Checks and Balances

"Did you think I had no way to deal with you just because you hid and refused to come out? Since I can't control my own fate, then I might as well throw away this puppet-like life. Play by yourself. I'm done keeping you company."

With that, Gato resolutely slammed his head toward a nearby rock. He truly had the determination to die.

The moment he made this move, Gato felt his body fall beyond his control once more. Just as he was about to hit it, the rock exploded out of thin air.

That was precisely his goal. Dark clouds gathered overhead again, faster even than when they had stopped the God Tree.

The instant the anomaly appeared, control over his body returned to Gato.

He saw arcs of electricity flash within the clouds, yet the lightning seemed to hesitate, withholding its punishment for a long while.

Gato did not dare move beneath that majestic heavenly might. Cold sweat seeped from every pore.

This was the most dangerous moment. The outcome of this gamble would be decided right now.

In the end, the heavenly punishment did not descend. The dark clouds slowly dispersed as well. He had won the bet.

"Even now, you still choose to ignore me? Kaguya!" Gato shouted inwardly.

"...You are merely part of the history of the Shinobi World that I created. You are nothing but ants. Why does every single one of you insist on defying my will?"

A cold, dignified voice suddenly echoed from the depths of Gato's heart, yet he was not surprised in the slightest.

"Haha, the freest thing of all is the human mind. Some people may be unable to control their own fate, but as long as their thoughts remain free, they will still strive to resist. Didn't you ultimately lose to those very ants?"

"When have I ever lost to ants like you? All the scattered chakra in the Shinobi World is my power. I only lost to myself!" Kaguya Otsutsuki was unusually furious.

Even when Gato had rudely called her by name, she had not cared. Getting angry over something like that would have been far too tedious. If a dog bit someone, would that person bite it back?

"Tsk, tsk. How frightening, Lady Kaguya. Does this bother you that much? In truth, you know perfectly well that the source of that power was indeed you. But if it weren't for the people controlling it, how could your power have rebelled against you? Admit it—you lost to the people you regarded as ants."

After saying that, Gato felt much better. No matter how lofty a god might be, once they had been dragged down from their pedestal by humans, what right did they have to retain such arrogant contempt for all else?

But even a fallen god was not so easily offended. A person would not bite back after being bitten by a dog, but they might very well beat it to death with a stick. Gato's heart abruptly stopped beating, and his face turned deathly pale.

The threat of death lasted only an instant before vanishing, because dark clouds appeared in the sky once again. It seemed that the slightest movement from Kaguya would cause this world to reject her.

"Ha... ha. If you want to kill me so badly, why not simply destroy my soul? Then you can control this body yourself. Controlling this body while perfectly concealing your aura from this world shouldn't be too difficult for a great god like you, should it?"

"Ah, Lady Kaguya, look how considerate I am of you. It seems there are still people in the Naruto world as loyal as me." Gato grinned smugly.

So what if you were a god? This world did not seem particularly welcoming toward you. Didn't that mean you had something to rely on him for?

Judging by this world's reaction just now, Kaguya had likely been completely blacklisted.

Trying to control a body that did not belong to her while also avoiding detection by the entire world—even a god probably could not manage that.

"Enough! Shut up, human! All worlds are merely food for the God Tree. Once I have accumulated enough power, even if this world stands against me, it will be unable to stop the God Tree from descending. That day will be the day you die."

Hearing this, Gato smiled strangely and rammed his head toward another rock.

Like a cycle repeating itself, he went through everything that had happened before once more.

Only after this world stopped paying attention to the area did Gato continue thinking to himself. "Don't get this wrong. This is my home turf. Do you think you can quietly accumulate power without my permission?"

"You!" Kaguya was somewhat stunned by this shameless behavior of overturning the board when she could not win the game. It took her a long while to recover. "What do you want?"

"If I'm not mistaken, you're using most of your power to hide yourself, aren't you? And your power itself is rejected by this world. The moment you circulate even a little of it, you'll be noticed."

Kaguya said nothing.

"Hehe, I'll take your silence as confirmation. In that case, was your claim about slowly accumulating power just empty bravado? Even if I don't deliberately seek death, you might not necessarily succeed."

"Ridiculous. How could a human understand the methods of a god?"

"Isn't it just absorbing natural energy? Can you guarantee that, without being able to use your power or actively absorb natural energy, you can passively draw in enough natural energy through your divine destiny before my lifespan runs out and force the God Tree to descend?"

Kaguya had never considered any of this. Long ago, when the God Tree had descended upon the Shinobi World, it had encountered no obstruction whatsoever.

In her plan, all she needed was to make the God Tree descend upon a new world, use that world as food, and then return to the Shinobi World for revenge. They were all such simple matters.

But had the God Tree truly faced no obstruction when it descended upon the Shinobi World? It was merely that Kaguya herself had not sensed it. If there had truly been no obstruction, how could she have failed and been sealed away?

This New World was simply more forceful, openly intervening to interrupt the God Tree's descent.

"...Enough nonsense. What exactly do you want?"

"No, no. It isn't about what I want. I want to help you," Gato said confidently.

A god accustomed to crushing everything with power seemed exceptionally easy to deal with once that power was constrained. Having weathered the storms of the business world for many years, Gato had easily probed Princess Kaguya's current situation with only a few words.

"Ridiculous. What right does a mere human have to help me?"

"What if I can help you absorb natural energy? Acting through the body of a native of this world presumably won't attract attention."

After a pause, Gato continued, "But you should know that humans like us have a hard time sensing natural energy, let alone absorbing it, without the aid of some special divine artifact."

"As long as I receive your help and become strong enough, I can help you speed up the collection of natural energy."

"And in that case, this body's lifespan will inevitably increase as well, giving you much more time."

Kaguya said nothing. Gato knew she was considering whether this was feasible.

So he quickly pressed his advantage and persuaded her further.

"We aren't enemies right now. We share common interests—if one prospers, both prosper; if one suffers, both suffer. In this unfamiliar world, as visitors from another world, we will always be ostracized. You've already felt that yourself, haven't you?"

This world's obstruction had indeed caused Kaguya endless suffering. Otherwise, Gato would never have had the right to say such things. Now that it was being used as a reason to win him over, it made her grit her teeth.

She admitted that she was wavering. At first, she had ignored Gato entirely, but now she had no choice but to take him seriously.