Kaguya fell silent the moment she heard this. The hands hanging at her sides clenched tightly, and all color drained from her pale face.
She had indeed stabbed Arisu in the back, and she had indeed tried to kill her own sons. Each and every one of those things was impossible to deny.
"But… but I had my reasons!"
Kaguya suddenly raised her head, her voice carrying a trace of panic as she tried to defend herself, searching for even a sliver of justification for what she did a thousand years ago.
Arisu only let out a cold sneer, his icy words stabbing straight into Kaguya's heart like blades,
"Reasons? I have my reasons too!"
"You being sealed, being plotted against by me, and turning against your sons are all consequences you brought upon yourself! Then you can bear it!"
The cold words pierced into Kaguya's chest, causing waves of pain.
She glared at Arisu angrily, her eyes filled with defiance.
The extremely domineering way Arisu acted made her inexplicably think of Otsutsuki Isshiki, that cold figure who looked down on everything and treated all living beings as ants. The current Arisu actually resembled him in some ways.
"How can you be so domineering?"
Kaguya questioned angrily, her eyes reddening again.
"When dealing with someone as treacherous and faithless as you, this old man should be this forceful!"
Arisu scolded sharply, his voice as cold as frost.
He himself had originally been mild-tempered and kind.
The belief in equality among all people, rooted deep in him from his previous life, had always made him treat others with respect and humility, valuing every person's choices.
Arisu had always been out of place in this ninja world with its strict hierarchy.
Even when Uchiha Yui from next door teased him with poems, he had never taken it too seriously.
But when facing Kaguya, he had to take the most forceful stance.
With this kind of person, the kinder you are, the more they think you're weak and easy to bully, and the more they push their limits.
"You…"
Kaguya glared at Arisu, puffing up in anger, but she knew clearly in her heart that the fault from a thousand years ago lay with her.
Her earlier defense had only been an attempt to convince herself that she wasn't wrong, but Arisu's words had dragged her back to reality, leaving her with nowhere to hide.
She slowly stood up from the cold ground, dusted off her clothes, forcibly suppressing the surging emotions within her.
She raised her eyes to look at Arisu and asked in succession, "Why do you call yourself 'this old man'? And now… what year is it?"
"It's a long story. You don't need to know the background of this era."
Arisu's tone was indifferent, with no intention of explaining.
"I summoned you this time only to use you. After things are done, once I'm finished using you, I'll throw you back."
"You…"
Kaguya's heart sank sharply. Arisu's words made her extremely uncomfortable.
Was she an object? A tool?
The gap between a thousand years ago and now was too glaring. Her impression of Arisu was still stuck at before the betrayal, when he had been a cheerful and pure fool. But now, he treated her with such cold distance.
"What exactly do you want by bringing me out?"
Kaguya suppressed her emotions and asked in a low voice.
Arisu finally got to the point. His gaze turned heavy as he looked at her and spoke slowly, "You should remember that when you descended to Earth back then, you brought with you a treasure of the Otsutsuki clan, named the plow, which possesses the power to travel through time and space."
The moment these words came out, Kaguya was instantly shocked, "How do you know?! Even Otsutsuki Isshiki knows nothing about this matter. You… you actually understand the Otsutsuki clan to this extent?"
Kaguya's pupils shrank sharply as she stared at Arisu in shock.
A secret she had hidden so deeply, yet Arisu knew it like the back of his hand, even the name, function, and origin of the treasure. This filled her heart with deep fear.
A meaningful curve formed at the corner of Arisu's lips.
"You don't need to ask about that. You only need to honestly tell this old man where that spacetime treasure is.", Arisu's tone remained as forceful as ever.
Kaguya fell into thought for a moment, her fingers curling slightly. In the end, she still spoke, "That item was hidden by me in a secret corner of Earth."
"I placed a restriction on it that only my own power can unlock. Without me removing it, it will never be discovered."
"How long can that restriction last?"
Arisu immediately pressed further, a hint of urgency flashing in his eyes.
"For thousands of years!", Kaguya blurted out.
Hearing this, Arisu instantly felt everything fall into place.
No wonder he had sent White Zetsu across the entire world to search, yet still couldn't find any trace of the plow.
In the original storyline, the Konoha archaeological team had only managed to discover this treasure by chance because the restriction had already expired after thousands of years.
But now, the restriction was still in effect. No matter how much his White Zetsu searched, it was impossible for them to find even a trace.
"Then come with me.", Arisu's cold voice echoed through the hall, carrying an unquestionable authority.
Kaguya's heart tightened instantly, and her unwillingness showed clearly on her face.
She truly didn't want to face Arisu's cold, frost-like demeanor again. The warmth of the past and the indifference of the present formed a sharp contrast that made her chest feel heavy.
So she suddenly turned her head away, avoiding Arisu's gaze. Her tone was calm, but carried a deliberate distance.
She said lightly, "I'm just a mortal now. Without any power, I can't open that restriction at all."
"That treasure either requires my own power to unlock, or you'll have to wait thousands of years for the restriction to naturally disappear…"
"Do you think I can wait thousands of years?"
Arisu directly cut her off, his voice cold as ice, leaving no room for negotiation.
He wanted to use the plow's properties to develop techniques of space and time. A thousand years was far too long.
Moreover, with the restriction still in place, only Kaguya's power could open it. He had no patience to wait that long. He had to act immediately.
Kaguya let out a light scoff, her tone lazy with a hint of deliberate provocation as she spoke casually, "But I don't have any power right now. What do you expect me to do? You can only wait slowly."
"Aren't you the one who's always so patient? Don't you love hiding beautifully? Then you can just wait for a thousand years."
After saying that, she even looked up at Arisu on purpose, a trace of mischief hidden in her eyes. It was obvious she wanted to irritate him.
Arisu's brows instantly furrowed, a cold glint flashing in his eyes as the pressure around him dropped a few degrees.
But in the next instant...
Arisu suddenly let out a low laugh.
The laughter was clear, yet carried a sense of seeing through everything. The originally cold look in his eyes now held a trace of amusement.
"Hahaha, well said, Kaguya."
The smile on Arisu's lips deepened. His gaze, sharp as a torch, fixed on Kaguya as he spoke each word clearly, full of meaning.
"Do you really think you've completely lost your power? I remember that in this world, you still left behind a portion of your original power, didn't you?"
"Without that backup, how would your carefully planned resurrection scheme be carried out?"
Kaguya's body suddenly stiffened. Her heart gave a violent jolt as a storm rose within her.
'This is bad, has the existence of Black Zetsu already been completely exposed by Arisu?!'
She forced herself to stay calm, but her fingers tightened unconsciously as she was about to speak and cover it up.
Arisu had already revealed the answer with a faint smile.
Arisu said casually, "Have you forgotten Black Zetsu? That existence born from your will is itself a part of your power, isn't it?"