Land of Rain, Amegakure.
Outside of the Five Great Villages, the most famous shinobi village.
Because its leader was the Demigod, Hanzo.
But few knew he was already dead, killed by Akatsuki.
At the highest tower in Amegakure, Tendo Pain turned around to face Konan as she came up.
After losing his legs, Nagato used the Rinnegan to create the Six Paths of Pain.
Among them, Tendo Pain used the corpse of his dearest friend, Yahiko, and thus was the nominal leader of Akatsuki.
"Nagato, White Zetsu sent back news."
Konan's voice was cool. "Sunagakure took advantage of alliance talks to assassinate Konoha's new Hokage, Natsume. As a result, Kazekage Rasa and One-Tail jinchūriki Gaara were both captured."
"Was it because of the Nine-Tails jinchūriki?"
Tendo Pain asked blankly.
"No."
Konan shook her head. "Konoha did not deploy the Nine-Tails jinchūriki. Instead, Natsume displayed Wood Release and Sage Mode."
"Wood Release and Sage Mode—interesting."
Tendo Pain's face remained expressionless. "So Natsume is equivalent to Senju Hashirama?"
"Probably."
Konan had never seen Hashirama, so she wasn't sure.
But the "Uchiha Madara" in Akatsuki was far from calm upon hearing this.
"I've always wanted to see what qualifications the so-called God of Shinobi had to be called a god."
Tendo Pain finally showed some interest. "Konoha is now even more worthy as an opponent. I hope Natsume doesn't disappoint me."
"Do we need to do anything?"
Sensing his mood shift, Konan asked.
"No rush."
Tendo Pain's tone was indifferent. "Konoha is our target anyway. With One-Tail and Nine-Tails both there, it saves me time. When the time is ripe, we'll use Konoha to make the world understand pain."
"Mm."
Konan nodded, asking nothing further.
Akatsuki still lacked funds and wasn't planning to collect the Tailed Beasts yet.
Her paper-bomb plan also wasn't complete.
Because she didn't trust Obito, she was preparing Paper Person of God Technique to counter Kamui.
It required 600 billion paper bombs.
Even with her paper control saving costs, the money needed was astronomical.
…
Land of Earth, Iwagakure.
"Wood Release, huh."
Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki thought of that man—Uchiha Madara.
Humiliation crossed his face.
Compared to Hashirama, Madara left a deeper mark.
He and his teacher had gone to Konoha, intending to see Hashirama and form an alliance.
They ran into Madara instead, were mercilessly mocked, and both were beaten half to death.
Which shows just how terrifying Hashirama must have been to suppress him.
Now another Wood Release powerhouse had emerged—clearly a great threat.
"Ah! Easy, easy!"
Ōnoki screamed. "My waist!"
"Grandpa, please behave."
His pretty-faced granddaughter Kurotsuchi, in a red bodysuit, helped set his back.
"Granddaughters are more reliable."
Ōnoki grimaced and sighed. "I wonder where that brat Deidara ran off to."
…
Land of Lightning, Kumogakure.
Raikage's office.
Mabui, wearing a dark uniform and pencil skirt, pushed in.
"Lord Raikage, please look at this document."
"What is it?"
Fourth Raikage A extended his muscular arm to take it.
"News from Konoha."
Mabui's face was grave. "It's troublesome."
"If even you say that, it must be big."
A raised his brows and opened it.
He knew Mabui.
As Kumogakure's external brain, she was very smart, calm, and rarely lost her composure.
"Wood Release, huh."
After reading, A fell into thought.
He might act rash, but he wasn't brainless.
Given Natsume's displayed strength, even he wasn't confident of victory.
"Sunagakure will bow to Konoha after such a blow."
Mabui said solemnly. "Konoha's strength will grow."
"Shame it's too far. Otherwise we could seize the chance to take Suna."
Regret filled A's eyes.
"Lord Raikage, I recommend we lie low for a while."
Mabui advised.
"We'll do as you say."
A waved.
Kumogakure still hadn't fully recovered from the last war with Konoha.
He had no plans to stir up more trouble.
That flood that hit Kumo cost them dearly.
No matter the various reactions, this was Natsume's breakout—his fame exploded across the ninja world.
Those who'd looked down on him for his age now acknowledged him as the Sixth Hokage.
Amid the buzz, only a few knew he was missing.
…
Land of Ancestors.
Natsume stretched.
Pretty boring.
Still no sign of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya—he was getting impatient.
Just then, a sword-bearing samurai entered the hall.
"Lord Daimyo, outside the capital we found the woman you described."
"Did you approach her?"
Natsume sat up straight at once.
"No."
The samurai shook his head. "As you ordered, we dared not approach, but she seems to have noticed us."
"Take me to her."
Natsume exhaled. He was about to meet the final boss of Naruto—hard not to be nervous.
He couldn't beat her, after all.
For him, it had been a long time since he felt this way.
Leaving the capital, Natsume saw Ōtsutsuki Kaguya at a shrine in the outskirts.
She stood at the gate, surrounded by shrine maidens and commoners.
They were kneeling before her, faces filled with reverence, kowtowing repeatedly.
Natsume understood.
Kaguya's body coursed with surging energy, making him feel an indescribable gap.
It was a suppression from the level of life—or bloodline.
Like a mouse seeing a cat.
"Why do you not kneel?"
Kaguya turned her head.
Natsume finally saw her fully.
Pale skin, exquisite features, holy and cold.
Her eyes shone with white light.
Blue-white hair draped down to the ground, and two horns rose from her head.
By any measure, she wasn't human.
When Kaguya's emotionless eyes fell on him, a powerful sense of danger welled up in Natsume's heart.
So it's the ascetic version, huh.
He strode up to her. "I am the daimyo of the Land of Ancestors. Welcome, divine lady."
Good grief—she's too tall!
He only reached her waist.
At least two meters.
Natsume suddenly thought of "Hachishaku."
So spicy.
"Why do you have chakra?"
Kaguya raised a hand and pressed it to Natsume's head.
The next instant, she sucked out the chakra he'd accumulated recently.
What the—straight to sucking?
Natsume muttered—how much does she love chakra?
But the next second, Kaguya gagged, both hands pressing her abdomen, pain flickering across her face.
Indigestion.
She had just swallowed the chakra fruit and was already stuffed.
Now she'd taken in more chakra—she was overloading.
Natsume blinked.
In his senses, Kaguya's chakra was unstable.
Was it because she hadn't fully mastered the chakra fruit?
If he pulled it out, would it still work?
Ahem.
He was just thinking.
At that moment, he narrowed his eyes.
He sensed natural energy.
His perception spread.
An orange toad entered his view.
"The divine lady must be pregnant!"
"Everyone, give her your blessings!"
The kneeling crowd suddenly released a faint spiritual force.
Natsume raised a brow.
Unnoticed, the onlookers had multiplied several times.
The Great Toad Sage had prophetic ability.
And Kaguya had been here nearly a thousand years—surely the Three Great Sage Lands knew.
Showing up to meddle now made perfect sense.
This kind of blessing was likely faith from a divine system.
Make Kaguya pregnant, and the two sons she bore would naturally lean toward humanity under the influence.
Worthy of the Great Toad Sage.
Understanding this, Natsume didn't stop it. Better not to cause severe future shifts through his interference.
"Pregnant?"
Kaguya was at a loss.
Instinctively, she grabbed Natsume and vanished from before the crowd.
She took him because she didn't dislike him.
And he was special—he drew her gaze.
She also needed a guide to help her understand this world.
Natsume's vision blurred, and they were in a strange place.
Kaguya ignored him, lowering her head to look at her gradually swelling belly, dazed.
"Um… are you okay?"
Natsume asked hesitantly.
He had no idea how an alien gave birth!
What now?
Kaguya looked up. Her holy, goddess-like face now showed pain.
The crowd's faith combined with her chaotic chakra left her at a loss.
Natsume scratched his head, recalling how the Ten-Tails became nine Tailed Beasts.
In theory, they were all chakra lifeforms.
"How about expelling your chaotic chakra?"
Natsume pointed at her abdomen.
A ripple passed through Kaguya's pure white eyes.
It was indeed a good idea.
She pressed both hands to her belly. Dense chakra slowly flowed out and formed into two masses before her.
"What is…?"
Kaguya froze.
Natsume hurried forward, catching one in each hand—two infants—so they wouldn't be dropped and killed at birth.
[Because of your actions, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, and Ōtsutsuki Hamura's fates have changed. You gained 70 Fate Points in total.]
Hearing the prompt, Natsume jumped, thinking something had gone wrong.
But only 70 for three—quite low.
Which meant their destinies hadn't fundamentally changed.
"Divine lady, come to the Land of Ancestors with me."
Natsume said. "You and these two children need a place to rest."
Kaguya came back to her senses, expressionless once more.
She glanced at the two children without any emotional change.
To her, they weren't children—just her chakra.
She raised a hand and flicked.
Natsume's Transformation Technique was dispelled.
Kaguya paused for a beat—he was surprisingly good-looking.
But he had issues.
Was he descended from the Ōtsutsuki who'd come before?