Yomotsu Hirasaka closed, and Ryūshiki's presence vanished without a trace.
In the Samsara Grotto, Naruto stood beneath the God Tree in a daze, his mind consumed by Ryūshiki's ultimatum!
Shinshiki was coming? In three days?
Was this a joke? Shouldn't I still have nearly twenty years to prepare? Why was this happening so suddenly?
Admittedly, Naruto was no longer the man he had once been, and the strength of the entire Shinobi World had undergone a staggering transformation!
But Shinshiki had been the greatest nightmare of his previous life! That despair had seeped into his very bones. Many might not understand, but the visceral fear that name inspired surpassed even his fear of the mysterious Ōtsutsuki powerhouses he had never met, even if they were stronger than Shinshiki!
Ryūshiki traveled through the space-time tunnel, recalling his meeting with Naruto.
"His growth was even more astonishing than I expected. In just ten years, his strength increased more than a hundredfold. No wonder, really. After living through a future like that, he truly was driven into a corner..."
"But Shinshiki was both his making and his undoing. Shinshiki left such a deep psychological scar that he's becoming utterly obsessed. He doesn't even care about anything anymore, including his own life. That won't do. Growth driven by a hunger for quick results will lead him astray sooner or later. The fact that he still wanted to eat the fruit after measuring it with Ōmononushi and realizing something might be wrong with it says enough..."
"Well, if I put myself in his shoes, I can understand his predicament."
"But unless he overcomes that mental block toward Shinshiki soon, he might not be able to shoulder such a great responsibility even if he becomes my 'vessel.'"
"There's no better way to eliminate fear than