Thus, under Naruto's lead, an organization known as "Akatsuki" rose swiftly from the southern reaches of the Shinobi World—a wild, ungoverned land beyond the Shinobi Alliance's control.
With Naruto's strength and the combined efforts of those who still carried the memories and convictions from before the Dark Era, they tore down one Otsutsuki Divine Cult stronghold after another.
This time, Naruto showed no mercy. His eyes held only hatred for the organization that had brought the shinobi world to ruin. He would not let them go.
In less than half a year, the southern lands—once trapped in a mire of despair—were swiftly liberated by Akatsuki.
The gathered refugees began to share knowledge and information through chakra, and soon, prosperity reminiscent of the Shinobi Sect's founding a thousand years ago began to reappear.
...
Meanwhile, in the north, the Shinobi Alliance—based in Hoshigakure and the Land of Hot Water—regrouped and launched a campaign to flush out the Divine Cult remnants hiding in the dark corners of the shinobi world.
No one held back. Having endured the Dark Era, they or their loved ones had all suffered persecution—most scars so deep they could never be erased. They harbored nothing but hatred for all things Otsutsuki.
Although their earlier rash assault on the Second Moon had cost them dearly in battle strength, they had the advantage of Hoshigakure—a village that had preserved technologies and artisans from before the Dark Era, along with equipment and projects left behind by the old Shinobi Alliance.
The new Alliance even rebuilt their maimed shinobi through various technologies, forging a fearless army whose average combat power surpassed that of a jōnin.
Even if they were grievously wounded in battle, as long as they had a breath left, they could be fitted with prosthetics crafted from a fusion of Scientific Ninja Tools and God Tree technology—sometimes replacing half the body—and return to the fight even stronger.
In addition, they studied the puppets created by Momoshiki, employing Puppet Techniques in many battles.
With chakra threads transmitted through Scientific Ninja Tools, they could control hundreds of puppets simultaneously from thousands of miles away, unleashing fearless assaults to wipe out the Divine Cult followers.
...
Thus, north and south alike, each rallied the last living forces of the shinobi world to take back their home from the Otsutsuki.
But Momoshiki had noticed.
Though sealed within the Second Moon, he could not break free—yet the moon's creators, nor their mastery of Chibaku Tensei, came anywhere close to the level of the Sage of Six Paths brothers who had once sealed Kaguya.
While Momoshiki's total power did not match Kaguya's after she ate the fruit, he had already taken his first steps toward godhood.
This method—fusing with the God Tree and forcefully pouring its power into himself—was far from the perfection Momoshiki envisioned, but with the faith power offered by his followers, he could still grow stronger without end.
With the Otsutsuki clan's vast heritage, he had even glimpsed a way to shed his hideous form and shatter the Chibaku Tensei seal binding him to the moon.
However, the one-sided slaughter in the shinobi world was rapidly draining his faith supply.
If he relied solely on the underdeveloped followers on the moon, it would take countless years to escape.
He could not allow this to continue.
...
So, many of his followers—both on the moon and the few remaining in the shinobi world—were taught, through his techniques to repair Chakra Cannons.
The shinobi world had once possessed vast numbers of these cannons; even after the Dark Era, many remained. Most required only minor repairs to be operational again, while some were taken directly to the Second Moon.
In just a few weeks, the Shinobi Alliance and Akatsuki suffered devastating, near-unblockable bombardments.
The Alliance was forced to retreat to Hoshigakure, relying on the mountain—long ago forged into a prototype Divine Tool by the Mountain God—and layers of barriers reinforced over three generations to defend themselves.
From there, they struck back at the Divine Cult followers with their restored Chakra Cannons.
Yet the cost was staggering.
The once-prosperous Land of Fire became scorched earth where nothing—not even weeds—could grow. Other lands suffered the same fate.
The power of a Chakra Cannon was immense. Only ravines deep in the mountains were spared. Even if the land were reclaimed, the shinobi world's potential as a life-bearing planet would be drastically diminished.
...
As for Akatsuki, they had no such natural defenses.
Even with Naruto's near-infinite chakra in his new body and the formidable protective barriers of Wood Release and Magnet Release, he could not withstand repeated attacks capable of destroying the surface multiple times over.
Akatsuki had no choice but to split into scattered cells, hiding deep in the mountains or tunneling underground to survive.
This scattering brought a small blessing—some members found the Shinobi Alliance and were given shelter.
Boruto, the Alliance's leader, learned of the group's existence and decided to gather and arm them. Perhaps they could help the shinobi world regain the strength it had before their failed assault on the Second Moon.
...
Meanwhile, with Akatsuki dispersed, Naruto was free of other concerns.
He resolved to single-handedly slaughter his way across the shinobi world.
The power of his Kagura's Mind Eye was now fully rooted in his new body—a vessel infused with countless bloodlines and technologies.
From the moment the decision was made to clone him and use Edo Tensei to grant him a slim chance of survival, to Naruto's complete adaptation to this body, nearly ten years had passed—years that spanned the entire Dark Era.
Orochimaru had poured his technological mastery into this body, embedding Wood Release, Magnet Release, and the powers of both the Uzumaki and Senju clans. The result: even with little time to adapt, Naruto could already wield power far beyond his past self.
...
He ran across the shinobi world on his own two feet, using his sensory abilities to destroy Divine Cult strongholds one after another. He rescued wave after wave of civilians—people abducted but unbroken, still holding their memories and will from before the Dark Era. These survivors would be the pillars of the shinobi world's restoration.
Along the way, Naruto also visited the old dwellings of the tailed beasts from his memories.
He succeeded in reclaiming several, including Kurama and Shukaku, as allies.
...
At the same time, within the Shinobi Alliance, Boruto—having learned of Akatsuki and the surviving shinobi—recognized their resolve. Determined to strengthen the Alliance as quickly as possible, he personally took the field.
Alongside him were Sarada—now wielder of the Mangekyō Sharingan and its supreme space-time ability, "Ōmikami"—and Mitsuki, who had mastered Perfect Sage Mode.
The three split up, cleansing the shinobi world while reclaiming the scattered tailed beasts.
Some of these beasts had been slain during the Alliance's fall and later revived; others had long since vanished into the wilderness. But after learning of Momoshiki's crimes against the shinobi world, every one of them chose to aid the Alliance in defending their only home.
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