Simultaneous Time Travel: What Villain? I'm the Protagonist!

"Naruto might be in danger. I'm leading the team back to his aid."

Jiraiya's voice was low, and Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded to him. Several ANBU members quickly gathered around; they were all elites skilled in speed. They made no noise, as any movement on the front line could be detected by the enemy.

But Sheng Ren still glanced at it.

Across half the battlefield, through the lingering white steam, his gaze fell upon the retreating squad. He glanced at them briefly, his expression unchanged, then looked away, his eyes returning to Madara and Hashirama.

Ban suddenly spoke.

"Did you already know?"

Sheng Ren looked at him.

"If only I had known."

"Someone is hunting the Tailed Beasts from behind." Madara's Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan stared at him, as if trying to rip the answer from that young face. "Throughout this decisive battle, who have you been covering for?"

Sheng Ren did not answer immediately.

He raised his hand, wiped away the blood that had seeped back from the corner of his mouth, glanced at the crimson stain on his fingertips, and then put his hand down.

"I'll cover for you."

Ban's pupils contracted slightly.

"Back then, when you awakened the Rinnegan and obtained the so-called truth from the stone tablet at the Nakagawa Shrine," Shengren's voice was calm. "At that time, you began preparing for the Eye of the Moon Project."

Hashirama turned his head to look at Madara's back, his brows furrowed.

Madara stood still, the magatama in his Eternal Kaleidoscope slowly rotating:

"You seem to know this very well."

"Of course," Sheng Ren wiped the blood off the back of his hand, "you've waited for over a decade, and finally you've found your successor, Obito."

He paused.

"Project Eye of the Moon, Infinite Tsukuyomi, dragging the whole world into an illusion, creating a beautiful dream of peace without war or suffering."

Ban didn't speak, and Shengren recounted every detail, like reading a list.

"Do you think Obito is following your script right now?"

Ban's eyelid twitched.

"Unfortunately, Obito isn't here to clean up your mess."

Ban's fingers curled up: "What do you mean?"

"He switched allegiance to another master," Sheng Ren said.

"Who?"

Sheng Ren did not answer.

He simply turned his head, his gaze passing over Madara and Hashirama's shoulders, and landing on a red-haired Iwagakure ninja in the Allied Forces formation.

Rōshi, the Jinchūriki of the Four-Tails.

Ban followed his gaze.

"you--"

Sheng Ren has already made a move.

Without any warning, he simply vanished from his spot and appeared in front of Lao Zi in the next instant, his palm already pressed against Lao Zi's chest.

"Immortal Technique: Ice Escape: Dark Nether Ice Seal"

Sheng Ren stopped.

Old Zi stood still, frozen into an ice sculpture, then the ice sculpture shattered, breaking into transparent fragments scattered all over the ground.

There were no screams, no struggles, not even blood.

There was only broken ice on the ground.

Ban's mouth was open, but he didn't make a sound.

The pupils between the pillars shrank to pinpoints.

In the midst of the allied forces, Onoki seemed to have his spine removed, staggering back two steps before being supported by his son, Koto. His lips trembled violently, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Sheng Ren turned around.

He didn't look at the broken ice on the ground, but looked at Ban again.

"Four tails," he said, "are not for you."

Ban didn't speak.

The Eternal Kaleidoscope reflected the pool of melting ice water. He had waited sixty years, from birth to death, from death to rebirth, finally witnessing Obito begin collecting the Tailed Beasts—

Shengren, right before his eyes, completely killed the Jinchuriki, allowing the Tailed Beast's chakra to dissipate back into nature. This process is irreversible and cannot be recovered.

His plan, which he had been preparing for half a century, was now incomplete.

"You—" Ban's voice squeezed out from deep in his throat.

Sheng Ren didn't look at him.

He turned in another direction within the Allied ranks.

There, Kakashi Hatake was guarding the formation. He sensed that gaze and instinctively pressed his hand to his headband over his left eye.

Sheng Ren walked towards him.

The pace was neither fast nor slow, like taking a stroll.

Kakashi's Sharingan locked onto the white figure through the gap in his headband. The Lightning Blade was already forming in his palm, crackling with electricity.

But he knew it was no use.

Hiruzen Sarutobi threw away his pipe, his hands still trembling slightly as he formed hand seals. Might Guy's knees bent slightly, and the green steam of the Eight Gates began to rise. The Jonin were also ready to attack.

When Sheng Ren was still twenty feet away from Kakashi, a hand was placed in front of him.

Hashirama Senju stood between Morihito and Kakashi.

That's enough.

Shengren stopped. He looked at Hashirama's palm, then looked up at Hashirama's face.

"You're stopping me?"

"Enough," Hashirama repeated, his voice devoid of anger, only filled with a deep weariness. "You've already killed a Jinchuriki, Madara's plan has failed. Who else do you want to kill?"

Sheng Ren did not answer.

Hashirama looked at him and suddenly said, "You're not here to stop the Eye of the Moon."

Sheng Ren did not speak.

"You knew Obito had someone backing him, you knew he was collecting the Tailed Beasts," Hashirama said, emphasizing each word. "You killed Rōshi, not to stop Madara."

He paused.

"It's to deal with the tailed beast before he does."

He stared into Sheng Ren's eyes.

"That's your real purpose, isn't it?"

Sheng Ren did not deny it.

The silence lasted for three seconds.

Ban suddenly laughed, but his laughter was hoarse and devoid of any joy.

"Interesting." He gazed at Sheng Ren, the man reflected in the eternal kaleidoscope. "I've been plotting for sixty years, trying to reshape this world. How many years have you been planning? Five? Ten? You're more ruthless than me!"

He paused.

"At least I wanted to give people a beautiful dream, but you didn't even give them a dream."

Sheng Ren did not respond.

He simply looked at the hand that Hashirama was using to block Kakashi's path.

"Get out of the way."

The pillars remained still.

The seal for "Wood Release: Wood Human Technique" was already poised to be unleashed in front of his chest. He knew that the wooden human could not stop this person, nor could Susanoo, and even if he and Madara joined forces, they could only "stop" him.

But he remained standing there.

His voice wasn't loud, even somewhat calm. But on the battlefield, his words carried more weight than any ninjutsu.

The stance of the God of Ninjas has never been solely based on power.

Sheng Ren and Hashirama locked eyes; Madara's eyes were filled with murderous intent, and a conflict was about to erupt.

Just then, a voice came from the edge of the battlefield, so clear it seemed to be right next to everyone's ear.

"There's no need to kill him; I'll take care of it."

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound.

At the edge of the battlefield, space tore open from within, and a person stepped out from the rift.

He was thin, with a grayish-white complexion, and two black horns of different lengths on his forehead. His black robe was unmarked, with only a blurry circular shadow behind him.

Otsutsuki Ichishiki.

He looked at Mori, then at Hashirama and Madara, and finally his gaze fell on Rōshi's corpse.

"Dead." His voice was flat. "What a pity."

Then he turned to Sheng Ren.

"You're a little more troublesome than I expected," he paused, ""

Sheng Ren looked at him.

"I thought you would continue to hide," Sheng Ren said.

Yishi did not answer.

He simply tilted his head slightly, raised his hand, and gently clenched it in the air.

Space cracked open again.

This time, it was a person who fell through the crevice.

The orange swirling mask was half-shattered, revealing a twisted scar and a dazed Sharingan beneath. He was covered in blood, his right arm bent at an odd angle, clearly indicating that he had suffered a severe injury in a very short time.

Obito.

With a single release, Obito fell onto the ice, struggled for a moment, but couldn't get up.

"He was indeed carrying out Madara Uchiha's orders," Isshiki said, as if stating a trivial fact, "and he was also working for me. He was playing both sides, which wasn't a big problem."

He looked at Ban.

"But he hesitated too much. After capturing the Jinchuriki, he asked me why I didn't follow Madara's plan, and what I was supposed to do. He asked too many questions."

Ban didn't speak.

He simply stared at the huddled figure on the ice. That was his heir, the one to whom he had entrusted his eyes, his name, and his life's plans.

Sixty years of planning have yielded this result.

Ichishiki shifted his gaze from Ban and returned it to Shengren.

"You killed Roshi and stole the Sharingan to lure me out," he said. "And I've come out."

He paused, his eyes revealing no emotion.

"and then?"