Edward went to heal his injuries. His first task was to gather enough natural energy from the surrounding planets and solar systems. Once he finished, he spent the next few days creating the perfect method to enter the Mana Sage Mode.
Upon success, he finally began his recovery journey. In the Sage Mode state, his energy-sensing and controlling ability reached an ethereal level, so it did not take long for him to remove the void energy from his body.
He exhaled deeply as he removed his prosthetic and regenerated his limbs. He clenched his hands and moved his toe, "I have never felt better.' The void energy inside his body was constantly destroying his inside–despite his mana suppressing most of its power.
As such, he was in a state of constant regeneration–which was extremely painful. If not for his strong Willpower, he could not bear the pain. Edward checked the strange Will inside his body before placing more seals around it.
With access to a larger mana pool and his new understanding of sealing from the Sealing Jutsus of this world, the effect was marvelous.
'The next step.' While still in the Sage Mode, he began using his soul to nourish and heal Morgana. This state drastically increased his stamina and regenerative properties, including the rate his soul power regenerated.
After another week of constant effort, the little elf finally woke up.
"Master, why are you always in these terrible situations?"
"Who knows? But I'm beginning to suspect my luck is running out," he shrugged. Despite his demeanor, he was not lying. Before every voyage, he took the Felix Felicis, but he's beginning to suspect this thing is no longer working.
"Don't mention these things. How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine. I think."
"Good. Can you sense the floating city?"
"I can," replied the little elf after closing her eyes for a moment.
"It's not destroyed?"
"No, but it's in terrible shape."
"Can it function?" He could activate the auto-drive and have the city come pick him up.
"No, the destructions are too much. Even with the self-repair system, it would take a long time to fix."
"Can you calculate how long?"
"By our plane's standard, 5689 years, six months, and 24 days."
Edward groaned," This means the Material Dimension was destroyed." He left some resources in the city in case of an accident to accelerate the self-repair, so it should not take this long.
"There is also the issue of void energy," added Morgana.
"Indeed." The way time passes in the void can be a headache. Edward had to install Time Regulators in the city to ensure it did not instantly age into oblivion after entering the void–or worse, regress. When he first created the World Gate, he had to rely on Merlin's Enchantment for these systems until he learned them himself.
"We will have to contact home to pick us up," added Edward. "There should be no problem, right?"
"There is a small issue."
"What is it?"
"We can only send a weak signal. So, I don't know how long it will take to reach home."
"That's fine. We have time."
"Alright."
"I never ask, but do you know exactly what happened?"
"We encountered a terrifying creature," said Morgana, with fear in her eyes. "The creature seemed curious about the city and held with its fingers. No, not even its fingers, it's nails."
"Is that why the city was destroyed?"
"Yes."
A creature that destroyed a Tier 9 Weapon with its nail! Edward could not fathom how big it was or how strong.
"The void is truly a dangerous place. What after next?'
"It looked at the floating city before throwing it away. It seems he was only momentarily interested before becoming disappointed."
"I guess we were lucky?" he said with a wry smile. "When did you send me away?"
"The moment it held us, I sent you away. However, I am 99% sure it detected you but did not care."
"I'm nothing to such a creature, not even a decent meal," Edward shook his head. He always knew he was not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Although he had potential, it was simply that–potential, not strength. Only by turning that potential into power will he one day reach the top of the omniverse.
"Master, you should not underestimate yourself. That creature is probably not as strong as you think it is,"
"I am not," he replied with a smile. "Plus, there is no need to undervalue its strength. If I'm not mistaken, the remaining Will in my body is simply because the creature looks at me."
As a superior lifeform, the creature could harm him simply because he gazed at Edward. It's similar to how Tsunade could not harm him even if he were weak and injured: their Life Level is on an entirely different level. And one day, once Edward is more powerful, his gaze will also be harmful to certain weak creatures of lower life levels.
"Master, you're injured?"
"It's no big deal," replied Edward. "Anyways, this might be an opportunity."
After Morgana sent the signal back home, the two began working on completely healing Edward. He built a machine that would protect Edward's body while accelerating healing.
After he finished, Edward went to check on the new research group he had created. But he did not see anyone working when he entered their working room. Instead, they all stood before a screen, watching something.
"What are you guys doing?"
"Watching children fights," replied Orochimaru with a sense of schadenfreude.
"Watch your tongue," said Tobirama and Tsunade simultaneously. Edward walked to the screen and saw the war between his golems and the Ninja Alliance.
"Has the war already started?"
"You mean the one-sided massacre."
"Since when did you become so…." He did not know the exact word to describe the current Orochimaru.
"Since all my dreams and ambitions became possible."
Edward shook his head before continuing to watch the battle. And as Orochimaru put it, it was a one-sided massacre. The golems were resistant to most Ninjutsu. They had better ways to gather information and assess the situation.
As such, the Alliance under Jiraiya's command could not last long. Luckily, these golems were ordered to use non-lethal means, so there was no casualty in this battle.
"Why didn't Hiruzen surrender?" said Tobirama with gritted teeth.
"I tried to convince him, but he didn't want to listen."
"You, let me join the battle," asked Tobirama.
"And what are you going to do?" asked Edward.
"I can use the newly perfected Edo Tensei to resurrect my brother. He should be useful."
"Your brother is only Tier 4 and can reach Tier 5 strength after using Sage Mode. So, the best he could do is take down a few golems before being captured."
Tobirama was quiet for a moment since that was the truth. "At least, it will give the Ninjas some pride." He could see the devastating blow this war had on most people; their eyes lost a certain fire as they watched their civilization being utterly destroyed.
"That is the point," responded Edward. "Break their will and pride before rebuilding it under the banner of the Arcane Empire."
"That is cruel."
"War is cruel. Your brother distributing the tails beasts had a similar effect. How do you think the other villages felt when they realized this man was powerful enough to capture all these creatures and even confidence enough to distribute it to others?"
(AN: take this part with a grain of salt. The first Shinobi War involved Hashirama and Madara, and the tail beast was probably distributed during this time. Unfortunately, I could not find much information, and things are complicated with the mystery of Hashirama's death not being known. Plus, I did not research for that long.)
Tobirama could not refuse. When his brother was alive, no village dared confront the Hidden Leaf nor even started wars with each other. But not long after his death, war broke out, and he died soon afterward as well.
(AN: Think of it as an alternative timeline where the First Great Shinobi War occurred after Hashirama's death.)