"If Menma and I each take one side of this array and activate it together, we should be able to teleport the Dragon Vein of Loulan here."
Kyūsei studied the crude sealing diagram carefully, his eyes shining.
At the moment the array was still full of flaws.
But every great undertaking had to start somewhere.
Once the framework existed, the five sealing experts present—including Kyūsei himself—could refine and perfect it quickly.
"Right? Right?"
Kaoru said excitedly.
"That way, even after Sister Kushina goes back, we can still visit her all the time."
"And we can build the exact same teleportation array over there too—move the Dragon Vein next to their Konoha."
"Then we could just walk out of the village gate and go see her!"
Kyūsei stared deeply at the simple-looking array.
But his thoughts went far beyond that.
If Konoha expanded its territory and left a huge space at the center…
They could place the Dragon Vein directly in the middle of the village.
Using the Dragon Vein's energy to construct the city—
Within ten years, they could recreate something like the Lost Tower—a Loulan filled with towering skyscrapers.
And since the Land of Fire had far richer resources than that endless desert…
Construction would be even faster.
At that point—
Konoha wouldn't just be a prosperous city.
By linking a second Dragon Vein, a third Dragon Vein…
Every Konoha across parallel universes could connect.
A multiversal power centered entirely around Konoha would be born.
Kyūsei looked up at everyone.
They were all staring back at him with the same burning gaze.
"What if…"
Kyūsei's slightly hoarse voice sounded.
"What if we move the Dragon Vein directly into Konoha?"
"Use it as the hub of a massive space-time transportation network."
"And connect every Konoha together?"
Everyone froze.
Except for Kakashi—who was still a kid—and Sasuke—who mostly thought with his lower half—none of the people in the room were fools.
With just a few words, Kyūsei had made them realize something terrifying.
The idea they had casually brainstormed…
Could create something unprecedented.
If this succeeded—
An unimaginable superpower would be born.
"In that case…"
"Then the entire world—no, all worlds—would have no one capable of opposing Konoha."
Menma's mind moved the fastest.
He immediately saw the conclusion.
What did countless united Konoha villages represent?
Countless Nine-Tails.
That alone was the simplest implication.
"No!"
"Absolutely not!"
A voice suddenly rejected the idea.
Not just anyone.
It was Kushina.
Everyone turned toward her.
Even Sasuke, who had been stunned by Menma's words, looked at her.
"Kyūsei, do you know what this means?!"
Kushina stared at him gravely.
"If this plan succeeds, Konoha will indeed become unbeatable."
"But do you understand what an invincible regime means?"
"If it ever becomes corrupt…"
"It would be a catastrophe."
"A disaster sweeping across dozens, hundreds—countless worlds!"
"At that point, the deaths wouldn't just be thousands or tens of thousands."
"It would be millions, tens of millions—billions!"
"This would be a calamity!"
"I will never allow this!"
Her words were like cold water poured over everyone.
The room fell silent.
"Why would there be a disaster?"
Menma suddenly said.
"Corruption is just the expansion of human greed."
"But with this—"
He stared at the sealing array in Kyūsei's hands.
"With this, we gain infinite resources."
"Not just the ninja world."
He pointed upward toward the sky.
His eyes burned with barely concealed ambition.
"The Moon."
"The Sun."
"Mars."
"They could all become ours."
"Think about it."
"Endless universes… all waiting to be explored."
"Infinite resources that can satisfy every desire."
Karin stared at him blankly.
"If that's the case… then if even one world breaks through a technological barrier…"
"It would be equivalent to every world achieving the same breakthrough."
"All resources would belong to—"
Kyūsei finished her sentence quietly.
"To Konoha."
Menma burst into laughter.
"Exactly!"
"If you're going to implement this plan, I'll gladly work with all of you!"
His eyes were blazing with excitement.
He felt like he had discovered a new continent.
Why had he previously captured bloodline ninjas and jinchūriki?
To dominate the world.
But compared to this plan—
That ambition was nothing.
Utterly insignificant.
This was the greatest plan imaginable.
Absolute power.
Absolute grandeur.
Something never seen before and never to be seen again.
The ultimate plan.
"But…"
Kaoru said hesitantly.
"Our world isn't the same as Sister Kushina's."
"The most obvious difference is you and me compared to Kushina and Minato."
She glanced worriedly at Menma and Sasuke.
In Naruko's memories, Sasuke had been quiet and kind.
But the Sasuke in front of them was a shameless womanizer.
"And our timelines aren't synchronized."
"That means we might even encounter the First Hokage someday."
"…The evil First Hokage."
She added awkwardly.
Everyone froze again.
The power of Hashirama Senju was something the Nine-Tails inside Kyūsei and Menma understood very well.
One Wood Golem technique was enough to slap a tailed beast into submission.
"Kyūsei…"
The Nine-Tails inside him finally spoke.
"I suggest you think very carefully."
To be honest—
The fox was completely stunned.
He had once heard Kyūsei say that ninja power kept evolving over time.
But this conversation had completely shattered his worldview.
Even the Sage of Six Paths had never imagined something this insane.
"This is extremely dangerous…"
Kurama spoke gently now—nothing like his usual arrogant self.
Kyūsei fell into deep thought.
If this plan succeeded, the benefits would be unimaginable.
But the risks were just as enormous.
He might face things like a Six Paths Madara…
Or even a Six Paths Hashirama.
Who could deal with that?
And there was still that clan wandering among the stars—
Planting Divine Trees across worlds.
The Ōtsutsuki clan.
Their strength was unquestionable.
Just one Ōtsutsuki Kaguya had nearly destroyed the ninja world.
And she had only been a subordinate of Isshiki.
Yet…
Kyūsei looked at the simple sealing array again.
It was unbearably tempting.
He had to admit—
He wanted to try.
The rewards were simply too great.
"Kyūsei."
Kaoru had known him since she was six years old.
She could read his thoughts from a single glance.
She knew he was tempted.
Anyone would be.
She gently held his wrist and looked at him worriedly.
Kyūsei glanced at her.
Then looked around the room.
"…Maybe we should shelve this for now."
"Forget the distant future. We can't even resolve our current problems."
His voice was hoarse.
Saying those words left a hollow feeling in his chest.
The excitement that had filled him moments earlier sank into emptiness.
He wasn't wrong.
Akatsuki threatened them from outside.
And the conflict with the other Konoha over the Nine-Tails was still unresolved.
It was too early to talk about something like this.
"Do you even understand what you're saying?!"
Menma shouted angrily.
"Do you realize how enormous the benefits of this plan are?!"
If he could, he would start the project alone.
But he couldn't.
Even without the seals suppressing him, he couldn't build such a massive array alone.
Every sealing expert in the room was necessary.
One less person and the plan would collapse.
One person's wisdom had limits.
But many minds together could expand endlessly.
Kakashi stared blankly at the adults around him.
He had the strange feeling that he had just heard a truly terrifying plan.
Night fell.
Kyūsei sat alone on the rooftop.
The grand vision from earlier still echoed in his mind.
Parallel worlds were like a tree.
The trunk represented time.
Branches represented different possibilities.
Every leaf was a separate universe.
It was breathtaking.
And now—
He had a real chance to connect them all.
Kyūsei knew he wasn't someone who could live a quiet life.
Rebellion ran in his blood.
And now a chance had appeared—
To witness the true scale of existence.
He didn't want to give it up.
Just then, a hand rested on his shoulder.
Hashirama Senju stood behind him, looking complicated.
He had overheard the conversation earlier.
Never in his life had he imagined sealing techniques being used like that.
In his understanding, sealing techniques were just tools for storing items or sealing tailed beasts.
But today had completely overturned that belief.
Using sealing techniques to scale the Flying Thunder God technique infinitely.
Moving the Dragon Vein.
Using its power to rapidly develop Konoha.
Even that alone would have been a perfect plan.
But the Dragon Vein also had the ability to jump through time and space.
And these crazy Uzumaki…
Had taken that idea and expanded it into a multiversal empire.
Hashirama's brain simply couldn't keep up with them.
If Tobirama were here…
Actually—
No.
On second thought, Tobirama would probably be the first one begging to join their insane plan.
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