Chapter 303: Must Get to the Bottom of It
Muttering to himself, Ōtsutsuki Isshiki reached out and lightly drew a line through the void before him.
In an instant, a space-time passage appeared, and without hesitation, he stepped inside.
The advantages of having his body restored were becoming increasingly obvious. In the past, every move he made had to be cautious, restricted everywhere by the fragility of his vessel.
But now, he could go wherever he pleased.
This was one of his current advantages. As his figure disappeared into the space-time channel, Isshiki's cold voice drifted out.
"Just you wait, Uchiha Dali."
"This debt will be settled slowly. There's no way I'll ever let you go."
"When I return, that will be the day you lose your life."
...
To avoid Uchiha Dali, Isshiki deliberately went far afield, seeking to explore other planets in outer space. His plan was to plunder chakra from elsewhere to rapidly increase his strength and evolve into a higher form.
Meanwhile, at the "boundary" of the Shinobi World, Uchiha Dali continued studying that mysterious barrier.
By now, he was one hundred percent certain that beyond the barrier lay another world, still part of the same planet, but far larger in size than the known ninja continent.
The problem was, no matter how he tried, he could not break through that mysterious barrier.
And not just that—his Observation Haki was also completely unable to penetrate it, leaving him blind to whatever lay concealed beyond.
After much effort, Dali and his thirty-five clones reached a conclusion. They all believed the one who had created this barrier was likely the very Ōtsutsuki who had truly evolved to the brink of divinity.
That man's name was Ōtsutsuki Shibai.
Across countless ages, Shibai had devoured an untold number of chakra fruits.
His strength had long surpassed the limits of imagination. Eventually, he became so powerful that he no longer needed to remain bound by a physical body.
Thus, Shibai willingly abandoned his flesh and transcended into another dimension.
If this barrier had truly been set up by him, then everything made sense.
Perhaps only he had the power to construct such an overwhelming seal, one that left Dali and his many clones completely helpless.
But then, what exactly was behind that barrier?
What was Shibai trying to conceal?
This mystery gnawed at Dali and his clones alike. All of them were determined to uncover the truth.
"For now, it's probably not the right time. We'll need far greater power to investigate this place."
Having failed to make progress, Uchiha Dali decided to return to the shinobi lands and deal with other matters first.
He also had to guard against Isshiki's possible return.
As for the barrier—he could always return to study it later. After all, it wasn't going anywhere.
Just then, one of his clones suggested, "Each of us possesses unrivaled comprehension. Why don't we remain here to research? You can go take care of what needs handling."
"Who knows, maybe in a day or two, we'll uncover some clues!"
The other clones all nodded, clearly in agreement.
It was obvious they were deeply intrigued by the mysterious barrier and couldn't wait to find out what lay beyond it.
Dali thought for a moment, then nodded. "Very well, you'll stay here. I'll head back first."
Without further hesitation, he triggered the Flying Thunder God and vanished.
The clones had a limited lifespan anyway. When their time was up, they would naturally return to the main body.
In the next instant, Dali had already leapt thousands of miles and appeared back in the Land of Fire, at what used to be Konoha.
The place had been devastated, vast swathes reduced to rubble.
The once-proud Hidden Leaf Village no longer existed.
Fortunately, under the leadership of Hashirama and the others, the villagers had evacuated in time. There were almost no casualties.
With a flash, Uchiha Dali appeared before the crowd.
Having sensed the distant battle die down, they had been speculating anxiously about what had happened. When Dali suddenly appeared, everyone was startled.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was the first to recover, asking in delight, "So the enemy has been dealt with?"
Dali swept his gaze over the crowd, then nodded. "One is dead. The other escaped."
Hashirama spoke quickly, "The one you killed was Madara, right? I can no longer sense his chakra."
"Correct. He chose to stand against us, so I sent him to the Pure Land."
"Young and already surpassing us by far. Truly remarkable! Hahaha… By the way, this is our first meeting. It's an honor."
Laughing, Hashirama extended his hand.
Dali shook it briefly, then turned to the others. "The tailed beasts are with me now. No one will ever steal them again, you can rest easy."
"From here on, we can rebuild our home. Peace will reign over the shinobi world."
"Um… Fourth Hokage…"
Obito raised his hand, hesitant.
Dali's sharp gaze immediately fell on him, noticing that the others also looked uneasy.
"What is it?" he asked.
Obito glanced at Hashirama, then finally spoke: "Although the tailed beasts are safe with you, Madara's actions caused all the previous jinchūriki to die… including Kushina-sensei."
Nagato nodded grimly. "Little Naruto was brought back by Konan, but we couldn't save Brother Minato's wife."
A heavy silence fell over the crowd.
No one had been able to prevent it.
"I see."
"You want me to bring them back to life, don't you?"
Dali immediately pierced through Obito's thoughts.
The latter nodded, looking slightly embarrassed, while Dali let out a faint, exasperated chuckle.
"Aren't you expecting a bit too much from me?"
At that moment, Nagato spoke up: "My Rinnegan holds the power over life and death—I can resurrect the dead. But the cost is my own life force."
"If the deceased is too powerful, or if I attempt to revive too many, I'll die without question."
"I don't fear death. But I believe… if the Fourth has a way to wield the true potential of these eyes, perhaps everyone could be revived without my sacrifice. After all, you're the man who can even defeat gods."
The others looked on with expectant eyes.
To them, whether it was Madara in his Six Paths form or the invincible Isshiki, such beings were gods.
And Uchiha Dali had surpassed even those so-called gods.
Which meant—of course he might have a way.