Superior Reed Richards

Chapter 66: Chapter 66



If Kaguya was completely immortal, her children were only partially so. The human part of their heritage made their bodies mortal, but their spiritual essence could retain consciousness for a very long time.

"I can't sense Mother's chakra..." Hamura whispered, gazing intently at me.

Using my eyes, I studied what Hamura truly was. It must be said that the sight was quite disheartening.

"I couldn't allow such a problematic individual to reside within my body," I said, looking at Hamura.

In Hamura's gaze, I saw traces of regret about how everything had turned out. Kaguya's son, judging by what I observed, still felt pangs of conscience for what he had done.

"Her return isn't anticipated," I added, not taking my eyes off Hamura. "Kaguya's will was personally destroyed by me."

Hamura showed no reaction to my words, which confirmed my suspicions. He was well aware of what was happening on Earth, yet did nothing to prevent Kaguya's reappearance.

"Do I detect an accusation in your words?" Hamura asked me.

Found it.

"No, you hear my understanding of what you truly are."

A portal opened before me to the place where Hamura's soul currently resided. Thanks to the Rinnegan and my knowledge, creating such a portal was quite simple.

The dimension where Hamura currently existed was desolate and resembled the Kamui dimension, but it had been modified by Kaguya's son for his own purposes.

Hamura didn't have time to react to what I did. In the shortest possible time, his spiritual essence was completely absorbed by me. As soon as this happened, the surrounding space began to destabilize.

At that moment, I could use what I had gleaned from the books in the library of Kamar-Taj.

"Kamui!"

Using my own dimension, I managed to initiate the absorption of this dimension into mine. Since there was no longer any entity here that could resist such a merger, it was quite easy to accomplish.

When I sensed that Kamui had been strengthened by absorbing this dimension, I received confirmation of the theory that had occurred to me while studying how to obtain energy for casting spells from higher entities or other dimensions.

"One down," the thought flashed through my mind. "One more to go."

Thanks to Hamura, I had an idea of where to find Kaguya's second son. Using the Rinne Sharingan, I began to search for the location of his dimension.

The second son of Kaguya was in a similar dimension. At that moment, he was hovering on his Truth-Seeking Orbs, observing the world of the living.

"I thought you'd appear here much earlier," Hagoromo said when I arrived in his dimension. "Guest from another world."

I wasn't surprised by his knowledge of my origin, as he could witness my arrival in this universe.

Hagoromo's gaze was as if he had been expecting me. I might have assumed that he saw my arrival in his brother's dimension, but my intuition screamed that something else was at play.

"And what do you mean?"

Hagoromo pulled a smile onto his face and said:

"It's a long story."

"I'm in no hurry."

—= Some time later =—

First, the old man explained how he knew about my presence here. As I expected, it was because Hagoromo had been observing changes in the fabric of space-time for a long time. My appearance couldn't help but interest him. After that, he began to watch me more closely. From Hagoromo's point of view, my subsequent actions clearly revealed my plans.

"And you accepted it?"

Hagoromo understood perfectly that I referred to his inaction regarding what I did with Hamura and planned to do with him.

"I've tried many things," the old man said. "The result was that Asura and Indra began battles that continue to this day, and the rest of my children eventually became tools in this endless conflict."

"I see."

Hagoromo did not resist when his soul was absorbed by me; on the contrary, he was glad to finally receive the long-awaited rest.

After Hagoromo's soul was absorbed, I could finally proceed to absorb this dimension. My own dimension received another enhancement, which would play its role in the future.

Having finished with Kaguya's two sons, I returned to Amegakure, where no more than twenty minutes had passed.

Nagato met me, unable not to notice the enhancement I had acquired.

"I suppose you're ready to carry out your plan?" Nagato asked me.

I turned my gaze to the moon, then looked at him and at Konan, who still felt slight apprehension about me.

"Yes, it's time to create a common enemy for this entire planet."

My hands had already formed the Ram seal, and I felt an incredibly large portion of my chakra begin to flow out. The moon in the sky turned a blood-red color.

"Infinite Tsukuyomi."

I plunged the entire world into an illusion indistinguishable from reality. However, while Madara wanted to show people paradise on Earth, mine was something more universal for everyone.

Madara sought to create a perfect world where all people's dreams and desires would come true. In his illusion, there was no suffering, conflicts, or wars. Everyone would live in their own paradise, surrounded by loved ones. Madara was attracted to the idea of an eternal world, a utopia where everyone would feel happy and content.

In the nightmare playing out in their minds, aliens of incredible power attack each of the villages.

I looked at Nagato and Konan, who were unaffected by the technique only because of my presence here.

"Now, only the finishing touches remain."

—= Two years later =—

"You're leaving already?" Mei asked me.

At that moment, we were in our bedroom. During this time, she had managed to achieve what she intended. Now I needed to explain all this properly to Sue.

"Yes," I nodded.

A sad smile touched Mei's lips. She perfectly understood the nature of the relationship between us.

"Don't be sad," I said. "We'll meet again before you even notice I'm gone. Besides, you have fewer responsibilities now."

She smiled.

"Will you meet with your students?"

I shook my head. Naruto and Fuu had grown up a lot during this time, and my presence in their lives was no longer needed.

After everything I did, this world managed to achieve peace. They all "acquired" an enemy who represents a terrifying threat. The common enemy served as a reason to create alliances between the villages.

After kissing her goodbye, I appeared in a place hidden on the far side of the moon, where there was a terraformed area for the bijuu. According to the story people were told, the bijuu agreed to become guardians of peace.

In reality, each of the bijuu received their freedom with the task of filling a fuinjutsu array with chakra each generation to activate the next Infinite Tsukuyomi. The scenarios for the illusion were created by me based on my knowledge of the human brain's structure, so people wouldn't experience similar plots.

After verifying that everything was working correctly, I entered my own dimension, where a door with a message from my future self had recently appeared.

"I hope I won't encounter those monsters after all..." the thought flashed through my mind before I opened the door.

The door led to a tunnel in an interdimensional space, which seemed to be constructing itself as we moved.

"I see," the thought flashed through my mind as I realized what was happening.

"And how do you like this place?" said a voice that caught me completely by surprise.

My gaze fell upon the source of the question—the one responsible for the existence of this tunnel.

"I'd say it's an overly dramatic tunnel whose operating principle I don't fully understand," I replied, looking at myself.

Future Reed Richards, who outwardly differed little from my present self, merely smiled and said:

"As you might have guessed, in this place the flow of time becomes even more distorted than anywhere else. The only thing that remains relatively stable is this tunnel."

I understood what he meant.

"You're building the tunnel. That's why such situations are possible."

"Yes."

I already knew what I needed to do next.

"Ready to share some knowledge?"

My future self smirked.

—= Some time later =—

"What a bastard," I thought as I found myself back on my island.

Thanks to the enhancements my powers had undergone, I was able to subconsciously scan the area and quickly analyze the data obtained.

"About a week has passed since my disappearance..."

At that moment, those currently on the island were approaching me—Bruce and Betty, to be precise.

They were using the vehicles available on the island; specifically, they were riding flying motorcycles—one of my side projects.

Since they were already coming toward me, there was no point in moving to meet them.

"Reed?" I heard Bruce's voice.

Bruce looked much better than the day we first met. Apparently, having Betty here and the calm atmosphere had worked wonders.

"Long time no see, Bruce," I said.

I sensed that those connected to the Fantastic Four network had also received information about my appearance on the island.

Bruce's gaze scanned me. During the time spent in the shinobi world, my appearance had changed slightly—not enough for those who were with me during that time to notice, but enough to be noticeable to someone who had seen me a week ago.

"For you, it was a much longer time, wasn't it?"

I should have expected he'd figure it out. Some of my work available to those on the island provided a certain understanding of the fabric of space-time.

"More than a year?" Bruce asked me.

This question was related to my theory that the farther one travels from their universe, the longer it takes to return to their native universe.

"Yes, but let's discuss this when the others arrive," I suggested to Bruce and Betty.

Bruce was about to ask a question about my experience, but Betty was quicker.

"Darling, let's really discuss this inside the building?"

The look in Betty Ross's eyes indicated that this was not a suggestion. Bruce merely swallowed and nodded.

—= Some time earlier =—

—= Susan Storm =—

"And this way we can enter a market traditionally dominated by well-known film companies."

At that moment, Susan Storm was at a briefing with the team she and Reed had assembled to conquer the film industry.

"How long will it take our camera operators to get used to these new possibilities before us?" asked an up-and-coming director named Daniel.

The captain—as he preferred to be called—of the camera operators' team thought for a while and said:

"Considering all variables, I'd give our people about six months. Although many aspects are user-friendly, the operators' eye needs to adapt to all this."

Apparently, Daniel hadn't hoped for anything else, so he stated:

"In that case, we'll focus on refining the script. That way, we won't waste time."

"And which scripts exactly will we be refining?" asked the voice of Daniel's longtime friend, who was part of the scriptwriting team. "We don't have access to some projects."

"Speaking of that," said Denis, a renowned director whose name had become synonymous with a unique visual style and masterful cinematography. His films always featured deep, meticulously crafted shots that created atmosphere and immersed the viewer in a special world. "Will we be able to acquire the rights to Herbert's books?"

Susan knew well that this director's dream was to adapt Frank Herbert's Dune into a film. He had always admired how Herbert described the vast deserts of Arrakis, envisioning majestic and detailed landscapes that he dreamed of bringing to the screen.

She was about to answer his question when suddenly a notification arrived indicating that Reed had returned. She couldn't believe her eyes, but after double-checking, she confirmed that Reed Richards was indeed back on Earth.

"We'll postpone the discussion of this question until the next meeting," Susan said quickly. "That's all for today's briefing. Goodbye, everyone."

After that, she used teleportation. In an instant, she disappeared from New York.

—= Johnny Storm =—

The flaming body of Susan's younger brother collided with the Rhino.

BAM!

The momentum Johnny had gained allowed him to lift the Rhino several meters into the air, so that Parker could take over.

"Since when did rhinos learn to fly?!" exclaimed Peter, using his web to entangle the Rhino.

They both knew perfectly well that this would only hold him for a few moments. For this reason, Johnny began concentrating flames in his hands, preparing to neutralize the Rhino with a single powerful blow.

"Now!" shouted Parker, shooting web into the Rhino's eyes.

Johnny acted instantly. The ball of flame he was concentrating began to pulsate with incredible power, resembling a miniature sun in his hands. He focused all his energy to create the most destructive fire charge possible.

His hands began to glow brighter; the flames became more intense and hotter. The air around him rippled from the heat, creating the illusion of a mirage. Tiny sparks burst from the center of the fiery concentration, indicating the enormous amount of energy concentrated in his palms.

At the moment Parker shouted, Johnny raised his hands and released the concentrated flame. A dazzling fireball burst forth, whistling through the air and leaving a trail of heat behind. The bright light illuminated everything around, momentarily eclipsing all else.

The Rhino, blinded by the web and not expecting such an attack, didn't have time to react. The fireball struck him with incredible force, exploding and creating a wave of heat and light. The Rhino was thrown back; his powerful body, despite all his strength, was repelled under the onslaught of fiery energy.

The flames continued to rage around the Rhino, turning him into a burning silhouette. Johnny didn't lessen his concentration, directing all his strength to maintain the fiery stream and completely neutralize his opponent.

He ceased his attack the very moment the Rhino's body fell to the ground. The Rhino couldn't withstand the power of Johnny's assault and was now unconscious.

At that moment, Johnny received a notification that lifted his spirits.

"Spidey, I'm leaving the rest to you!" Johnny declared before taking to the skies.

He could have used teleportation, but flying was much more enjoyable.

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