Urashiki stared straight at Naruto, his gaze sharp and probing, as if trying to dig out the answer he had already guessed in his heart.
Naruto looked back at him calmly. There was no longer any need to hide, nor any point in pretending. With the strength he possessed now, concealment had already lost its meaning.
Naruto clenched his teeth slightly and spoke in a low, steady voice.
"Didn't I already hint at it when we first met, Urashiki?"
A faint smile spread across Urashiki's face. It was the kind of smile that only appeared when a long-held suspicion was finally confirmed.
"So that's how it is…" Urashiki muttered softly, then shook his head with a complicated expression. "Sure enough… sure enough it's like this."
He let out a breath, as if releasing years of doubt.
"In that case, nothing is strange anymore. Nothing at all."
Naruto watched him quietly and asked, "What do you mean by 'nothing strange'? You sound like you've suddenly understood a lot."
Urashiki slowly rose from Kaguya's throne. His expression became serious as he looked at Naruto.
"Naruto, you should be curious. Why did I suddenly appear here today? Why did I talk to you about all of this instead of just hiding like before?"
Naruto nodded slightly, waiting.
Urashiki walked down the steps of the throne and stood beside Naruto, gazing into the distance as he spoke.
"After you defeated Momoshiki and Kinshiki, the Ōtsutsuki God sensed it immediately. Soon after, I was summoned."
Naruto's pupils contracted slightly.
"You mean… the Ōtsutsuki God contacted you directly?"
Urashiki smiled with clear pride.
"Of course. You have no idea how terrifying that existence truly is. Even now, Naruto, even with your current power, you are still not qualified to face him head-on."
Naruto did not refute him. Instead, he asked calmly, "What did he say to you?"
Urashiki turned his head and stared straight at Naruto.
"He said… there is a Karma—a wedge—inside your body."
The moment the word Karma was spoken, Naruto's eyes flickered slightly. His thoughts immediately surged.
Seeing Naruto's reaction, Urashiki chuckled.
"As expected. You already know quite a lot, Naruto. If you hadn't traveled through time, there's no way you would understand so many secrets of the Ōtsutsuki Clan."
He continued slowly.
"Yes, even the secret of our clan's immortality and resurrection—Karma—you didn't even need to ask."
Naruto raised his eyes and looked directly at Urashiki.
"To be honest, I had always wondered why I could travel back through time while retaining all my memories," Naruto said calmly. "But after hearing what you said, I finally understand everything."
"The original me was turned into Karma, sealed and protected by the power of the Pure Eye, and then activated the Time-Slip Vessel. That's how I traveled back and was reborn."
"In other words, I parasitized myself onto my current body… just like how Isshiki Ōtsutsuki parasitized Jigen."
Naruto paused for a moment, then continued indifferently.
"And if I'm not mistaken, Momoshiki is also parasitizing me right now."
For the first time, Urashiki's expression stiffened slightly. Then he laughed.
"Yes. Momoshiki is indeed parasitizing you. He's only waiting for the right moment to fully resurrect."
Naruto sneered faintly.
"Don't worry. He won't get that chance."
Seeing Naruto's absolute confidence, Urashiki's eyes narrowed. The unease in his heart grew stronger. This was precisely why he had chosen to appear today instead of continuing to hide.
"Uzumaki Naruto," Urashiki said seriously, "to tell you the truth, the reason I showed up today… is because I want to talk to you."
Naruto looked at him with interest.
"Go on. What do you want to talk about?"
Urashiki took a few steps, circling around Naruto as he spoke.
"I'm very curious. In the future you saw, what kind of ending did you witness that pushed you to grow this strong… strong enough to even think about challenging the Ōtsutsuki God?"
Naruto smiled slightly, his gaze steady.
"It doesn't matter what ending I saw," he replied calmly. "What matters is moving forward without hesitation and doing what I believe in."
"This is my nindō."
Urashiki laughed and waved his hand.
"Fine, fine. Stick to your nindō. Then let me talk about my own thoughts."
He stopped in front of Naruto.
"Naruto… let's make a deal."
Naruto tilted his head slightly and frowned.
"A deal? Urashiki, are you serious? You want to make a deal with me?"
Urashiki shrugged helplessly.
"Kaguya can cooperate with you. Why can't I?"
Naruto shook his head.
"Kaguya is different from you."
Urashiki smiled faintly.
"Of course. After all, she brought chakra to humanity. She can be considered the ancestor of chakra itself."
Naruto shook his head again.
"That's not why. Kaguya is different because she believes the actions of the Ōtsutsuki Clan are wrong."
"She didn't want to be bound by fate. She didn't want to be born as a guardian or be sacrificed from the moment she existed. That's why she rebelled."
Naruto's voice grew colder.
"And you, Urashiki… you were born into the Ōtsutsuki Clan. You have pride in your bloodline. You can't truly understand why Kaguya rebelled, and you can't truly understand why she helped me."
Urashiki fell silent for a moment, then smiled faintly.
"I couldn't understand it before," he admitted. "But now… maybe I understand a little."
Naruto looked at him, waiting.
Urashiki continued.
"As you said, Kaguya helped you because she wanted to fight her fate and escape the death sentence imposed by the Ōtsutsuki Clan."
"In the same way, I'm willing to cooperate with you… because I want something as well."
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"What do you want?"
Urashiki grinned.
"My status in the clan is far inferior to Momoshiki's. He was a formal guardian, a true noble. Even if he died, the clan wouldn't care much."
Naruto gestured for him to continue.
"I want to cooperate with you," Urashiki said. "You help me improve my status within the Ōtsutsuki Clan, and I will help you protect this planet."
Naruto let out a cold laugh.
"Urashiki, do you think I'm a child? Even if I could defeat the people sent by the Ōtsutsuki God, how can you guarantee that he won't discover our cooperation?"
"And how can you guarantee he won't continue harvesting this planet?"
Urashiki countered immediately.
"Then tell me—if you don't cooperate with me and simply kill me, what will you do instead?"
Naruto answered without hesitation.
"The Ōtsutsuki God will never let this planet go."
"If you want him to stop… there is only one way."
Naruto raised his head slightly, his eyes filled with cold resolve.
"Kill the Ōtsutsuki God."
Urashiki froze.
He stared at Naruto as if looking at a madman.
Originally, Urashiki hadn't dared to gamble at all. Facing someone who knew the future, he feared becoming the next Momoshiki. His plan had been simple—use Naruto, cooperate temporarily, and improve his status. At a critical moment, he could still betray Naruto and return to the Ōtsutsuki God.
But now…
Naruto was telling him that he intended to kill the Ōtsutsuki God.
"Uzumaki Naruto," Urashiki shouted, eyes wide, "do you even understand what you're saying?! Are you insane?! Even if I made a thousand copies of myself, they wouldn't be worth a single hand of the Ōtsutsuki God!"
Naruto remained expressionless.
Urashiki continued desperately.
"Think carefully! As long as you follow my plan, I can guarantee that the people you love will survive and become vassals of the Ōtsutsuki Clan!"
"As for this planet, at worst, it will only lose its vitality!"
Naruto looked straight at him, his voice calm but heavy.
"Urashiki, since I come from the future, I can tell you one thing with certainty."
"The Ōtsutsuki God will die… by my hands."
"Believe it or not."
"If you oppose me, you will die in front of him."
"If you truly want to cooperate, then do exactly as I say."
"I guarantee you power and status far greater than anything you have now."
Naruto raised his hand.
"Think about it."
"When you've made your decision… come see me in person."
Before Urashiki could respond, Naruto activated his power.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
With a sharp sound, Urashiki's clone was violently pulled forward. Naruto's hand closed around his throat.
Urashiki screamed in pain as Naruto crushed the clone without mercy.
With a loud bang, the clone dispersed into nothingness.
The palace returned to silence.
Dear Readers
For 60 Advance Chapters Join My Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/NF25
-------
Please Support My Patreon