Almost a year has passed since the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
The pain of the ninja villages has not diminished with time.
In the original timeline, forty thousand of the eighty thousand Allied Shinobi Forces died, and things aren't much better now.
The blame was too great for Kakashi to bear alone.
Accusations, angry curses, and even assassination attempts came one after another. Worried about the effect on his wife, he recently moved out of his home and built a wooden cabin outside the village, putting himself in a state of semi-exile.
As his good friend, Might Guy spoke out for him several times and even helped Kakashi fend off three assassination attempts, but to little effect.
As Kakashi and Obito's teacher, Minato Namikaze felt he also bore responsibility, plus he wanted to focus on teaching Naruto.
After the subsequent issues among the various parties were more or less sorted out, he followed tradition and submitted his resignation to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.
During this period, Konoha took in a large number of ninja from Kirigakure. There was no other choice; the destruction wrought upon the land by the Six Paths-level war was simply too immense.
Earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis—natural disasters of all kinds were countless.
An island nation like the Land of Water simply couldn't withstand the constant tsunamis, some reaching over ten meters high.
First came the high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants, then even the common people began migrating to the Land of Fire in droves. With such a massive population drain, the Land of Water was on the verge of collapse, and as a village dependent on it, Kirigakure lost its value.
The overseas environment had become too harsh. At Konoha's invitation, they reluctantly came to Konoha Village for a 'temporary stay.' How long would they stay? Nobody knew!
Terumi Mei was still the Fifth Mizukage, but now she had an additional title: an external advisor to Konoha.
Minato Namikaze resigned after straightening out the affairs with Kirigakure.
So, who could be Hokage now? It was no longer a question of suitability, but of having no other choice. There was only Tsunade.
After all the twists and turns, Tsunade's destiny led her back to the position of Hokage. Following Jiraiya, she became the Sixth Hokage.
Ino, as was expected, became the Jonin Class Leader.
...
After the New Year, Konoha turned a new page.
As the Jonin Class Leader, Ino had a lot of work. Besides her daily routine of raising her child, she spent most of her time working.
With great power comes great responsibility.
She was constantly busy, with countless matters to handle. The ownership of a single mine or a plot of farmland could erupt into a major conflict. What was the root cause? The ninja world lacked resources. Delving deeper, there weren't enough resources within the areas suitable for human habitation.
Everyone was crammed together, fighting for resources in such a small area. How could conflict not arise? To make matters worse, the destruction caused by Kaguya and her sons a thousand years ago, coupled with the recent great war involving Ino and the others, was so immense that it had made the ninja world's living conditions extremely harsh.
Ino tried to repair it, but after a month of trying, she had to give up.
It was like trying to push down a gourd only to have a ladle float up. She would divert the underground lava here, and a tsunami would rise up over there. When she flattened the tsunami, the previous area would start to have earthquakes.
Ino was completely overwhelmed; the little bit of geological knowledge she had was no longer sufficient!
Facing this complex situation, she had no other choice but to ask Master Six Paths.
But when she saw Master Six Paths, she realized something was wrong and subconsciously swallowed her question. She had a gut feeling that the old man's aura had undergone some kind of change she couldn't comprehend.
'Master, what's...?'
Indra and Asura had reconciled, and the conflict between Master Six Paths and his mother was mostly resolved. The old man should have been happy, so what was this situation?
This time, the old man wasn't floating around pretentiously. Instead, he stood with both feet on the ground, holding his shakujo staff, and gazing into the distance at the Netherworld.
He looked as if he were about to embark on a long journey.
'I am very happy. All conflicts have finally been brought to a close. In this life, I have no more regrets.'
Ino's heart grew heavier and heavier. Those words didn't sound right at all.
Sure enough, the old man said in a calm tone, 'This world is too vast. I have remained here for so long mainly because of the lingering attachment in my heart. Now that they have all found peace, it is time for me to...'
Ino's heart tightened.
She then heard the old man continue, '...it is time for me to go out and see the world.'
Go? Where are you going?
'Child.'
'Huh? Master...'
'From now on, the task of protecting the ninja world is yours. You are this planet's new guardian deity.'
Facing Ino's horrified gaze, the old man smiled happily. 'Actually, I have been deceiving you. Your aptitude is quite good. You are indeed a bit inferior to me, but it's acceptable. Don't sell yourself short. Believe in yourself, remember the knowledge I taught you. You must find the answers to the questions in your heart on your own... The chapter of the Sage of Six Paths has ended. From now on, it will be the era of the Sage of Ten Directions. I hope that we, master and disciple, will have a chance to meet again.'
The Sage of Six Paths's chakra suddenly began to boil, burning from the inside out. His Rinnegan instantly turned golden, and one by one, his Truth-Seeking Orbs transformed into pure energy, converging into his body.
Rinnegan, chakra, sage arts, the Otsutsuki bloodline, the power of the Six Paths—everything fused with the old man at that moment, making it impossible to accurately distinguish between them.
The nine Tailed Beasts, including the Yin Nine-Tails lazing about in the Core Dimension, all raised their heads at this moment to look towards the Netherworld, bidding farewell to their father.
The Sage of Six Paths opened a five-colored gate that even Ino, with all her knowledge and sensory abilities, could not peer into. Then he pushed the gate open, transformed into a ray of rainbow light, and vanished...
He transformed into a rainbow and departed?!
Ino's face was blank with shock.
Had Master Six Paths's level of attainment become so high?
She stared blankly at the empty space where the old man had floated cross-legged for a thousand years.
Master Six Paths was gone... What should she do? Truthfully, she didn't really care. She'd eat when she was hungry and drink when she was thirsty; it wouldn't have a major impact on her.
But the old man left so decisively, who am I supposed to ask about restoring the ninja world?
After about a quarter of an hour, Ino felt that she had gained something indescribable.
It wasn't the 'divine power' used by the Otsutsuki God; instead, it felt a bit like the power used by her old pal, the Shinigami, but it wasn't exactly the same.
A series of blurry images appeared before her eyes. She quickly recognized them: they were scenes of Master Six Paths leading the disciples of Ninshu, traveling over mountains and across rivers, repairing the ninja world bit by bit.
The result was obvious: the old man had failed. The destruction caused by his battle with Kaguya was nearly irreversible.
'Huh?' Ino suddenly saw a fragment within these blurry images. Master Six Paths had created a large, square box. She recognized this thing—the Box of Ultimate Bliss!
After the Box of Ultimate Bliss was created, it seemed Master Six Paths was very happy. He wanted to use this box to repair the broken land, but after it was opened, she could feel his sense of dejection across a thousand years of time. Without a doubt, this plan had also failed.
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