Chapter 627: A Mortal Who Spies on Gods
"The war is over."
Kenichi looked at Isshiki.
The moment Kenichi's Wood Release had restrained him, countless black receivers had pierced through Isshiki's body.
The sight was so gruesome that even Kenichi found it a little excessive.
Kaguya, however, clearly did not think it was enough.
At least, not yet.
She manipulated the black receivers and continued driving them through Isshiki's body.
Isshiki was tossed around like a torn rag caught in the wind, his body shaking violently beneath the repeated attacks.
He became increasingly mangled until even Kenichi finally decided it had gone far enough.
When Kaguya sent another black receiver toward Isshiki, Kenichi reached out and caught it.
Kaguya's cold gaze immediately shifted toward him.
Kenichi met her eyes thoughtfully.
It seemed his earlier theory might actually have some merit.
Kaguya's current state was extremely unusual.
By nature, she should have been an existence approaching the level of a god.
Her body seemed filled with what could almost be described as divinity.
Then what about her humanity?
Perhaps that humanity had been separated from her and passed into Hagoromo and Hamura, while Kaguya herself retained the far more powerful divine aspect.
If so, that might explain why she had become so overwhelmingly strong.
But that divinity did not appear absolute.
At the very least, judging from some of Kaguya's earlier behavior, and even the fact that Naruto's Reverse Harem Jutsu had once shocked her in the anime, it was obvious that she had not completely abandoned human emotions.
Some part of her humanity still remained.
That raised another question.
If Kaguya had truly stripped away all of her humanity, would she have become even stronger?
And what about Black Zetsu?
Could Black Zetsu have been an accidental product created before the process was complete?
If Kaguya had allowed Black Zetsu to develop for long enough, could he eventually have become another unusual existence like Hagoromo?
Kenichi felt that possibility could not be dismissed.
"Enough, Kaguya."
Kenichi released the black receiver.
"Isshiki can't die yet."
Isshiki absolutely could not die now.
Not yet.
He was currently their best source of information about the Otsutsuki Clan.
If Isshiki died, then everything they knew about the clan would depend almost entirely on Kaguya.
And that clearly was not enough.
It was not that Kenichi wanted to belittle her.
But Kaguya had originally been designated as a sacrifice.
Because of her original position within the clan, she might never have been allowed access to its highest-level secrets.
She might not know the true depths of the Otsutsuki Clan.
She might not know how powerful its strongest members actually were.
For Kenichi, that lack of information was dangerous.
Admittedly, learning the truth might only lead to greater despair.
But fear of the unknown was often worse.
If they knew nothing about their future enemies, then no matter how far they developed technology, ninjutsu, or weapons, they would constantly feel that their preparations were insufficient.
That uncertainty would be extremely harmful when preparing for war.
So Isshiki needed to remain alive.
There was another reason as well.
Kenichi wanted Isshiki's genetic material.
By comparing Isshiki's genes with Kaguya's, he might discover fundamental differences between members of the Otsutsuki Clan.
That alone could provide extremely valuable information.
Therefore, Isshiki could not die yet.
Kaguya glanced at Kenichi without saying anything.
She clearly understood his reasoning.
After a moment, she stepped aside.
The black receivers disappeared.
Even so, Kaguya continued staring at Isshiki.
If he made even the slightest attempt to escape, she would make him suffer before killing him.
She would never give him another chance to survive.
Whenever Kaguya looked at Isshiki, fear still lingered somewhere deep within her.
He reminded her of the past.
Of the time when she had nearly become a sacrifice for the Divine Tree.
"You're afraid of me, Kaguya."
Isshiki's weak voice suddenly echoed across the battlefield.
"Haha..."
Kaguya's entire body stiffened.
Kenichi covered his face with one hand.
Was Isshiki really this determined to court death?
Kenichi had finally convinced Kaguya to suppress her killing intent long enough for them to interrogate him.
And now Isshiki was deliberately provoking her again.
Kenichi felt helpless.
Isshiki certainly possessed schemes and intelligence.
But honestly, he had never been given enough time to fully prepare.
Kenichi had exposed him by completely overturning the board and dragging him out of hiding before his plans were ready.
Isshiki was already in terrible condition.
He had once used a desperate method to escape being consumed by the Divine Tree, leaving himself with only a severely damaged body.
Then, before his preparations could be completed, Kenichi had greeted him with hydrogen bombs, an antimatter bomb, and saturation bombardment.
And just when Isshiki finally intended to unleash everything and demonstrate the power of the Otsutsuki Clan...
Kaguya appeared.
He had practically been countered at every possible stage.
If Isshiki could somehow reverse the situation even now, Kenichi would genuinely have to wonder whether the man possessed some kind of cheat of his own.
"You are afraid of me."
Isshiki continued writhing weakly on the ground.
His body could no longer properly recover, leaving him squirming like a pile of mud.
Yet his mouth still refused to stop.
Kenichi finally could not take it anymore.
He started walking over, intending to shut Isshiki up himself.
But Kaguya raised a hand and stopped him.
She stared coldly at Isshiki.
Her killing intent surged.
Kenichi immediately looked toward Hagoromo.
Hagoromo understood.
He quietly moved beside Kenichi.
If Kaguya truly lost control and tried to kill Isshiki, the two of them would need to restrain her together.
And subduing Kaguya would obviously not be easy.
"You're trash."
Isshiki sneered.
"Trash belongs in the trash heap."
"You lowly wretch."
"Even after eating the chakra fruit, you're still nothing more than garbage."
"You can never escape your origin."
"You can never escape your fate."
"Ahhh!"
His mocking words abruptly turned into a scream.
Kaguya attacked.
Kenichi's scalp tingled.
He really had not expected Isshiki to be this talkative.
Though if Kenichi were judging purely by verbal aggression, there was still plenty of room for improvement.
Cursing was surprisingly technical.
Kenichi remembered reading in his previous life that different cultures had very different preferences when insulting people.
In East Asia, insults often dragged in someone's ancestors, family, and entire genealogy.
Some people seemed determined to hunt down every metaphorical horse in another person's family tree.
In Europe and America, such insults sometimes had less impact.
Religious insults, national insults, or racial insults could be far more aggressive there.
Of course, those were exactly the kinds of topics that could easily get something deleted or censored, so Kenichi had never bothered studying them deeply.
The Otsutsuki Clan, however, seemed especially obsessed with lineage.
That left Kenichi speechless.
Everyone loved talking about bloodlines and lineage.
But when Kenichi thought about it carefully, was lineage not usually something people emphasized when discussing animals?
Purebred cats.
Purebred dogs.
Purebred racehorses.
Applying that same obsession to people always felt somewhat strange.
Besides, most people alive today probably had ancestors who had done reasonably well by the standards of their eras.
Those who had failed completely tended not to leave descendants at all.
Meanwhile, Isshiki's verbal attack had earned him a very physical response.
Kaguya did not bother trading insults.
She attacked his body directly.
And she knew his weaknesses very well.
Under Kaguya's torture, Isshiki quickly lost even the strength to continue cursing.
All he could do was scream.
Kenichi watched silently from the side.
Speaking now seemed unwise.
He had a feeling that if he interfered at the wrong moment, Kaguya might decide to attack both Isshiki and him.
Kenichi had no interest in testing that possibility.
So he simply watched.
As long as Isshiki did not die, it was fine.
Kaguya tortured him for a full five minutes before finally stopping.
Then she casually placed a seal on him.
Afterward, she glanced toward Kenichi.
There was something difficult to interpret in her eyes.
Hagoromo silently increased the distance between himself and Kenichi.
He had no idea what exactly had happened between his mother and Kenichi.
But for some reason, he kept feeling that Kaguya might suddenly pierce Kenichi with thousands of black receivers.
Strangely...
Nothing happened.
Kaguya merely looked at Kenichi before walking aside.
She left Isshiki completely in his hands.
Hagoromo watched this scene and fell into thought.
Could he really end up with another father?
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
Kenichi, meanwhile, was not thinking about that at all.
He walked over to Isshiki and looked down at him.
Isshiki no longer had enough strength to scream.
Even his weak writhing had stopped.
Apparently, after Kaguya's sealing technique took effect, he had completely lost the ability to move.
Kenichi rubbed his chin.
After hesitating briefly, he crouched beside Isshiki.
"Isshiki Otsutsuki."
"I want to ask you something."
"What exactly is the Otsutsuki Clan like?"
Isshiki's remaining eye shifted toward him.
Then it focused on Kenichi's Rinnegan.
Something strange appeared in Isshiki's gaze.
For perhaps the first time since the battle began, he truly examined Kenichi seriously.
But Isshiki did not answer immediately.
He simply lay there, breathing heavily.
Again.
And again.
Only after a long time did he finally seem ready to speak.
"What... are you trying to do?"
His voice was weak.
Yet something unusual remained in his eye.
"Mortal who spies upon gods."
Isshiki stared directly into Kenichi's eyes.
It was almost as though he had noticed something unusual about them.
Kenichi instinctively touched his Rinnegan.
Isshiki's choice of words was interesting.
Still, Kenichi was more concerned about whether Isshiki would actually cooperate.
If he refused to speak, things would become troublesome.
Could Kenichi simply search his memories?
He did not dare try.
Who knew whether the shinobi entering Isshiki's mind would become another vessel for him to possess?
That was not a risk worth taking casually.
Far away, Hiruzen stood silently and looked across the battlefield.
The entire village was gone.
Not even a recognizable trace remained.
The prosperity that had once existed there felt almost like a dream.
Now, only barren wasteland remained.
The scorching sunlight fell across the ruins.
Fragments of glass, melted and reformed by the tremendous heat, reflected dazzling points of light.
The noise that had once filled the settlement was gone.
Only silence remained.
Cracks spread across the earth like scars.
They crossed one another without order, silently recording the brutality of what had happened here.
Once, this had been the largest city in this small country within the Land of Rain.
In the mornings, merchants had shouted from busy markets.
People had filled the streets.
At sunset, smoke rose from countless homes as families prepared meals.
Children chased one another through the roads.
The elderly sat outside their houses, enjoying the quiet of their later years.
All of that had disappeared with the battle.
Now, almost every building was gone.
Only scattered ruins remained.
Where fragments of walls still stood, intense heat had stripped away the paint and exposed cold stone beneath.
Debris was piled everywhere.
The prosperity of the past had been buried along with countless hopes and dreams.
A burnt smell lingered in the air.
A mark that even time would struggle to erase.
Whenever the wind blew across the wasteland, it carried dust and gravel through the air.
It almost seemed as though the land itself were mourning the lives that had vanished.
"Still... perhaps this is fine."
Hiruzen slowly shook his head.
Kenichi had won.
That meant the world was about to enter a new era.
And that era would most likely be led by Naruto and Sasuke.
Hiruzen knew some of the inside story.
At the very least, he knew Kenichi had no intention of remaining in this timeline forever.
But Naruto and Sasuke had already grown considerably.
Konoha itself had also become much stronger.
Hiruzen released a long breath.
At last...
Perhaps he could finally rest.
Back near Isshiki, Kenichi smiled.
"I want to destroy the Otsutsuki Clan."
For a moment, Isshiki's eye filled with mockery.
Then the expression changed.
Something stranger appeared there.
He stared at Kenichi as though he were looking at a madman.
Kenichi did not urge him.
He simply waited.
Isshiki remained silent for a long time.
Eventually, he took a slow breath.
When he finally spoke, his expression had become unusually serious.
"The Otsutsuki Clan is nowhere near as simple as you imagine."
He looked quietly toward the sky.
"Do you understand?"
"Someone like me..."
"In the Otsutsuki Clan, I am merely a child."
Kenichi's expression became serious.
Isshiki continued.
"The true powerhouses are beings against whom I would have absolutely no power to resist."
"If one of them wished it, I would choose suicide immediately."
He paused.
"No."
A strange bitterness entered his voice.
"Whether I would even be allowed to die would depend entirely on their mood."
"If they refused..."
"Then I couldn't die even if I wanted to."
Isshiki stared quietly at the sky.
This world really was interesting.
Now, even a mortal who wanted to kill gods had appeared.
....
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