Hearing that Carl intended to deal with Isshiki, Kaguya naturally felt overjoyed. Among the entire Ōtsutsuki clan, the one she feared the most had always been Isshiki.
According to the rules of the Ōtsutsuki clan, those who traveled to other worlds to plant the God Tree always moved in pairs, and the hierarchy between the two was absolute. The superior could freely enjoy the Chakra Fruit, while the inferior—known as the "guardian"—was nothing more than a consumable, nourishment for the Ten-Tails.
And back then, Kaguya was exactly that—a sacrifice to feed the Ten-Tails, destined to become nourishment that would eventually be condensed into a Chakra Fruit for Isshiki to devour. To put it even more brutally, she wouldn't even have a scrap of residue left behind. After all, the pure, noble Ōtsutsuki did not excrete waste.
Kaguya was nothing like Kinshiki, who was utterly loyal to Momoshiki. She had never accepted the ending written for her from the beginning. In her view, if resisting or not resisting led to the same fate, she might as well fight back.
And so she succeeded—unexpectedly easily, even. Isshiki didn't even have time to resist before he was swallowed by the Ten-Tails. And because the planet they found possessed unimaginably abundant life energy, combined with Isshiki himself—who was practically "premium-grade material" among the Ōtsutsuki—the Chakra Fruit produced by the Ten-Tails was of extraordinary quality. Perhaps this was the charm of going all-in.
Kaguya, after consuming that Chakra Fruit, immediately obtained—
...
When she heard this news from Carl, she felt as if her entire body was plunged into an icy abyss.
Isshiki had been a top-tier elite of the Ōtsutsuki clan. Being chosen as his guardian had even been considered an honor back then. But for Kaguya, Isshiki was the unshakable shadow looming permanently over her existence.
If she had known Isshiki was still alive, she wouldn't have wasted a second thinking about the future of the Ōtsutsuki clan. All her focus would have gone into erasing him from existence.
But now, her power had faded severely. Even if Isshiki's strength had stagnated for a thousand years, she absolutely could not defeat him.
If Carl hadn't mentioned wanting to deal with Isshiki, Kaguya wouldn't have even considered returning to the shinobi world to recover her strength—she would've immediately embarked on interstellar escape.
So after hearing Carl's goal, Kaguya only contemplated briefly before speaking:
"Help me kill Isshiki, and the Chakra Fruit is yours."
Carl smiled faintly.
"No problem. I'm also curious—if the Ten-Tails devoured an entire Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, what kind of fruit would it produce?"
Lily drifted over gracefully. Hearing Carl mention a fruit, she asked curiously:
"What exactly is this Chakra Fruit you're talking about? Is it like the Devil Fruits of this world?"
"You can understand it that way. But the Chakra Fruit increases one's power in a much purer way. And it can't be eaten by just anyone. Ordinary people… would probably explode."
"Explode? Like what happens when someone eats two Devil Fruits?"
Carl shook his head. He had never seen someone explode from eating two Devil Fruits, but he was certain the body wouldn't withstand it.
Kaguya listened silently to Carl and Lily's conversation, and a question arose in her heart:
What exactly is a Devil Fruit?
But her relationship with Carl wasn't like Lily's, so she could only suppress her curiosity and quietly continue listening.
Carl's gaze shifted between Lily and Kaguya, before he asked Lily:
"So what exactly did you two talk about while you were together? And how did you even get along? When you came out just now, you two looked surprisingly harmonious."
Lily and Kaguya exchanged a glance before Lily finally answered:
"To be honest, it wasn't that harmonious at first. When we first met, we fought."
"Who won?"
"Obviously me."
Lily lifted her chin proudly. Kaguya, however, looked dissatisfied and couldn't help saying:
"My power wasn't complete…"
"Hmph, my condition wasn't that great either. All thanks to this troublemaker…"
Lily shot Carl a sideways glance. Carl chuckled and reached out to gently stroke her long hair draped down her back.
"Yes yes yes, all my fault~"
In the past, Lily would've exploded hearing Carl use such a childish coaxing tone. But now she seemed to enjoy it, her eyes subconsciously narrowing into crescent moons.
Kaguya watched Carl and Lily teasing each other, and before she knew it, she blurted out:
"Do you two have a child? If not, have you considered having one?"
"..."
Both Carl and Lily were stunned into silence by Kaguya's sudden question.
But Kaguya, as if something inside her had been triggered, continued:
"If the child is born from both parents combining their essence… that kind of child would never harm their parents, right?"
"Pfft!"
The moment these words fell, Carl had no reaction—but Lily burst out laughing on the spot.
Carl's face instantly darkened. Lily quickly covered her mouth, while Kaguya stared at them in confusion.
"Lily, why are you laughing? Is that question funny?"
Lily coughed lightly a few times, pointed at Carl, and said:
"Kaguya, you should stop asking. Otherwise you'll make him mad."
Carl clicked his tongue, then spoke seriously:
"That kind of thing doesn't depend only on how the child is born. It depends on how the child is raised. A child who grows up receiving genuine love—unless they have some kind of congenital mental disorder—would never harm their parents. Even if their parents were villains bent on destroying the world."
This last sentence was clearly directed at Kaguya. She nodded with a thoughtful expression and murmured:
"Love, huh? Born in love, raised in love…"
Hearing her repeatedly mention love, Carl's brain heated up, and he blurted out:
"But that kind of love requires a process of making it. Your method of asexual reproduction isn't very scientific."
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+90 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg