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"Rinnegan?"
Hearing Kaito's words, Sasuke finally couldn't hold back and turned his head.
"The Rinnegan."
Kaito nodded firmly.
"How do I get it?" Sasuke asked with a hint of urgency.
He had been jealous of Madara's powerful Rinnegan for a very long time.
"I only have a few leads right now," Kaito replied. "I'll tell you once I'm certain."
He picked up his chopsticks, gave a slight smile, and said, "For now, let's eat. Itadakimasu."
"…" Sasuke couldn't help but roll his eyes.
…
After the meal, the youngsters took care of clearing the dishes while Kaito leisurely sat sipping his tea.
Not long after, a sudden commotion came from outside the castle.
"What's going on?" Kaito asked aloud.
"The Hell Throne Championship is about to begin," Sasuke's voice came from behind him.
"Oh? So Lord Enma set up the illusionary array here?" Kaito put down his teacup and stood up.
"Let's go take a look. I'm curious what kind of people made it to the finals."
The uncle and nephew walked toward the main gate together. At the same time, Neji and the other two came rushing over.
"It's starting!"
Suigetsu shouted while shaking water droplets off his hands, earning an angry scolding from Karin.
As soon as Kaito stepped out of the castle gates, every ninja outside immediately turned their attention to him.
The noisy crowd instantly fell silent.
Moments later, several figures emerged from the crowd and approached him.
Konoha's Minato, Sunagakure's Baki, Kirigakure's Ao, Kumogakure's Darui, Iwagakure's Kurotsuchi, the Iron Country's Shūgen, and Kuni no Kuni's Ashiho—representatives from every major power on the continent in charge of lunar construction.
"Kaito."
"Lord Kaito."
"Kaito-sama."
Everyone greeted Kaito in turn.
"Hello, everyone. All familiar faces," Kaito replied with a smile. At some point, a pure white folding fan had appeared in his hand, which he gently waved.
After exchanging a few pleasantries and agreeing to meet the next day to discuss the defense line construction, he stepped aside and looked toward the already-activated array in front of them.
Only Minato remained at his side, clearly wanting to say something.
Sasuke and the other youngsters had already run off to mingle with a group of ninjas around their age.
With a single sweep of his gaze, Kaito spotted Konoha's Naruto and Shikamaru, Sunagakure's Kankuro, Kirigakure's Chōjūrō, and others.
"Speaking of which, Sasuke said you've been in secluded training lately. Has your strength reached another level?" Minato asked casually.
"You could say that," Kaito chuckled. "Though it wasn't exactly secluded training—it was an exciting trip to another world."
"Another world? Really?" Minato's eyes instantly lit up. "How could you not invite me to something that fun? We have a contract, remember? I wouldn't mind fighting as your shikigami."
"You're not even going to question whether it's true?" Kaito glanced at him.
"And you have a wife and kid to take care of—where exactly could you follow me to?"
"Because it's you. If it's you, I feel like nothing you do would surprise me! Naruto's all grown up now; he can look after himself."
Minato's smile was dazzling.
"As for Kushina, she can come along too. She has a contract with you as well, doesn't she?"
"You wouldn't even go to Hell for the job interview back then, and now you want to run off?" Kaito said helplessly.
There was no way he wanted this lovey-dovey couple tagging along and cramping his style.
If he was going to bring someone, wouldn't it be better to bring Fate?
"Hahaha…" Minato gave a dry laugh. "It's true—ninja just aren't used to staying idle. Back during the wars, we longed for peace more than anything, but now that peaceful days have gone on too long, it feels strange."
"You're just itching for a fight," Kaito hit the nail on the head.
"Hahahahaha…"
Minato kept laughing awkwardly.
"No need to rush," Kaito said. "There'll be plenty of battles in the future. Otherwise, did you think I suggested building a space defense line on the moon just for fun?"
At those words, Minato looked up at the cosmos above and said, "Even if we finish the space defense line, we'll only be able to defend passively. Who knows when the Ōtsutsuki clan will actually arrive?"
Kaito also lifted his gaze to the stars, watching the constantly moving celestial tracks. Suddenly, his expression shifted slightly.
"It's soon."
He murmured.
"The fate foretold by the star trails has changed. This time, it really is soon."
At that exact moment, the illusionary array on the other side shifted. A clear image suddenly appeared within the formation, accompanied by deafening cheers.
"What?" Minato asked, having missed Kaito's quiet words.
"Nothing. Let's watch the match," Kaito shook his head and turned his attention to the array.
"Alright."
Minato didn't press the issue.
The scene within the array swept across the dim underworld landscape, the majestic Hall of Enma, and the sea of dark figures filling the plaza in front of the palace.
"I see my dad!!!"
"Ah!! That's my grandfather!"
"Teacher!!!"
The ninjas gathered in front of the moon castle stared intently at the fleeting figures on the screen. Whenever someone spotted a familiar deceased face, they would excitedly shout out loud.
The camera moved swiftly before finally settling on the high platform directly in front of the Hall of Enma.
A handsome young man stood at the center of the image, dressed in heavy black ceremonial robes. Complicated patterns slowly rotated within his blood-red eyes.
At the same moment, the plaza in front of the Hall of Enma also fell completely silent.
"Who's that?"
"What's going on? Where's Lady Chiri? We want to see Lady Chiri!!!"
Some dissatisfied voices rose from the audience on the moon.
Among the crowd, those who knew the youth's identity quietly glanced at the distant Kaito and broke into a cold sweat on behalf of the complainers.
"Hello, everyone."
The young man in the image spoke, his voice cool but resounding.
"I am Uchiha Izuna, First Assistant to Lord Enma, King of Hell's Enma Palace."
"Oh my, Izuna is looking quite spirited," Kaito smiled as he watched.
"The First Hell Recruitment Tournament—also known as the Battle for the Ten Kings of the Ten Palaces of Hell—has, after this period of fierce competition, reached its final stage."
Izuna extended his hand crisply.
"Now, let us welcome the forty-nine finalists of this tournament!"
"Contestants, please come forward and present yourselves!"
The view in the array pulled back.
Led by Senju Hashirama, the finalists stepped onto the high platform one after another, appearing behind Izuna.
At that moment, both inside and outside the image, unprecedented roars of cheering erupted simultaneously.
People shouted the names of the contestants they supported at the top of their lungs, as if competing to see who could cheer louder.
On the moon, the spectators who had been mixed together instantly split into multiple small factions based on whom they supported, and some even began arguing with one another.