"H-help!"
Although he had lost control of his body, Tosu Hideo remained conscious. He was like a prisoner locked in a cell, able only to watch helplessly as a monster swallowed him.
This uncanny situation immediately reminded Tosu Hideo of spirit possession in folk tales.
After being swallowed by the monster, he traveled underground in utter darkness, which only heightened his fear. He could do nothing but pray helplessly and cry for help.
"Could it be... Mr. Moribe, is that you?"
Tosu Hideo, who spent years traveling all over the country for work, recognized the heavily accented speech he had heard in their conversation as an Osaka accent.
An Osaka accent?
Mr. Moribe, whom he had encountered earlier after his suicide in the Aokigahara Sea of Trees, had been from Tennoji in Osaka Prefecture!
Could taking the Kamen Rider costume Mr. Moribe had intended to be buried with without permission have angered his ghost, causing him to possess him?
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Mr. Moribe, please forgive me. Reika and her mother are still waiting for me. I can't stay in this place..."
[Shut up! You're so noisy!]
An impatient rebuke suddenly rang out inside Tosu Hideo's head.
"I-I'm sorry!"
Although he had been scolded, he had finally received a response. Tosu Hideo clung to it like a lifeline.
"May I ask, are you Mr. Moribe?" Tosu Hideo asked humbly and cautiously.
Mr. Moribe?
With a quick turn of his thoughts, Uchiha Naruto understood what Tosu Hideo was thinking.
For a moment, he did not know whether to laugh or cry.
The white-haired monster had mistaken Tosu Hideo, who was wearing a Kamen Rider helmet, for Bishop, while Tosu Hideo had mistaken him for that unfortunate fellow who had taken his own life. Why were both of them like this?