Hearing Kurama's defiant accusation, a ripple of unease passed through the Akatsuki. They exchanged wary glances, the horror dawning in their eyes as they silently raised their guard against the being before them. But the Sage seemed entirely unaware, his expression placid, an inscrutable, faint smile playing on his lips.

"Kurama," he said, his voice calm. "You are wrong. I am the Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo Otsutsuki, Your Creator."

But in the silent, ancient depths of his mind, he added a crucial clarification: However, I am not the Sage of Six Paths from this world.

The Nine-Tails' words stirred a memory, a vision of a rainy night a thousand years ago. He recalled fleeing his own reality, a world ruled by the iron fist of an Otsutsuki God, and arriving here, his power all but spent. It was then that he met his other self—the Hagoromo of this world, a kind, gentle, hopelessly naive fool.

But having witnessed true, divine power, this other Hagoromo had already seen through the grand illusion of morality. He understood that everything was meaningless, and that only absolute power, a power that transcended all creation, was his eternal pursuit. And the body of his alternate self was the perfect vessel, a blank slate for his own reincarnation via the Wedge. Under the pretext of transmitting memories of the future, he had consumed the soul of his younger, weaker self just before its death. And in that moment, he was reborn.

He abandoned the ridiculous kindness of his other self and began to reshape this world into a grand farm for the ascension of his own soul, a stepping stone on his path to godhood. He established the Ninshu way, dispersing his chakra to turn all the people of this world into his own livestock, their souls his to harvest. But his stupid younger brother discovered his plan. Helpless, he could only devour the fool's soul as well, reuniting him with his original self in oblivion.

Everything was going according to his grand design. The souls he had devoured over a millennium were fueling his transformation, bringing him ever closer to a higher plane of existence. He had begun the final stage of his metamorphosis seven years ago; in just a few more, he would complete it and become the Otsutsuki God of this world.

But at this critical juncture, Kagami, the uncontrollable variable, had appeared. The boy's growth was so rapid it had genuinely frightened him. He had tried to harvest Kagami's soul, only to find that he was inexplicably unable to reclaim the chakra within his body. Kagami had somehow escaped his control.

And so, to eliminate this threat, he had been forced to tear off a tenth of his own soul at this most critical moment and send it to rally these mortals. As long as Kagami could be wiped out, any cost was worth it.

Though he sensed the wariness of the Akatsuki members, the Sage didn't care. They were just livestock in his eyes. Their lives and deaths were in his hands. They posed no threat to him. He didn't bother to explain himself further.

Hearing the Sage's words, the Nine-Tails said nothing more. It simply stared at him with eyes full of a deep, burning hatred as it was dragged, helpless and unwilling, into the gaping maw of the Gedo Statue. As Kurama was absorbed, the statue's eyes opened further, now almost fully awake.

The Sage of Six Paths looked at the change in the Ten-Tails and smiled with satisfaction. The original Ten-Tails had been a mindless killing machine, unsuitable for his plans. That was why he had separated it into nine beasts. But now, to deal with the variable, Kagami, he had no choice but to resurrect it. Compared to the uncontrolled Kagami, a simple weapon of mass destruction was a far lesser threat.

He glanced at the silent members of Akatsuki, mentally calculating the time it would take to complete the ritual. About a day. He was dissatisfied with the slow pace, but for mortals of their caliber, it was acceptable. The Akatsuki, for their part, remained silent, their wariness of the Sage now a palpable tension in the air.

A day later, Kagami's two clones arrived at their destinations. One reached the Hidden Mist Village in the Land of Water, while the other arrived at the borders of the Hidden Rain Village.

Looking at the steel and concrete city shrouded in a perpetual downpour, Kagami's clone smiled. "It's a wonder to see such a modern city in the ninja world." The technology of this world was so strangely lopsided. They had advanced genetics and even computers, yet their primary method of communication was still sending messages by bird. They could clone a human being, but no one had thought to study how to increase food production. Plunder and slaughter seemed to be the only accepted paths to resources. This deformed world was, to his clone, truly baffling.

But all of this was only temporary. After he unified the world, he would introduce the games, novels, instagram, mobiles and all the stuff that he had enjoyed in his previous life. He truly missed those days, the simple pleasures of playing games online and staying up all night, lost in a good story. The thought of technology inevitably led his mind to the one man in this world who seemed to possess a genuine scientific curiosity: Orochimaru. He had sent people to search for him, but so far, nothing. If he happened to run into him here, he would be sure to take him back.

Without any hesitation, the clone moved like lightning, instantly penetrating the dense curtain of rain and stepping into the Hidden Rain Village. He knew the rain itself was Nagato's sensory ninjutsu, that anyone touched by it would be discovered. He made no attempt to avoid it; in fact, he welcomed it. Luring them out directly was far more convenient than searching for their headquarters.

Kagami wandered through the damp streets casually, occasionally stopping at a roadside stall to pick out some local snacks. He planned to bring some gifts and souvenirs back for his wives.

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