The Shinobi World.
Somewhere deep within a mountain range.
Silently, a spatial rift opened, and Kaguya appeared amidst the rocky terrain.
"So this is the place…"
She gazed at a particular peak, not especially tall, but the starting point of the entire mountain range. Her Byakugan flared with light as her gaze pierced through the rock to the immense energy pulsing within.
It was the Dragon Vein.
The energy here surpassed even that of the Dragon Vein beneath Roran. Buried deep underground and untouched for centuries, this location had been discovered by Black Zetsu during his millennium-long exploration of the ninja world.
"This is the one…"
"With the power of the Dragon Vein, we can distort time and space, travel to the past or the future… I'll fully recover there, and then return to this world…"
Black Zetsu's raspy voice echoed beside her.
This was the final contingency he had prepared for Kaguya.
If Kaede had reacted too quickly, or their plan to fully revive the Ten Tails by gathering all nine beasts had failed, then Kaguya would be resurrected only in spirit. In that case, she could escape through time itself, using the Dragon Vein to reach another era.
Kaguya stared at the Dragon Vein for a second before raising her hand and striking the mountain with a powerful blow. The air twisted, and a massive fist-shaped shockwave smashed into the rock, blasting the mountain open in an instant.
A surge of pure Dragon Vein energy erupted from the crack like a fountain.
Whoosh!
Without hesitation, Kaguya soared into the torrent of energy.
But rather than being drawn away or torn through the fabric of time, she simply sank into the flow of power.
"…Mother, your chakra is too strong…"
"In this state, the Dragon Vein can't transport you…"
Black Zetsu's voice trembled.
Kaguya frowned, contemplating what to do, only for a dark space to suddenly ripple open nearby.
A pitch-black portal formed in midair, and from it stepped Kaede.
The moment she saw him, Kaguya's eyes flashed with decisiveness. She let out a shout and hurled all the chakra she had absorbed from the Ten Tails toward Kaede, releasing it in the form of the Geto Statue.
"Hm?"
Kaede raised his hand and caught the statue midair. Then, seeing Kaguya immersed in the glowing, violet Dragon Vein energy, he instantly grasped her intention.
But before he could react further,
Having discarded the Ten Tails' chakra and now reduced to a pure spiritual form, Kaguya was completely engulfed by the Dragon Vein's light. It began to wrap tightly around her.
"Trying to flee to a parallel timeline?"
Kaede's eyes narrowed.
He vanished in an instant and reappeared in front of the Dragon Vein. With a flick of his wrist, a golden blade materialized, his Rinne-Tensei Sword, and slashed toward Kaguya.
She tried to dodge, but couldn't escape in time.
Slash!!
The blade severed her left arm, slicing through both Kaguya and Black Zetsu and sending the arm tumbling out of the Dragon Vein's energy field.
Though Kaguya's soul and will were immortal, untouchable even by Truth-Seeking Orbs, this strike dealt actual damage to her soul!
It was the power of the Rinne-Tensei Sword, forged from the combined forces of life and death, a power only wieldable through the Rinne-Tenseigan.
This was a power on Kaguya's level, born from the very essence of the God Tree's chakra.
If one were to recondense all chakra in this world back into a single God Tree Fruit, Kaede now held one-third of its power. Another third resided in Kaguya's spirit. The final third remained scattered among the tailed beasts and the shinobi of the world.
"How… how can this be?!"
Black Zetsu's eyes widened in disbelief as he fell from the severed arm, cast out from the Dragon Vein's light.
Kaede's strength had grown to the point where even Kaguya's spiritual form could be harmed!
As Black Zetsu had feared, Kaede's eyes had evolved to a level equal to Kaguya's, tapping into the power of the God Tree itself!
And in the very next instant,
The Dragon Vein's energy surged with newfound intensity. It enveloped Kaguya's soul completely, warping the space and time around her.
"I shall return!"
Her voice rang out one last time.
With that, the violet light of the Dragon Vein vanished in a flash. A faint trace of purple lightning lingered in the air, weaving briefly through the void, then fading away entirely.
Kaede watched silently. The golden Rinne-Tensei Sword in his hand dissolved into a Truth-Seeking Orb that floated at his side.
Then,
He turned his gaze toward Black Zetsu, who had fallen outside the Dragon Vein's range.
The entire mountain fell into silence.
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Kumogakure.
Shukaku, Matatabi, Gyuki, and the other tailed beasts still hadn't dispersed. They remained grouped together, intently sensing the battle between Kaguya and Kaede.
Namikaze Minato and the others stood nearby, tense with anticipation.
They had already heard much of the truth from the tailed beasts, about Kaguya, the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and the Ten Tails. They understood that Kaede's battle with her would determine the ultimate fate of the shinobi world.
If Kaguya won…
Humanity would once again fall under her dominion.
Just as that thought weighed heavily in the air, Saiken, the Six-Tails, suddenly let out a bubbly sound as his antennae twitched.
"She's gone!"
"What do you mean, gone?!"
Minato and the others instantly turned to him in alarm.
The other tailed beasts all raised their heads at once.
Each of them had part of their chakra still trapped inside Kaguya, and now, they could clearly feel that the portion had suddenly been freed, the bindings broken.
"Kaguya's chakra has vanished!"
Gyuki let out a long breath. "Looks like Kaede won…"
Just as his words finished, a space-time portal opened overhead, and Kaede stepped calmly out.
The tailed beasts all looked up together.
They could clearly feel that the portion of chakra Kaguya had taken from them now resided within Kaede. He had absorbed it entirely and brought it under his control.
"…It's over?" Saiken asked softly.
Kaede replied calmly, "She ran away."
The tailed beasts were stunned. Gyuki looked slightly uneasy. "Then…?"
"She might not be able to come back," Kaede said nonchalantly.
Now, half of the Ten Tails' power resided in his body. With the Rinne-Tenseigan, he had completely purified Kaguya's influence. Even without relying on time-based powers, his strength had now firmly reached the third stage of the Six Paths level.
If Kaguya took too long to return, he might even complete the Eight Gates Formation.
And at that point, spiritual power from his ocular abilities, chakra from the Ten Tails, physical might from the Eight Gates, plus his mastery over time itself…
The Fifth Stage of the Six Paths Level?
Kaede didn't dwell on it. He turned toward the nearby shinobi of Kumogakure.
The First Raikage and the others looked at him, momentarily at a loss for words. Even Minato, who knew Kaede best, found it hard to speak.
After a few moments of silence, Minato finally asked, "How's Naruto?"
"…He might surpass you someday," Kaede replied with a faint smile.
Then he added, "If you want to see him, go now. I'm about to release your Edo Tensei."
"Thank you."
Minato's expression softened with gratitude. He sensed the Flying Thunder God mark he'd left in Konoha, and with a flash, vanished.
Almost immediately after Minato disappeared,
Kaede clasped his hands together in front of him.
Buzz!!
Beams of white light appeared instantly, enveloping the First Raikage and the other Edo Tensei shinobi.
Just as the Sage of Six Paths could release Edo Tensei, so too could Kaede now that he possessed the Rinne-Tenseigan.
Kaguya's third eye, the Rinne Sharingan, governed world-destroying and world-creating powers like Amenominaka and Expanding Truth-Seeking Orb.
But the Rinne-Tenseigan,
It ruled over life and death.
Its powers included the Rinne-Tensei Sword, but also abilities like Life Creation, Samsara Rebirth, and Life Drain, among many others.
With the Rinne-Tenseigan, the boundary between life and death no longer existed.
Kaede could mold life from clay and create beings akin to tailed beasts. He could summon souls from the Pure Land and bring them back to life. He could even cross into the realm of the dead himself.
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria