"Why are you doing this?"
The Fourth Raikage asked again. His once-massive fra had withered after having so much physical energy drained away, leaving him gaunt and hollow.
Even so, among everyone present, he was still the only one with the strength left to shout.
"Why?" Fujimoto Tōma repeated, pausing briefly before answering. "Because... I have a dream of unification."
The answer left the Raikage stunned.
Just a dream?
That was it?
To upend the world for sothing so personal felt absurd—no, reckless.
Tōma didn’t bother responding to the Raikage’s expression. He knew full well how the Cloud Village had always operated, stockpiling strength and pushing its neighbors into constant anxiety. If given the chance, would they really have acted any differently?
Probably not.
They just would’ve aid smaller.
Tōma turned his gaze downward, taking in the sight of countless people below—faces pale, bodies frail, spirits crushed.
Then he spoke again.
"In your current condition, you won’t live much longer," he said calmly. "After Madara activated Infinite Tsukuyomi, your bodily energy was almost completely drained. At most, you have a few days left."
The words hit like a thunderbolt.
Across the world—every village, every city—people instinctively checked their bodies. The weakness, the dizziness, the sense that their legs could give out at any mont...
They believed him.
Panic rippled outward, but it didn’t last long.
Because soon, every gaze lifted toward the figure seated in the sky.
If he intended to rule the world, then surely he wouldn’t allow it to beco an empty graveyard.
Which ant—
He was their last hope.
Tōma felt their eyes on him and smiled faintly.
"Looks like you understand," he said. "Since I chose unification, I naturally won’t let you die."
He snapped his fingers.
The world responded.
From the God Trees spanning the globe, vast waves of pure natural energy poured out, flooding the land like a silent tide. Within that energy flowed vitality—restoring what had been stripped away, returning strength to exhausted bodies.
People gasped.
Muscles filled out. Breathing steadied. Hearts beat strong again.
The land itself seed to awaken. The air grew clearer. The world felt... alive.
At the Three Great Sage Regions, ancient beings opened their eyes wide. Tears welled as they sensed the dense, pristine natural energy saturating the world once more.
After centuries of stagnation, the path forward had finally reopened.
And this ti, soone had already built a bridge.
As for Tōma’s plan to unify humanity?
To creatures who had watched eras rise and fall, it barely mattered. One nation or many—so long as the world endured.
For humans, however, the change was unmistakable.
They didn’t sense natural energy directly, but they felt their bodies heal, their exhaustion fade. And with that realization ca a heavy truth:
The sa man who had declared war on the world had just saved every life within it.
Dawn approached.
The sky behind Tōma glowed with the overlap of night and day—light and shadow crossing at his back. Half his figure seed bathed in sunlight, the other swallowed by darkness.
To those watching, he looked both divine and terrifying.
Resistance weakened.
Confusion replaced anger.
Was he a savior?
Or a tyrant?
For many ordinary people, the answer didn’t matter.
He had saved them.
That alone was enough to give him a chance.
And that was exactly what Tōma wanted.
If he had restored them before they ever felt death looming, the gratitude would have been hollow. Fear first. Salvation second.
Only then did rcy carry weight.
As the natural energy finished dispersing, Tōma sensed sothing unexpected.
The world had changed.
The threshold for sensing natural energy had dropped.
It wasn’t that people had suddenly gained talent—the problem had always been scarcity. Now that the world’s natural energy had been restored to its original density, the path was open.
Dangerous, yes.
But no longer reserved for miracles like Naruto.
For the first ti, ordinary people could try.
And with that ca new possibilities.
Certain clans, Tōma realized, had just received a massive boost.
The Inuzuka clan, for one—developing a wolf-based Sage Mode would co naturally.
And the Abura clan...
Insects were among the strongest creatures relative to body weight. If they figured it out, their combat potential would be absurd.
Tōma chuckled, thinking of Abura Shino.
That undefeated streak might last a very long ti.
He raised his voice again.
"One more thing," he said. Then corrected himself. "Actually—two."
The world leaned in.
"Within the nation I rule, I will publicly teach the path I walk—the Natural Path—to anyone with the talent to pursue it."
Before questions could erupt, he continued.
"The chakra system you all know has a fatal limitation. It was never native to this world. It originated with Ōtsutsuki Kaguya and was passed down through the Sage of Six Paths."
"Which ans it has ceilings."
He gestured toward the crowd.
"Without Ōtsutsuki bloodlines—Senju, Uzumaki, Uchiha, Hyūga, Kaguya—reaching the highest levels is nearly impossible."
Many veteran shinobi went silent.
They understood.
"And the Natural Path?" Tōma went on. "It draws power from the world itself. It has no bloodline restriction."
He smiled.
"But it is more dangerous."
Then he added the real price.
"At its peak, it grants longevity. True longevity. Tens of thousands of years are possible."
The world held its breath.
Risk?
Compared to that reward, it was aningless.
Across nations, among civilians, nobles, shinobi—hearts wavered.
Tōma watched it happen and said nothing more.
He let temptation do the work.
...
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