Before long, Lin Xuan, along with Minato Namikaze and the others, entered Konohagakure.
As they gazed at the streets that had changed considerably on both sides, Minato Namikaze and Kushina felt a wave of emotion wash over them. To them, it seemed as though hardly any time had passed at all.
At that moment, news of Lin Xuan's arrival reached the Hokage's office.
The current Hokage of Konoha was no longer Tsunade, who had stepped down several years ago. Now, the Sixth Hokage, Kakashi Hatake, held the position.
Kakashi felt a mixture of surprise and emotion.
Upon receiving the news, Kakashi immediately came to meet Lin Xuan. When he saw him, a sense of awe stirred within him—he looked far too young!
Kakashi had met Lin Xuan during his previous visit to Konoha, but he never expected that, years later, President Lin Xuan would show no signs of aging whatsoever. He remained as youthful as ever.
Beyond that, Kakashi couldn't sense even a trace of presence from Lin Xuan. If not for his own eyes confirming the man's existence, he would have had no idea anyone was there at all!
This revelation only deepened Kakashi's shock and his reverence for President Lin Xuan.
Truly, this was the man who had intimidated Uchiha Madara and altered the course of the Fourth Great Ninja War!
Snapping back to reality, Kakashi exchanged greetings with the group before leading them to a quiet reception room.
" President Lin Xuan, I'm sorry to trouble you again," Kakashi said earnestly.
Lin Xuan waved a hand dismissively. " No need to be so formal.
I've had nothing much to do lately, so I thought I'd drop by and see how things are going. "
" Kakashi, what's the current situation? "
Minato asked, a note of concern in his voice.
At his former teacher's inquiry, Kakashi began to explain the situation in detail.
After a thorough account from Kakashi, Lin Xuan and the others quickly grasped the full scope of events.
It turned out that this incident had once again been discovered by the Sage of Six Paths and his brother. Ever since the previous incident, the two had remained on the moon—partly to monitor the situation there, and partly to guide and oversee the descendants of Hamura Ōtsutsuki, namely Toneri Ōtsutsuki and his lineage.
Not long ago, unusual activity had stirred on the moon. The two brothers went to investigate and soon discovered another group had appeared there. They made contact with them.
They quickly learned that the newcomers were Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki, Urashiki Ōtsutsuki, and Kinshiki Ōtsutsuki.
Momoshiki and his group had been tracking Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's whereabouts. Upon learning the identities of the Sage of Six Paths and his brother, a fierce battle naturally erupted.
In their Impure World Reincarnation states, Hagoromo and Hamura were no match for Momoshiki and his team. They were swiftly defeated, their reincarnated bodies nearly shattered.
Even Toneri Ōtsutsuki intervened, only to be frozen and sealed by Urashiki.
Afterward, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha joined forces to confront them, but they too were defeated by Urashiki.
Just as the trio was about to extract the Nine-Tails, Konan arrived and managed to drive them back temporarily.
Now, Momoshiki and his group had returned to the moon and were expected to launch another assault on the ninja world soon.
As far as they knew, the trio's goal was to capture all the tailed beasts, reclaim all chakra from the ninja world, and take back the Divine Tree that Kaguya had stolen.
After hearing Kakashi's explanation, Lin Xuan stroked his chin thoughtfully. *So the butterfly effect is at work here, huh?*
In the original timeline, Momoshiki and his crew shouldn't have appeared for a few more years. Now, they had shown up ahead of schedule.
Of course, it was also possible that the earlier appearance of Isshiki Ōtsutsuki and his group had tipped off Momoshiki and his team, leading them to discover this world sooner and pursue the trail here.
As for Minato, Kushina, and Jiraiya, upon learning that Naruto had been injured, they could no longer sit still. They immediately rushed to Konoha's hospital to see their son/student.
Before long, Konan and Itachi Uchiha arrived at the Hokage's office.
" President, I'm sorry to trouble you with this," Konan said, a hint of guilt in her voice.
She had fought earlier, but even with her strength, she couldn't overcome the combined might of Momoshiki and his two allies. She had only managed to force them back temporarily.
She had originally intended to simply ask Lin Xuan for advice, but in the end, he decided to come personally to resolve the issue.
She felt that her own inadequacy had forced the President to step in and clean up her mess, and that thought weighed heavily on her.
Lin Xuan waved his hand dismissively and chuckled. " It's fine.
I've been free lately anyway. I was planning to come over and take you all to watch a show. "
" A show? "
The others blinked in confusion.
Everyone present was puzzled.
" That's right. I'm going to show you something interesting.
It's also tied to my upcoming plans," Lin Xuan said, the corner of his mouth curling into a faint smile.
Itachi and the others had no idea what Lin Xuan meant, but seeing his confident expression, they assumed he already had a plan in place.
Of course, given Lin Xuan's strength, dealing with Momoshiki and his group would be a trivial matter.
Yet, looking at his expression, they couldn't shake the feeling that things wouldn't be that simple.
Just then, an ANBU operative appeared in the office and reported to Kakashi, " Lord Hokage, we've detected traces of Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki and his group! "
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T/N:
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