Ōtsutsuki Isshiki ultimately chose not to peel away the skin he called "Priest Inch." Just as the mysterious young monk before him had said,
the consequences were unpredictable!
This little monk named Tripitaka was far too mysterious.
He could not see through the boy, yet the boy seemed to see through everything about him.
Not only had he seen through his identity, he had also seen through his current condition.
The term "celestial beings" alluded to his Otsutsuki identity.
And "the suffering of reincarnation" pointed precisely to his present predicament: inhabiting a frail shell, clinging to life through the power of the Karma.
To Uchiha Madara, who knew nothing of Buddhist scriptures, their circumstances might have sounded much the same—both had once stood at the summit, only to fall into decline and barely cling to life.
In truth, however, his own situation was far more complicated.
It was simply inconceivable.
He was certain that even Kaguya, who had swallowed the God Tree's fruit and gathered all this world's mighty power into herself, could never have seen through his true condition so easily.
Although his perception suggested that this young monk's strength might be respectable among mortals, it was utterly insignificant before his own true power. He could erase someone of that level with a casual gesture.
Yet, just as the current Indra saw him as nothing more than an ordinary monk, the strength Tripitaka displayed was very likely a disguise as well.
No!
Not likely!
Definitely!
Someone with that level of strength could never have seen through his true identity. That alone was the greatest contradiction.
And that contradiction was itself the strongest proof.
Combined with Tripitaka's earlier words—"The past is distant, its old shadows hard to find. This body is only Tripitaka"—it further confirmed his judgment.
Like him and