"This rate of natural energy absorption… it's even faster than the God Tree!"

Urashiki, now in his second form—more volatile and arrogant—was unable to hide the terror on his face as he stared at Kazuki, whispering in disbelief: "How is this possible? Does he actually have the ability to control this planet? There's no way someone could absorb natural energy like this!"

"Of course it's faster than the God Tree," Momoshiki said grimly, his expression ugly as he seemed to realize something from Urashiki's muttering. "The God Tree takes a thousand years to mature… and he just drained an entire ocean in moments!"

"Control the planet…?" Momoshiki's voice darkened. "Could it be… Gaia Consciousness?"

"Gaia Consciousness? That's just a myth, isn't it?" Urashiki started to question it—but as he stared at Kazuki's current form, even he couldn't help but falter.

"It really… might be the only explanation left…"

While the two exchanged hurried thoughts, Kazuki suddenly appeared between them.

With a hand resting on each of their shoulders, as if embracing them side by side, he pulled both Ōtsutsuki close with a disturbingly calm voice: "What are you two talking about? What's this Gaia Consciousness? Tell me all about it…"

At that moment, both Urashiki and Momoshiki felt their hearts stop.

Kazuki had moved so fast… so fast that their golden Rinnegan eyes hadn't even caught a blur. Not a single trace of spatial disturbance had been sensed either.

If they couldn't even perceive their opponent's movements, how were they supposed to fight?

"…If you're not willing to explain, then so be it."

Kazuki shook his head slightly.

Then, with a sudden force, the palms resting on their shoulders pressed down. It was as if his hands had sunk into freshly steamed tofu—only this time, they pierced through skin and shattered bone, plunging deep into their chests to seize both Momoshiki's and Urashiki's hearts.

Two Ōtsutsuki hearts throbbed violently within Kazuki's grip. And in that moment, his chakra and nature energy silently flooded into their cores…

"Weak. Far too weak. I once thought you'd surpass Kaguya… but is this all you amount to? What a disappointment…"

Kazuki, still gripping their now feebly struggling hearts, burst into laughter.

"Hahahahahahaha!"

It was the signature Uchiha maniacal laughter—fashionably late, but unmistakable.

"Go. Sink into the depths of the ocean. Let your hatred and pain fester… come back stronger."

With that, Kazuki pulled his hands from their chests, then transformed his palm into a blade. With a swift slash, he severed their limbs. The two once-proud Ōtsutsuki elites were hurled into the air—and then, with a brutal roundhouse kick, Kazuki sent them flying into the pitch-black sea like balls into a net.

Senju Tobirama and Uchiha Izuna exchanged glances. In each other's eyes, the same thought flashed—

Momoshiki and Urashiki were probably still alive.

But whether Kazuki had spared them intentionally or not, letting enemies like that walk away was a dangerous gamble.

A finishing blow—they had to find a way to finish them off.

But just then, Kazuki suddenly appeared above the shinobi of the Ninja World.

"Enough," he said, voice calm and low. "I told you all—don't interfere with my battle."

"Unless… you want to fight me now?"

A sudden shift—the appearance of Kazuki instantly interrupted Tobirama Senju and Uchiha Izuna's attempt to finish off their downed opponent.

Let alone a finishing blow.

Now standing before the shinobi world was Kazuki—whose sheer power and overwhelming aura far surpassed that of the two celestial beings, Momoshiki and Urashiki.

And it wasn't just his power that chilled them to the bone—it was what he had just said.

A battle?

Why would Kazuki assume he was here to fight the shinobi world?

Only now, in close proximity, did Tobirama and the others begin to feel the oppressive force radiating from Kazuki's body—the kind of pressure that came naturally from differences in bloodline and lifeform hierarchy.

Especially those crimson eyes of his—black and red, as if they were endless prisons, drawing in and locking away the wild vitality of the surrounding natural energy.

Just meeting his gaze by accident felt like having one's life force drained away by that black-red vortex!

It was in this moment—

That everyone in the shinobi world, especially the shinobi of Konohagakure, came to a profound realization.

Kazuki's gentle, sunlit warmth—that spring breeze-like kindness they had once known—was only one facet of who he was. It was not his entirety.

This man, Kazuki, was also the most lethal shinobi in the history of the shinobi world—the Shura among Shuras—who had once slaughtered tens of thousands in a single battle.

"Kazuki… y-you…"

Tobirama struggled to suppress his panic. He had grown accustomed to Kazuki's radiant temperament, like the sun. But now, in an instant, that presence had morphed into something utterly demonic—so corrupted it dragged his heart into the abyss.

He really… has fallen into darkness!

"Tobirama," Kazuki said, his gaze fixed solely on him as if no one else existed. "This world no longer deserves to exist…"

"What do you think?"

Tobirama's voice trembled. "W-why would you think that, Kazuki?!"

Not far off, Uchiha Madara—devout believer in the Eye of the Moon—heard Kazuki voicing sentiments that mirrored his own. But rather than joy, a deep unease began to stir in his heart.

Disillusioned with the shinobi world, Madara had once envisioned using the Eye of the Moon to eliminate conflict between humans. Deep down, he had never intended to commit global slaughter.

To Madara, those caught in the Eye of the Moon's illusion weren't dying—they were simply being sent to a blissful, dreamlike world that was just as beautiful as reality.

But now, as he caught a glimpse—out of the corner of his eye—of the sea, lifeless and gray like a corpse's ashes…

He couldn't help but wonder—

Would Kazuki, now disillusioned with this world, choose a path as 'gentle' as his own?

"Tobirama," Kazuki said quietly, "it's true there is real emotion and precious bonds in this world—but far more often, it is overwhelmed by meaningless infighting, pain, and stagnation."

"This atmosphere has infected the entire shinobi world, burrowed deep into its very bones. It's a planet so backwards that it will eventually collapse from within, completely powerless in the face of any true external invasion."

Kazuki stared at Tobirama, his voice soft yet firm. "I've lost all hope in this place… I could seize the mantle right now and forcibly unite the entire shinobi world through sheer strength, to prepare for the coming Ōtsutsuki threat."

"But the problem is—I'm merely a man. My lifespan is no different from any mortal's… and once I die, would this so-called unified shinobi world not fracture just as quickly as it did after Senju Hashirama's death?"

"I believe it would…" A strange smile appeared on Kazuki's face. In his eyes, a flicker of fury ignited.

"After all, this is a world that hasn't been able to unite for over a thousand years. Division and conflict have become inevitable outcomes—there's an invisible hand constantly forging opposing factions, ensuring that war will never end."

Tobirama fell silent.

And so too did the other Kage—each of whom knew all too well the long, bloody history of the shinobi world.

The shinobi world really was exactly as Kazuki had described—pathetic and fractured.

A thousand years of warfare had failed to produce unity. Even the initial peace agreement founded through the 'one country, one village' system eventually crumbled when Senju Hashirama died.

Compared to the Warring States era, the emergence of hidden villages merely transformed the format of conflict. Ninja deaths resulting from village-to-village wars were no fewer than those from clan-based feuds.

During the First Great Ninja War alone, the hidden villages collectively lost five Kage—along with countless jōnin and chūnin.

That level of attrition would have been nearly impossible in such a short span during the Warring States period.

Meanwhile, in the Pure Land, the Sage of Six Paths felt cold sweat running down his back.

Wait a minute... Was Kazuki actually talking about him?

Why had the shinobi world failed to attain peace for over a millennium?

The true reason lay in the reincarnation of Asura and Indra's chakra—each cycle giving birth to new vessels of overwhelming power who inevitably stood in opposition. These reincarnations gathered opposing factions around them and tore apart any hard-won unity the shinobi world had managed to build.

But this ancient secret, buried in the folds of history, was something the Sage of Six Paths believed no mortal could ever truly comprehend. At most, the reincarnated individuals might sense the presence of some chakra possessing them.

And yet, Kazuki had seen through it all—so clearly that he was only a step away from outright naming Asura and Indra.

Worse, this insight had birthed disgust and distrust in him toward the shinobi world... and he now seemed poised to take extreme measures.

"What do I do now? Should I go and explain everything to Kazuki?"

The Sage tugged anxiously at his beard, all trace of celestial composure gone. Though hidden in the Pure Land, and holding within him the spiritual power accumulated from a millennium of the shinobi world's souls, he could not release that power without the proper conditions.

Ideally, he would need vessels.

But would Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama—the two most suitable candidates—even agree to fight against Kazuki at his command?

And judging by Kazuki's current overwhelming display, the Sage doubted that even granting Madara and Hashirama the full power of Yin–Yang Release would be enough to defeat him.

"If I show myself now... Kazuki still carries my mother within him. It's far too dangerous…"

Staring at Kazuki, thoughts raced through the Sage's mind. If he harbors hostility toward me, I might end up just like those two clansmen—instantly annihilated!

And if that happens, the shinobi world's last hope of salvation would be extinguished! I must remain calm—observe, and see what Uchiha Kazuki truly intends to do.

After a brief internal struggle, the man once known as Ōtsutsuki Hiruzen—the Sage of Six Paths—reached a conclusion through rapid-fire reasoning:

Wait.

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