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Sasame asked no further questions.
Some things were best confirmed firsthand.
The few queries he had just posed were likely enough to arouse Kikuri's suspicion.
But he couldn't be blamed for that.
Who could have predicted he'd travel so far back?
He had assumed a few decades would be the limit—yet here he was, thrust into the Warring States period.
Worse, there was no sign of Senju Hashirama. The man might not even have been born yet.
But whether this was the era of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's arrival remained uncertain.
There was, however, a simple way to find out.
Chakra.
This foreign energy had been disseminated by the Sage of Six Paths—Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.
And the Kikuri standing before Sasame possessed none of it.
Given that this was the Land of Demons, that wasn't entirely surprising.
In the original timeline, Shion—the heir to this land's priesthood—also wielded a unique, innate power as its shrine maiden.
Clearly, this was one of the world's indigenous forces, likely a variant of natural energy.
"My name is Sasame."
After a moment's thought, he gave his real name.
It wasn't a risk.
Across the shinobi world's long history, countless individuals had shared the same name.
"Thank you for saving me."
Though his "resurrection armor" ensured he couldn't truly die, Kikuri's intervention had allowed him to remain in this world.
At the very least, it preserved his chance to gather Fate Points.
"Fate guided our meeting."
Kikuri shook her head gently. "As a shrine maiden, I possess a measure of prophetic sight."
Sasame immediately thought of Shion.
Her prophecies of death could foresee the demise of others—with chilling precision.
By the original timeline's standards, Shion was the most gifted and powerful shrine maiden in history.
Kikuri likely paled in comparison.
The mention of prophecy also brought the Great Toad Sage to mind.
This further confirmed that both figures belonged to the world's native energy wielders.
"What kind of prophecy was it?" Sasame asked, intrigued.
The Great Toad Sage's visions were relatively clear, offering glimpses of future events.
He wondered how precise Kikuri's foresight could be.
"I do not know."
Kikuri shook her head again. "It was more akin to a sudden intuition. Yesterday, I felt the pull of guidance—and so I found you."
"With such a vague prophecy, you trusted it so easily?"
Sasame rubbed his chin. "What if I had ill intentions? Wouldn't that prophecy have doomed you?"
"I can distinguish between auspicious and ominous visions."
Kikuri studied him with undisguised curiosity.
"I see."
To Sasame, this sounded less like prophecy and more like an instinct for fortune and misfortune.
If something seemed beneficial, she would engage.
If it felt dangerous, she would flee.
A simple matter of survival.
"Then, might you tell me of your origins?"
At last, Kikuri voiced the question that had lingered in her mind.
"It's… complicated."
A faint smile played on Sasame's lips. "Since your prophecy assures you I mean no harm, perhaps you could indulge me by staying curious a little longer?"
The two locked eyes for a silent moment before Kikuri nodded.
A shrine maiden was, above all, a servant of the gods.
Her nature was inherently kind—she would never raise a hand against Sasame simply for withholding his past.
Besides, she suspected she stood no chance against him.
His physique was extraordinary.
Even without her healing, he would have recovered in time.
That aura… it almost reminded her of a deity.
"Thank you."
Sasame had already considered using his dōjutsu, Yomotsu Hirasaka, as a last resort.
Fortunately, the situation had resolved peacefully.
He had no desire to raise a hand against his savior.
"Rest now."
With a soft smile, Kikuri rose and left the room.
Finally alone, Sasame took stock of his condition.
To put it bluntly—he was a mess.
The vast reserves of chakra granted by his Sage Body had been utterly depleted.
He had never imagined such a scenario.
But chakra could be restored.
A full recovery would take time, but it wasn't an immediate concern.
Even without chakra, he still had his ocular power.
The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan would suffice for now.
If this truly was an era before chakra's existence, he was effectively invincible—
Unless he crossed paths with the Three Great Sage Regions or certain deities.
Once assured of his condition, Sasame sank into contemplation.
He still didn't know whether this was the past or a parallel world.
Caution was paramount.
A single misstep could bring disaster.
For instance, if Ōtsutsuki Kaguya had never been sealed—if she had slain both Hagoromo and Hamura—
Then clans like the Senju and Uzumaki would never have come to exist.
But the moment that thought surfaced, Sasame dismissed it as wild speculation.
In his current state, he stood no chance against those three.
As the saying went:
The great tide of fate cannot be altered, but its smaller currents may be diverted.
All he needed was to gather enough Fate Points and return.
——
After two days of rest, Sasame could move freely again.
Though the lingering weakness from his chakra depletion remained, it was manageable.
Even in this state, his Sage Body's reserves dwarfed those of an average jōnin.
The Land of Demons was unique.
Here, the shrine maiden was the daimyo.
Despite her youth, Kikuri ruled the nation.
Naturally, Sasame was treated as an honored guest.
His first act upon leaving bed was to request records of this world's history.
What he found confirmed his suspicions:
He had arrived before Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's descent.
This was a world without chakra, where samurai dominated.
Beyond them, only the Three Great Sage Regions and a handful of deities remained—
All wielders of natural energy, the world's indigenous system.
No—wait.
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya and Ōtsutsuki Isshiki should already be here.
Their purpose: to cultivate the God Tree, the entity that would become the Ten-Tails.
After a thousand years, the tree would mature.
By Ōtsutsuki law, the lower-ranked Kaguya was to be sacrificed to the tree.
But she refused.
During the ritual, she betrayed Isshiki, offering him to the God Tree instead.
Yet the sacrifice was incomplete—Isshiki escaped with half his being intact.
Upon consuming the God Tree's fruit, Kaguya gained immeasurable power.
She then ended the age of strife, hailed as the "Rabbit Goddess."
Amidst humanity's reverence, she miraculously conceived and bore Hagoromo and Hamura.
This was the manga's version of events.
Here, Kaguya was an ascetic, devoid of emotion beyond her greed for chakra.
But the anime had altered her character, flipping the sequence.
In that telling, she arrived first, fell in love with the Emperor of the Ancestral Land, and bore his children—
Only to be betrayed.
Heartbroken, she consumed the God Tree's fruit, cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and turned humanity into offerings—
The origin of the White Zetsu.
To prevent extinction, she later released some from the illusion.
Thus revered as the "Rabbit Goddess," she gave birth to Hagoromo and Hamura.
Frankly, Sasame found the manga's version more plausible.
The Ōtsutsuki were never human.
To them, mortals were insects.
Such a gap made genuine affection impossible.
By eating the fruit, Kaguya had betrayed her clan.
To prepare for their eventual pursuit, she periodically sacrificed humans to nourish the God Tree.
This drew Hagoromo and Hamura's opposition.
With the Great Toad Sage's aid, they turned against their mother.
In the end, Kaguya was sealed away.
The God Tree—the Ten-Tails' husk—was cast into the moon.
Its chakra split into the nine tailed beasts.
Hamura departed to guard the husk on the moon, while Hagoromo—now the Sage of Six Paths—founded the ninja creed.
His two sons, Indra and Asura, would shape the future.
——
Sasame unfolded a map and quickly located the Ancestral Land.
His options here were limited.
The God Tree's location eluded him, as did Kaguya and Isshiki's whereabouts.
And even if he found them—what then?
To earn Fate Points, he needed to interact with figures of significance in the original narrative.
At present, the only viable target was the Ancestral Land's Emperor.
Through him, Sasame could discern which version of Kaguya he faced—and act accordingly.
The lovestruck variant would be trickier.
Killing the Emperor would erase Hagoromo and Hamura from existence.
Even if Sasame took his place, the children would differ.
The ascetic Kaguya posed no such risk.
Her sons were born through divine conception—
A process likely inspired by myths like Huangdi or Houji's miraculous births.
Naruto had always borrowed heavily from Eastern lore.
(Exhibit A: Gold and Silver Brothers.)
If this was the emotionless Kaguya, she'd be a detached, all-powerful maiden.
Earning Fate Points would require creativity.
The sole silver lining?
Sasame was no ordinary human.
To Kaguya, he'd at least register as a particularly sturdy ant—
And thus, more likely to catch her eye.
Regardless of the version, she would need mortal aid.
Becoming her follower shouldn't be difficult.
The overarching plot was clear:
Kaguya would pacify the warring era, then cultivate the God Tree.
But her brutal methods—direct human sacrifice—
Would inevitably provoke Hagoromo and Hamura's rebellion.
At the same time, the Three Great Sage Regions, as guardians of natural energy, would never tolerate the God Tree draining the planet's life.
Though Sasame disliked toads, even he had to admit the Great Sage wasn't wrong.
Kaguya's goal was simple:
Amass enough power to repel the Ōtsutsuki.
If Sasame could propose a better alternative, he might secure her trust—and with it, Fate Points.
——
Shrine Maiden's Hall
Kikuri was reviewing documents when Sasame entered after being announced.
"Lady Shrine Maiden."
"Ah, you."
She looked up, smiling as she studied him. "Your body truly is remarkable."
The phrasing struck him as odd.
"Lady Shrine Maiden," Sasame began, "I must take my leave for a time."
"Leave?"
Her brow furrowed slightly.
Though she didn't yet grasp his significance, her prophecy left no room for doubt.
Letting him go was unwise.
"There's a matter I must attend to."
Sensing her hesitation, Sasame added, "I will return soon. When I do, I'll fulfill any request within my power—as thanks for your kindness."
Kikuri's eyes narrowed.
She knew too little of him to gauge his sincerity.
But she trusted her prophecy.
Antagonizing him was not an option.
After a pause, she nodded.
A shrine maiden was, above all, a vessel of the gods.
Her nature was benevolent—she would never force the issue.
Besides, she suspected resistance would be futile.
"Three thousand words."
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