Extra: Gods and Gods
The cosmic star sea.
A boundless dreamscape, stretching endlessly in the embrace of time and space.
The stars shimmer like priceless jewels scattered across an infinite sandy ocean—hundreds of billions of celestial bodies each radiating their own brilliance. Star systems were like enormous archipelagos drifting through the dark cosmic ocean, each one hosting billions of suns, all rotating, evolving, and colliding, composing the eternal symphony of creation and destruction.
This was the final destination of all spacetime—supreme and beautiful.
Suspended above the star sea was the Primordial River, reflecting countless epochs.
—
Martial Celestial Realm – Northern Corona Star Sector
Known as the Realm of Stars, this was home to uncountable beings, including many of mythic stature.
In one spiral arm of a leftward-turning galaxy lay the astral void. There, countless chain-like bridges formed a massive space city. At its center stood a towering statue over ten thousand meters tall, glowing with stirring energy and echoing with drumbeats that resounded through the divine domain.
This was the goddess of Fire and Poetry: Aelise Yuna.
It was her divine realm.
She ascended three thousand years ago, appointed by the Empire to govern this galaxy. Those millennia had passed in boredom and tranquility—until recently.
At first, she paid no mind and sent her attendants to deal with it. But in what amounted to a mere nap for a god—just over a decade—a certain upstart had broken every imperial law and brazenly ascended to godhood within her territory.
And worst of all…
He succeeded.
Despite originating from a lower dimension.
Despite being, by soul standards, a child not even a hundred years old.
—
To ascend within a galaxy already governed by a god was a major provocation—enough to start a god-war. Aelise didn't believe for a second that this punk didn't know that.
What came next only worsened her headache:
After becoming a god, the guy set up his divine realm a mere five light-years from hers.
A direct provocation!
Fueled by fury, Aelise stormed over with her interstellar fleet to teach the insolent brat a lesson.
Who builds a house right on someone else's doorstep?!
The universe is vast. Gods aren't that common. Couldn't he have picked any other galaxy?
Make no mistake—Aelise was a genius among gods. Even among the divine, she was a prodigy. In just 3,000 years, she completed her Mythic Codex and reached mid-tier godhood.
And yet…
She couldn't beat him.
His evolution was terrifying.
She realized—if she didn't chase him off now, he might eventually seize her entire galaxy.
Could she kill him?
She never considered it.
As the goddess of Fire and Poetry, she couldn't bring herself to kill another god.
Only a few battle maniacs studied divine powers capable of killing gods.
Unfortunately…
That punk was one of them.
From their first encounter, she detected it—his divinity contained traits capable of slaying gods.
Which made her even more desperate to drive him away. Who could tolerate a walking weapon of mass god-destruction living next door?
—
At the center of her ornate divine palace was a circular pool.
A long-eared elven woman emerged from the waters, and her attendants draped a robe over her. With fire-red hair and unmatched beauty, she was so divine that no scholar could truly describe her.
"Well? Any response from that brat?"
Aelise turned to ask her attendant—who was also her top guardian knight.
The elven guardian frowned and shook her head.
"No, Lady Yuna. The Mirror Realm still hasn't responded."
Tch!
The breathtakingly beautiful goddess spat. So unladylike.
"Keep broadcasting! Three hundred times a day! Annoy that punk to death!"
The attendant hesitated.
"Um… Lady Yuna, all our broadcast ships have been chopped to bits. There's a strange barrier around the Mirror Realm. We… don't have the means to defend against those space-rending slashes."
"…What about the spatial stabilizer we requested from the Empire?"
"Still pending. They said… you're on your own. They've got bigger concerns and not conscripting you is already a favor."
"Tch! Useless in a pinch. Why the hell did I join this crap empire?!"
"Lady Yuna, please watch your words!"
—
After a moment of silence, another attendant spoke.
"Lady Yuna, now that he's ascended, only you can confront him. Our fleets simply can't threaten a god."
Aelise groaned, scratching her head.
"I know… I know…"
"We've fought before. It's not that I won't stop him—I just can't! That brat set up some nonsense realm called 'Mirror Realm' on a lifeless asteroid. And he even gave it a fancy name!"
"There are so many abandoned galaxies in the void. Why here?!"
"Arghhh!! So annoying!!"
"Bring me my divine weapon! I'm going to beat him up again!"
"If he still won't leave, I'm calling the Goddess Mutual Aid Association!"
—
The Mirror Realm
No signs of life. Just a lone structure made of massive stone slabs—barely recognizable as a building.
Beneath the stones lay a complex arcane sigil.
Uchiha Kagami sat on a stone chair beside it, propping his chin up with one hand.
Soon, the summoning circle flared with light.
From within, familiar figures took shape—Shisui, Sasuke, Naruto…
More and more beings appeared, all gazing up at the Primordial River of Time above, bathed in starlight.
All beings from lower dimensions would undergo a baptism by the stars here—a transformation.
Kagami smiled faintly.
"This is the closest spacetime node I could find to the shinobi world. I'm not well-versed in spatial theories—Orochimaru, Minato, I'll bring in some experts for you."
"Develop a method to transport the entire planet. I'm using the shinobi world as the foundation for my divine realm."
"Yes, Lord Kagami… or perhaps I should say… Lord God."
Orochimaru trembled in awe. The miraculous changes happening to his own body… In layman's terms—just being here might give an average person the vitality of a full-blooded Uzumaki!
He didn't yet know this planet was a discarded rock no one wanted.
Suddenly—
Boom!
A thunderous blast ripped across the sky. Waves of flame blotted out the heavens!
"UCHIHA KAGAMI! GET OUT HERE!!"
A woman's voice. Was this the one Kagami had mentioned?
Minato was stunned.
That fire technique… had far exceeded anything he understood.
With everyone staring, Kagami sighed, rising from his seat.
"She's here again. I'll go deal with her."
"Seriously… I'm just borrowing a little space. Not like I picked a living planet. She's so stingy."
Boom!
Clad in deep black robes, Kagami rose to meet the firestorm. There, he saw the fully armed Aelise Yuna.
"How many times do I have to say it? I'll leave when I'm done. Can you not?"
Aelise's face frosted over.
"Then tell me—how long?"
"You're tall, but do you have a brain? I already said—I don't know. It depends on their research speed!"
Aelise laughed in disbelief.
"This is just stalling. You're trying to steal my territory. Do you think I'm an idiot?!"
"And now you're insulting me too?!"
She thrust her divine spear forward.
Kagami's scarlet eyes flared.
He raised his hand, and from his fingertip, a blood-red arc of energy sliced through space