Chapter 342: Seizing the Rinnegan
"Dragged into another world?"
Naruto and Sakura were stunned. They immediately asked, "What do you mean?"
Sai explained, "In the Fourth Hokage's classified records, it's mentioned that the power of the Ryūmyaku can transport people across time and space—to the past or the future."
"Seriously?" Naruto exclaimed. "From the Fourth Hokage's records? How come I didn't know about that? Did you know, Sakura?"
Naruto turned to Sakura. She shook her head. She'd never seen such records, but she knew this kind of intel was top secret—it was normal that most people wouldn't know.
But how did Sai know?
Sakura, remembering Sai's roots in the Foundation, grew thoughtful.
In truth, the Foundation had already investigated Mukade's motives long ago. Before coming here, Danzō had briefed Sai on the Ryūmyaku's powers, instructing him to seize control of it from Mukade.
But now that the Ryūmyaku had disappeared, that goal was no longer viable—so Sai had revealed its spacetime attributes.
"So what do we do?" Naruto turned to Sai, anxious. "Is there any way we can bring back Captain Yamato?"
Sai shook his head. "I don't know."
Naruto's jaw dropped. "Ah… then what now?!"
While Naruto and Sakura were worried about Yamato's disappearance…
Back in the Loran timeline, Li Yao didn't immediately use Flying Thunder God to travel to Naruto's world. Instead, perfectly transformed into Minato, he was rushing at full speed toward Amegakure.
After developing his spacetime technique—Temporal Mirage—Li Yao had recalled Uchiha Madara's Limbo: Border Jail, a spacetime jutsu tied to the Rinnegan.
That technique, much like Kotoamatsukami, could only be used after awakening the Mangekyō and then further refining it. Just copying the chakra of Kotoamatsukami's Mangekyō wasn't enough to use the full genjutsu.
The Rinnegan was the same. Though Li Yao had previously copied Rinnegan chakra, he could only use its basic abilities—the Six Paths powers. He couldn't access Limbo: Border Jail.
That's why he was heading to Amegakure—to seize Nagato's Rinnegan and personally use Limbo once, so he could replicate it fully as a spacetime jutsu.
As for whether he, not being Madara, could use Limbo? Li Yao wasn't worried in the slightest.
Whether Sharingan or Rinnegan, dōjutsu techniques were embedded in the eyes themselves.
The key wasn't the person—it was the eye.
Otherwise, Kakashi would've never been able to use Kamui, and Nagato wouldn't have wielded all Six Paths techniques.
As long as the eye was present, its power could be used.
Nagato couldn't use Limbo not because of compatibility issues, but because it demanded massive chakra and placed a severe strain on the mind and body. He simply couldn't withstand it—using it would kill him.
Li Yao didn't have that problem.
First, his natural chakra reserves were enormous—easily on par with peak Madara—and with Time Reset Chakra, he had infinite chakra.
Second, his mental resilience was unmatched. If he could condense spacetime chakra, Limbo was no threat to him.
Still, Li Yao only wanted Limbo to complete his own spacetime technique arsenal. Otherwise, he wouldn't even bother with it.
…
Amegakure.
A city in decline.
Once called the "demi-god of the ninja world," Hanzo sat in the village's secret Rain Kage chamber. It was more a secure bunker than an office—Amegakure no longer needed formal administration.
Partitions lined the chamber, each one guarded by ANBU operatives assigned by Hanzo.
Ever since the Second Great Ninja War, Hanzo had grown increasingly obsessed with his safety, always surrounding himself with security.
"Lord Hanzo," one of his subordinates reported, "clashes between Konoha and Iwagakure within our borders are increasing. A new war could break out at any moment. What should we do?"
From behind the screens, Hanzo answered flatly, "Ignore them. As long as they don't attack us directly, we stay out of it."
"But…" The subordinate was puzzled. Letting Konoha and Iwagakure fight within their territory would damage Amegakure the most. Even if they didn't plan to go to war, shouldn't they intervene at least a little?
"Hmph!"
Hanzo's displeased grunt cut him off. The Rain ninja straightened and bowed his head. "Understood."
"Leave."
"Yes, sir."
Once the chamber fell silent, Hanzo closed his eyes. Hearing the word "Konoha" brought back memories of the three Konoha kids he had once dubbed the "Legendary Sannin."
Those three were now indisputably Kage-level.
And Amegakure?
Besides himself, the so-called demi-god—there was no one.
No one at all.
Hanzo had once believed that, even if he couldn't achieve Hashirama's dream of ending wars, he could at least make the Five Great Nations acknowledge Amegakure as their equal.
Then came the Second Great Ninja War.
Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure fought both Amegakure and each other—often with more ferocity against one another than against Hanzo's forces.
Even so, the three villages thoroughly crushed Amegakure.
When the war ended, the Five Nations remained intact. Amegakure and the Land of Rain lay in ruins. Their military power was shattered. No new strong shinobi emerged. Hanzo had to carry it all on his own.
That war shattered Hanzo's ambition and made him accept the Land of Rain's low status.
He couldn't afford to offend Iwagakure or Konoha.
But as long as he lived, Amegakure would endure. His presence alone kept the Five Great Nations from pushing too far.
Beyond that, he could only watch.
In short, Hanzo's spirit had been broken. He no longer dreamed of fighting Konoha or Iwagakure.
If even Hanzo had reached this point, it was clear how chaotic the Land of Rain had become.
Not only were Iwagakure and Konoha skirmishing, but countless rogue ninja groups had begun to rise.
Among them, one had gained swift fame and strength: the Akatsuki.
At the moment, though, the Akatsuki still weren't considered a major power by the big nations.
Their base of operations was now established in a city on the shore of Lake Genkai, at the center of the Land of Rain—Amagakure City.
"Interesting… it's the same as in that other world."
High above Amagakure City, Li Yao—perfectly transformed into Minato—hovered 2,000 meters in the air, gazing down at the familiar city through the rain.
Parallel worlds… how fascinating.
Two vastly different timelines, and yet, the elements were identical.
From massive structures to the oxygen people breathed, everything was exactly the same. No wonder they were called "parallel."
As he soaked in that eerie sense of mirrored reality, Li Yao suddenly grew curious—
Why did parallel worlds even exist?
What force caused two separate timelines to develop identically?
(END CHAPTER)
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