Tian Zhiyun stood with her arms crossed on the floating clouds, the evening breeze ruffling her hair. Her gaze involuntarily fell on the eight-year-old child beside her. The miniature version of the Wind God Saku was glowing faintly. The god who could once stir up the heavens with fierce winds was now only a little over a meter tall. He was playing with the sand on the ground with his sand tail, occasionally tilting his head back to look at the sky.
Above the clouds, two figures hung like the sun and moon. On the left, Tsubasa wore a long silver-white robe, the hem embroidered with flowing star trails, and his body was surrounded by a faint aura of Senjutsu, as if he were one with the world. On the right, the Hagoromo, Sage of Six Paths wore a crimson haori, his eyes held the Rinnegan, and his face was etched with the majesty of time. Behind him, the Chakra phantoms flickered, a symbol of power capable of shaking the Shinobi World.
"Look how well they're getting along," Tian Zhiyun chuckled softly, her fingertips gently brushing against Wind God Saku's ear. "Even the Fujin God has to look up to them, and they've actually gotten together today."
Wind God Saku shook his head, making a soft whooshing sound, and waved his little paws in the air to express his dissatisfaction.
Tian Zhiyun followed his gaze and saw Tsubasa raise his hand and wave it, creating an invisible barrier that enveloped the entire airspace, blocking outside prying eyes. Only two steady voices pierced through the clouds and came down clearly.
"Senior, look up at the sky over the Shinobi World." Tsubasa's voice was clear and bright, unique to a young man, yet it also held a depth beyond his years. "When you and your brother sealed Princess Kaguya a thousand years ago, was this sky just as blue?"
The Hagoromo, Sage of Six Paths, gazed up at the boundless sky, a complex light flashing in his Rinnegan: "It was even darker than this then, when war raged and even the clouds were stained blood. But you, young friend Tsubasa, at such a young age, possess such vision, able to stand atop these clouds and discuss the Dao with this old man. Truly, the younger generation is formidable."
"It's not a matter of discussing the Dao," Tsubasa chuckled, a wisp of light gathering at his fingertips. Within the light, a three-dimensional phantom of the Shinobi World world appeared, with mountains, rivers, villages, and towns clearly visible. "I'm just thinking that this world holds too many secrets. Look at those ancient gods of the World Will, entrenched in the deep mountains and forests, controlling wind, rain, thunder, lightning, birth, aging, sickness, and death. They seem majestic, but can they truly threaten the foundation of the Shinobi World?"
Hagoromo Otsutsuki stroked his long beard and shook his head. "The ancient gods are merely the embodiment of the World Will. Just like the Wind God Saku you subdued," he glanced at Wind God Saku below, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes, " the Fujin governs the wind's destiny, yet is also bound by the rules of heaven and earth. No matter how fiercely they cause trouble, at most they can overturn a few mountains and flood a few villages, but ultimately they cannot escape the shackles of this world. The real threat has never been within the Shinobi World."
"Well said!" Tsubasa clapped his hands sharply, and the Shinobi World in the illusory image began to rotate, with a dazzling galaxy gradually emerging at its edges. "The ancient gods are the 'domestic dogs' raised by the World Will, and the inheritors like Onmyoji, wizards, and mages are the 'gatekeepers' guarding the courtyard. They fight each other, but they're just circling around in the courtyard. The jackals and alien invaders outside the courtyard walls are beyond their ability to deal with."
Hagoromo's expression turned serious, and the pupils beneath his Rinnegan mask contracted slightly. "You mean... the Ōtsutsuki Clan space?"
"Exactly." Tianyi tapped his Tsubasa, and a clan emblem Tomoe appeared in the illusory starry sky, surrounded by countless fragments of shattered planets. " The Ōtsutsuki Clan, the 'tree-planting masters' of the universe—of course, that's what Lady Princess Kaguya calls them. In my opinion, they are the most greedy plunderers."
Hagoromo was silent for a moment, then her voice trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly. "How much do you know?"
"Why don't you go first?" Tsubasa's smile faded. "I'd like to hear how Princess Kaguya described her homeland to you back then."
A brief silence fell above the clouds, broken only by the soft rustling of the wind passing through the barrier. Hagoromo's gaze drifted to the distant starry sky, as if piercing through the barriers of time and space, returning to that moonlit night a thousand years ago.
"My mother rarely mentioned our hometown," he began slowly, his voice hoarse with reminiscence. "She only mentioned it once, when Hamura and I came of age, sitting under a cherry blossom tree."
She said the Ōtsutsuki world is a pyramid-like hierarchy, with the bottom level being the executors responsible for planting the ' God Tree,' just like her and another companion.
Above them are the deacons who manage resource allocation, each with tens of thousands of executors under their command. Above that are the patriarchs who rule over star fields, and it is said that they can destroy a planet with a single move.
At the very top of the pyramids dwell the legendary 'Ancestors,' who have lived for millions of years, their bodies fused with the stars.
The star trail runes on Tsubasa's fingertips suddenly flashed. "A million years? The body of a star?"
"My mother's eyes were filled with fear as she spoke," Hagoromo lowered her voice even further. "She said her companions were just ordinary members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, not even true clansmen, merely 'seed-planting tools.' These 'tools' could easily enslave the life forms of a small planet, causing the God Tree to drain the earth's energy. Can you imagine? Someone who was insignificant in their clan became the former ruler of this Shinobi World."
Wind God Saku, nestled in Tian Zhiyun's arms, suddenly bristled, his small body trembling slightly. Tian Zhiyun quickly cradled him in her palms and gently soothed him, "Don't be afraid, they're talking about things far in the future." But her own heart was racing uncontrollably; hundreds of billions of people, millions of destroyed planets—these numbers weighed on her heart like a boulder.
Above the clouds, Hagoromo Otsutsuki's voice carried a chilling sharpness. "What's even more terrifying is their Reproduction ability. Mother said that the Ōtsutsuki Clan holds a ' Sowing Festival ' every hundred years, sending out executor teams of over a million people each time. The God Tree of the Shinobi World has already borne fruit, Chakra energy is like a light in the darkness of the universe; it's impossible for them not to notice."
"My mother's companions from a thousand years ago have yet to return. Now, the Chakra in the Shinobi World is growing ever denser, and the aura of the God Tree has long since spread beyond the galaxy." Hagoromo's voice was heavy as lead. "According to the rules of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, if no news is received for more than a thousand years, a 'patrol team' will be dispatched. The patrol team is not comparable to the executors; they are equipped with true combat capabilities, possessing Space Jumping Technique, and are said to be able to destroy a small planet in an instant."
Tsubasa suddenly laughed, but there was no trace of ease in his laughter. "Senior, have you ever seen the Kage Academy of Konoha? Some of those graduates can conjure Tailed Beast Bomb with one hand, and some can analyze spatial coordinates. And the researchers in the Scientific Research Department have already built a warship that can fly in space; the Rune Department is even more amazing, combining your Six Paths Senjutsu with my World Runes to create a formation that can block Chakra signals."
A look of surprise flashed in Hagoromo's eyes. "You started preparing a long time ago?"
"It began more than a decade ago when we deciphered the story of Princess Kaguya remaining on the moon." Tsubasa's fingertips traced star trails, and the image of the Kage Academy appeared in the illusory world—countless boys and girls in school uniforms were practicing spells, runes flowing in their palms. " The Shinobi World cannot be confined to this small planet forever. Ancient gods or ninjas, we must evolve the world. Doesn't your Pure Land also hold the souls of countless ancestors?"
" The Pure Land is indeed a treasure trove." A glimmer of light appeared in Hagoromo's eyes. " The Chakra and experience of powerful figures throughout history are all stored there. If we could transform this power into the foundation of the Shinobi World..."
"That's not all," Tsubasa interjected. "The soul energy of the Pure Land can be transformed into the power for interstellar travel, the Chakra of the Shinobi World can power rune warships, and the power of the ancient gods' rules can construct defensive barriers. We can have Onmyoji communicate with the ancient gods, have wizards perfect soul spells, and have mages study cosmic energy—only by uniting all these forces can we be qualified to contend with the Ōtsutsuki Clan."
Looking at the young man before him, Hagoromo suddenly felt that the Rinnegan was seeing not only a young powerhouse, but also a navigator paving the way for the Shinobi World. He removed the golden mask from his face, revealing his all-encompassing Rinnegan, its eyes gleaming with resolute light. "I have lived for a thousand years, witnessed the darkest moments of the Shinobi World, and also the most tenacious hopes. Young friend Tsubasa, your magnanimity puts me to shame."
"Don't call me 'young friend' anymore," Tsubasa extended his hand, a rune token engraved with a Tai Chi symbol appearing in his palm. "Since we share the same goal, let's address each other as brothers. The Mirai of the Shinobi World rests on our shoulders."
Hagoromo grasped the token, two powerful forces converging in his palm. The essence of the Shinobi World and the laws of the Pure Land resonated, causing the clouds in the sky to churn and form a giant yin-yang symbol. "Good! Brother Tsubasa!" he proclaimed. "First, subdue the ancient gods and make them the first line of defense for the Shinobi World; second, open the passage between the Shinobi World and the Pure Land, allowing the power of our ancestors to nourish the present world; third, accelerate the research and development of interstellar technology and build a fleet capable of traversing star systems. Once we're ready, we don't care about patrol teams or clan leaders—once they come, they won't be leaving!"
"That's not all." Tsubasa's eyes gleamed with ambition. "Once we withstand the first wave of attacks, we'll switch from defense to offense. They've destroyed millions of planets, we'll reclaim millions of star systems; they have hundreds of billions of people, we'll unite all the oppressed races in the universe and make them taste the bitterness of being betrayed by everyone. The Mirai of the Shinobi World isn't on the ground, it's in the stars!"
Hagoromo burst into laughter, her voice echoing through the heavens. "What a magnificent laugh! Not on the ground, but in the starry sky! In these thousand years, I have finally met a true confidant! If my mother knew, seeing such spirit in a junior of the Shinobi World, she would surely..."
"Lady Princess Kaguya, you, and Lord Hamura are all benefactors of the Shinobi World," Tsubasa's voice softened. "It was you who blocked out the initial darkness, allowing us to stand here and plan for the Mirai. The people of the Shinobi World will never forget this kindness."
Beneath the wispy clouds, Tian Zhiyun looked at Wind God Saku sleeping peacefully beside her, then gazed at the two intertwined figures above the clouds, a smile unconsciously spreading across her lips. The wind carried the soft rustling of flowing runes, and beneath the starry sky Pure Land and the Shinobi World resonated with a tremor. She knew that a new era belonging to the Shinobi World was quietly beginning in this dialogue atop the clouds.
In the Konoha's Kage Academy, lights blazed as boys and girls studied late into the night; in the Scientific Research Department's laboratories, instruments gleamed with a ghostly blue light, runes traversing the blueprints; on the edge of the Pure Land, countless souls began to stir, as if sensing a call from the mortal world. And in the distant depths of the galaxy, a faint beam of light swept across the Shinobi World's atmosphere, transmitting a signal back to an unknown star field—the final calm before the storm.
Tsubasa and Hagoromo stood side by side atop the clouds, gazing at the Shinobi World as night fell, their eyes simultaneously fixed on the deep starry sky. The protection of a thousand years ago and the pioneering of a thousand years later converged at this moment, the figures of the old and the young gradually overlapping under the starlight, their fingertips pointing to the depths of the universe, as if they had already grasped the destiny of the Mirai.
" The Shinobi World will not perish," Hagoromo said softly.
"We will let the Ōtsutsuki Clan know," Tsubasa's voice was resolute, "That this Shinobi World planet is not to be trifled with."