Only by returning to the very beginning, starting over from scratch, could he erase the shock his soul had suffered from the surge of strength he had gained in just a few decades.
With that thought, Uchiha Kirin decided that, before the Ōtsutsuki gods descended, he would undergo another transformation.
This time, he set his sights on the most fundamental essence of the Rinnegan and the Tenseigan—the core of samsara and rebirth.
Closing his eyes, he continually switched between the two supreme ocular powers, feeling their strength deep within.
He even shattered his own soul, casting it into the cycle of reincarnation, living as countless new lives across different times and spaces, abandoning his former power to grow, to experience.
Uchiha Kirin immersed himself in his own cycle of reincarnation.
At this moment, the power of Infinite Tsukuyomi shone upon himself.
He chose to cast himself into thousands of dreamlike worlds, separating completely from reality.
He lost the mighty strength he once had; even his once-overwhelming body slowly disintegrated, leaving behind only a Limbo clone with a faint trace of mechanical consciousness to guard him in the meantime.
It kept all disturbances shut out beyond the sun...
...
In the shinobi world, the chaos caused by Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki was finally quelled under the gaze of the Sages.
The newly re-formed Shinobi Alliance, though influenced by the Sages themselves, was stronger and more united than before for they had endured those dark years.
Far more than the post–Fourth Shinobi War alliance protected by top-tier fighters like Naruto and Sasuke, this new alliance understood the true terror of the Ōtsutsuki.
Now, Boruto—by borrowing the power passed down from the Sage of Six Paths had set foot on a path to surpass Naruto, even evolving himself.
Through constant battle, the power of his Jōgan continued to unfold.
Beyond unmatched perception, it held limitless potential.
He personally led the Shinobi Alliance to wipe out every Ōtsutsuki Divine Cult stronghold on the surface.
Unfortunately, some cult members, on the brink of destruction, received advanced technology from Momoshiki, using spacecraft to escape into space and landed on the second moon.
Once Momoshiki's tomb and prison, it had now, with his growing power, become the paradise of the Ōtsutsuki Divine Cult.
Boruto had once attempted to attack this moon.
However, as soon as the Shinobi Alliance's forces approached, their chakra would be instantly drained.
Even Boruto himself could only muster Kage-level strength on the surface, and the cult remnants' weapons kept him constantly on the defensive...
Momoshiki had long since become a god and also the will of that moon itself.
Just as the shinobi world could suppress the cult's followers, Momoshiki could project his divine domain across the moon, inflicting heavy negative effects on any invading Shinobi Alliance troops.
The alliance was helpless.
Even barrages from their chakra cannons were completely absorbed by the second moon,becoming nourishment for Momoshiki's resurrection.
The news sent shockwaves through the shinobi world.
They couldn't breach the second moon and their own power reserves were waning.
After all, the newborn Shinobi Alliance was at a disadvantage from the start, its origins confined to the small territories of Hoshigakure and the Land of Hot Water.
The rest of the land had completely fallen during the short, dark years after Sasuke and Neji's deaths.
Thus, even though their technology and chakra research surpassed the old alliance, their overall scale was drastically smaller.
Worse still, the lands and people that had endured the dark era were in worse condition than they had been after previous shinobi wars.
For now, the newborn alliance could only erect a few chakra cannons for defense.
Afterwards, Boruto, Sarada, and others worked to clean up the mess left by the dark era.
Those who still worshipped the Ōtsutsuki Divine Cult had regressed to a tribal level of life and thought.
They had once been enslaved by daimyōs under the so-called divine right, spending their days doing nothing but eating, sleeping, and praying before Ōtsutsuki statues, receiving food "bestowed" by those statues.
Day after day, even their spirit and intellect had been worn away.
Even with the alliance's advanced technology, all they could do was build small towns in the wasteland, trying to restart civilization through long-term education a process that would take nearly a century to restore.
And with their scale reduced after the failed moon expedition, they had no strength to hunt down the cult remnants hiding in remote regions, quietly regrowing in the shadows...
...
On the other side of the shinobi world in the Land of Water, beyond the reach of the alliance's influence—
A red-haired man stepped out of a cave. He looked at the long-lost sunlight, then down at the surviving members of the Ōtsutsuki Divine Cult below.
He let out a sigh, but in his heart, an unfamiliar killing intent surged.
He was Naruto.
In just a few years, through surgery, he had achieved consciousness transfer,perfectly adapting to a body far stronger than his old one.
The cost, however, was the permanent loss of his former comrades and even the shinobi world itself.
The once-familiar world lively, thriving under the alliance was gone under Momoshiki's influence.
All that remained was scorched earth, and the disgusting, venomous cult members.
It was undeniable proof that the Shinobi Alliance had failed.
Without its leader, the alliance had fallen into infighting, its morale shattered giving the Divine Cult the opening to destroy everything they had built.
Naruto had reflected deeply. He believed the alliance's path was a dead end.
Without the very top-tier powerhouses, they were nothing.
While adapting to his body, he had spent time with the Toad Sage and the White Snake Sage. They told him the shinobi world's future held disasters even greater than Momoshiki's invasion.
Just three Ōtsutsuki had plunged the world into this state what if there were more...?
But Naruto never knew the meaning of giving up.
If the path he once believed in no longer worked, he would take another.
Everything he cared about was gone.
No, the shinobi world still remained!
"Sasuke... this time, I'll bear the darkness for you."
Killing intent filled the red-haired man's eyes.
He leapt down into the cult's gathering place, the Rasengan in his hand turning crimson.
He would slaughter them all.
When the final trace of chakra, laced with the stench of blood, dispersed, Naruto tossed aside the so-called High Priest's severed head, erasing a cult stronghold that had festered for years.
"Go on. You're free now..."
He adjusted his breathing, feeling a strange new power moving through his body.
With one punch, he shattered the statue of Momoshiki on the altar.
"Who are you?"
A little girl, eyes pure and innocent, ran up to him, offering half a moldy black loaf of bread, her most precious possession.
"Just call me... Akatsuki."
Naruto looked at the rising morning sun, took the bread, and pulled a few milk candies from his pocket.
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