Second Parallel World, Kannabi Bridge, Laboratory.
"I hear you plan on going to the Third World yourself?"
Link leaned in and asked.
Tobirama shot him a glare.
"Weren't you told not to come over here?"
Although his words sounded harsh, his face showed little anger. Ever since his big brother abruptly received the Sage of Six Paths' power—giving him strength on par with the two "future-men" and making him the linchpin of the upcoming assault—Tobirama was less worried about Link being snatched away. At least if hostilities flared, they had enough force to fight back.
"Your genjutsu experiment failed?" He glanced over the boy, seeing no changes, and more or less guessed the outcome.
(This kid is softer than I'd thought, trusting some Uchiha with absolutely no reservations—tch…)
But to Tobirama, that wasn't necessarily bad. At least the junior he'd painstakingly raised wasn't some ungrateful turncoat. On another note, being so trusting might cause Link trouble one day.
(One more thing to worry about, huh…?) He shook his head slightly. He couldn't count how many nights he'd lain awake scheming ways to protect Link. Maybe he was used to it by now.
(Even so, I'm only three years old, yet here I am losing sleep about peace and ensuring the younger generation's future…how pitiful.)
Link merely gave a nasal grunt. Then he said,
"Going to fight Kaguya is dangerous. Why go yourself?"
"Flying Thunder God," Tobirama replied succinctly.
He elaborated,
"Kaguya is adept at space-time jutsu; we can't trust Obito from the main world. So I, Minato, plus the other world's Minato as well, will all go to coordinate strikes using Flying Thunder God."
Link frowned.
"But what if she ambushes you?"
He recalled how "First" Madara mentioned Kaguya had blindsided them with space-time ninjutsu.
"If she catches us in an ambush, that'll buy my brother time to finish the seal." Tobirama sounded unconcerned.
He tugged his collar aside, revealing a five-pointed black curse seal on his neck, giving a peculiar grin.
"That woman likes to absorb chakra. She'll be free to gorge on it."
"So that's the 'latest achievement' Sasuke mentioned?" Link eyed the marking.
"Something like that." Tobirama gave a deliberately vague answer.
"Your Five Elements Seal harnesses extremely antagonistic natural energy. Orochimaru processed the 'original-body cells,' and the two Minatos plus Kushina did the sealing. I manage the chakra control to form a pattern like this."
He paused, patting the seal.
"It may look unimpressive, but it's constantly siphoning in natural energy. In about twenty hours or so, it'll reach the limit the seal can hold. If Kaguya seizes me, I can effectively dump all that natural energy into her at once."
"Even storing just a few hours' worth would hamper the Ten-Tails, so theoretically it could be a way to handle Kaguya."
Link's eyes widened.
"You guys put together a Ten-Tails again?!"
"Yes, this world still has a Gedo Statue," Tobirama explained. "After the experiment, my brother broke the Ten-Tails down into Tailed Beasts once more."
"But that plan sounds half-baked," Link murmured. "How do you vent the natural energy? What if it explodes again, or Kaguya doesn't fear nature energy?"
Tobirama merely spread his hands, smiling.
"Me?" Link asked, pointing to himself.
"I recall you have a jutsu that can disperse natural energy," Tobirama said confidently. "And if it does explode, well, we always have Edo Tensei."
"Only I, Orochimaru, and the two Minatos have the chakra-control to safely toggle the mark on and off."
"From the Second Parallel World's 'First' Hashirama's sacrifice, we know Kaguya can indeed use or block natural energy, plus your Five Elements Seal's potency. So it's worth trying."
Link shook his head worriedly.
"Still sounds risky. I mean, it doesn't sound anywhere near guaranteed success. Plus it means taking Sasuke, Uncle Minato, and this world's Minato into danger."
Tobirama shrugged.
"We're ninjas—what fight isn't risky?"
"We can't wait until everything is 100% guaranteed. If there's a shot, we must seize the initiative."
"Remember, those future versions of Naruto and Sasuke beat Kaguya once—even if they relied on Kamui and advanced Rinnegan. That's at least a path forward."
"If we just sit around and do nothing, letting her pick the time and place, the unknowns are far too many."
Though Tobirama looked calm, he was internally impatient: Freed from her ancient seal, Kaguya had nearly toppled them while still "fresh out." If they waited for her to get a stable foothold and deeper knowledge, that might be fatal. No one knew if she could copy humans' ninjutsu or gather enough chakra to transform further.
Better to move now.
Link sighed.
"So… Maybe I should come too?"
"No need. Our chances are decent, and if you die, that's the real problem," Tobirama said plainly. Meaning: anyone else dying was acceptable—after all, they had Edo Tensei.
Exhaling, he gazed down:
"Come to think of it, Edo Tensei messing with our perceptions of life… I just realized how easily we treat death now, which shouldn't be."
"Yeah, it's dangerous," Link agreed. Overusing the technique could indeed threaten the moral fabric of the entire world.
Tobirama shook his head, dropping the topic. He already had measures in place to restrict Rebirth in the future. For now, they needed to handle Kaguya first.
"I'll be leaving the village in your hands. The advisors said you've done well," he praised with a small grin. Even if tomorrow he might be heading to his death, his mood was good.
"Heh," Link felt a faint flush of pride at the compliment. "But if you guys do fail—"
He gave a half-smile:
"Then I guess it's my turn to step in."
After all, the "final boss" never steps on stage right away.
~~~
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