"That Kaguya… really was a tonic, huh? Uchiha Kazuki devoured her, and then used his dōjutsu to devour the rest of us too? That's even faster progress than cultivating a Divine Tree and harvesting chakra fruits…"

Urashiki muttered, his expression uglier than if he were crying: "We can't beat him anymore… Our dōjutsu and bloodlines are all gathered in his body. How could we possibly defeat him?"

"Besides…"

Urashiki looked toward Momoshiki, his eyes full of despair.

After all, he and Momoshiki weren't even from this timeline! And the treasured artifact Karasuki, which they had relied on to travel here, had also been taken by Kazuki…

Now Urashiki and Momoshiki had no way to return.

"We must go back eventually…"

Facing Urashiki's gaze, Momoshiki murmured: "Otherwise… we'll have no future at all."

Isshiki narrowed his eyes and said coldly: "I knew it… You two really are bold. You were trying to use a treasured artifact to steal chakra from a different timeline."

"That path won't work! If it did, then the Ōtsutsuki wouldn't need to go through the trouble of planting Divine Trees on planets and waiting a thousand years to harvest fruits. Wouldn't it be more efficient to just pick peaches from other timelines?"

"Every strand of chakra from a different timeline requires a massive amount of time energy to bring back, and it causes irreversible damage to the artifact. It's simply not worth it!"

Momoshiki and Urashiki fell silent, awkwardly.

Was Isshiki right?

Yes—he was.

The very existence of timelines was something that even the Ōtsutsuki couldn't tamper with at will.

One of the natural laws was that chakra, natural energy, or any kind of matter from a specific timeline would carry the unique imprint of that dimension—making it extremely difficult to bring into another.

If one tried to force it back, it could only be done by cloaking it in spacetime energy.

But spacetime energy was rare, and doing so would heavily damage any artifact capable of dimensional travel. From every angle, it was a loss with no gain.

Let's take an example. Newest update provided by novel fire.net

What Momoshiki and Urashiki had done was like driving a luxury car—fully fueled—at full throttle for hundreds of kilometers across a rugged dirt road, just to steal a bunch of worthless melons...

The cost in wear and fuel alone would be a complete loss.

But all of that was based on the assumption that they were the ones paying for the car and the fuel…

Yet the spacetime energy from the Dragon Vein, and the Ōtsutsuki treasured artifact Karasuki they had discovered in the Shinobi World—these were all resources to be turned over to the Ōtsutsuki clan in the future. They had nothing to do with the two of them.

Which is why Momoshiki and Urashiki were able to do something that seemed abstract on the surface… but still yielded real gain.

"Don't act so high and mighty, Isshiki!"

Momoshiki couldn't help but speak up: "It was just a little extra side job. Haven't you done it before? Spacetime energy, treasured tools—they all belong to the higher-ups. What does any of it have to do with ordinary clan members like us?"

"We spent thousands of years planting Divine Trees across the universe, and how many chakra fruits did you ever get your hands on in the end? If you managed to get even half a decent one, that was already lucky!"

Urashiki sneered and added: "Isshiki, all we did was something you never dared to do… If you hadn't been ambushed by Kaguya and had found Karasuki left behind in the Shinobi World—would you really have handed it over to the clan?"

"Don't make me laugh!"

Isshiki fell silent.

What Momoshiki and Urashiki said… was true.

The Ōtsutsuki Main Family might sound mighty and dominant, roaming freely through the universe, but just like Kaguya had once felt oppressed as a Branch Family member—there were higher powers above even the Main Family.

Those Ōtsutsuki who were sent out to plant trees on foreign worlds… were really no different from mid-level shinobi in a hidden village running B-rank escort or C-rank courier missions.

They were all just part of the food chain's lowest rung.

"I've been wondering—why was Karasuki left behind in the Shinobi World?"

Isshiki changed the subject, his voice heavy: "This planet shouldn't have been visited by any other Ōtsutsuki. And yet such a precious artifact somehow ended up here…"

"Who originally controlled this shinobi tool?"

Momoshiki hesitated for a moment, then answered in a low voice: "From what I've heard… that man who ascended and became a God—he was said to have favored using Karasuki."

"But that's just a legend. No one has ever confirmed whether it's true."

"After all, Lord Shibai lived far too long ago for us to know for sure…"

Urashiki suddenly turned his head sharply, shouting: "Momoshiki, why didn't you tell me this earlier?! That concerns Lord Shibai!"

"It was just a rumor," Momoshiki snorted coldly.

"What would've been the point of telling you?"

He certainly didn't want to admit that his use of Karasuki wasn't just to make a little extra profit by harvesting chakra, but also because he was hoping—perhaps—he might stumble upon some unexpected fortune hidden in a treasured tool once used by the Ōtsutsuki God.

Isshiki let out a long breath.

Information on the Ōtsutsuki God?! That was far too valuable…

It was said that Ōtsutsuki Shibai had ascended through his mastery of chakra to a level where he could transcend dimensions, disregard life and death, shed the need for a vessel, and ultimately cast off his physical form to attain a higher existence…

So if one of his treasured tools had remained in the Shinobi World, could it mean that his cast-off shell was also here?

But all of that… remained unknown.

And yet—

Had Kazuki not appeared, Isshiki wouldn't have known that—

In the future, he would end up collaborating with a scientist native to the Shinobi World, and eventually acquire the corpse of Ōtsutsuki Shibai, using it as the foundation for a whole series of research…

Isshiki forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart. The possible existence of the Ōtsutsuki God's remains was indeed enticing, but right now, he couldn't even get a handle on the Uchiha Obito inside his own body—he was a half-crippled Ōtsutsuki.

Thinking too far ahead would only mean aiming higher than the sky with a fate as fragile as paper.

"Enough. Let's set aside your little side hustle with the treasured tools… You two, coming from an alternate timeline, may not be forcibly sent back right away—but sooner or later, this dimension will push you out."

"Without a treasured tool for protection, if you get expelled and fall into a temporal vortex… it would be extremely dangerous."

Momoshiki and Urashiki nodded helplessly.

Isshiki was right… Those who arrived from another timeline would be marked by the invaded spacetime the moment they arrived.

And as time passed, the repulsion from the timeline would only grow stronger—until eventually, it would forcibly eject them back to their original timeline.

That was extremely dangerous.

So even if Momoshiki and Urashiki went into hiding—without Kazuki hunting them—without a treasured tool shielding them, they were still living on a death countdown.

It was just that the countdown was relatively long: it could be several years, or several decades… perhaps even a hundred years.

But for the lifespan of the Ōtsutsuki, that was merely a fleeting moment.

"There's only one option left… I need to contact the higher-ups in the clan and report the possible existence of Lord Shibai's remains on this planet. That's the only way to get them to send reinforcements as soon as possible…"

Isshiki exhaled once more, a rare trace of nervousness flashing in his eyes: "You have to cooperate with me… Even as visitors from an alternate timeline, you both know those higher-ups… aren't easy to deal with."

Momoshiki and Urashiki nodded stiffly.

Even if they came from another timeline—if they were reprimanded or punished by the high-ranking Ōtsutsuki of this world—as long as nothing went wrong, they'd at least have a chance to survive…

First, they had to escape this damned timeline!

...

After wagering Black Zetsu as the stake in a gamble over 'betrayal and loyalty' with Kaguya, Kazuki seemed to lose interest in further conversation. Rather than discussing specific plans with Kaguya, he turned instead to talk with the treasured artifact in his hand.

This time-traveling Ōtsutsuki treasure was, in truth, a strange little turtle—one that could communicate.

Kaguya was anxious for Kazuki to locate Black Zetsu, hoping to prove that genuine sincerity still existed in this universe, and that Kazuki might break free from the rigid mindset of the Ōtsutsuki—so he wouldn't end up walking the same extreme path as Isshiki or Momoshiki...

But since she was the one at fault, when Kazuki made it clear he didn't want to continue the conversation, Kaguya had no choice but to remain silent. She feared provoking his anger.

She missed the mortal Kazuki dearly...

How had such a decent person, left unattended for just a moment, turned into a newly ascended Ōtsutsuki?

It was just too tragic...

And the content of Kazuki's subsequent conversation with Karasuki left Kaguya even more alarmed—it was entirely about the laws of time and crossing into alternate dimensions!

The little turtle, tightly held in Kazuki's hand, spoke honestly and revealed everything it knew...

It was obvious now—ever since discovering that Momoshiki and Urashiki had come from another timeline, Kazuki had developed similar ambitions!

Still, one small comfort for Kaguya was that when she supplemented the explanation with her own knowledge of temporal laws, Kazuki actually listened carefully...

At least that meant he hadn't completely dismissed her input, right?

---

I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. patreon.com/TitoVillar

---