The shinobi world couldn't sleep tonight.
Countless people poked their heads out from their homes and hideouts, gazing up at the sky. Above them, the crimson moon radiated increasingly terrifying heat, its color now blazing red-hot.
Just as sweat began beading on everyone's foreheads, the eternal moon that had watched over them for ages...
BOOM—exploded into a shower of fire across the heavens.
Rewinding five minutes earlier:
Outside the towering castle where the main Ōtsutsuki family resided, the massive walls glowed red-hot and white, softening and melting under the intense heat. The clothing of countless Ōtsutsuki clan members began spontaneously combusting.
Even with their enhanced physiques, they couldn't withstand this temperature anymore.
At the castle's center, the elderly clan head seemed to age ten years in an instant, his once-straight back now hunched with despair.
Facing the clan members packed into the luxurious hall, the patriarch spoke in a hoarse voice:
"All Ōtsutsuki clan members, evacuate to the underground chambers! Main family goes first! Once in the basement, use the spatial formation arrays to transfer to the surface! Remember—after reaching the world created by the Sage of Six Paths, don't wander around. Wait for assembly!"
The clan head coughed violently twice, then waved his hand forcefully.
"Begin now!"
As his words fell, countless Ōtsutsuki rushed toward the basement entrance. The clan's discipline showed itself clearly—one after another, their steps swift and urgent.
Meanwhile, on the moon's surface, Rinjin spat out the last of his toad oil and casually tossed aside Ōtsutsuki Hamura's stone statue.
He hung his head in contemplation for a moment, his hair gradually returning to its original black color as his runaway rationality came home.
Looking at the moon that now resembled a blazing hellscape, Rinjin scratched his head sheepishly.
Since things had already gone this far, might as well go all the way!
Having made his decision, his fists gradually clenched tight.
"Dog-bro, hold on tight!" he shouted.
On Rinjin's head, Sakumo gripped his hair desperately, crying out in panic:
"Wait... wait... what are you doing?!"
"Obviously giving a certain old bastard some entertainment! Seventh Gate: Gate of Wonder, open!"
With a furious roar, Rinjin's body exploded with brilliant blue steam as he raised both fists high above his head.
The next second, his massive fists tore through the air, warping space itself as they crashed down with devastating force.
...
At the Graveyard of Mountains, Uchiha Obito sat on a high hill wearing his yellow-striped mask, gazing up at the crimson moon. Though he appeared serene, unease churned in his heart.
However, within five minutes, that unease exploded into full panic.
Because the moon... was gone.
Gone.
What the hell was the point of the Moon's Eye Plan now?!
At this stage, Obito hadn't reached his peak power or understanding. To him, the moon's destruction was no different from the sky falling.
But to old man Madara, it was probably just a matter of using Earth-Shattering Star ten or twenty thousand times.
(Uchiha Madara: "Right, right, you're so noble—you do it then.")
Behind Obito, Black Zetsu—attached to White Zetsu's body—felt his heart turn completely cold.
Without the moon, how could they cast Infinite Tsukuyomi? How could they reclaim the scattered chakra? How the hell was his mother supposed to revive?
This...
In despair, Black Zetsu suddenly remembered a plan he'd abandoned a thousand years ago: first collect all the tailed beasts, secretly synthesize the Ten-Tails, then catalyze it into a divine technique. After that, sneak around to various villages kidnapping people and hang them on trees one by one.
At this thought, an image flashed through Black Zetsu's mind: Madara and Obito wearing black stockings over their heads, hunched over like perverted creeps, carrying human-filled sacks as they snuck out of Konoha.
This...
If I suggest this plan, Madara will definitely kill me!
Most critically, the Rinnegan's current wielder, Nagato, was just a sickly kid. Could they really expect him to use Earth-Shattering Star once a day?
Even if he could manage one daily Earth-Shattering Star, it would take five or six years to create a budget-version moon. But the rest of the shinobi world wasn't blind—who could ignore a sudden egg appearing in the sky?
At this realization, Black Zetsu completely broke down.
In the sky, the moon's destruction continued.
Without air to support them, the flames died out. The red-hot surface rapidly cooled and dimmed in the endless void.
In the fifty-second year of Konoha, the moon that had accompanied the shinobi world for countless ages... went dark.
Without its gentle moonlight, darkness completely shrouded the shinobi world's night.
In the Pure Land:
The Sage of Six Paths sat cross-legged in the void, a pitch-black staff resting across his knees, his eyes filled with worry.
That seed that wouldn't bear fruit was now completely beyond his ability to handle.
If originally that thing had been like a fig he could squeeze at will, then it became an almond, and now... it had turned into a damn macadamia nut!
Hard as hell!
Most infuriating of all, even Six Paths: Earth-Shattering Star couldn't seal it properly—the damn thing moved too fast!
At this thought, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo's aged face twisted with frustration as he rubbed his temples.
Guess there's no choice but to ask mother to come out...
While Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo worried about Rinjin, Rinjin and Sakumo had already used the Kamui dimension to return to Amegakure.
After directing his shadow clones to move the spoils of war from the Kamui dimension back to the village chief's building, Rinjin and Sakumo calmly returned to their original posts.
Seeing off their shift supervisor Ikegawa-maru, the two sat at Amegakure's main gate and started chatting again.
"Rinjin, I remember you weren't this violent before!"
Sakumo looked up at the empty night sky with lingering fear.
Hearing this, Rinjin froze for a moment, then scratched his head in distress.
"I'm not sure either. My sanity points seem to have dropped permanently!"
At these words, Sakumo glanced at Rinjin without changing expression, shifted his position, and scooted slightly closer.
"That... that monster... is it affecting you?"
Sakumo asked hesitantly.
He was one of the few who had seen the true form of the monster inside Rinjin, and had lost his appetite for quite a while afterward.
Facing Sakumo's question, Rinjin shook his head.
Are you kidding? In my past life, I used "The Carol of the Ones" as a lullaby—that monster can't influence me.
At this thought, Rinjin suddenly seemed to remember something and froze.
After a long moment, Rinjin finally took a deep breath and spoke in a low voice:
"Dog-bro, do you think it could be this situation: when I truly recognized what kind of existence I am, those things that originally belonged to me—whether I want to accept them or not—unconsciously return to their source?
Could this be what they call... dead memories attacking me again?"
As Rinjin spoke these words, in the whites of his eyes, an incomparably deep and obscure darkness flashed for just an instant before vanishing as if it had never appeared.
Those painful torments suffered in the evil god cult, those terrifying shadows that haunted the depths of his soul—as if they had never disappeared, they were coming back.
Darkness was approaching...
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