Isshiki?
Minato Namikaze, Kakashi, and the others thought about it carefully, but none of them had ever heard of anyone by that name in the Ninja World.
"First Hokage, Second Hokage, have you ever heard of this person?"
Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju exchanged glances, then both shook their heads. Neither of them had ever heard the name.
The same went for Madara Uchiha and Izuna Uchiha.
Young Obito placed his hopes on his adult self.
Unfortunately, Adult Obito turned the intelligence scroll this way and that before asking, "Isshiki? Is there a Zero-shiki too?"
Madara Uchiha glanced at him. "You're the only one whose mind would wander that far."
Adult Obito pouted and shuffled over to Kakashi for comfort.
Finally, everyone looked toward Hamura Ōtsutsuki and the brothers Indra and Asura. To their surprise, even they had never heard of anyone named "Isshiki."
Naruto said, "This intel looks really important, but somehow it also feels completely useless."
"But if the mission scroll classified it as B-rank intelligence, it probably isn't something useless," Young Kakashi said seriously.
Minato Namikaze nodded. "Hmm. I think so too."
Sasuke rubbed his chin, thinking back.
"The intelligence from our previous B-rank missions involved the Mangekyō Sharingan, the Rinnegan, and ways to resurrect the dead. That was the level of importance we were dealing with."
"So this 'Isshiki' definitely isn't some nobody."
He looked at Adult Obito. "You really don't know him? Besides Akatsuki, are there any other similar organizations in the Ninja World?"
"Right, right!" Naruto immediately turned to Adult Obito as well. "Besides your Red Moon (Akatsuki) organization, aren't there any Red Hair organizations, Whitebeard Legions, Masked Legions, or anything like that?"
Obito raised both hands in surrender. "Could you show a little respect for the historical context? I washed my hands of Akatsuki ages ago, okay?! By the rules, once we get back to Konoha, you'll still have to call me Obito-sensei."
"No way!" Sakura immediately refused.
Sasuke's expression remained cold. "I refuse. We'll talk about it after you truly turn over a new leaf in your next life."
With a thud, Naruto latched onto Adult Kakashi's leg. "Kakashi-sensei is all I need, dattebayo."
Kakashi naturally reached down and ruffled Naruto's blond hair.
Adult Obito's battle-scarred face looked so aggrieved that it was almost pitiful.
Kakashi patted him on the shoulder, consoling him that there was still plenty of time.
"There are actually plenty of organizations, large and small, throughout the Ninja World. You simply never had a chance to come into contact with them. Honestly, none of us can say for sure whether someone like Black Zetsu exists, someone who has remained hidden in the shadows all this time and possesses enough power to manipulate an organization like Akatsuki."
After Adult Kakashi finished, Adult Obito added, "Akatsuki only became famous because it happened to have a few more S-rank Missing-nin among its members."
"Someone hidden in the shadows like Black Zetsu..."
Naruto mulled over Kakashi's words, and his thoughts immediately began running wild.
Kakashi sighed. "Naruto, I was only giving an example."
"But if someone like that really exists, wouldn't they be even more dangerous than Black Zetsu, dattebayo?!" Naruto frowned deeply as he thought about it.
"Don't scare yourself."
Izuna Uchiha spread his hands. "It's not like there could be an Isshiki Ōtsutsuki in addition to Kaguya Otsutsuki, right?"
"Isshiki Ōtsutsuki? I can't believe you even came up with that!"
Tobirama Senju mocked Izuna Uchiha for letting his imagination run too far.
Minato Namikaze, however, looked thoughtful.
"Have you thought of something?" Tobirama asked.
Minato said, "Based on our previous experiences, the intelligence from B-rank missions is usually connected to the environment and era we're currently in. Especially when we reach an impasse, that intelligence often becomes the key to solving the problem."
For example, when they had traveled back to the era of Konoha's founding and wanted Madara Uchiha to truly integrate into the village, the truth behind the Uchiha Stone Monument, the method for treating the Mangekyō Sharingan, and the way to genuinely resurrect Izuna Uchiha had all been indispensable pieces of intelligence.
"Do you think this 'Isshiki' might be someone from ancient times?" Adult Kakashi asked. "Is that what you mean, Minato-sensei?"
Kannabi Bridge Minato nodded.
Naruto blinked. "Wouldn't that mean he's someone from the era we're in right now, dattebayo?"
When Minato nodded again, Sasuke analyzed the situation. "Then the only people we can ask are the ruler of this country, that man called the Emperor, and the king of the Land of That."
"Why don't we ask Aunt Kaguya and Aino first?" Naruto genuinely didn't regard Kaguya as an outsider.
Although Naruto Uzumaki had experienced firsthand just how terrifying Kaguya Ōtsutsuki was in the main timeline, seeing the Kaguya of this era compromise again and again for the sake of protecting the children in her womb reminded him of his own mother.
Through the Nine-Tails' memories, Kushina had seen exactly what Naruto's first thirteen years of life had been like. The maternal love she now poured into him, desperate to make up for everything he had missed, was as sweet as honey. Every day, Naruto felt as though he were living in a dream simply because he finally had a family.
Because of that, when he saw Kaguya eat the chakra fruit, and later build the White Zetsu army, all for the sake of protecting her two sons, his view of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki became different from the Naruto Uzumaki of the main timeline.
A desire to save Kaguya, stronger than that of anyone else, had already taken root in his heart.
Minato Namikaze agreed with his son's suggestion. After all, among the natives of this ancient parallel world, the only ones they were currently familiar with were Kaguya and her maidservant.
Using the Flying Thunder God Technique, returning from the foot of the God Tree to Kaguya's wooden cabin took only an instant.
Their sudden appearance outside the cabin startled Kaguya's maidservant.
Kaguya herself remained as ethereal as ever, one hand resting almost absentmindedly over her lower abdomen. As always, the first person her gaze fell upon was Hamura Ōtsutsuki.
"Hamura."
"We're back, Mother."
"I know. The God Tree's growth has nearly stopped."
It was merely a calm statement. From Kaguya's ethereal expression, there was no telling whether she blamed them or simply didn't care.
"Yes. I'm sorry, Mother. We can't allow the God Tree to drain this world of its power."
Kaguya said nothing and simply continued gazing calmly at the sky.
"Oh, right. Aunt Kaguya, do you know someone named Isshiki, dattebayo?"
Naruto looked between Kaguya and her maidservant Aino, wondering whether Isshiki might also be one of Aunt Kaguya's guards or attendants.
Neither Naruto nor anyone else expected Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, who had always seemed so ethereal that she barely looked like a living person, to suddenly turn toward Naruto.
Her expression instantly became dangerous.
"Isshiki?!"
Minato Namikaze, Sasuke Uchiha, Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha immediately tensed, ready to enter combat at any moment.
Only Naruto remained completely relaxed.
As far as he was concerned, Aunt Kaguya was probably just a little worked up. There was nothing to be nervous about.
"Auntie, so you really do know Isshiki? Is he an acquaintance?" Assuming Isshiki was one of Kaguya's friends, Naruto quickly reassured her. "Don't worry. That guy's still alive, dattebayo."
He would have been better off not saying that last part.
The moment Kaguya Ōtsutsuki heard that "Isshiki is still alive," her entire body went rigid with an almost instinctive tension.
"Impossible! I killed him long ago!! He cannot still be alive! Where did you hear that name?!"
Because of the way Naruto's mind worked, the first thought that came to him when he learned Kaguya knew Isshiki was: Was he her friend?
Sasuke's thought process, however, was exactly the opposite.
The moment he heard that Kaguya Ōtsutsuki knew Isshiki, his first thought was: Was he her enemy?
So although Kaguya's reaction caught him slightly off guard, he accepted it far more easily than Naruto did.
"Who is this 'Isshiki'?" Sasuke asked. "Is he your enemy?"
At the same time, Minato quickly explained the mission scroll and the intelligence they had received for completing the B-rank mission to Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
He even had Naruto hand over the miniature intelligence scroll for Kaguya to inspect herself.
[Isshiki is still alive.]
Kaguya stared at those few words for a long time.
"Mother, who is this Isshiki?"
Hamura Ōtsutsuki's question brought Kaguya back to her senses.
"Isshiki..."
"He is the one who came to this planet with me to cultivate the God Tree."
"His name is..."
"Isshiki Ōtsutsuki."
"!!!!"
Everyone was stunned.
Especially Izuna Uchiha, who had somehow managed to guess the truth completely by accident.
Kaguya hadn't been the only one who came to this planet to cultivate the God Tree?!
Tobirama Senju gave Izuna Uchiha a peculiar look, while even Madara's glance toward his younger brother carried a hint of helplessness.
How had he managed to hit the nail on the head with one random guess...?
"So he really is called Isshiki Ōtsutsuki?! Izuna completely guessed it, dattebayo!"
Naruto's large lake-blue eyes widened as he looked back and forth between Kaguya and Izuna in disbelief.
Izuna Uchiha scratched his cheek. He really had just blurted it out at random.
Minato Namikaze said, "Just as Naruto said earlier, even after the Fourth Shinobi World War, none of us had ever heard of anyone named Isshiki Ōtsutsuki. That means he has hidden himself even more thoroughly than Black Zetsu. That makes him even more dangerous."
Madara Uchiha's expression turned grave. "Black Zetsu had White Zetsu scattered throughout the entire Ninja World acting as his eyes and ears. It should have been impossible for anything to escape his intelligence network."
"Which only makes this Isshiki even more unfathomable."
Hashirama Senju rubbed his chin. His usual playful demeanor had vanished, replaced by the commanding presence befitting the God of Shinobi.
Tobirama Senju looked at Kaguya. "Does planting the God Tree require two members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan? And what does that have to do with you killing him?"
…
Some settings here were borrowed from Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, such as why Kaguya killed Isshiki and why planting the God Tree requires two Ōtsutsuki.
Isshiki's God Tree and Kaguya's God Tree look fairly different. Compared to the sinister feeling of Isshiki's God Tree, Kaguya's God Tree somehow has a slightly naive and innocent look to it?
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