When Shinsei landed on the edge of the altar, Madara was already standing directly below the vortex.
The nine Tailed Beast Chakra, entwined with the energy of the Dragon Vein, fused together to form a monster he had never seen before.
It has no fixed shape, like a large mass of crushed light.
A purple skeleton is faintly visible, while nine colors of flesh surge, tear, and recombine on its body.
It's too late!
Shinsei understood at a glance that the fusion of the Dragon Vein Platform and the Tailed Beast Chakra had exceeded the threshold at which he could interrupt it.
If we act rashly now, we will only detonate that energy prematurely, tearing the entire Rōran and the surrounding area within a hundred miles into pieces.
Ban turned around to face him. The swirling wind blew Ban's long hair into a frenzy, and his eyes shone brightly in the purple light, like two balls of cold fire.
" Shinsei, you always manage to catch up," Madara said. "You never just stay put and wait, but this time, you're too late."
"You knew I would come," Shinsei said.
"I know," Madara said, "That's why I had the wind ninja guarding this place killed. I wanted you to see it."
"What do you see?"
"See my path."
Madara took two steps forward, and the Tailed Beast that was fusing behind him let out a low roar, causing the entire ruins to tremble.
Obito knelt in the distance, while the White Snake Sage retreated into the shadows. Only Madara remained standing at the very center of the storm.
"You told me before about another possibility for Eye of the Moon Plan."
"Using Genjutsu to construct a second world, where everyone can resolve their conflicts and then bring peace back to reality," Ban said. "It's wonderful. I thought about it a lot afterward. The ownership of that world is very important. Whoever controls it owns the future. You and I both know that the human world is no longer worthy of choosing peace."
His tone was calm, as if he were talking about something he had thought about long ago.
"I admit your plan is beautiful. But that world cannot be controlled by you."
I will no longer trust anyone; only when I personally lead the peace will there be true peace.
Shinsei, if you want to unify the Shinobi World, I'm even less likely to hand you the key to peace.
This is my dream, a dream I've had since the night the Uchiha Clan was wiped out, and I've been pursuing it ever since.
For it, I broke with Hashirama; for it, I crawled out of the Yomi and came to this day. This dream, only I can fulfill.
Madara looked at Shinsei, his eyes filled with a kind of utterly unabashed madness.
" Shinsei, you've grown too fast. So fast that I'm no longer confident I can beat you in future matches. I can't wait. That's why I created this."
He pointed to the churning giant behind him.
" The New Ten-Tails! Its bones are made of Dragon Vein energy, and its flesh and blood are made of the Tailed Beast Chakra."
More stable than the Ten-Tails, more free than the Ten-Tails. It is not bound by Kaguya, nor is it restricted by seals.
It can travel through all parallel worlds and take me back to every place I want to go.
Ban's voice suddenly lowered, as if he were talking to someone in the distance.
"I want to go back. Back to before the Uchiha was destroyed, back to the time when my younger brother was still alive."
I want to show him that he will understand the path I've chosen. I also want to show Hashirama that the world he believed in at the Valley of the End will ultimately be realized by me.
Shinsei hadn't spoken until now. His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear.
" Uchiha Izuna is dead. Hashirama is dead too. Even if you go back to the past, you can't change the present of this world. Whatever you do on other timelines is just a parallel world; you can't go back, and you can't save them."
Ban smiled. It was a faint smile, yet it sent a chill down Shinsei's spine.
"I don't need to change anything. I just need to see them. To see how they are still alive."
His hand landed on the New Ten-Tails 'Chakra.
Just then, Xiaobai poked its head Shinsei's body, raised its dragon head high, and let out a long, low cry.
Shinsei immediately understood what Xiaobai meant: it wasn't to stop Madara, but to use the energy fluctuations of the Dragon Vein to interfere with the direction Madara was going.
Xiaobai is a product of the Dragon Vein's energy and shares the same origin as the Dragon Vein.
If Ban wants to use the Dragon Vein to travel through time, then Xiaobai has a fleeting opportunity to disrupt the spacetime coordinates where Ban will land. It can't stop him, but it can shift his position.
We can't decide whether he can go, but we can change where he goes.
Shinsei didn't hesitate. He mobilized Xiaobai's Chakra and mixed a trace of the Dragon Vein's resonance into the platform.
That seemingly insignificant ripple, the instant Madara leaped into the vortex, propelled the target far forward, sending it plummeting towards a direction even more ancient than the Warring States period.
Just as Madara's figure disappeared into the vortex, Shinsei moved as well.
Using the connection between Xiaobai and the Dragon Vein, he leaped into the same crevice.
A burst of purple light erupted. Obito tried to give chase but was stopped by the White Snake Sage. The night sky over Rōran seemed to have been ripped open, and after a loud bang, the two figures vanished one after the other.
The Dragon Vein Platform collapsed with a deafening roar, and the ruins' broken walls crumbled completely. Yellow sand surged in from all directions, as if to bury everything.
Shinsei felt that this trip was much farther away than before.
There was no light, no sound; it was like being pulled down into a tunnel made of time.
The last thing he saw was Ban below him, his hair as black as ink, his clothes as red as fire, looking back at him. In his eyes, it was as if he had finally waited for him to catch up.
Shinsei and Ban landed almost simultaneously.
The ground was covered with soft, damp, decaying leaves, and the air was filled with the sweet, pungent smell of fermenting plants.
The trees all around were incredibly thick, rising straight up from the ground, their canopies layered upon layer, blocking out the sky, with only a few rays of light leaking through the gaps.
Vines twined around the tree trunk like countless drooping arms. Birdsong came from a great distance, sharp and unfamiliar.
Ban stood ten paces away, his red robes stained with shards of purple light from his movements. He brushed the dust off his shoulder and looked around. Shinsei also surveyed the forest. It was very quiet, almost too quiet.
"Looks like we've arrived," said Ban.
"This wasn't where you originally wanted to go," Shinsei said.
Ban didn't deny it. He looked down at his palm, then glanced back at his back, where there was no trace of the Dragon Vein Platform anymore.
His new Tailed Beast resided within him, its aura unstable, like a beast exhausted from a long journey.
"Your little worm is quite capable," Madara said, "It actually interfered with my Hashirama!"
" Hashirama? You mean your new Tailed Beast?"
"Only Hashirama's name is worthy of my newly born Tailed Beast."
Shinsei stopped talking and instead curiously observed Madara Uchiha, making Madara extremely uncomfortable.
"Kid, do you want to dance here?"
"Ban, are you really interested? If you want to fight, I don't mind fighting you!"
Madara Uchiha and said nothing more.
This brat is extremely difficult to deal with. I had originally planned that the new Tailed Beast would reach the level of the Ten-Tails.
But judging from the current feeling, it seems to be a bit stronger than the Nine-Tails, but it hasn't reached the level of power needed to break through to the next level.
He didn't want to waste any more time here. Whether it was collecting the Tailed Beast of this timeline or researching how to transform his Chakra into Kekkei Mōra, it was all more worthwhile than fighting with brats here.
Shinsei had no interest in a life-or-death duel with Madara Uchiha.
He was also sensing his surroundings. The Natural Energy here was extremely rich, but also extremely primitive, like a pool of water that had never been stirred.
Xiaobai had exhausted a great deal of energy and remained curled up inside, Fudo, only able to vaguely feel a warm pulse. Ban was right.
He transported the two to an era far more ancient than they had anticipated. He didn't yet know just how ancient.
"Aren't you going to kill me?" Madara suddenly asked.
"I can't kill you," Shinsei said.
"Hmph, at least you have some self-awareness. I'll let you off this time."
Shinsei raised an eyebrow, unwilling to waste any more words on this arrogant jerk.
Ban looked at Shinsei, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes for a fleeting moment. That emotion lingered only briefly, like a bird's shadow skimming across the water. He turned and walked deeper into the forest.
"Next time we meet, I won't say anything more to you," Ban said. His voice was half-swallowed by the trees, as if it came from a very far place.
Shinsei stood there until Madara's figure completely disappeared among the giant trees before slowly exhaling. Then he walked in another direction.
He had a premonition that this trip wouldn't be easy. Otherwise, the Katsuyu Sage wouldn't have taken it so seriously.
This forest is so vast that it has no boundaries.
Shinsei walking for a long time, the trees began to thin out and the terrain gradually leveled out.
He saw a narrow path worn smooth by footsteps, its surface uneven and the stones polished to a shine. There were signs of habitation.
He walked along the road and came to a small town. It had earthen walls, wooden doors, and thatched roofs.
The wooden buildings on the city wall were leaning precariously, as if a gust of wind could blow them down. The city gate was wide open, and several people dressed in coarse cloth squatted at the foot of the wall, basking in the sun, clutching wooden sticks and straw ropes in their hands.
As Shinsei approached, they looked up, their eyes blank, showing neither surprise nor fear.
Shinsei continued walking in. The muddy road was full of potholes, and rotten vegetable leaves and animal bones floated in the ditches by the roadside.
Several children chased a half-dead pheasant out of the alley. They paused when they saw Shinsei, then continued the chase. A lingering, fishy smell hung in the air.
Suddenly, a commotion broke out ahead.
"Monster! Monster!"
Then came more voices and the sound of stones hitting the ground.
Shinsei walked a few steps quickly, turned a street corner, and saw a group of people gathered in a small square in the city.
They were holding wooden sticks, stones, and old pieces of iron from who-knows-where, and they were throwing them at the thing in the middle.
Shinsei squeezed to the front of the crowd. The person surrounded wasn't a monster, but a woman.
A woman as white as moonlight, with light-colored hair that trailed on the ground.
She stood there, neither dodging nor retaliating, but simply tilting her head as if listening to the sound of the stones flying past her ear.
A rock hit her feet, kicking up clouds of yellow mud. One rock grazed her forehead, and she tilted her head slightly. There was no blood. She didn't even blink.
Shinsei got a clear look at her face.
Otsutsuki Kaguya!
He seemed frozen in place. Just then, another stone flew out from the crowd and smashed straight into Kaguya's chest.
Without a second thought, Shinsei stepped forward, stretched out his right hand, and caught the stone. The sharp edges of the stone hurt his palm. Shinsei threw the stone on the ground and placed it in front of Kaguya.
"Stop."
The crowd fell silent for a moment. A man holding a pitchfork peered forward.
"Who are you? Why are you protecting that monster?"
Shinsei ignored him, only glancing back at him. Kaguya was also turning her head.
Her eyes were light-colored, like two moons reflected in clear water.
This isn't the Otsutsuki Kaguya that Shinsei remembers; she doesn't have that overwhelming resentment.
Only a pure, blank-slate kindness and a bewildered, helpless anxiety.
Otsutsuki Kaguya looked at Shinsei with curiosity.
"You don't even know who she is, yet you're shouting for her to be killed," Shinsei said. His voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the square heard him because it was so quiet.
"She's not a monster," Shinsei said. "Everyone, disperse."
No one moved. The pitchfork man took a step forward, as if he wanted to say something.
Shinsei loosened his clenched fist, and the stone had already shattered into powder in his palm.
He blew gently, and stone dust drifted out from between his fingers like a small patch of grayish-white mist.
The crowd began to retreat. First a few, then a large group. The man with the pitchfork also retreated, glancing back at Kaguya before leaving, as if unwilling or afraid. Soon, only the two of them remained in the square.
Kaguya remained standing, watching Shinsei. Her face was expressionless, but Shinsei noticed that her gaze had softened slightly compared to before, like pale moonlight falling on the snow.
"Aren't you afraid of me?" Kaguya asked. Her voice was soft and cold. But Shinsei realized that she wasn't asking if he was afraid of her as a person, but rather if he was afraid of what she represented.
Shinsei looked into her eyes and after a long while said, "I'm scared. But I can't let them throw stones at you again."
Kaguya didn't speak. She turned around and walked towards the outside of the city. After a few steps, she turned back and glanced at Shinsei.
"Come with me."
Shinsei stood there, his palms still burning with pain. He thought for a moment, then followed. The two of them walked out of the earthen city one after the other and into the forest outside the city.
The city behind us was quickly obscured by the trees, as if it had never existed. Dusk pressed down from the treetops, bathing the entire forest in a dim, yellowish light.
Otsutsuki Kaguya turned her head and carefully examined Shinsei.
"You possess Chakra, are you here to kill me?"