Seeing Seiki flying toward them, Naruto rushed forward enthusiastically. "Lord Seiki, you did it! You beat that arrogant bastard!"
Seiki, however, merely gave a slight shake of his head. "At first, I thought I had temporarily won this round, but now I'm beginning to doubt that."
"Doubt?" Naruto asked, tilting his head in confusion.
After a pause, Seiki replied, "Given his abilities and methods, there's no way he miscalculated at the final step."
As he spoke, Seiki looked at the half of the Hollow Orb in his hand. "Perhaps all of this was something he deliberately orchestrated."
"Huh? Then why would he do that?" Naruto looked baffled. "Going through all this trouble, only to hand half the result to you? That doesn't make any sense—did he lose his mind?"
At this point, Sasuke suddenly spoke up. "It's like how Orochimaru cultivated me—he probably wants to taste the sweetest fruit at the perfect moment."
Naruto nodded thoughtfully. "Oh, so he's eyeing Lord Seiki's Wood Release and wants you to bear the fruits for him!"
Sasuke nearly stumbled. "Idiot! I meant he's waiting for you to digest the essence of the Hollow Orb before seizing your power!"
Naruto muttered, "Then why didn't you just say he wants to steal your power? Why make me guess riddles!"
Ignoring Naruto, Sasuke turned his gaze to the half of the Hollow Orb in Seiki's hand. "This artifact contains immense power. I suspect it was too much for him to handle alone, and the only one qualified to share this burden is none other than you, Lord Seiki. That's why he went to such extremes to draw you out!"
Seiki nodded solemnly. "That definitely sounds like his style of calculation."
"What a despicable and sinister plan! He even manipulated himself!" Naruto exclaimed. "Then why don't you just destroy this artifact, Lord Seiki? Oh right, can Father and the others' souls be restored?"
Seiki shook his head. "It's irreversible. As for destroying it… I have no intention of doing that."
Naruto looked worried. "But if you don't destroy it, won't that guy keep targeting you?"
Someone else also voiced concern. "That guy called Aizen escaped. What if he comes back one day..."
"Don't worry," Seiki reassured them. "If I'm not mistaken, he won't bother you again in the future."
"Huh? Really?"
Seiki didn't answer directly. Instead, he shifted the topic. "The crisis facing this world hasn't ended yet. As they revealed earlier, both Isshiki and Kaguya originate from a planet called Otsutsuki. The inhabitants of this planet feed on Chakra for pleasure. Until this threat is resolved, the sword hanging over our heads will never disappear!"
At this, the world seemed to darken around them.
"What?! Are there more monsters like them?"
"This world is toast!"
"Everyone, don't give up hope!" Seiki encouraged them. "Didn't you defeat Isshiki and Kaguya before? Moreover, it's precisely to help you resist this disaster that I came to this world!"
Once they had calmed down somewhat, Seiki continued, "Although our methods differ, I suspect that man, Aizen, shares my desire to save the world!"
When he said this, everyone looked doubtful.
"How could that be? That man nearly killed us!"
"And he refined so many souls!"
"He even abandoned his loyal subordinates. How could someone like that be a decent man?"
"Being good and saving the world aren't mutually exclusive!" Seiki sighed. "It was only after obtaining this half of the Hollow Orb that I began forming these suspicions. If my approach is to unite all forces that can be united to fight against the Otsutsuki, then his approach is to consolidate all power within himself and face the enemy alone!"
Everyone stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed.
"Someone actually wants to fight the Otsutsuki alone? What a madman!"
"Now that you mention it, it really does seem somewhat plausible. Didn't he say himself that he's always lenient toward the living?"
"Other than Isshiki Otsutsuki, he actually hasn't killed anyone else!"
Hearing this discussion, Konan, who had been sitting in the distance with lifeless eyes, suddenly felt hope. "Could it be... that Uncle was trying to save the world?"
Seiki continued, "As for why I say he probably won't come after you, it's because this world no longer holds any power worth his scheming!"
Everyone felt rather depressed. Were they really worth so little in his eyes?
With that, Seiki looked at Naruto. "This is also why I don't plan to destroy this half of the Hollow Orb. If I fail in my final confrontation, let him absorb my power to protect this world!"
Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but feel deep respect.
Even in defeat and death, he's willing to lend his strength to another to protect this world—what a noble soul!
Naruto pursed his lips. "No wonder he said something like this—rather than letting souls that upset the world's balance exist, it's better to turn them into power that brings hope to the living!"
"If it's for the survival of the world, Father would surely be willing to offer his soul too..." After saying this 'filial' thing, Naruto clenched his fist tightly. "However, I want the one who saves this world to be Seiki Brother. So Seiki Brother, you absolutely must win!"
Seiki was silent for a moment. "I will definitely win and save this world!"
"Sigh, I really am a burden to you!" Suddenly, Hagoromo's previously faint figure materialized, thanking Seiki.
After repeatedly confirming that Hagoromo wasn't being condescending, Seiki smiled slightly. "I'm simply doing what I should do!"
Hagoromo's gaze became increasingly appreciative. He grabbed Black Zetsu, who hadn't yet shaken off his lazy state, mid-air. "Since he considers that person his brother, he must know many things about that man. Do you want to capture him and interrogate him?"
Seiki refused decisively. "No need. Given that man's caution, anything he knows is certainly what the other party wanted him to know!"
With that, Seiki cast his gaze toward Konan, who was daydreaming in the distance. "Do you want to come back with me?"
"Me?" Konan looked over somewhat nervously. "You... you won't capture me?"
Seiki smiled. "Since I promised Nagato back then not to target you specifically, I naturally won't break my word. Besides, judging from your appearance, you must have been deceived by Aizen!"
"Aizen would never deceive us!" Konan blurted out instinctively. Though she realized her words right after speaking, she didn't correct herself, continuing firmly, "Aizen must have said those things for the safety of the world!"
"Was Aizen's charisma really that great?" Seiki chuckled inwardly. If he himself had spoken such compelling words with his original body, whether the Alliance would react or not was unclear, but at least eight out of ten people in Konoha would follow him recklessly just like Konan did.
"Let's go. We're heading back!"
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