The Fourth Ninja World War, Uchiha Madara, Edo Tensei, and the masked man who claimed to be Madara...
Kakashi's brain momentarily short-circuited. The information he had to process was so absurd that after watching all the storylines, he was left with a mix of emotions and a lingering sense of unreality.
By the end of the storyline, Kakashi still didn't know the outcome of the Fourth Ninja World War (A/N: the later parts involved Naruto with Six Paths Yang Power so it's not shown here).
However, Naruto [Kurama Link Mode], with the help of Might Guy [War Arc] and Kakashi [War Arc], managed to break the mask of the man who called himself Madara.
The face beneath the mask... made Kakashi feel that sense of unreality grow even stronger.
Not long ago, the two visitors from another dimension— Hatake Kakato, who excelled in swordsmanship, and Uchiha Obike, who wielded dual Kamui Mangekyo Sharingan, had appeared.
Kakashi had only seen a resemblance to his old friend in Obike, which had stirred up some nostalgia.
He thought that if for that accident, Obito might have grown up to be like Obike, a carefree personality, a cunning fighting style, and a habit of teasing Kakato from time to time.
Other than that, Kakashi hadn't exchanged a single unnecessary word with this 'friend' from another dimension. He knew very well that this wasn't the real Obito.
The bond between them was Obito's eye, something this visitor from another world didn't possess.
But in the storyline, Kakashi had clearly seen the masked man using Space-Time Ninjutsu.
From the first glance, Kakashi had thought of Kamui and the Mangekyo Sharingan.
No matter how much confusion he felt, he kept it buried deep inside.
Until the moment the mask shattered...
The noisy environment of the shop surrounded him. Kakashi closed his eyes, held his breath, and tried to keep his mind blank while listening to the sounds around him.
"Substitute, substitute... aren't you going to substitute this time?"
"What? What kind of basic attack is this? I'm about to get protected, and you can still chain into it? That's way too overpowered! Nerf it!"
"Hehe, stop slandering Naruto [Kurama Link Mode]! He's the hero of the war! This strength is completely justified!"
…
"Why can't my Nidaime-sama hit Naruto [Kurama Link Mode]?"
"Could it be because Nidaime-sama doesn't have any anti-air attacks?"
"Wait... how is that possible? That's the almighty Nidaime-sama we're talking about!"
…
The shouts and exclamations echoed throughout the shop. Only then did Kakashi let out a long sigh of relief.
'The information revealed by Manager couldn't be false. Obike was likely still alive.'
'But why hadn't he returned to Konoha?'
Kakashi didn't know what Obito was thinking, nor did he know what Obito had been through all these years.
But Kakashi was certain about one thing.
He thought to himself:
'"If you are the enemy in the future, my first priority must still be the peace of the Ninja World and the safety of the village."
"You, who suffered so much because of the war... why would you want to spread the flames of war across the Ninja World again? If we meet again, I'll ask you for an explanation. "
---
The Land of Rain.
Nagato, who had just been half-dead from anger, sat weakly in his chair.
However, after watching the storylines of Naruto [Nine-Tails Chakra Mode] and Naruto [Kurama Link Mode], Nagato fell silent once more.
'The purpose of collecting the Tailed Beasts... was to revive the Gedo Statue?'
'That thing was the Ten-Tails?'
'And also... the Rinnegan I had been born with and took pride in... actually belonged to Uchiha Madara?'
This revelation was undoubtedly a heavy blow to Nagato's pride.
'And that masked man who called himself Uchiha Madara… he had been using me all this time.'
'So collecting the Tailed Beasts was never about world peace, but about the selfish ideals of those two Uchiha? '
After learning this truth, Nagato didn't react with overwhelming anger. Instead, he let out a bitter laugh.
His entire life...
He and Yahiko had founded the original Akatsuki, defeated Hanzo of the Salamander, taken control of the Land of Rain, and gathered the strongest Missing-nin from across the world.
Now, he was preparing to extend his 'claws' to neighboring countries, aiming to establish a united nation that could rival any of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
He never thought that in the storyline, he would be defeated by his own junior, a former clansman, or rather, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki who was supposed to be his prey.
And at the last moment, the Nagato in the storyline was suddenly swayed by Naruto's 'Talk no Jutsu,' choosing to sacrifice himself to revive the Konoha's people.
The content of Naruto's 'Talk no Jutsu' was also depicted in the storyline.
Watching this, the real Nagato couldn't help but feel furious.
'How could a brat like Naruto possibly understand the path to peace?'
But after watching the storyline of Naruto [Kurama Link Mode], Nagato began to doubt his own path.
As he connected the dots between the different storylines, this doubt grew deeper.
'It seemed that after my death, the other members of Akatsuki had also met their ends one after another.'
'So... is the path to peace I've been pursuing really the right one?'
In the storyline of Naruto [Nine-Tails Chakra Mode], Nagato saw himself and Itachi being reanimated with Edo Tensei and battling the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki and Naruto.
By that point, Naruto had grown to a terrifying level.
At least, he wasn't someone the Six Paths of Pain could easily handle.
Later, from Naruto's perspective in the storyline, Nagato also realized just how powerful the two Uchiha who had manipulated him and used him as a puppet truly were.
Especially Madara.
Due to his chronically weakened state, Nagato had never fully unleashed the power of his Rinnegan.
But in the storyline, even through the screen, Nagato could feel the despair of the Five Kage and Naruto when faced with the meteor Madara casually pulled down from the sky.
That level of power was enough to dominate the entire Ninja World alone!
This was the Ultimate Fantasy that Nagato had hoped for.
But later, Nagato realized he had still underestimated Madara.
That terrifying meteor, Madara could casually pull down a second, even larger one!
---
'The Moon Eye Plan? To envelop the entire Ninja World in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, creating a perfect world without war.'
Nagato fell silent again, contemplating the feasibility of this plan.
Although he didn't want to admit it, he had to acknowledge that both Naruto's path to peace and Madara and the masked man's Moon Eye Plan seemed more practical than the path he had originally envisioned.
However, a few months ago, his plans had undergone significant changes due to the appearance of a certain book.
Nagato still clearly remembered the opening line of that book.
[The world under heaven, after a long period of division, tends to unite; after a long period of union, tends to divide...]
This simple sentence contained endless wisdom, as if it were the lament of a historian recording the chaos of a bygone era, woven together with countless emotions.
To Nagato, 'after a long period of division, tends to unite; after a long period of union, tends to divide' was the inevitable trend of history.