Naruto looked at Jiraiya and saw the trust and expectation in his eyes.
"Jiraiya-sensei, I won't let you down."
"I know." Jiraiya stood and patted his shoulder. "All right, you've rested enough. Back to training. I'll teach you a new move-Sage Art: Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan."
"Yes!"
[Inside Planetary Devastation · God Tree Core · Unknown Space]
A voice echoed in the darkness.
"At last... someone has come..."
At the base of the God Tree, a humanoid shape wrapped in vines trembled slightly. A closer look would have revealed a person-someone the God Tree had swallowed, who was now merging with it.
That person was none other than Yuki Haku, who had disappeared earlier.
No, more precisely, it was Yuki Haku, whose body had been taken over by Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.
"That useless Momoshiki... a bunch of ants actually forced him to seal the God Tree with Planetary Devastation..." Isshiki's consciousness sneered within Haku's body. "But that's just as well. Now no one can disturb me."
He felt the God Tree's power flowing into his body and merging with his karma. The process was slow, but once it was complete, he would gain a brand-new, powerful body.
"Just you wait, Uchiha Ryūha, Namikaze Minato, Naruto Uzumaki..." Isshiki's consciousness whispered in the darkness. "When I emerge, your end will come."
At the base of the God Tree, a dark red light began to pulse like a heartbeat.
Once, twice, three times...
Faster and faster.
[Las Noches · Main Hall · Evening]
Liuyu sat on the throne with his eyes closed, seemingly dozing.
In reality, however, his consciousness was roaming through the ley lines, sensing the changes inside the God Tree.
"Isshiki has begun merging with the God Tree's power." He opened his eyes, a faint smile touching his lips. "A little sooner than