Isshiki suddenly turned his head to look.
No one was there.
Only a window under the night sky, like a mirror, reflecting his wary face.
'Was it just an illusion?'
'A false alarm.'
Isshiki let out a breath.
Just as White Snake Sage No. 18 had said, he really did have many "eyes" inside the research institute.
Actually, calling them eyes wasn't quite accurate. Many scholars and staff members simply treated him as a friend, as a companion walking the path of research together. During casual exchanges, information would slip out without anyone realizing it.
"Kaguya and her attendant."
Ever since learning that this piece of information had leaked, Otsutsuki Isshiki had become suspicious of everything, constantly afraid that Ryosuke would use the effects of that strange little vine to track him down.
Relying on years of preparation, Isshiki had embedded a "Karma" into the chin of this body, allowing him, at critical moments, to unleash a small portion of his true body's combat power.
But this body was ultimately too inferior.
Isshiki wasn't sure whether his current self possessed the ability to directly confront Ryosuke, so he didn't want to expose his identity. If possible, he was willing to keep waiting.
In this era, the Kara organization was still nothing more than an empty shell.
It lacked powerful, loyal subordinates, and it lacked experts truly proficient in the technological field.
The most crucial soul of Kara, Amado Sanzu, in the original timeline only chose to join Kara to resurrect his daughter who had died of illness. At present, his daughter might not even have been born yet.
Originally, Isshiki had been very optimistic about Orochimaru. Unfortunately, after interacting with him a few times, he discovered that Orochimaru was far too stubborn, or rather, obsessed with the bodies of the Uchiha clan.
Back then, Isshiki couldn't understand it.
So-called Uchiha were nothing more than a trace of blood inherited from that foolish woman Kaguya.
That was, until Isshiki bought combat footage of Ryosuke from the black market.
He watched it for three days and three nights.
From that point on, Isshiki understood Orochimaru. He could only say, every reincarnator has an Uchiha in their heart that they can never obtain.
However, Otsutsuki Isshiki was different from Orochimaru. It was true that he desired Ryosuke's body, but he wouldn't obsess over it. If he could get it, he would.
If he couldn't, then the time simply wasn't right.
Then he would keep waiting.
After all, for Isshiki, the cheapest thing of all was time.
As long as he waited for the appearance of a suitable reincarnation vessel.
When that time came, the ninja world would enter the era of Otsutsuki Isshiki.
As for now?
"Wait!"
Isshiki frowned deeply.
What was going on?
Why had he suddenly started thinking about all those past experiences?
BOOM!
Rolling thunder sounded outside the window. A silver dragon flashed past, and soon bean-sized raindrops smashed against the glass, producing dense patter-patter sounds.
Isshiki stood up, about to pull the curtains.
Whoosh!
The tightly shut window was suddenly blown open. A violent gust rushed in, extinguishing the candle on the table, plunging the room into darkness.
Isshiki stood where he was.
The room was deathly silent. Only his faint breathing could be heard. With an Otsutsuki's chakra sensing ability, he could clearly perceive that there was only him in the room, no second person.
And yet…
Why did it always feel like someone was watching him?
'Could it be Ryosuke's strange little vine?'
'But if it were that vine, this sense of being watched… wouldn't it be far too close?'
Another gust of wind blew in from outside. With the pressure difference between inside and out, the window was slammed shut by the wind with a bang, the glass vibrating and humming in a shrill, grating sound.
Sizzle~
Isshiki struck a match.
The flame illuminated the room.
Just as his perception said, the room was empty.
'Looks like I really have been too tense lately…'
Thinking that, Isshiki lit the candle again, preparing to continue enjoying his dinner.
Just as the candle was lit, before the flame could truly burn, at the instant the match went out, a person appeared on the chair opposite him.
Isshiki's hair stood on end.
Because he recognized who it was.
'Ryosuke!'
Ryosuke sat on the dining chair opposite Isshiki, picked up the red wine, and slowly poured it for him.
The room was silent. The only sound was the faint trickle of wine flowing into the glass. Isshiki subconsciously tried to stand up and put some distance between himself and Ryosuke.
A large hand, harder than diamond, landed on Isshiki's shoulder.
He turned his head and met the cold gaze of Star Platinum.
Ryosuke gently swirled the wine glass, set it on the table, pushed it in front of Isshiki, and said, "Mind having a chat?"
Isshiki glanced at the wine pushed toward him. His heart slowly sank.
After hiding in the ninja world for a thousand years, he had still been discovered in the end.
Yet once his identity was truly exposed with a single sentence, the tension in his heart instead disappeared.
Isshiki took the wine, took a sip, and looked at Ryosuke across the table. His deep, powerful voice echoed in the room, "So this is how you go about chatting with people?"
Ryosuke slightly shook his head.
"Don't put on that 'law-abiding citizen being bullied' act. Who you are, where you come from, and why you came to the ninja world, both you and I know it clearly."
"The fact that I'm willing to sit here and chat with you already shows my goodwill."
After obtaining information about Otsutsuki Isshiki from No. 18, Ryosuke immediately went to Mount Myoboku and the Shikkotsu Forest, once again obtaining a share of senjutsu chakra from the two sages.
Combined with his evolved body and the Ripple and Golden Spin that had stepped into a new realm.
Ryosuke's combat power was only stronger than when he fought Toneri.
After that, Ryosuke used Hermit Purple's spirit writing.
Perhaps because he hadn't expected Ryosuke to be able to track him down, Isshiki hadn't deliberately shut himself inside a sealed space. Ryosuke captured a star map of the sky where Isshiki was located.
After handing it to experts at the research institute, Ryosuke didn't spend much effort before obtaining the elevation angles between Isshiki's location and the stars, thus calculating an approximate latitude.
Paired with Hermit Purple's directional guidance.
The intersection of the two was Otsutsuki Isshiki's location.
With just a single instance of spirit writing, the location was locked.
It was also for this reason that when Isshiki was first spied upon by spirit writing, he wasn't sure whether it had been an illusion or whether Ryosuke had truly discovered him.
If this had been Obito, who was rich in experience at getting beaten up, he would have rolled up his bedding and run away long ago.
And Ryosuke wasn't lying.
He really had expressed goodwill.
Otherwise, Star Platinum wouldn't have just pressed down on Isshiki's shoulder. During stopped time, it would have twisted off Isshiki's head and stomped it into pieces.
That said, speaking of stomping, Ryosuke stared at Isshiki's hairstyle, both sides shaved clean, only the top left, grown long in the back and tied into a ponytail, and inexplicably thought of an old acquaintance.
"I don't care about your identity."
If Ryosuke did care, White Snake Sage No. 18 would already be dead.
"I only care about what you've done, and what you plan to do in the future."
Ryosuke glanced at the steak in front of Isshiki that had cooled a bit. His finger lightly tapped the dining table. A wisp of Ripple transmitted over, reheating the steak and releasing waves of rich meat aroma.
"I won't take up too much of your time. You only need to answer one question, "
Ryosuke quietly stared into his eyes. "Will you be an enemy of humanity?"
Isshiki picked up his knife and fork, cut a piece of beef, put it into his mouth, then lifted the red wine and took a gentle sip. Smiling, he said, "No."
Ryosuke also smiled.
The two men smiled at each other.
Then Ryosuke suddenly withdrew his smile.
"You're lying."
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[email protected]/XenosX
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰