Tobirama and Madara from Parallel World 2 finally reached a preliminary agreement.
Of course, Lux didn't really care whether they made peace or not. As long as it could accelerate the unification progress of Parallel World 2, that was enough.
Besides, letting an Uchiha ninja become the next Hokage wasn't a bad idea. At the very least, it could ease the conflict between Konoha and the Uchiha Clan to some extent. Allowing Madara to act as an overseer and competitor outside the governing system wasn't a bad move either. It could, at the very least, put pressure on and provide oversight for Konoha and Tobirama.
A healthy competitive atmosphere, mutual oversight, and mutual motivation might be more conducive to maintaining stability and progress after unification.
What's that saying? If there's no external enemy and no strict officials within, a nation will always collapse?
Lux had no intention of building an eternal utopia, but stability for a few decades was necessary at the very least.
In short, he hoped Tobirama from Parallel World 2 wouldn't let him down.
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[Parallel World 1 Unification Progress: 81% → 86%]
[Parallel World 2 Unification Progress: 52% → 85%]
[Parallel World 3 Unification Progress: 100%]
[Parallel World 4 Unification Progress: 92%]
[Parallel World 5 Unification Progress: 100%]
Lux reviewed the latest changes in the unification progress of each Parallel World.
Orochimaru from Parallel World 3 and Nagato from Parallel World 5 had already completed their unifications.
Minato from Parallel World 4 was also showing promising progress, just one step away from full unification.
As for Tobirama from Parallel World 1, he and Jiraiya had, over the past month, quietly achieved complete dominance over the Fire Country, leading to a significant increase in unification progress.
And for the last one, Tobirama from Parallel World 2, with his peace agreement with Madara, the unification progress naturally skyrocketed. The entire world no longer had any strong enemies capable of rivaling Konoha, pushing the progress to 85%!
Indirectly, Madara alone accounted for over 30% of Tobirama's unification progress, showing just how difficult he was to defeat.
Since Lux had used up all his lottery chances last time, with this and the previous unification progress in Parallel World 4, he had accumulated 4 more lottery chances. He was confident that it wouldn't be long before he could perform another ten-draw lottery.
"It seems the pattern in the first five Parallel Worlds is basically stable."
"Parallel Worlds 1, 2, and 4—it's only a matter of time before they're fully unified. Just a little more waiting."
"Hmm, it's about time to open a new Parallel World…"
"Should I go to Parallel World 6 or Parallel World 7 first?"
"Forget it, let's check out Parallel World 7 first. Nagato has been there once before, and the timeline is already unlocked."
"Let's make that the starting point."
Lux organized his thoughts, preparing to officially begin the conquest strategy for Parallel World 7.
Perhaps, for the Lux who was just starting out, Parallel Worlds 6 and 7 were undoubtedly the most difficult. One was the most chaotic, the other the most peaceful, and both were high-stakes matches filled with villains. If he had jumped in and meddled carelessly, he might not even know how he died.
He couldn't expect Madara from the Fourth Great Ninja War or the Otsutsuki to talk to him politely after seeing him, could he?
But things were different now.
He already had enough power to shake the world, so the nightmare-level difficulties that were once insurmountable were no longer impossible.
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Parallel World 7, Konoha Year 83.
This year, the Seventh Hokage, Naruto, was 32 years old, and young Boruto was just 12.
At this time, the Chunin Exams had concluded.
The Kara Organization, led by Jigen, was slowly coming to light. Sasuke and Sai were tasked with investigating in Amegakure, but unfortunately, they didn't uncover much.
Afterward, Victor was killed by Kashin Koji, Amado deliberately engineered the crash of the airship carrying Kawaki, and Kawaki was brought back to Konoha by Team Konohamaru.
Next, Kara member Delta infiltrated Konoha to retrieve Kawaki.
Naruto and Kara had their first direct confrontation, and Naruto successfully defeated Delta. Seeing his subordinates continuously fail, Kara's leader, Jigen, personally intervened, entering Konoha to take Kawaki.
Naruto, who had already formed an emotional bond with Kawaki and considered him almost like a son, naturally wouldn't allow it. Thus, Naruto and Sasuke engaged in a fierce battle with Jigen in his alternate dimension.
The outcome was obvious.
Naruto and Sasuke, no longer as bold as they once were, despite working together, were utterly defeated by Jigen's absolute power. Moreover, it was their first encounter with Jigen, and they had no understanding of his methods or abilities, leading to a significant disadvantage…
But a loss is a loss.
Both Naruto and Sasuke were pierced by Jigen's black rods, pinned to the ground, and lost most of their ability to fight back…
As he controlled the massive sealing jar's lid to close, Jigen said to Naruto, "I thoroughly enjoyed this fight."
"Uzumaki Naruto, killing you and the Kurama inside you together might take a bit of effort."
"I'll conserve my energy and seal you for now."
"Just close the sealing jar we're in now—this is a seal you can never break!"
Naruto was shocked, his expression worsening.
"A seal?"
"Hey, why are you sealing me? Why go through all this trouble? Is there a reason you have to do this?"
After so many trials, Naruto was highly perceptive and noticed Jigen's odd behavior. After all, he and Sasuke were already pinned down, and their opponent was one step away from killing them both. Why take the longer route?
This was clearly abnormal.
"I told you, killing you and Kurama together will take time, and I don't have much time right now." Jigen said truthfully, though the situation was even worse than he let on.
Jigen's remaining lifespan had been almost entirely depleted in the all-out battle with Naruto and Sasuke, and even the Kama core in his abdomen was starting to crack. If he continued fighting, he could certainly kill Naruto and Sasuke, but this Jigen vessel would also collapse.
He hadn't yet retrieved Kawaki, and the Kama in Kawaki's body hadn't fully "melted." If he used this Jigen vessel for an incomplete reincarnation first, it would only cost him one life and make things more dangerous, even causing the Kama etched in Kawaki's body to vanish.
That's why he chose to seal Naruto first. After all, Kurama's Jinchuriki was a monster hard to kill, as Jigen had witnessed.
"No time? Does this have anything to do with the cracks in your abdomen?"
"Are you in such a hurry to die faster?!"
Naruto still wanted to argue, to distract Jigen and buy time. Unfortunately, he was stopped by the more rational Kurama. After all, Kurama didn't want to see Naruto keep taking risks by provoking Jigen and dying here.
"Uzumaki Naruto, it seems even a beast has more sense than you, huh?"
"Indeed, I'm not personally interested in you, but your son is another story…" Jigen showed a hint of pride, sighing from the bottom of his heart.
Honestly, when he learned that the annoying Otsutsuki Momoshiki had been defeated by the people of this world and even had a reincarnation Kama etched into Boruto's body, Isshiki couldn't help but feel a mix of mockery and amusement.
He sighed at Momoshiki's humiliation but was also slightly curious about Boruto, who bore Momoshiki's Kama. After all, native ninjas capable of fully withstanding a Kama's power were exceedingly rare.
Perhaps there was some similarity between Boruto and Kawaki. If he could thoroughly study and find their commonalities, he could easily obtain many suitable reincarnation vessels in the future! That was the core of Jigen's curiosity about Boruto.
"What?!"
The moment his son Boruto was mentioned, Naruto's expression changed drastically.
Jigen: "That's Boruto, right? Too bad I didn't see him at your house! So, how's his progress?"
Naruto: "What does this have to do with Boruto? Tell me!"
"Don't play dumb. Of course, I'm talking about the Kama! Boruto has one too."
"You bastard! What do you want with Boruto?" Naruto raged, preparing to fight to the death.
But Jigen immediately bypassed Naruto and turned to Sasuke, who posed a greater threat.
"Uchiha Sasuke, right? Looks like you don't even have the strength to move anymore."
"Or are you biding your time, preparing a fatal strike?"
"Forget it, you're going to die here anyway!"
"After all, space-time jutsu is an unpredictable time bomb."
"Or maybe you could abandon the Hokage and escape on your own? If you can, go ahead and run!" Jigen sneered victoriously, quickening his pace toward Sasuke.
Naruto could be sealed temporarily, but Sasuke had to die. Otherwise, Sasuke could activate his Rinnegan's space-time ability at any moment, rescue Naruto, and render the seal useless.
"Sasuke, get out of here!" Naruto still had some strength to fight, even summoning several Kage Bunshin to block Jigen.
"Naruto, you…"
"We can't beat this guy now! If this continues, we'll both die!"
"If one of us can escape, one should escape. Don't forget, Boruto and Sarada still need you!" Naruto urged Sasuke to leave immediately.
"Naruto, without you, the chances of defeating this guy in the future are slim!"
"It's the same without you! And don't worry, I won't die that easily!"
"Go, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, seeing Jigen nearly upon him!
Sasuke gritted his teeth. Years of camaraderie told him how to choose, and he wouldn't say something foolish like wanting to die with Naruto in a critical moment. Reluctantly, he activated his dojutsu, opened a space-time portal, and was sucked into it.
"Naruto, don't die!"
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Jigen missed his chance to kill Sasuke. Seeing Sasuke escape, Naruto sighed in relief and resumed his taunting.
"Haha, regret it now? Even if you can track Kawaki with the Kama, you don't know where Sasuke is, do you?"
Jigen wasn't upset. As the victor, he maintained his arrogance and elegance, even showing rare kindness: "Seventh Hokage, you must be exhausted today."
"Enjoy the rest of your life in this dark, sealed world."
"Next time we meet, I'll send you to the afterlife!" Jigen floated into the air, flying gracefully.
It wasn't that he didn't want to keep killing Naruto, but his remaining power was less than a tenth. If he continued fighting fiercely with Naruto and lost, it would be inelegant. He would soon retrieve Kawaki and didn't want to keep taking risks…
Naruto struggled to prop himself up, glaring sharply at Jigen but refusing to give up: "Remember your words. Next time, I'll pay you back!"
"Hmph!"
Jigen sped up his flight out of the sealing jar, then controlled the sacred tool, shrinking the massive jar to human height. Only then did he land helplessly on the ground, even kneeling on one knee, tears of pain streaming down!
It was clear that his earlier elegance and calmness were just an act for others. When no one was watching, Jigen revealed his extreme weakness. If Naruto and Sasuke had fought to the end earlier, Isshiki wouldn't have lost, but this Jigen vessel would have collapsed first…
Afterward, the severely weakened Jigen planned to rest briefly and deal with the traitor within the Kara Organization before capturing Kawaki again.
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Meanwhile, inside the dark sealing jar, Naruto, tightly pinned, couldn't help but start to daydream.
'The last time I was this weak was the last time!'
'I never thought, besides Kaguya and Madara, there'd be an enemy this strong in the world! Even with Sasuke and me working together, we couldn't beat him…'
'Jigen, an enemy this powerful—I hope Sasuke and Boruto are okay!'
'Damn, my consciousness is getting heavy. Am I going to pass out?'
Naruto didn't know how much time had passed; he only felt his consciousness growing blurrier, as if he were about to fall asleep.
But at that moment, a light, a voice, suddenly woke Naruto from his slumber!