Second Parallel World – Kannabi Bridge Base, Training Ground
"You've arrived," the old Madara said, leaning against a severed wooden stake. He looked utterly exhausted, his chest heaving with slow breaths.
He wasn't surprised that people from another world had tracked him down. He'd even been ready for a fight. He just hadn't expected that the "other" version of himself from a different world would be among them.
(If it were Hashirama who'd mastered traveling across worlds, I could at least understand that…) he thought, gazing calmly at the three newcomers.
"Madara, what in the world happened?" The "second" Hashirama demanded, his expression grave.
"The Eye of the Moon Plan fell apart. The text on the tablet was a lie." The old Madara's tone was listless. "Hashirama… you should run. It's over."
He had personally watched his other self—who had been steadily advancing the plan under Madara's interference—turn into the vessel for that terrifying woman's resurrection. He didn't understand exactly how it all happened, but he could guess it was some kind of elaborate scheme.
From what Black Zetsu had explained, the so-called Infinite Tsukuyomi that was supposed to bring eternal peace would actually destroy humanity and spawn more White Zetsu soldiers. With space-warping powers so overwhelming as to be horrifying, and monstrous chakra beyond belief… If not for a "deceased" Uchiha Sasuke suddenly rising to awaken a Rinnegan, they would've been slaughtered in an instant.
Ironically, it was Obito—saved on a whim—who had spirited Madara off the battlefield once Madara became more of a burden than a help after such a grueling fight.
His dream, so close to "success," had warped into a plan to wreck the world. The difference was too great. Already old and physically frail, he felt profoundly dejected: a lifetime spent striving, even at the cost of breaking with his best friend, only to realize that dream meant complete annihilation.
Dying here wouldn't matter to him anymore.
"The stone tablet was fake?"
The Uchiha Madara from the First World looked startled, falling silent as he stared at this older version of himself. The other two, meanwhile, looked puzzled.
The "second" Hashirama gazed at his old friend with clear eyes. "Eye of the Moon Plan? Stone tablet? How did things come to this?"
Namikaze Minato was about to speak when he sensed something off. Instinctively, he grabbed the two teammates beside him and teleported away with Flying Thunder God.
Almost simultaneously, at the spot where the "second" Hashirama and the "first" Madara had just been standing, a silent black portal hovered in midair. Two hands reached out, grasping at nothing.
"Space-time ninjutsu… Lord Hashirama, be careful—our opponent—"
Minato was sweating cold bullets. Of everyone present, his sensory perception was best, and he'd felt the terrifying chakra of this mysterious arrival. But before he could finish his warning, the environment around them shifted.
All at once, they were in a frigid, snowy landscape.
The "second" Hashirama instantly triggered Sage Mode. The "first" Madara unleashed his Complete Susanoo to smash through a rising wave of ice, shielding all four men.
"Mother, it looks like none of them belong to this world," purred Black Zetsu, peeking out from Kaguya's sleeve with a twisted grin. "They must come from other worlds. They might even be Indra and Asura's reincarnations from different points in time."
"Other 'seedbeds,' then?" A glint of interest lit Kaguya's eyes.
She didn't need Black Zetsu to explain the implications. If she captured these people and discovered how they traversed worlds, her precious 'seedbeds' could multiply.
"My—" Her all-seeing Byakugan pierced the chakra networks in all their bodies. Long white hair floated behind her.
If she couldn't kill them outright, things might get tricky.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Boom! × n
Countless hair-needles shot down, shredding even the multi-layered Rashomon gates that had been summoned, though the final blow fizzled against the Complete Susano'o.
The sage markings faded from the "second" Hashirama's face, leaving him grim. "The natural energy here is scarce, and there are no seeds underground for Wood Release," he muttered.
When he made trees or vines with Wood Release, they were real plants drawn from underground seeds, not conjured out of thin air. No seeds plus no Sage Mode meant a hefty drop in fighting power.
Even summoning took major chakra here. This must be a space very far from the normal world.
"We should retreat," he concluded decisively. Handing a scroll to Minato, he said, "Minato, take Madara and get out."
By "Madara," he meant the nearby old man—frail, lacking real combat power. The "first" Madara shot them a sharp glance but made no move to leave. Before coming here, they'd agreed that if they encountered an unbeatable foe or were about to be sealed, he would kill himself. When a reincarnated body of chakra is destroyed, the Summoning would yank him back forcibly. Not even the world's fastest shinobi can catch a fleeing soul that instant.
Minato accepted the scroll. "Lord Hashirama, but what about—"
"Don't worry—I still have the Cast Net Jutsu." The "second" Hashirama gave a small smile.
In a flash, Minato jumped to old Madara's side, activated the Funa-tsū technique, and swirls of dark formula flickered. The space distorted, and they vanished.
Boom!
The "second" Hashirama's scroll unrolled, a samurai blade appearing in his grip. Even without his kekkei genkai or Sage Mode, his physical fighting skills were formidable.
The "first" Madara said icily, "Be mindful of her space-time jutsu. I'll coordinate with you."
"That jutsu just now…" Kaguya wore a slightly enchanted look. With her Byakugan, she could see it all so clearly, but the technique was baffling. They could manipulate chakra in such a way—even she, the ancestor of chakra, was speechless.
On a whim, she tried replicating the same "technique" she'd just observed. Runes spread across her palm, huge chakra gushing into it.
Failed?
Not even her massive reserves—enough to toy with entire dimensions—could fully replicate that jutsu. How had they done it?
Kaguya's eyes, filled with puzzlement, fell on the two men. As her chakra drained sharply, she felt a strange sense of weakness—one she'd never experienced.
"Mother, you've used too much," Black Zetsu warned. "Let's hurry back to the starting dimension to recover. Leave them here."
"Hashirama!"
Sensing Kaguya's power dip, the "first" Madara seized the moment to attack. In unison, the "second" Hashirama appeared behind her.
Shhk! A gray-white bone spike punctured his abdomen. A second later—
Boom! A puff of white smoke.
…
Second Parallel World – Kannabi Bridge Base, Laboratory
Tap! ×2
They'd returned.
Senju Tobirama set down the scroll and glanced up, his expression shifting. "Why is it just you?"
He didn't count old Madara as a "person."
Link, who'd been waiting, felt his heart climb into his throat.
Minato swiftly recapped everything that had happened after they arrived. Link felt his last spark of hope crumble completely.
He stood utterly still, calm in the face of disaster. Even if the sky fell now, no flicker of emotion would stir within him.
~~~
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