planning to stand by and watch?"
"I arranged a way out for myself long ago."
Toyotomi Yinglang slowly raised one finger. "The Heavenly Court and the Underworld are independent alternate spaces I created myself. They aren't bound by the Shinobi World's rules, and can be relocated in their entirety at any time, cut off from the outside world."
Then he raised