"I don't know."
The Great Toad Sage admitted honestly.
The dream shrouded in darkness had clouded his judgment of the future.
Ryosuke didn't press further on the matter.
After all, no matter what the Great Toad Sage said, he was going to the moon sooner or later.
A thousand years was enough time for countless dynasties to rise and fall, and for human hearts to change.
If Ryosuke were a descendant of Ōtsutsuki Hamura, born on the moon, a barren and rugged wasteland, and then looked down to see the lush, prosperous world below...
If he possessed great power, yet was stuck on that desolate moon...
While a group of weak humans occupied the rich and fertile Shinobi World...
No matter how one looked at it, it would feel unfair. And thinking deeper, all of it stemmed from a promise made by an ancestor a thousand years ago, to guard the moon. Because of that oath, every generation after was trapped there.
They were probably already furious enough to curse their fate.
The pursuit of a better life was only natural.
Now that Ryosuke knew about Kaguya, knew that she was still sealed, he wasn't in any rush. As for his next course of action, he already had a plan in mind, 'Accelerate the Research Institute's progress on the space program. We need to build a sky battleship capable of reaching the moon as soon as possible.'
'For one, we can make contact with the Ōtsutsuki sooner. Rather than waiting for them to lose their minds on the moon and suddenly attack the Shinobi World, it's better for both sides to meet early and cooperate, to jointly guard the lunar seal.'
'Second, I need to check on Kaguya's seal on the moon. From what the Great Toad Sage described, she's truly a world-ending existence. We absolutely cannot let her out.'
'And lastly, I need to keep improving my personal strength.'
Since there were still no clues about the "Pen," Ryosuke decided to grow stronger from other angles,
Gather soul fragments. Upgrade existing Stands. Draw new cards.
Train in Ripple and Golden Spin.
If he could pull an Aja Red Stone from the draw, that would be even better.
Speaking of Ripple training, Ryosuke suddenly remembered something and asked, "You said earlier that the planet's energy was drained by the God Tree, making natural energy across the world extremely scarce, almost depleted."
"But from my perception, it doesn't seem that bad?"
If it were truly as depleted as the Great Toad Sage said, the ruins beneath Rōran wouldn't have such a vast Dragon Vein, and Ryosuke wouldn't be able to continually refine his body using the world's natural energy.
"Oh, that... That's the effect of Hagoromo's plan."
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, the Sage of Six Paths. The man revered by the world. He founded Ninshū and spread its teachings so more people could train in ninjutsu, all to heal the world wounded by the God Tree.
"When a ninja trains chakra and performs ninjutsu, after death, both body and soul return to nature, feeding the world in turn."
After a thousand years of this cycle, the world had finally recovered somewhat from the God Tree's devastation. So while the world's natural energy was still thinner than that of Mount Myōboku, it was much richer than during the Sage of Six Paths' time.
And with ninjutsu, people could rebuild the world Kaguya once destroyed.
'At last, everyone can live good lives again,' he thought.
The Sage of Six Paths died with a smile on his face.
Because he had done everything he could. He had planted a different kind of "seed." The rest, he left to time, to let that seed grow into a great tree that would someday shelter the generations to come.
The Great Toad Sage drained his cup of cold tea in one gulp and sighed softly, "It's just that Hagoromo never expected the ninjutsu meant for rebuilding cities and defending against beasts would become weapons for humans to slaughter each other."
It was true that Black Zetsu was the main culprit behind the endless cycle of conflict between Indra and Asura.
But even without Black Zetsu...
War would still break out.
Those who wield sharp weapons are bound to develop the urge to kill.
Without a strong enough system to restrain them, powerful ninjas would eventually turn their strength against one another.
From that perspective, the Sage of Six Paths' plan was doomed from the beginning.
Because he only spread external power, never the power of thought. In the end, his methods weren't so different from those of any other strongman.
"In fact, you can even infer the opposite."
"The Sage of Six Paths was Kaguya's son. If, during all the time he lived with his mother, he never picked up any philosophy or understanding of governance, doesn't that imply that Kaguya herself lacked such knowledge?"
A portrait of the Ōtsutsuki clan gradually formed in Ryosuke's mind, 'A nomadic race that survives by plundering resources from other planets. Their individual combat strength is tremendous, but their numbers are small, otherwise, Kaguya wouldn't have come to this world alone.'
'Because of their few elites, the Ōtsutsuki lack philosophical depth and moral conceptions. Once conflict arises, it's basically to the death.'
Of course, that portrait was based solely on Kaguya and the Sage of Six Paths, too small a sample size to be definitive.
Kaguya might just be the lunatic of the Ōtsutsuki clan. For all he knew, the rest of them could be perfectly polite and friendly.
Ryosuke finished his thoughts, set down his cup, and sincerely thanked the Great Toad Sage.
This information was incredibly valuable, it would determine many of his future decisions.
He glanced at the time. Somehow, more than an hour had already passed.
"I should probably get going."
The Great Toad Sage waved his hand. Before Ryosuke could leave, he asked, "Do you plan to change the world's trajectory again anytime soon?"
Ryosuke understood that he was referring to the "pitch-black dream."
That dark dream had appeared after Ryosuke won the war and completely altered the world's direction.
The Great Toad Sage wanted to know when Ryosuke would change the trajectory again, so that another shift in the dark dream could occur.
Ryosuke thought for a moment and answered honestly, "Probably not anytime soon."
Now that all five great nations were under his governance, his next goal was to transform the world gradually, starting from the lowest level of government workers, step by step spreading awakening and increasing productivity.
That wasn't something that could be done overnight.
The Great Toad Sage nodded slightly, not minding.
If there was one thing he wasn't short on, it was time.
He could wait.
Ryosuke bid the Great Toad Sage farewell. Before he even left the toad's palace, he could already hear the steady rhythm of breathing behind him, the Great Toad Sage had fallen asleep again.
Ryosuke retraced his steps. As he passed by Fukasaku and Shima, they had already finished eating their insect sushi. Fukasaku was holding Shima close, pointing at the twinkling stars in the sky, whispering softly.
When they noticed Ryosuke walking by, Shima flushed slightly, embarrassed to show affection in front of a younger person, and gently pushed Fukasaku away.
Ryosuke pretended not to notice, greeted the two sages, and was about to leave, when suddenly, Fukasaku called out to him, "I heard you killed Nagato."
"Yes," Ryosuke replied.
Fukasaku said seriously, "I suggest you take back the Rinnegan. That's very important."