Third Parallel World – Kaguya Dimension
"Another failure, Mother."
Black Zetsu poked its head out from Kaguya's sleeve. With its beady little eyes full of puzzlement, it said,
"We've tried again and again, but it keeps failing."
It couldn't comprehend how all these far-inferior humans could use such a technique.
Even the very thought of other worlds was scary.
Floating in midair with her arms hanging slack, Kaguya was busy mentally dissecting the technique she'd managed to replicate perfectly – and yet its logic remained indecipherable. The way the chakra was manipulated was far too strange; she couldn't imitate it.
By now, most of the chakra lost over the ages had returned to her. The Divine Tree continued drawing energy from people, slowly restoring her to true peak form. Over that time, the nine Tailed Beasts—so agitated before—finally calmed down.
She was returning to her strongest self, yet she still couldn't fully replicate that world-hopping technique. Thinking back carefully—
"They're using the wrong sort of chakra," she said at length. From her recollection, she'd observed tiny traces of a subtle difference in the chakra whenever that travel technique was cast, even just for an instant. That one moment was enough for her to see clearly.
"Mother," Black Zetsu ventured, its canine-like face squirming at the sleeve's edge,
"If that's chakra from someone in a parallel world, do you think there might be a version of that person in our own?"
Kaguya closed her eyes. The Divine Tree was siphoning chakra from all humans, and that chakra was being transferred here to the Starting Orb dimension, where she hovered in the air.
One day passed. Then two, three, a week, a month…
With her endless life and immortal body, time mattered little to them.
Eventually, she finished sorting through all the humans' chakra. Not a single one matched.
"Mother, let's return to that planet. We can send White Zetsu to scour for any possible survivors," Black Zetsu suggested again. "And that older Uchiha Madara who stayed in our world for so long – rummaging through where he once resided might turn up something."
Kaguya kept silent, then quietly shifted the dimension back to the planet she knew so well – her "nursery."
All her bitterness and rage from being betrayed by her sons had gradually settled with time.
Feeling how human chakra continued to stream into her as nourishment left her oddly calm – almost pleased.
Go forth, my soldiers, she silently commanded.
Countless White Zetsu rose from the ground at her call, fanning out in every direction to reevaluate the entire world, wipe out any survivors, and find a way to reach other "nurseries."
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, the "Rabbit Goddess," hovered in midair, gazing down at the earth and the sweet dreams of countless humans, awaiting patiently.
…
Some World's Konoha Village – Hyūga Compound, Nighttime
Tap—
Link landed and immediately realized he wasn't outdoors but indoors – in a familiar Japanese-style tatami room with shōji doors.
In the silence and darkness, the sound of him touching down was conspicuously loud.
Before long, someone approached. Hidden in the dark, they attacked without hesitation.
Boom!
One of Link's shadows clashed with the intruder, a dull thud echoing. The enemy was knocked flying, crashing through a shōji door and smashing through the wooden wall behind it. Gone.
So weak.
Link silently judged the attacker's strength: nowhere near Kage level – maybe they got lucky not to be one-shotted, only because he'd pulled his punch.
(Knocked out?) Link wondered. Outside, footsteps gathered thickly. Growing cautious, he formed hand seals to cast Hiding Like a Mole Technique and slip away beneath the floor, planning to escape and assess the situation from somewhere safe.
"?"
About to leave, he caught sight of a masked figure in the darkness.
"!"
That masked figure lunged wordlessly with a kunai, but a shadow rose from beneath them, swiftly jabbing up a wooden splinter for a well-placed Thousand Years of Death.
Meanwhile, another shadow clamped a hand over the assailant's mouth.
"Mmph—!"
A muffled groan, and the masked ninja fainted from sheer agony.
Click, rustle—
Lights switched on in the corridor; a nearby shōji slid open to reveal a timid little girl with pale eyes blinking at him.
[A Hyūga… that's Hinata.]
No wonder the architecture seemed so familiar. Judging by her age, Link had a shadow remove the intruder's face covering, revealing a Kumogakure forehead protector. So this must be the Hyūga kidnapping incident. The real tragedy being Hizashi's death?
He felt a bit puzzled. If all that was needed was preventing Hyūga Hizashi's death, why not jump to the big fiasco with Kumo's threat of war? Not that he personally felt that storyline was so regretful; it was less tragic than, say, Neji's death in the Fourth War.
[Sure enough, my guess about regrets might be slightly off
Link briefly met Hinata's gaze, then stomped through the floor. Dropping to the space below, he cast Hiding Like a Mole again, burrowing underground.
Presumably, his chakra was already noticed. At times like this, the entire Hyūga clan was home. He'd fought quickly, but they arrived quicker, and with all those Byakugan, they'd see even his shadows. Best not to linger.
Knowing he was in the Hyūga compound of Konoha, old-school. He knew the map by heart.
The only trouble? Konoha's barrier was a giant circle, and he wasn't particularly adept at space-time or high-level sealing or barrier ninjutsu. Slipping out quietly would be tough. If discovered, they'd chase him. He wasn't worried about the fight itself—this moment in Konoha's timeline was right after the war with Kumogakure, so the village was severely weakened.
But a clash would be way too loud, and he had no wish to wreck the place. Might draw the attention of Zetsu or Obito, which would be a headache.
Eventually, he emerged from the earth at Training Ground #7. Having no real sense of where to go, he paused. After just finishing the war, Konoha was on high alert, and even if there were celebrations, the streets were deserted at this late hour.
[So… shall I try finding Orochimaru, or maybe figure out a way to see Tobirama? That's bound to be tricky. He's unbelievably cautious.]
[Unless I waste a lot of time fishing for him with the Cast Net Jutsu?]
Link realized his best bet was likely seeking out Orochimaru, who hadn't yet defected from Konoha. By the current timeline, presumably he was still around. Judging from the timeline: Yakushi Kabuto had the Kikyō Pass incident, was then taken in, became Root's spy five years later with Nono… So presumably, Orochimaru was still here in the village.
[So yes, Orochimaru's in Root, right?]
Having settled on a target, Link's shadows sprang into action. Under cover of darkness, they merged into Konoha's gloom.
~~~
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