Chapter 15

A World in Ruins

Days had passed since the battle against Momoshiki.

The shinobi world wasn't the same anymore.

Entire villages had been wiped off the map. The Five Great Nations were struggling to recover from the destruction. Even though they had survived, they knew another battle was coming.

Naruto stood on the Hokage Monument, looking over Konoha. The village was a shadow of what it once was. Buildings were broken, the streets were filled with workers trying to rebuild, and there was an uneasy silence.

Sasuke landed beside him. "We don't have time to relax. We found something."

Naruto glanced at him. "What is it?"

Sasuke's Sharingan flickered. "An old Ōtsutsuki base."

The Discovery

Deep within the Land of Earth, hidden beneath a massive crater, the Kage had gathered with their strongest shinobi.

Onoki floated above the ruins, his old eyes scanning the massive stone doors buried beneath layers of rock. "This is… ancient."

Gaara touched the ground, using his sand to unearth more of the structure. "This isn't just a ruin. It's a fortress."

Tsunade cracked her knuckles. "Then let's break in."

Mei smirked. "Always so direct, Tsunade."

With a combined effort, the shinobi forced the doors open.

The air inside was stale—like it had been untouched for centuries.

Naruto took the first step inside.

Secrets of the Ōtsutsuki

The walls of the fortress were covered in markings, symbols written in the ancient language of the Ōtsutsuki.

Sasuke's Rinnegan scanned the text. "It's a record of their past."

As they moved deeper, they found massive stone tablets, each one depicting a different Ōtsutsuki. Some they recognized—Kaguya, Momoshiki, Kinshiki—but others were completely unknown.

On one wall, they saw a drawing of a massive tree—the God Tree—with several Ōtsutsuki figures standing beneath it.

Gaara traced the image. "It looks like Kaguya wasn't the only one to plant a tree."

Sasuke nodded. "The Ōtsutsuki have done this across multiple worlds."

Then, they found something worse.

At the end of the hall, there was a sealed door. The text above it read:

"The Forgotten One Shall Awaken."

The shinobi exchanged glances.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "That's not ominous at all."

Naruto crossed his arms. "Do we open it?"

Sasuke stared at the door. His instincts told him no—but they had no choice.

The shinobi began the process of breaking the seal.

As the doors creaked open, a cold wind rushed out. The air inside felt… wrong.

Naruto's hand instinctively moved toward a Rasengan. "Yeah… this was probably a mistake."

From the darkness, something stirred.

Something ancient.

Something worse than they had ever faced before.