Dropped into Naruto, Breaking the World Apart

In truth, the area within 500 kilometers of the Sage Tomb's entrance was utterly deserted.

No one knew exactly when Samui's team had lost their way.

All that mattered was, no one who entered the Sage Tomb had ever returned. Not even Orochimaru or the Fourth Kazekage—every single one of them vanished without a trace.

At this very moment, Orochimaru, the Kazekage, and the others trapped inside the ancient tomb were facing a life-or-death crisis. Strange, elusive monsters were attacking them in relentless ambushes.

These creatures weren't particularly powerful, but they excelled at stealth. No one could sense their presence.

Humans get tired. Monsters don't. Even someone like Orochimaru, famed for his survival skills, was beginning to crack under the pressure.

Escaping wasn't an option either—the tomb's corridors had become a maze. Not even Earth Release techniques could carve a way out.

Still, Orochimaru had gained something from this place. He had discovered an ancient stone tablet that recorded several methods of achieving immortality: bodily preservation, soul permanence, spiritual indestructibility…

But each came with its own flaws.

The two greatest problems were as follows. First—when a short-lived species evolves into an immortal one, its mindset can't keep pace with the body. The body becomes eternal, but the mind still perceives the world like a short-lived being.

It's like a mayfly, born in the morning and dead by night. Give it a hundred-year lifespan, and it would still spend its time obsessing over mating. Without that purpose, it would spiral into self-destruction.

A human who's lived for a thousand years might commit suicide out of loneliness. But to a true immortal, that's an utterly alien notion. An immortal might spend centuries simply zoning out, unable to comprehend human loneliness at all.

A mayfly with a one-day lifespan can't fathom why humans waste time on entertainment. Short-lived species value bloodlines and kin—they seek comfort in the presence of similar beings, and use offspring to pass on their genes. But immortals don't need any of that. Each immortal is a species unto themselves.

To chase after immortality, it's not just your body or your will that must change—your entire mindset has to evolve too. Otherwise, you'll become lost in the unending passage of time.

The second problem was even more serious—the loss of self.

To put it simply: are the 17-year-old you and the 70-year-old you still the same person?

Like the Ship of Theseus—if you replace every part of the ship over the course of its journey, is it still the same ship?

Over just a few decades, the difference might be subtle. But stretch that time to ten billion years, and the transformation would be unimaginable.

Not only would every atom that makes up your body be replaced, even your memories might be overwritten. The stone tablet in the tomb recorded that the Sage of Six Paths, at over 800 years old, had forgotten his past. His memory capacity was limited. As time went on, he had to erase "junk data." Looking back at his former self was like looking at a stranger.

He may have achieved immortality, but time still found a way to murder him. Without realizing it, he became someone else entirely.

Perhaps only time itself is truly eternal.

After reading these revelations, Orochimaru fell into deep thought. He also began to form some theories about the death of the Sage of Six Paths.

...

Getsushoku had returned to Amegakure.

Orochimaru was trapped. Unless he committed suicide and revived himself using the Cursed Seal of Heaven, he had no hope of escape.

That so-called tomb existed in a separate dimension altogether.

Because Getsushoku was one of the Akatsuki's financial backers, after a friendly negotiation, management of Amegakure's prison was handed over to him. As a result, he was able to dramatically accelerate his harvesting of Pain Points.

Pain would occasionally chat with Getsushoku. Though the man seemed unreliable, he was a transmigrator—someone who had crossed into this world. He knew a lot, even if much of it was superficial. But even that was enough to spark new ideas in Pain's mind.

Right now, Pain's biggest headache was economic.

Whether it was the Akatsuki or Amegakure, both were in dire financial straits.

In the past, Pain's plans were simple—recruit rogue ninja and earn money through mercenary contracts. Occasionally, they'd stir up conflict among the Five Great Nations to generate more business for the Akatsuki.

But after Getsushoku's arrival, Pain realized—maybe there was a better way to make money...

"Amegakure is also training its own shinobi. But because of the Land of Rain's environment, they can only accept missions within the village. No one from outside would ever come to this impoverished backwater with requests when they could just go to the Five Great Nations instead."

"And even within Amegakure, there's hardly any work. We're barely surviving on what Akatsuki pays. How long can that last?"

That was the crux of Pain's long-standing dilemma. S-rank rogue ninja could be left unpaid, sure—but everyone else still needed food, clothes, and shelter. You can't sustain loyalty in an organization governed solely by violence.

The Land of Rain had no clear path to economic development. Its geography and climate were awful. Most civilians relied on fishing in freshwater rivers to survive, and though the local river delicacies had their charm, the constant rainfall made agriculture impossible. Nor did they have access to domestic mineral resources like the Land of Earth or Land of Wind.

Maybe they could make war profitable, like Kumogakure did?

Akatsuki certainly had the power to do so. But once the war ended, the Five Great Nations would inevitably unite to crush the Land of Rain.

The more Pain spoke, the more hopeless things sounded. Not that you'd ever see it on his expressionless face.

Getsushoku felt just as depressed. Even though he was a scumbag through and through, he still occasionally missed the stable life he had before transmigrating. A wanderer in a foreign world always clings to the familiar.

Nagato's idea of "nuclear deterrence" resonated with Getsushoku's modern sensibilities. The steel skyscrapers of Amegakure looked remarkably modern, too. Sometimes, Getsushoku would even fool himself into believing he'd never transmigrated at all.

But in the end, it was just a fleeting illusion.

Pain called himself a god—and in Amegakure, he truly was one. But the mask he wore had become fused to his face. He couldn't ask for help. He didn't dare let anyone know he had doubts or that there were things he couldn't accomplish.

Even when he consulted Getsushoku, he did so indirectly, always hinting, never speaking plainly.

And since Pain never said anything outright, Getsushoku pretended not to notice. Before transmigrating, he'd been a nobody. Sure, he could spout lofty ideas, but that was just armchair philosophy. He had no intention of volunteering his "brilliant" insights.

It wasn't until Konan came to him several times that Getsushoku finally began to act mysterious and put on a show.

—In most Naruto fanfics, the transmigrators are just regular people. Some are complete losers who've never even dabbled in international politics. And yet, once they cross over, they preach to the locals like sages from on high?

Don't forget—this world is ruled by supernatural power. Here, strength belongs to the individual!

That said, Getsushoku had no issue planting some "new ideas" into Akatsuki's minds. After all, at his core, he didn't want to make this world better.

He wanted to tear it down.

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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