Within the warped space of Kamui, Obito walked with measured steps. The endless grey expanse stretched in all directions, the ground and sky indistinguishable, trapping two unconscious figures: Takama Gin and Hiashi Hyūga. Both lay utterly still, their breathing faint, locked in a deep, venom-induced stupor from the chamber he had used to restrain them. That Takama had managed to wound him even while he was intangible to all… it still gnawed at Obito's thoughts.
His first destination was the rendezvous point with Zetsu. The pale creature emerged from the ground, eyes narrowing.
"Lost an arm, I see," Zetsu remarked, casually tearing off his own and tossing it toward him.
Obito attached the new limb with methodical precision, flexing the fingers as sensation returned. "That cursed Takama Gin… even intangible, he found a way to hit me. But once captured, neither he nor Hiashi stood a chance against a chamber laced with paralytic poisons."
"That is… troublesome," Zetsu mused. "The Red Monk believes he can work on these two, bind them to our cause, and in turn remove Hinata Gin from the board, after the exchange. An elegant solution."
Obito's gaze hardened as he tested the arm's grip. "The Rinnegan matters more. Without it, our plan dies. Did you deliver the message as we discussed?"
Zetsu's grin widened. "Of course. Once you secured the daimyō, I ensured the message reached Enshun—a minor but well-placed figure. He will see it delivered to the Iron Princess. The exchange is set for three weeks from now, in the Mountains' Graveyard of the Land of Iron."
They said nothing more, slipping through Kamui's distorted fabric of reality toward Akatsuki's base. Distance folded around them until the black vortex of their exit opened. Obito stepped out, carrying the limp body of Konoha's Tenzo.
Kabuto looked up from his desk, serpent-like eyes gleaming under the light. The pale sheen of his skin caught on the scales that traced faint patterns along his jawline. "So this is the Mokuton user… if he is what you claim, he will bolster our forces considerably."
The Red Monk broke his meditation, rising with slow, deliberate grace. "How did it go?"
Obito passed Tenzo to Kabuto with a single motion. "The war begins soon. The message is already in the Iron Country's hands. In two and a half weeks, the exchange will happen."
From the back, Deidara smirked. "A war, hm? Plenty of chances to prove my art is supreme… though it won't be the same without Sasori." His voice held both relish and a shadow of melancholy.
Beside him, Kisame's grin sharpened, Samehada twitching in his grasp with a low, eager rasp. "If there's an exchange, I want in. I'd like to cross blades with the Silver Lady again—properly this time."
"Tch. After what she did to that island, I'm first in line," Deidara shot back.
The Red Monk's attention returned to Obito, his voice calm but carrying a weight that drew all eyes. The room darkened subtly as the shadows curled toward him. "Take me to them."
Obito simply nodded, reaching out. A vortex swallowed them, depositing the two into Kamui's stillness a few paces from Takama and Hiashi.
Then it happened. A blood-red aura bled from the monk, shadows bending unnaturally toward him. Symbols like living scars appeared across Takama's and Hiashi's skin, pulsing with alien rhythm.
Reality itself seemed to warp. Through his Sharingan, Obito saw tendrils of energy erupt from the captives, coiling around the Red Monk and yanking his spirit inward. In a breath, the monk collapsed beside them, unconscious. The marks on Takama and Hiashi faded to nothing.
Obito stood frozen. For the first time in years, he could not fathom what he had just witnessed.
<<<< o >>>>
In the White Space, Michel stood alongside Hiashi Hyūga and Takama Gin, facing the Red Monk. The monk's expression was a mix of confusion and dawning fury—his oppressive darkness, so potent elsewhere, simply did not exist here. His crimson eyes burned as they took in the three men watching him. He tried to summon his powers, only to find them utterly suppressed in this strange, endless whiteness. Chakra flared around him as he braced for a fight—only for Hiashi to advance with deliberate precision, sealing the monk's tenketsu one after another. From a short distance away, Takama crossed his arms, content to observe. It was obvious the three shared an unspoken understanding of what had to be done.
"I love it when a plan comes together," Michel said with a faint smile.
The Red Monk, pinned to the floor, managed only a strained whisper. "How…?"
Takama stepped forward. "We had a plan—one we helped Hinata and Michel refine—but your presence forced us to adapt." He delivered a vicious kick to the monk's groin. "That was for hurting my daughter in Amegakure."
He went on, voice cold. "After that incident, we knew we had to bait you with something irresistible. For once, we would walk into danger instead of letting our Hinata be reckless. We knew if she cut straight through your carefully laid scheme, you'd panic. You'd try to force her to return the Rinnegan, just like you did with Itachi and Obito… isn't that right?"
Hiashi's voice came next, calm but edged with steel. "I joined the plan later, after reconnecting with my daughters on the moon. You use your abilities to twist minds with your darkness. We knew if you captured people Hinata cared about, you'd try to use them and twist them to break her. We made sure that temptation would be your undoing."
Michel's smile deepened as an endless web of silver threads coiled around the monk. "Yumegakure despises you. Jiren's reaction when under your control proved the plane would break its own rules to reach you—or anyone carrying one of your parasites. We found a seal, a variant of the Life Seal, that could bind someone to Yumegakure long enough for it to act through them. You inspired it, after what you did to Yugito."
Takama moved to Michel's side. "We had our seal master mark everyone you might target to force Hinata's hand. We didn't know who you'd go after, but we agreed this was the best defense."
Hiashi knelt, unlocking the monk's mouth tenketsu. "You are despicable… you are the reason for so many things that I feel deeply guilty about… when I realized that you are the one who has been playing with my family… saying that I hate you does not do justice to what I feel… Do you want me to tell you the most interesting thing…. Our daughter's plan was to exchange eyes to get back whoever you kidnapped… but thanks to your reckless actions, now removing you from the board means we can finally move to end Shikashi once and for all."
Michel's threads burrowed into the Red Monk. "So the parasite has devoured your soul… no—you were never a parasite. You're a fragment of Shikashi himself, aren't you? That's an opportunity. You know a few things I want."
"You'll get nothing from my fragment," the monk spat.
Michel shrugged. "I don't expect you to tell me. I've refined my memory extraction—yours will be… special. My friends here want you to suffer more than they want your secrets. You've tangled with their lives, their families, their destinies."
The monk's attempt to reply was lost to pain as Michel's threads sank deeper. His voice faltered, thought smothered by agony so pure he couldn't even scream.
"Tell me, monster," Michel said evenly. "Why target Hinata? Why seal her Byakugan? Why try to sever her from her family?"
A storm of memories flooded back—chaotic fragments Michel painstakingly threaded together. Each soul sent into the past gave Shikashi more influence, bound by a pact to place them where destiny could be bent. The first in Takigakure, in Jiren. The second in Konoha, in Ren. The third into someone pivotal in a branching fate—Hinata Hyūga.
Only souls from outside this reality could be sent. Shikashi drew them from the Source of Souls, the origin where all spirits return after death. The one summoned by accident for Hinata was an Enlightened Soul—a rare, dangerous prize to him. To protect his designs, Shikashi destroyed her political ties—cutting any spiritual ties that arose with his family, sealed her bloodline's sight, and placed a parasite to steer her down a predetermined path.
The truth was simple and chilling. Michel's grip on his threads tightened.
"Now tell me," he pressed, "what happened to Shikashi the fourth time, before you were sent back?"
Clear images came: Shikashi on a battlefield, Hinata facing him, Yumegakure striking. The manifestation was slow, instinctive—enough for Shikashi to escape and send another soul into the past, fulfilling the pact's rules and this time changing the rules of the game under his direct supervision..
Michel understood the choice he had to make. For his granddaughter to have a real chance, he would act in this new cycle in a different way. The past didn't matter. Only the future—and he would ensure she had one.
<<<< o >>>>
The great and extraordinary summit of the sages ended with an agreement to cease hostilities and arrange a procession of several Sages interested in visiting the lands of Yumegakure no Kai. One by one, the various factions began to depart, spirited away to their homelands via reverse summoning.
While Hinata conversed at a distance with the dragon, Naruto eyed her curiously, standing alongside Sakura and Sasuke. "So… Does anyone know why they call her the Silver Lady? I don't get why that title's such a big deal."
Sakura arched her brow, crossing her arms. "It's important because at one point the Silver Lady was classified as an S-rank threat. Takigakure put a massive bounty on her capture."
Naruto blinked in disbelief. "What!? Hinata? That doesn't make sense…"
"Not anymore," Sakura replied. "After the events in Yumegakure, all the villages changed her designation to 'do not engage—report only.' The reports of her power back then were… well, excessive, even for ninja standards."
Naruto grinned with a spark of mischief. "Well, I saw her fly… that was something amazing to see."
Sasuke glanced sideways, voice calm. "I would've liked to see it too."
A few paces away, Orochimaru and Tsunade exchanged unusually personal words.
Orochimaru's voice was low, stripped of his usual sarcasm. "When we lost Nawaki… I became obsessed with death, with preventing it. I spiraled… only recently have I finally stepped out of it. I hope that someday we can talk like we used to."
Tsunade, caught off guard, held a long silence before answering—merely nodding slowly. "…"
At the edge of the great plateau, Hinata stood speaking with the mighty dragon seated upon the mountain adjoining it. The beast's sheer size put them ten meters apart, yet close enough for a calm exchange with the monarch of the World's Maw. Proud and regal, his piercing gaze fixed on her as he inclined his massive head.
"Tell me, human… how did you reach the state you are in now?"
With poise, Hinata dipped her head. "Through effort… and the many trials I have faced in my life. My grandfather and master, Michel, taught me that focusing solely on natural energy would increase my strength, but also limit my growth. And now, I see he was right."
The dragon's golden eyes glinted with interest. "I am intrigued to know what trials fate set before you… but that is a conversation for when I visit Yumegakure."
Hinata offered a formal bow. "It will be an honor to receive you when that day comes."