The moment Uchiha Madara's words fell, the air around them seemed to still. Uchiha Sasuke, now an adult standing before them, narrowed his eyes slightly as a wave of invisible yet overwhelming pressure radiated from him. His once ordinary Sharingan eyes shifted, the familiar magatama swirling before morphing into the intricate, windmill-like pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan. But it did not stop there.
In the blink of an eye, his Mangekyō underwent yet another transformation. The elegant spirals of the Rinnegan emerged, yet unlike the standard Rinnegan that Uchiha Madara possessed, Sasuke's eyes held an unfathomable anomaly—a formation of nine magatama encircling the iris.
The Nine-Magatama Rinnegan.
Madara's expression hardened as he observed this peculiar change. His own Rinnegan had never contained magatama, an indication that the power Sasuke wielded was something beyond his comprehension. Did that mean this future Uchiha Sasuke had surpassed even him? Was the future of the Uchiha clan in hands stronger than his own?
Before anyone could speak, a voice rang out with innocent curiosity. Uzumaki Naruto, still young and far from the legend he would become, stepped forward, his bright blue eyes brimming with intrigue.
"Hey, adult Sasuke! What kind of eyes are those? And why do they have magatama in them?"
A rare, soft smile appeared on Sasuke's face as he looked at Naruto. There was familiarity in his gaze, a knowing fondness that only time could forge.
"Naruto, these are called the Nine-Magatama Rinnegan." He paused before adding, "And you and I… we will have the same eyes in the future."
Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief. "Wait, you mean—me too?! Then we'll be the strongest in the entire ninja world, right?"
Hearing this, Sasuke shook his head slightly, his expression serious once more. "Not exactly. The ninja world of the future has many strong figures. The ancestors you see before you, they were all powerful in their own right. Strength isn't just about possessing these eyes."
The gathered shinobi, from the ancient past and near-present alike, listened intently. Second Hokage Senju Tobirama, ever the pragmatic strategist, narrowed his gaze at Sasuke's words.
"If the future ninja world has warriors capable of challenging the Ōtsutsuki, then tell me… why have you come back? What purpose does your presence here serve?"
At this, Sasuke's gaze turned toward Souta Kazuki, who stood silently amidst the group. His eyes lingered on him for a brief moment before he spoke.
"That's something even I don't fully understand. But I do know this—Souta planned it. His reasoning remains unclear to me." Sasuke exhaled slightly, his tone lowering. "In the future, an Ōtsutsuki named Urashiki invaded our world. He wasn't the strongest among his kin, but he possessed a dangerous artifact—one that allowed him to travel through time and space."
The mention of time travel caused murmurs among the older shinobi. Time-space techniques were rare, and yet the idea that an enemy could move through time itself was an unsettling thought.
"Despite the ease with which our forces could have eliminated him," Sasuke continued, "Souta allowed him to escape… and instructed me to follow him. Urashiki unknowingly led us to this very point in time."
A weighty silence followed before Sasuke reached into his pouch and pulled out a sealed scroll.
"And this… this is what Souta gave me before I left. He told me to bring it to him in this era—that he would understand its significance."
Souta's eyes flickered with understanding. Though he had not explicitly been aware of what his future self had planned, he knew one thing—his mind had never strayed from securing the survival of the ninja world. His fingers tightened slightly as he accepted the scroll and, without hesitation, broke its seal.
With a soft poof, the air was momentarily filled with white smoke. As it cleared, two lifeless figures were revealed, lying motionless before them.
The bodies of Ōtsutsuki Kinshiki and Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki.
The sight of the two extraterrestrial beings left the gathered shinobi in silent astonishment. Some among them had never even conceived the existence of such beings, while others could hardly comprehend how their corpses had come to be in their possession.
Souta's mind raced. The presence of these bodies… his future self had gifted them to him, and now the reasoning behind it began to take shape.
Madara's eyes narrowed. "You are saying these are the corpses of the Ōtsutsuki?"
Sasuke nodded. "Yes. These two invaded our world in the future and were defeated. Their bodies are valuable research material."
As soon as those words left his lips, Orochimaru's golden eyes gleamed with unsettling fascination. His tongue darted out slightly as he observed the pale, otherworldly forms with barely restrained glee.
"These are truly… exquisite specimens," he muttered, the excitement clear in his voice.
A few shinobi shifted uncomfortably at his reaction, but the reality was undeniable. The Ōtsutsuki were beings beyond normal comprehension. The study of their abilities and biology could provide the ninja world with unprecedented advantages.
Souta clenched his fists, his mind racing. The Ōtsutsuki clan… they were more than just a powerful enemy. Their entire existence revolved around consuming worlds, harvesting chakra, and ascending in power through the sacrifice of others. If his future self had left these bodies for him, then the implication was clear—he was meant to gain something from them.
He took a deep breath. Whatever lay ahead, he would uncover it.
The path forward had been set long before his arrival. Now, it was time to walk it.
The wind stirred slightly, as if whispering the secrets of the past and future alike. Every shinobi present could sense it—this moment was more than just an exchange of information. It was a turning point, a thread in the vast tapestry of fate being woven before their eyes. The actions taken from here on would shape the ninja world's destiny in ways they could not yet understand.