The gigantic Rinnegan of the Moon slowly vanished.
Naruto opened his eyes at the original spot where he had been standing, his expression calm yet deep. He quietly felt the power he had just obtained, and with every second that passed, his confidence grew stronger.
He truly hadn't expected that Ōtsutsuki Hamura would go so far as to seal that enormous Moon Rinnegan directly into his Byakugan. Even more unbelievable was the fact that Naruto could now activate and use that power so smoothly, as long as he poured chakra into the mark within his eye.
Just thinking about it made his heart stir.
After a brief pause, Naruto left that place. He stood suspended above the Moon, his figure floating silently in the void of space. Slowly, he lifted his gaze and looked toward the distant blue planet hanging in the darkness.
Earth.
"Ōtsutsuki Urashiki…" Naruto said softly, his eyes narrowing. "Let's see where you've been hiding all this time."
As his voice fell, Naruto activated the Rinnegan sealed within his Byakugan. His vision instantly expanded, piercing through layers of space. The Earth appeared before him as if it were right in front of his eyes. Mountains, oceans, villages, cities—everything unfolded clearly.
Naruto began to scan carefully.
He searched inch by inch, continent by continent, even probing the subtle distortions in space-time.
But gradually, his brows knitted together.
Nothing.
No matter how carefully he searched, he couldn't find any trace of Urashiki's chakra.
"Nothing…" Naruto muttered.
Now he understood why Toneri had been unable to locate Urashiki earlier. It wasn't that the power of the Moon's eye was insufficient—it was that Urashiki was hiding far too well.
Naruto felt a slight headache coming on.
With his current strength, killing Urashiki would be effortless as long as he could find him. That was precisely the problem. As long as Urashiki remained hidden, Naruto couldn't truly feel at ease.
Someone lurking in the shadows, watching silently, capable of appearing at any time—no one could calmly endure such a threat.
Naruto took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
"Could it be…" he murmured, "that he traveled to the future again?"
The thought flashed through his mind, but he immediately shook his head.
Impossible.
The Time-Slip Vessel, the "Treasure Plow," had already been completely destroyed. Urashiki no longer had the means to travel through time.
And even if, hypothetically, there was another such artifact, time travel itself was no longer feasible. Since Naruto's rebirth, the flow of history had already changed drastically. The "future" was no longer fixed—it had become uncertain and unstable.
So where did Urashiki go?
Naruto frowned deeply.
"Did he return to the Ōtsutsuki homeworld?"
That seemed unlikely as well.
After the deaths of Momoshiki and Kinshiki, the Ōtsutsuki Clan—and especially the Ōtsutsuki God—would definitely sense it. According to the established pattern of their actions, Momoshiki should have stayed on Earth and waited for reinforcements.
Urashiki disappearing entirely didn't fit that logic.
After a moment of thought, Naruto made a decision.
"I'll go to Kaguya's space."
Perhaps there would be clues there.
Naruto's eye turned slightly. Space rippled, and a space-time portal opened directly. He stepped forward without hesitation, entering Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's original dimension.
Kaguya's Ice World
Cold.
Endless ice and snow stretched in all directions. A massive palace stood in the distance, ancient and desolate, exuding an oppressive silence.
Naruto walked slowly through this frozen world.
This was the same place Sasuke had investigated in the previous timeline—the place where he had first encountered Momoshiki and Kinshiki while gathering intelligence.
Naruto carefully observed his surroundings, searching for any sign that Urashiki might have passed through here.
As he walked deeper into the palace, he eventually stopped inside the grand hall.
His gaze fell upon the throne at the highest point.
For a moment, Naruto couldn't help but imagine the past.
Kaguya, sitting alone on that throne… thinking about the future… thinking about how to face the inevitable arrival of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
The thought made Naruto sigh quietly.
"Uzumaki Naruto…"
A sudden voice echoed through the hall.
Naruto's eyes snapped upward instantly.
Behind the throne, a figure slowly stepped out.
White robes. Pale skin. Light-blue hair.
It was Ōtsutsuki Urashiki.
Naruto's expression shifted from surprise to sharp alertness in an instant.
"So it was you," Naruto said calmly. "I really didn't expect you to be hiding here. Hm? …No."
His eyes narrowed.
"You're not the real body."
At this moment, Naruto possessed dōjutsu capable of seeing through nearly all forms of chakra and illusions. The figure before him was clearly not Urashiki's true body.
Urashiki snorted coldly and crossed his arms.
"Of course not. This is just a shadow clone," he said leisurely. "I'm not stupid enough to expose my real body in front of you right now."
He casually walked forward and sat down on Kaguya's throne, looking down at Naruto below with a faint smile.
"I have to admit," Urashiki continued, "your humans really are interesting. This ninjutsu technique—shadow clones—is quite useful."
Naruto smiled faintly.
"It seems that during your time hiding, you've been studying human techniques."
Urashiki nodded openly.
"Yes. I hid and studied your history in detail," he said. "And I have to say… many of my previous views have changed."
"Oh?" Naruto raised an eyebrow slightly, intrigued. He could tell that Urashiki hadn't come here just to provoke him. Otherwise, there would be no need for all this conversation.
Urashiki leaned back against the throne and spoke slowly.
"In the beginning, I was no different from Momoshiki and Kinshiki. When I first saw you humans, I thought you were nothing more than inferior creatures. Even if you mastered chakra, you were merely diluted derivatives of Kaguya—nothing more than servants, like Kinshiki."
"But after studying your development… your ninjutsu… I realized something."
Urashiki looked at Naruto seriously.
"You humans are different from any species I've encountered in the starry sky. You are intelligent. You can think. And more importantly—you can create."
He paused, his gaze deep.
"That is terrifying."
Naruto listened quietly.
"I believe this," Urashiki continued, "is the true reason you were able to defeat Momoshiki and Kinshiki."
Urashiki leaned back further, his eyes unfocused as if lost in thought.
"It wasn't just strength. It was arrogance. Momoshiki's arrogance doomed him… No—perhaps it was the arrogance of the Ōtsutsuki Clan itself."
After hearing this, Naruto smiled faintly.
He leapt lightly onto the platform, standing directly in front of Urashiki. Urashiki showed no fear, nor did he take any defensive posture. After all, this was only a clone. Even if it were destroyed, it would mean nothing.
Naruto stared at him and asked seriously, "So you showed up just to tell me this?"
Urashiki shook his head slightly.
"Of course not," he said. "There's something far more important I want to discuss with you."
As he spoke, Urashiki took out a small bundle. He unfolded it slowly and held it out toward Naruto.
"Uzumaki Naruto," Urashiki said with a smile, "this should look familiar to you, shouldn't it?"
Naruto's pupils shrank violently the moment he saw what was inside.
"This is—!" His voice turned cold. "Where did you get this?!"
His killing intent surged uncontrollably.
In Urashiki's hand were fragments of the Time-Slip Vessel—the Treasure Plow.
Urashiki laughed lightly when he saw Naruto's reaction.
"As expected," he said. "You really do care about this thing."
He looked down at the broken fragments and sighed.
"What a pity. When I found it, it had already been buried for a long time and shattered into pieces. I spent quite a bit of effort collecting these fragments."
Urashiki examined them thoughtfully.
"If my guess is correct, this artifact was destroyed because it was used for an extremely large-scale time jump. The energy required exceeded its limit, causing it to completely collapse after activation."
He raised his head and looked directly at Naruto, smiling meaningfully.
"Isn't that right… Naruto?"
Naruto's eyes were cold as ice.
"What are you trying to say?"
Urashiki's smile deepened.
"You already know what I want to ask," he said softly. "I found it strange from the very beginning—why you were so familiar with me when we first met. Why you could predict my movements so accurately."
"When I studied this artifact, a possibility occurred to me."
Urashiki stared directly into Naruto's eyes.
"That perhaps… we've met before. In another timeline. Another time and space."
"And now," he said slowly, "you've simply returned."
Urashiki's gaze was sharp, as if he had already seen through everything.
"Isn't that right, Uzumaki Naruto?"
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