According to the definitions of physics, time is actually a continuous, unidirectional dimension that describes the motion of matter and the sequence of events.
Add a variable to this foundation—
Skip the current second and allow the senses to arrive in the future.
Theoretically, time will still maintain its characteristic of linear flow.
For example, take three time nodes—A, B, and C—representing the present, the future, and the future's future, respectively.
Starting from point A, one observes point B, and then rehearses the process from A to B; thus, arriving at the future point B becomes a predetermined event.
But now, things have changed slightly. When observing from point A, a person skips point B and directly observes five possibilities for point C: C1, C2, C3, C4, and C5.
He ignored this problem, thinking it was merely a lack of information. So, he readjusted his method, gathered intel, and based on a vast amount of information, set out from point A once more to deduce and observe up to point B. Afterward, starting from point A, he rehearsed the scenario and successfully arrived at what he considered to be the predetermined point B.
Then, he arrived at the C1 timeline—the one he had seen during his very first observation. It was a timeline that wasn't based on any known intelligence, appearing as if it was simply meant to be that way as a matter of course.
This doesn't seem to have any issues.
However, this entire process is built upon a fixed perspective of the subject observing from A to B. If A did not observe B, or if A observed B but did not rehearse according to the observed situation, then under a changing subject, this person's future would also shift, leading to the timelines of C2, C3, C4, or even C5.
Up to this point, there still seems to be no issue. A person making different choices and ultimately arriving at different timelines seems perfectly natural.
However, for this person capable of observing the future, his ability isn't actually to look directly from A to C, but rather from A to B. To him, C is an unobservable future's future.
So, where did C come from?
In this entire logical model, the appearance of C seems like some kind of "divine oracle" that suddenly popped out of nowhere.
God said—
Timeline C must happen, and so, Timeline C appeared.
Whether you go from A to B, fail to go from A to B, go directly from A to C, observe B from A but do not execute B, or observe B from A and do nothing at all...
The various possibilities of C are bound to happen.
On another level, this means—
"God" observed and anchored the future's future through the eyes of this person who can see the future.
And as for this person who uses God's power to observe the future point B, when he begins to observe the future, God is also observing him.
When God's gaze crosses the vast and boundless universe—resembling a dark forest—and casts its sight down upon this backward, primitive land, what will happen next?
At this moment, beyond the Ninja World, inside the Moon, within the Ōtsutsuki Temple, a middle-aged man with a head full of withered hair suddenly snapped his eyes open. Looking at the giant golden Tenseigan in front of him, which had suddenly begun to rumble and tremble violently, he swallowed hard, a horrified expression appearing on his aged, decrepit face. "This is wrong, this is all wrong! This is different from what the Ancestor prophesied!"
"What's going on? What on earth is happening?"
"Why?"
"Why?"
"The coordinates of the Ninja World... have suddenly been exposed?!"
At this thought, the middle-aged man with withered hair stood up abruptly, a touch of madness flashing in his eyes. "There is no time to wait for Toneri to grow up!"
"The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path has been stolen, the Ten-Tails is about to be resurrected, and the coordinates of the Ninja World are exposed... This world is beyond saving! It must be reset!"
"I must find a way, yes, find a way... I have to destroy this failed world immediately!"
As his words fell, the middle-aged man with withered hair suddenly raised his head, staring frantically at the brilliant creation before him that resembled an artificial sun!
Meanwhile, in the Ninja World, within Kumorai City, the capital of the Land of Lightning.
Today, the Land of Lightning's first publicly listed high-tech weapons company was holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony. In a corner of the audience seating below, a monk wearing a black cloak, with a long braid trailing down the back of his head, the Roman numeral Ⅳ tattooed under his left eye, black nail polish, and a black crystal embedded in his abdomen, was sipping a glass of red wine. He suddenly raised his head, narrowing his long, slit-like eyes slightly. "Oh?"
"The coordinates of the Ninja World... have suddenly been exposed."
"However, it is not that those indolent, worthless fools have found this place, but rather... someone capable of withstanding the torrent of information and controlling 'fate' has appeared?"
"Has Lord Shibai... finally found a 'vessel' capable of inheriting His power?"
"Heh, a top-tier 'vessel,' the most ideal candidate to bear the 'Karma,' has actually appeared in such a backwater place—"
The monk narrowed his eyes slightly, a deep, resonant voice slipping past his lips. Yet, even though he uttered the words "Lord Shibai," his expression was sinister, and his gaze showed absolutely none of the reverence due to the supreme "God of the Ōtsutsuki." On the contrary, a sharp, cold gleam suddenly flared in his eyes!
"In other words,"
"This person can also bear my power and will, becoming my 'vessel'!"
"That woman Kaguya and her sons are still alive... While doing this carries risks, to ascend to the absolute peak... it is a risk worth taking!"
With that thought, the monk took a deep breath and raised his hand to clap twice!
"Clap, clap!"
This clapping sound acted almost like the switch of some vibrating device.
Up on the ribbon-cutting stage, the owner of the high-tech weapons company, who was currently posing for a photo with the Fourth Raikage, Ay, froze instantly upon hearing this faint clapping. He immediately apologized to the Fourth Raikage, hurried off the stage, and made his way to a dark corner of the audience section. Kneeling on one knee before the ordinary-looking monk, he bowed his head deeply.
"Lord Jigen, what are your orders!"
The monk known as Jigen ordered indifferently, "Go and gather intelligence on all major recent events in the Ninja World. Pay close attention to the young shinobi who have been making a name for themselves during this period!"
"Especially... shinobi from great clans such as the Senju, Uzumaki, Uchiha, Hyūga, and Kaguya."
"Yes, sir!"
Just as the world was churning with undercurrents due to Hyuga Yu awakening the Byakugan Dōjutsu: Shifang, a dark tide directed at him had already surged to its absolute peak at this very moment!
In the heart of the Land of Rain, within Amegakure, at the top of a steel tower riddled with a massive piping system, sat a conference room filled with a dark, cold, and oppressive atmosphere.
A meeting between high-ranking officials of the Land of Rain and envoys from Iwagakure was currently underway.
"The code name for this operation is—"
"[Operation Owl Hunt]!"
"Tianren, Hyuga Yu! This man is a crucial piece that Konoha has placed in the Land of Rain. His existence is bound to affect the final outcome of the Third Shinobi World War, as well as the geopolitical landscape surrounding Iwagakure and Konoha for decades to come!"
"To achieve true peace, Senior Hanzō, I believe you should understand—the Land of Rain does not have to ally with Iwagakure, but it absolutely must not ally with Konoha."
"Once the Land of Fire stabilizes the geopolitical situation of the surrounding minor nations, its economy will experience a new surge. If Konoha receives a massive influx of funds from this and continues to expand its military armaments, within twenty years, the balance of power among Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure will be completely shattered!"
"When that time comes, it will be the moment the Land of Rain vanishes from the Ninja World!"
At the head of the conference table, Kitsuchi spoke eloquently. Turning his head to look at the silent Hanzō beside him, a sharp gleam that contrasted sharply with his honest, burly face flashed in his eyes. "You must realize this: we—are helping you!"
Hanzō remained silent for a moment, slightly clenching his fists. Finally, he scanned the numerous attendees of the meeting... Aside from Kitsuchi, the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, and two of Iwagakure's Jinchūriki, there was also a representative from Sunagakure of the Land of Wind—Lady Chiyo.
This was also the final straw that broke the camel's back for Hanzō.
Times had changed. The Salamander's poison mist, which had slaughtered countless enemies and proved impossible to counter during the Second Shinobi World War, had now been countered by a newly developed antidote serum, with mass-production factories established to supply it as standard wartime logistics.
Iwagakure winning over Lady Chiyo of Sunagakure, who had personally developed the antidote, meant that one of Hanzō's vital means of threatening Iwagakure had been rendered useless. The bargaining chips between the two sides were completely unbalanced. If he didn't want his village to be wiped out by a massive Iwagakure army after the war, Hanzō could only sink deeper and deeper into this assassination plot against the Tianren, Hyuga Yu!
Yet, he couldn't help but wonder: was this truly the way for the Land of Rain to break through its predicament?
At this moment, Kitsuchi spoke up again, his voice sinking as he laid out the vicious plan against Konoha's Tianren: "To deal with the Tianren,"
"I have already obtained a detailed intelligence report regarding him from Kirigakure!"
"Let's put it this way—although this guy seems to have pulled off several major feats that shook the Ninja World, in reality, he's nothing more than a fourteen-year-old brat from the Hyūga branch family!"
"His various abilities may seem troublesome, but they aren't actually as exaggerated as the rumors claim. The upper limit of his power isn't that high—at the very least, he hasn't reached the level of the top powerhouses from the various shinobi villages. His defeat of Kirigakure's immature, rampaging Six-Tails Jinchūriki relied entirely on the massive information gap created by Root's concealment."
"However, even so, we cannot afford to take this lightly."
"Defeating and killing the Tianren is only the beginning. The one we truly have to deal with is the massive Konoha standing behind him!"
"Therefore, I have designed a foolproof plan to completely dismantle Konoha's prestige and influence within the Land of Rain!"
"Humph." At this point, Lady Chiyo, sitting at the side of the conference table, curled her lips and sneered, "You talk a big game, brat Kitsuchi, but what exactly do you plan to do?"
Bam!
Hearing this, Kitsuchi's honest, burly face darkened, and he slammed his hand onto the table, saying in a deep voice, "This is no simple assassination plan!"
"We will—slander him in public opinion, isolate him politically, destroy him psychologically, and eliminate him physically!"
"These four methods will be deployed in turns until he is backed into a corner with nowhere left to run. He will have no choice but to show up face-to-face at the peace talks on the 17th, falling right into the inescapable death trap we have set up!"
"That is all!"
"Operation Owl Hunt begins immediately!"
Meanwhile, not far from the Land of Rain lay a burial ground for giant beasts known as the Graveyard of the Mountains. This was the place where Obito Uchiha had been brought by the elderly Madara Uchiha to recover from his injuries.
At this moment, inside a dark underground cavern within the Graveyard of the Mountains, right beneath the massive fifty-meter-tall Gedo Statue, the aged, decrepit Madara Uchiha lay motionless on a stone chair. His eyes were closed, making him look as though he had been dead for a long time.
And in fact, it truly was time for him to die.
By secretly pulling the strings of Kirigakure to plot against Konoha, he had engineered the situation so that Obito Uchiha would witness Kakashi Hatake about to kill Rin Nohara with his own eyes.
Barring any accidents, the next step would be for Obito Uchiha to awaken his Mangekyō Sharingan, after which Madara would teach him various jutsu, turning him into the new "Madara Uchiha."
But an accident did happen. At that critical moment, the Yellow Flash descended as Minato Namikaze arrived on the scene. With a series of smooth, seamless maneuvers, he rescued Rin Nohara, locked down the Three-Tails with an Eight Trigrams Sealing Style, secured Kakashi Hatake, and nearly discovered Obito Uchiha, who had "just happened" to arrive at the scene. This had almost caused Madara Uchiha's entire plan to collapse.
He had been forced to personally intervene on the spot to restrain Obito, preventing him from immediately returning to Team Minato to reunite with Minato Namikaze, Kakashi Hatake, and Rin Nohara. He then secretly manipulated the Three-Tails—which was already under the Sharingan's control—to go wild inside Rin's body, while tampering slightly with Minato's Eight Trigrams Seal.
Subsequently, Rin Nohara underwent a partial Tailed Beast transformation and went on a rampage. She was suppressed by Minato Namikaze and brought back to Konoha, hovering on the brink of death, all so Obito Uchiha could see—
How Konoha treated Rin Nohara, how powerless Minato Namikaze was under such circumstances, and how Kakashi Hatake degenerated, joining the ranks of Root. The Team Minato of yesterday was shattered to pieces, and the crushing weight of reality left Obito Uchiha suffocating. This brutal torment finally restarted the interrupted evolution of Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan.
Yet, right at this juncture, a single sentence suddenly slipped from the mouth of that brat, Danzō Shimura: "The Tianren might be able to save Rin Nohara."
In an instant, a spark of hope was reignited in Obito Uchiha's heart, which had just begun to plunge into darkness.
Fortunately, after repeated provocations, Obito Uchiha barely managed to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan. However, because his resolve was so fragile, Madara Uchiha's assessment of him plummeted straight down.
This also made him realize:
Obito Uchiha, this brat, was utterly incapable of bearing the mantle of "Madara Uchiha"!
Soon, upon reviewing the series of events, Madara Uchiha discovered the person who tied everything together and had almost ruined all his plans—the brat hiding in the deepest shadows, the Tianren, Hyuga Yu!
Consequently, after leaving the task of guiding Nagato to Obito Uchiha, Madara Uchiha disconnected the supply tubes of the Gedo Statue that were sustaining his life.
However, this did not mean Madara Uchiha had decided to die in peace.
Rather, he was preparing to make a trip outside—
To turn Obito Uchiha into a qualified "pawn," Madara Uchiha had to sever all of his hope, force him to witness the true darkness of the shinobi world, and personally... crush the nuisance who interfered with his [Eye of the Moon Plan] into ash!
However, "Lord Madara, I've found that kid! He's right next to Nagato~"
"Hehe, do you want to see that kid with your own eyes? But isn't the distance between you two a bit too far?"
"Should I take you there?"
White Zetsu's voice drifted from behind. The old man resting on the stone chair snapped his eyes open. Along with the surge of a terrifyingly immense volume of chakra, the blood-red color in his eyes gradually morphed into a different pattern. Concentric ripples lit up with a cold, violet glow, yet the pattern oddly appeared as a semi-transparent blue-purple, resembling the distorted light waves of a cathode-ray tube.
"No need—"
"The Rinnegan's field of vision can be shared. I will look myself!"
As his voice trailed off, Madara Uchiha raised his withered hands and formed the Ram seal.
"Magic Lantern Body Technique!"
In the next instant, Madara Uchiha's vision spanned thousands of miles, crossing into the Land of Rain. Looking through Nagato's eyes, he quickly spotted the Byakugan brat who had nearly ruined his grand designs!
At this moment, as he stared at Hyuga Yu, who stood rooted to the spot, looking completely lost, his entire body trembling imperceptibly, his pupils flashing with an uncontrollable, vacant daze...
Madara Uchiha suddenly glimpsed something incredibly familiar within those pure white eyes. It was...
A spontaneous sense of despair and bewilderment welling up from the depths of the soul—the exact same feeling he had experienced in the past when he was betrayed by Hashirama Senju, upon truly recognizing the truth that this world held absolutely no hope!
"Huh—!?"
Madara Uchiha's pupils shrank violently!
His initial urge to instantly strike Hyuga Yu dead with a single blow ground to a halt. Stricken with a mix of surprise and uncertainty, Madara scrutinized Hyuga Yu through the Rinnegan in Nagato's eye sockets.
In his mind, a bold idea suddenly began to take shape!
————
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