Chapter 347: Is This the Hokage's True Strength? The Era Tree, Another World? [HN]

Ōtsutsuki Qingyu’s expression changed drastically. He felt the air around him instantly being pulled away.

An irresistible force firmly seized his body and violently dragged him toward Chiya like a stone caught in a sling.

He tried to activate his own power to resist. The pure white chakra aura around him flashed violently, forming a field of resistance.

However, before the power of all things controlled by the Rinnegan, the power he had drawn through his bloodline and the lunar device seemed so weak and sluggish.

“Bang!”

The gravitational field and the resistance field collided violently, producing a muffled explosion.

Ōtsutsuki Qingyu managed to hold out for less than half a second before his protective field shattered completely, sending his body uncontrollably flying toward Chiya.

The shock in his eyes had not yet faded when he met Chiya’s calm Rinnegan, which seemed to reflect the endless cycle of fate.

“Almighty Push.”

There was no hand seal and no preparation.

The instant Ōtsutsuki Qingyu was pulled close by the gravitational force, a completely opposite and destructive repulsive force suddenly erupted from Chiya’s body!

“Boom!”

The pure repulsive force formed a translucent spherical field that expanded instantly.

Everything in its path was torn apart as though the earth had been plowed open by an invisible giant plow, with layer after layer collapsing and rolling backward.

The towering ancient trees were like blades of grass before this force. They were uprooted and crushed into dust.

Ōtsutsuki Qingyu, who was hit first, only had time to cross his arms in front of himself and gather his remaining chakra before being struck head on by the overwhelming force.

“Puff!”

He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, and his body flew backward like a broken kite.

He slammed into the trunk of the Era Tree behind him, producing a bone chilling cracking sound before sliding limply to the ground.

His ancient white robe was already badly damaged, leaving him in an extremely miserable state.

The repulsive force did not stop.

It continued expanding outward, flattening everything within a hundred meter radius and creating a perfectly circular wasteland.

Smoke filled the air, while broken stones fell like rain.

At the edge of the battlefield, Minato, Uchiha Shisui, and Kakashi had already retreated even farther away.

Even so, the terrifying shockwave still made it difficult for them to breathe, and their bodies seemed to be pushed backward by an invisible giant hand.

The three of them were filled with unprecedented shock and disbelief.

Minato was especially shaken.

He had always believed that with the Flying Thunder God Technique, he was unrivaled in speed throughout the ninja world.

But what Chiya had displayed was a completely different level of power.

It was almost like a law itself, an absolute force that obeyed his words.

Without hand seals or preparation, he could summon the power of heaven and earth with the slightest movement.

He had easily crushed that terrifying Otsutsuki from the Moon as though he were swatting away a fly.

“Is this… the Hokage’s true strength?”

Kakashi muttered to himself, his pupils trembling slightly from the overwhelming shock.

He realized that he could not even perceive the chakra during that instant.

That power seemed to appear from nowhere and disappear just as suddenly, completely surpassing the limits of ninjutsu.

Shisui tightly clenched his fists.

His eyes contained not only shock, but also an indescribable excitement and longing.

‘So this is the Rinnegan!’

‘The divine realm recorded on the oldest stone tablet of the clan, a realm that only the founder Indra and his reincarnations could possibly touch!’

‘And now, these eyes truly exist within their Hokage, Uchiha Chiya-sensei!’

The smoke slowly dispersed.

Chiya was still standing in the same place.

His clothes fluttered gently in the breeze, as though the world shaking attack from moments ago had nothing to do with him.

His Rinnegan calmly fell upon Ōtsutsuki Qingyu beneath the Era Tree.

Qingyu struggled to stand, but because his internal organs had been injured and his bones had been broken, he fell back to the ground.

“Looks like your Otsutsuki Clan has stayed on the Moon for too long and already forgotten the true power of the ninja world.”

Chiya’s voice was not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of everyone present, carrying unquestionable authority.

“With such insignificant tricks, do you think you can make me fear you? Do you think you can make me stop unifying the ninja world?”

Ōtsutsuki Qingyu coughed violently, and every cough brought out traces of blood.

His pure white eyes were filled with humiliation, anger, and a trace of… fear that even he was unwilling to admit.

He could not understand why Chiya possessed such terrifying power.

‘Those eyes…’

‘The Rinnegan!’

‘Wasn’t that the eye possessed by Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo?’

‘Why would it appear in an Uchiha?’

“Rinnegan… you?!”

Qingyu’s voice was hoarse and trembling with disbelief.

Chiya did not answer his question.

Instead, he began walking toward him.

His footsteps were especially clear in the silent ruins, and every step seemed to land directly upon Qingyu’s heart, bringing tremendous pressure.

“Who I am is not important.”

Chiya stopped several meters in front of Qingyu and looked down at him.

“What matters is that your Otsutsuki Clan, or rather, the so called ‘guardians’ from the branch on the Moon, have already lost their original purpose and become obstacles standing in the way of the ninja world’s progress.

“How did you get here?”

Qingyu gritted his teeth, and a trace of stubbornness flashed through his pure white eyes.

“Hmph, don’t even think about getting any information from me! The Main Family will never let you go! The true power of the Tenseigan is not something you can resist!”

“Stubborn fool.”

Chiya slowly shook his head, and a cold light flashed through his eyes.

He raised his hand and aimed his palm at Qingyu.

“In that case, I’ll see for myself.”

An invisible force instantly enveloped Ōtsutsuki Qingyu.

He felt as though his soul were about to be forcibly torn from his body.

All his memories and all his secrets were exposed under that force.

He let out a miserable scream, and his body convulsed violently.

It was suffering far more painful than physical wounds, a torment that originated from the soul itself.

However, just as Chiya was about to read his memories, another change occurred.

A complex black mark resembling a bird spreading its wings suddenly lit up at the center of Ōtsutsuki Qingyu’s forehead, radiating an ominous glow.

“This is… Kāma?”

“No, it’s a similar sealing formula!”

Chiya’s eyes narrowed, and he immediately increased the force of extraction.

The black mark suddenly erupted with intense light, forming a solid barrier that forcibly blocked the Human Path’s soul extraction power.

Before Chiya could react, the light from the mark suddenly became stronger and instantly enveloped Ōtsutsuki Qingyu’s entire body.

“Spatial transfer? Trying to escape?!”

A sharp light flashed through Chiya’s Rinnegan, and his left hand instantly reached forward.

“Universal Pull!”

The powerful attraction erupted again, attempting to hold back the mass of light that was about to disappear.

“Buzz!”

Space twisted violently.

The black light and the gravitational force of Universal Pull fought fiercely against each other, producing a piercing hum.

In the end, the black mark seemed to have paid some kind of price.

Its light suddenly contracted, forcibly breaking free from the gravitational force.

With a flash, it completely disappeared from the spot together with Ōtsutsuki Qingyu, leaving behind only faint traces of spatial fluctuations and a slight smell of something scorched.

Chiya slowly withdrew his hand, his brows slightly furrowed.

The other side had clearly left an extremely powerful contingency on Qingyu.

That black mark had not only protected his core memories, but had also forcibly transported him away at the critical moment.

This probably involved the power of the Tenseigan.

“Hokage Lord!”

Minato, Shisui, and Kakashi immediately appeared beside Chiya, vigilantly observing their surroundings.

“Did he escape?”

Shisui asked while carefully sensing the remaining spatial fluctuations with his Sharingan.

“Yes. He was rescued.”

Chiya nodded, his tone returning to normal.

“Looks like the Otsutsuki Main Family on the Moon is even more cautious than we imagined. They also invested quite a lot in that Qingyu.”

Chiya’s eyes flickered.

Although he had failed to stop Qingyu, he had obtained the route to the Moon from his chakra.

Chiya turned around and once again looked toward the towering Era Tree.

After the earth shaking battle just now, the Era Tree seemed almost completely unaffected.

It still stood there silently, radiating an ancient and desolate aura.

The silver light on its branches slowly flowed, as though silently observing everything that had just happened.

Chiya walked to the Era Tree and gently placed his hand against its bark.

Through the perception of his Rinnegan, the internal structure of the Era Tree appeared like an incomparably precise formation that stretched across time and space.

It was not merely absorbing and transforming the foreign energy that seeped through those folds in space.

It also seemed to be maintaining some kind of… balance through a method that surpassed the understanding of the present world.

He could sense an extremely obscure point hidden deep within the trunk.

That point emitted space time fluctuations completely different from those around it.

“A space time coordinate… or perhaps an ‘entrance’?”

Chiya understood.

Orochimaru’s guess was very likely close to the truth.

This Era Tree was probably a passage connecting to another unknown world, or rather, a node where the energies of two worlds interacted.

Those violent natural energies were leaking from that world.

‘Could it be something like a teleportation formation?’

‘The Otsutsuki Clan on the Moon has been monitoring Earth for so long. I wonder if they know about the Era Tree.’

“Minato.”

Chiya withdrew his hand and spoke.

“Yes, Hokage Lord.”

“Immediately establish the highest level sealing barrier and guard posts here. Dispatch an elite ANBU squad to be stationed here permanently. Without my order, no one is allowed to approach within a hundred meters of the Era Tree.”

Chiya issued his orders.

“At the same time, classify everything that happened here as top secret, especially the appearance of the Otsutsuki member and his rescue. Report it directly to Nara Shikaku and Orochimaru.”

“Yes!”

Minato solemnly accepted the order and immediately began arranging the Flying Thunder God formulas so that personnel and supplies could reach the area quickly in the future.

Chiya then looked at Shisui and Kakashi.

“You have both seen it. Beyond the ninja world, there is a much broader unknown, along with potential threats.

“Individual strength is still insignificant when facing certain existences.

“Work hard and become stronger. The Konoha of the future will need you to hold up the sky.”

Shisui and Kakashi nodded heavily, flames of determination to become stronger burning in their eyes.

What they had witnessed today had completely broadened their horizons.

It had also made them feel the heavy responsibility resting upon their shoulders.

After arranging everything, Chiya once again looked toward the sky, as though he wanted to see through the endless void and gaze upon the Moon hanging beyond the heavens.

“Kaguya…”

He muttered to himself, deep light flashing through his Rinnegan.

“Looks like unsealing Kaguya and uncovering the ultimate secrets of this world can no longer be delayed.

“But before all of that, I must first stabilize the ninja world and give Konoha the strength to face any storm.”

“The Federation Plan must be accelerated.”

His figure flashed and disappeared from the spot, leaving behind the devastated battlefield and the silent ancient Era Tree, which bore witness to the brief confrontation that had been enough to change the future course of the ninja world.

Far away on the Moon, inside an ancient palace.

The Main Family Clan Leader looked at Ōtsutsuki Qingyu before him.

Qingyu was unconscious, his injuries severe, his body covered in wounds, and the black mark on his forehead had already shattered.

The clan leader’s expression was so gloomy that it seemed as though water could drip from his face.

His pure white eyes revealed an extremely solemn expression for the first time.

“Rinnegan… Uchiha Chiya…”

“The variable has already exceeded our control.”

“Begin preparations for the Purification Plan. We must move it forward.”

The cold command echoed through the silent lunar palace, foreshadowing an even greater storm that was quietly brewing.