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JST Chapter 258: The Hidden War Begins Anew
🕑 Added 2025-04-25 03:48:10 +0000 UTCAbove the sea of the Land of Water—
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki suddenly realized… he couldn’t sense Kaguya’s chakra anymore.
When had Kaguya learned how to do this?
Given her battle instincts and control over power, leaking her chakra was to be expected.
But this kind of concealment—didn’t feel like something Kaguya could pull off.
Isshiki stared hard at the sea. After failing again to locate her chakra, his gaze turned grim.
Then, using Dōjutsu: Daikokuten, he shrank himself and stealthily approached a nearby Kirigakure shinobi on the coast. After probing his memories of Kazuki’s self-sealing—
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki understood.
It wasn’t Kaguya doing something clever—it was that ninja named Uchiha Kazuki who had sealed her away on purpose!
If he could just pinpoint Kaguya’s location…
Then even if the Sage of Six Paths was watching, Isshiki—at full power—was confident he could swiftly defeat Kazuki, capture Kaguya, absorb her, and become the unrivaled strongest being in today’s Shinobi World!
The problem was, Kazuki’s sealing technique was far too powerful. It had genuinely suppressed Kaguya, who wasn’t in her complete form…
"You disgrace of the Ōtsutsuki clan—consorting with mortals, defying your superiors... and even letting a human ride you!" Ōtsutsuki Isshiki scolded through clenched teeth, his tone bitter with frustration.
If only Kaguya had broken free of Kazuki’s seal, Isshiki would have acted by now.
But Kazuki had sealed both himself and Kaguya in the silent depths of the ocean—an infuriating predicament.
Unless Isshiki used the full power of his true body to search, finding them would be like looking for a needle in the sea—virtually impossible.
And just now, Kaguya’s outburst of chakra had been far too conspicuous. Isshiki was certain the Sage of Six Paths was watching this place.
He couldn’t afford to linger. If the Sage noticed him, things would get complicated.
Isshiki only wanted to kill Kaguya to restore himself. He had no interest in enduring the wrath of the Sage of Six Paths, who had spent millennia amassing power in the Pure Land.
"I thought you had the gall to descend upon the Shinobi World of your own will... but it turns out you were outwitted by Uchiha Kazuki,” he sneered coldly.
"While I may not be able to extract you myself, Uchiha Kazuki has made himself an enemy of the entire Shinobi World."
“All I need to do is incite the mortals—leak the intel that Kazuki has sealed himself at the ocean floor—and those foolish pawns will do the work for me. They’ll be the ones to uncover the seal.”
"And when that happens... it’ll be the day you die."
With a sweep of his sleeve, Isshiki turned and left. There was no need to busy himself forming organizations anymore—focusing on Kaguya and Kazuki was now the optimal path.
As for which pawn to exploit...
Isshiki would need to observe further.
...
In the Pure Land.
The Sage of Six Paths stared in stunned silence as Kaguya’s chakra signature suddenly vanished into stillness.
Had it really worked?
What kind of genius was Kazuki, exactly?
Though the Sage often spoke of believing in the potential of the people of the Shinobi World—and condemned Kaguya for her lack of faith in ninjas—he had never truly imagined that a mortal could actually seal her.
Now, he was at a loss.
To act now, to rally the power of the Pure Land against someone whose presence couldn’t even be sensed? That would be a waste.
Yet to not act, and allow Kaguya to roam free in the Shinobi World? That was just as dangerous.
Torn between these two paths, the Sage of Six Paths activated his Rinnegan, sending ripples across its surface, and etched a detection seal into the sky above the Land of Water.
If Kaguya’s chakra ever surfaced again, it would alert him immediately.
For now, this was the best he could do.
Despite the complexity of what he’d witnessed today, the Sage felt a surprising sense of peace…
This validated his decision to seal Ōtsutsuki Kaguya all those centuries ago.
Look at them—Senju Tobirama and Kazuki—bound by shared purpose and unity, their combined strength blooming into a force capable of restraining even Kaguya.
“Yes… I need to pay closer attention to mortals,” he thought. “Can’t stay asleep forever.”
But what the Sage of Six Paths didn’t realize was…
During his slumber, the Shinobi World had been bathed in blood for a thousand years—wars sparked by his own sons. And the number of deaths from these conflicts had long since outstripped the number of White Zetsu Kaguya had created.
...
On the Moon.
Toneri’s father stood in stunned silence, brow furrowed as he watched Kazuki seal Kaguya.
"This isn’t right... Guarding that demon is the mission our ancestor Hamura entrusted to us!"
“Toneri, come!”
Still dazed, Toneri was yanked away by his father toward the Hall of Ancestors, where the man began praying before the statue of Ōtsutsuki Hamura.
And within Hamura's body, the spirit of Ōtsutsuki Hamura let out a soft sigh.
The Shinobi World had changed so drastically, even a soul like his—who had long awaited only the moment of final dispersal—could no longer stay on the sidelines.
"Uchiha Kazuki..." Hamura murmured, recalling the mortal whose image had appeared in the Great Tenseigan—the man who had sealed Kaguya.
Inside the Hall of Hamura.
After finishing his prayer, the fanatical father of Toneri did the unthinkable—he gouged out his own eyes and implanted them into his son’s sockets.
As Toneri screamed in anguish, his father gave him one final command: “Go and correct the flawed world created by the Sage of Six Paths!”
Ōtsutsuki Hamura silently shook his head.
Perhaps… this was for the best.
After witnessing the infighting among his descendants, even Hamura himself had fallen into confusion.
What truly was peace?
And how could peace ever be attained?
...
Above the seas of the Land of Water.
Senju Tobirama stared fixedly at the ocean, now calm and restored to its former stillness.
That moment—seared into his bones—was one he could never forget.
Kazuki… why did he have to be so much like a true Uchiha? So stubborn, so obsessed, that it made Tobirama’s eyes bleed…
Or maybe… those were tears.
He only promised to bring him back—why was Kazuki so damn fixated on it?
Tobirama recalled Kaguya’s terrifying chakra, that oppressive presence—and Kazuki, barely eighteen, had faced it all alone, without any help from him.
“But Kazuki did it…”
Tobirama drew a deep breath. “Even when the Sage of Six Paths resisted, you still suppressed his chakra…”
Kaguya’s chakra had flared, then fallen utterly silent.
To Tobirama, that could only mean one thing: Kazuki had subdued the struggling Sage.
“No, Kazuki. I won’t let you face him alone!”
A mountain-like resolve flashed in Tobirama’s eyes as he turned toward the somber Mist-nin gathered around him.
Kazuki had left behind a garrison of troops to safeguard his seal…
And in Konoha, Tobirama could rally another powerful force—along with forbidden techniques to seek out reinforcements.
The first people who came to mind?
His elder brother and sister-in-law…
The greatest sealing master of her era—and the God of Shinobi himself, Senju Hashirama!
No more resting in the Pure Land. It was time they came to the rescue—not just of the First Mizukage… no, of the one and only, unparalleled Fourth Hokage!
Tobirama went on to coordinate a careful security plan with the Mist shinobi, issuing detailed orders for watch shifts and defensive protocols.
All the while, he was running calculations in his mind: Who else could help him rescue Kazuki?
Hiruzen… Tsunade… the Root agents still lingering in the shadows...
What Tobirama didn’t realize, however, was one crucial detail:
His reputation in Konoha had hit rock bottom. If he were to show his face in the village now, he likely wouldn’t be welcomed.
He’d be lucky to avoid getting punched in the face on sight.
...
Konohagakure.
Asuma, Shisui, Might Guy and his father Duy, Rin Nohara, Kakashi, Sakumo, Kakuzu, and Hiruko were all gathered at Kazuki’s home.
They were his friends—and his most loyal subordinates.
After their victory in the Third Great Ninja War, Sarutobi Hiruzen had returned to the village with his troops—only to mysteriously vanish.
Strangely, no one seemed to care much about the missing Third Hokage.
Even the defections of Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō hadn’t stirred the slightest panic.
Let them leave—Konoha had no shortage of ambitious wolves in ninja clothing.
Everyone was far too busy celebrating their hard-won victory—and marveling at Kazuki’s legendary achievements.
So when his chakra flared across the land, no one found it unusual. The villagers simply assumed that Kazuki had once again awakened a new power, ascending to an even higher realm.
His chakra carried such overwhelming pressure that it left no doubt—Konoha now stood unchallenged in the entire Shinobi World.
