"Alive?"
"Yes."
"Alive all the way until now?"
"Yes."
Ryosuke fell silent for a moment.
Actually, back when he found the record stele in Hamura's mausoleum on the moon, Ryosuke had already wondered whether the attendant who arrived together with Kaguya might still be alive.
After all, the Otsutsuki clan itself possessed extremely strong vitality, and Kaguya couldn't even be killed, she could only be sealed.
"No, the reason isn't important."
Ryosuke gathered his scattered thoughts. Compared to blind guessing, he preferred doing solid work. He took a notebook out of the Ghost Room and asked, "What's his name?"
"Isshiki."
"Otsutsuki Isshiki."
Ryosuke swiftly wrote down the name, then held it up in front of No. 18 to check.
"Is it written like this?"
No. 18 glanced at it and nodded.
"Good."
Ryosuke put away the notebook, stood up, and was about to walk out.
No. 18 froze for half a second before realizing what this guy was about to do. Anxious, it bounced up and bit down on his sleeve.
"Wait a damn minute! Even if you're going to kill someone, at least listen until I finish talking."
"I'm not going to kill anyone," Ryosuke corrected. "Just going to find him and have a chat."
No. 18 refused to let go of his sleeve. "Don't try to fool me. When have you ever said you were going to 'chat' and not come back carrying the other guy's head?"
Ryosuke awkwardly turned his head away.
He knew it himself, after a thousand years, another ten or twenty minutes didn't really matter. But the moment he thought about an alien lurking among humanity, possibly plotting something again, Ryosuke simply couldn't sit still.
He put No. 18 back into the nutrient solution and sat back down on the chair.
"Please continue."
No. 18 recounted Otsutsuki Isshiki's life story to Ryosuke, not long after arriving in the ninja world together with Kaguya, he was ambushed by Kaguya. Half of his body was used as food for the God Tree. The remaining half barely escaped, but he was on the verge of death.
Just at that moment, a bald man popped out by the roadside.
Isshiki hurriedly seized the bald man's body before dying, possessed it, and managed to cling to life until now, wandering the ninja world as a ghost lurking in the shadows.
"…He never made a move?"
Ryosuke asked in surprise. "Isshiki witnessed Kaguya being sealed, the founding of the Five Great Ninja Villages, and the three great ninja wars, he didn't interfere even once?"
"No."
"Then what has he been doing?"
No. 18 thought back for a moment. "Just… hiding."
Ryosuke couldn't understand it.
Not to mention an Otsutsuki clansman, even an ordinary mortal granted a thousand-year lifespan could slowly pry history off its course.
No. 18 shook its head. "Ryosuke, you're still looking at life from the perspective of a short-lived species."
"Just like how, after an intense battle, you'd want to drink a cup of coffee to relax."
"For Isshiki, a thousand years, in his long, endless life, is nothing more than the time it takes to sip a single cup."
"Besides, it's not like he did nothing at all."
No. 18 looked at Ryosuke. "He founded the Kara organization. That's right, the Kara organization that called not long ago, demanding your body."
"Over all these years, if there's one thing he's focused on, it's been searching for a body that's strong enough and compatible…"
"At this point, you should understand why I don't want you rushing off to find him, right?"
Ryosuke slowly nodded.
Otsutsuki Isshiki had clung to life for a thousand years, searching for a physical body, clearly the look of an old monster trying to find a more suitable vessel. Usually, things like that always keep some trump card hidden for a critical moment.
Considering that he was a pureblood Otsutsuki, and of even higher status than Kaguya, it was entirely possible that if he fought desperately, the power he could unleash would be even stronger than Toneri at full power.
Even though Ryosuke had just completed breakthroughs in Ripple and Golden Spin, activated genetic optimization, and was advancing toward becoming an ultimate lifeform, still…
Heroes under heaven must not be underestimated.
"Before you're fully prepared, I don't recommend going to find him," No. 18 said.
Even back when the White Snake Sage hadn't yet fallen, it had no desire to provoke an Otsutsuki member who had endured in silence for a thousand years and could go mad at any time.
Over these thousand years, Isshiki truly hadn't done anything major, but across such a long span of time, many people had unknowingly become his eyes and ears. Information would often leak out without anyone realizing it, eventually falling into Isshiki's hands.
That was why the White Snake Sage, whether during its lifetime or after "reincarnating" into a small snake body, had never mentioned the secret of "Otsutsuki Isshiki" to anyone, it didn't want to be tainted by this unnecessary karma.
He'd already stayed dormant for a thousand years. Might as well keep staying dormant and peacefully remain a ghost of the ninja world, that was the White Snake Sage's thinking.
"Then why are you telling me now?" Ryosuke asked.
"First, I thought I was definitely going to die. Second…"
No. 18's gaze grew deep. "After the battle with Toneri, I'm certain of one thing, these aliens have not the slightest bit of respect for this world."
No. 18 didn't care how many humans died.
What it cared about was the "world" itself.
The White Snake Sage was an immortal recognized by the world. Perhaps humans saw it as an evil demon, but…
It had a responsibility to stand up.
"Alright, I understand."
Ryosuke habitually wanted to pat the other party on the shoulder. His hand made a small circle in midair, then he silently pulled it back. He waved at No. 18 and asked his final question, "From a human perspective, do you think he deserves to die?"
No. 18 thought for a long time before saying, "I don't know."
Since descending, Otsutsuki Isshiki hadn't yet done anything utterly inhumane before being ambushed by Kaguya.
For a thousand years, he'd lived under an assumed name, never proactively provoking other people or forces, seemingly just the most ordinary cosmic traveler.
Only that unlucky guy named Jigen had suffered.
But Jigen hadn't died either. He had even gained an ageless, immortal constitution because of Isshiki.
From a moral and legal standpoint, if Isshiki deserved to be executed, then the conglomerates and daimyo locked up in prisons could have been dragged out and hanged long ago.
But from a standpoint of position,
Humans and the Otsutsuki were ultimately irreconcilable enemies.
So…
No. 18 didn't know.
"You're the master of this world now. Kill him, spare him, it's for you to decide."
Ryosuke smiled, turned back to look at Jiraiya and the others waiting outside the treatment room, and gently shook his head.
"You're wrong. I'm not the master of the world."
No. 18 rolled its eyes. It couldn't understand Ryosuke's words, but… it didn't really matter.
Humans were always like this.
Every few decades, every one or two hundred years, a new structure would appear.
In the past there were tribes and chieftains. Later came villages and nations, with village heads and kings.
No. 18 had seen it all.
It watched Ryosuke's departing back, slowly lowered its body, and soaked itself in the nutrient solution, continuing to repair its broken and damaged form.
As partially decayed flesh was repaired, it gave off faint sizzle sounds, releasing thin wisps of smoke, until the smoke grew densest...
Snap!
Otsutsuki Isshiki took the steak sizzling with rich meat aroma out of the pan, placed it on a plate, carried it to the dining table, then took out red wine and a tall glass.
Isshiki sat at the table and revealed a smile.
"This is what you call life."
Suddenly, his smile stiffened.
A strange sensation of being watched… Was coming from behind Isshiki.