Lilynette seemed to only half understand.
"What about Naruto?" she asked. "He went back to Konoha. Will he come back?"
"He will," Liuyu said with certainty. "Because he'll discover that Konoha has no room for him as he is now.
He has yang power within him, a pass to Las Noches, and Uchiha Ryūha's 'gift.'
In the eyes of those higher-ups, he's no longer pure, no longer trustworthy. Suspicion will take root, doubt will spread, and eventually, he'll choose to leave on his own."
"But he's the Child of Prophecy, Namikaze Minato's son. Konoha should-"
"Konoha has never been a single, united whole, Lilynette," Liuyu interrupted her. "Konoha belongs to the Senju and the Uchiha, to the great clans, to civilians and shinobi.
Different interests, different positions, different desires. Naruto is too pure, too dazzling. His presence will illuminate everyone's dark side. And what humans hate most is having light shone on them."
He gazed into the distance, as though he could see through the walls of Las Noches, see Konoha, see that blond boy.
"He'll come back. With confusion, with pain, with questions, he'll return here to seek answers.
And I will give him answers, give him power, give him a... new purpose."
Lilynette fell silent for a moment, then asked, "What do we do next?"
"Wait." Liuyu settled back onto the Throne. "Wait for Minato to persuade Kumogakure, wait for the allied forces to assemble, wait for the Ōtsutsuki vanguard to arrive. Until then, we need to do only one thing-"
He raised his hand, and an illusory chessboard appeared in his palm. Black and white pieces intermingled across it, with a few glowing faintly.
"Make sure every piece reaches its proper position."
"Including the most important piece of all."
His gaze fell on the pure-white piece at