Hikaru could sense it clearly.
A strange power had been following Shisui from a distance.
The sensation was subtle, almost instinctive, as if it came from somewhere deep inside him.
He simply knew someone had arrived.
He could feel a faint chakra hovering around him, there and not there at the same time.
It was dangerous, yet it did not carry any immediate killing intent.
That chakra seemed to be observing him, peering into him, watching everything about him rather than preparing to launch a destructive attack.
The feeling had been lingering ever since Shisui returned.
At first, Hikaru had not paid too much attention to it.
But when Shisui met him in person, that power locked onto Hikaru and began observing him without restraint.
That made Hikaru very unhappy.
He truly could not understand what kind of idiot would come all the way here to court death like this.
So he decided to investigate it himself.
After all, whoever dared come to Konoha and provoke him had gone too far.
"Still, I need to be careful.
"There may not be much in the shinobi world that can make me afraid now, but this world still has dangerous beings."
Hikaru thought quietly as he stood up, chakra surging quickly through his body.
The Naruto world had far too many dangerous figures.
Leaving aside Boruto, whose later story sounded interesting but whose early content had twisted things enough that Hikaru had never watched it, the Ōtsutsuki who appeared there were already enough to make him wary.
Even in the current shinobi world, there was Madara Uchiha.
There was Kaguya sealed inside the moon.
There was the Sage of Six Paths, who was not truly dead and was simply waiting to hand out miracles.
Each of those figures was more terrifying than the last.
If Hikaru were alone, he would not be too worried.
If he could not win, he could run.
Once he became strong enough to surpass the enemy, he could come back and settle the score.
But now he was deeply tied to Konoha.
Not only did he have friends and people he cared about here, but if he, the Hokage, ran away and Konoha collapsed, then his mission to become the strongest final boss of the shinobi world would basically be ruined.
A true final boss either talked too much and was eventually killed, or hid in the shadows until the mask came off and then slaughtered everyone who opposed him.
No proper final boss abandoned their base and retreated into safer territory.
Hikaru's path had always been closer to the second type.
He did not waste words.
He did not show mercy to enemies.
He hid when necessary, and when the time came—or when he could no longer hide—he killed everyone who needed to die.
Although Hikaru did not mind retreating if he had to, that did not mean he wanted to do it.
Especially not when he was Hokage.
His base was here.
If he retreated, where would he go?
The Land of Waves?
Kirigakure?
Or should he simply run off the shinobi world's map and explore some unknown continent?
Hikaru slowly closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, brilliant blue light danced in his pupils.
His gaze swept outward.
Before long, he spotted a figure in the distance.
The instant he saw that person, his expression changed slightly.
In the distance stood someone with pale skin and long blue-white hair.
His eyes were Byakugan.
His appearance was clearly different from an ordinary human's.
There were two circular marks on his forehead, and horn-like protrusions rose from his head, shaped almost like a forehead protector.
He wore white clothes and carried something on his back that looked like a fishing basket and a fishing rod.
Hikaru immediately confirmed his identity.
This was an Ōtsutsuki from beyond the world.
Hikaru was honestly stunned.
He truly could not understand why this person had appeared here.
But the appearance also allowed him to identify who it was.
This should be Urashiki Ōtsutsuki, the one who originally should have carried out a mission alongside Momoshiki and Kinshiki.
However, in the first Boruto movie Hikaru had watched, Urashiki's role had apparently been cut because Kishimoto needed to compress the story.
In the end, only Momoshiki and Kinshiki appeared, opening the new chapter of the Ōtsutsuki family conflict in Boruto.
In truth, looking at the entire development of the shinobi world, calling it an internal Ōtsutsuki family conflict was completely reasonable.
Whether it was Hamura and Hagoromo sealing Kaguya, or Indra and Asura clashing through repeated reincarnations over thousands of years, it was all ultimately a conflict of ideas within one family.
Hikaru had wondered more than once what Kaguya's true goal had been when she turned the shinobi world into such a mess.
He knew Momoshiki seemed extremely contemptuous of Kaguya.
Did that mean their relationship had actually been terrible?
Had Kaguya remained here to hide from her enemies?
Had she created so many White Zetsu to defend against the army that would come looking for her?
But whenever Hikaru thought of that, he found it extremely unreliable.
White Zetsu bodies were indeed quite strong, but that was only after Black Zetsu had modified them.
And their intelligence was terrible.
Aside from being thrown away as expendable bodies, what use did they have?
Just look at the Fourth Shinobi War.
The so-called one hundred thousand White Zetsu had indeed caused the Allied Shinobi Forces major trouble, but their individual strength was honestly weak.
They were mostly wiped out by an army of around eighty thousand shinobi.
Forget facing the Ōtsutsuki.
Against Hikaru, a single wide-range attack would probably sweep them clean.
In the shinobi world, especially during wartime, there was a saying.
As Hikaru understood it, genin had the shortest lives, because they often died to attacks they never even understood.
They were worse off than fragile marksmen in the games Hikaru played in his previous life.
And in Hikaru's eyes, these White Zetsu were not even as useful as those genin.
At least genin knew how to dodge.
White Zetsu likely did not even have that awareness.
Fearlessness was useful, yes.
But aside from having decent bodies, they seemed to have no other advantages.
Hikaru shook his head.
There was no point thinking too much about it.
The enemy had already come to his doorstep.
If he did nothing, that would be unacceptable.
Based on what Hikaru knew about Momoshiki, these Ōtsutsuki likely did not treat ordinary people as people at all.
Even shinobi were probably nothing more than inferior creatures in their eyes.
No matter how Hikaru approached this encounter, it would almost certainly end in battle.
With that thought, Hikaru no longer hesitated.
His figure flickered slightly and vanished from the office.
…
Since he had already confirmed how the negotiation would likely end, Hikaru naturally had to make preparations.
He truly did not know how these people had reached the shinobi world.
From what he remembered of the original story, they seemed to arrive because Madara Uchiha summoned the Ten-Tails.
But right now, Madara was still lying in the Pure Land, and the Ten-Tails' power had not appeared in the shinobi world.
After thinking it over, Hikaru felt the most likely cause was the moon.
The moon contained a massive Tenseigan.
Perhaps the power released by that Tenseigan had drawn these people here.
He was not sure whether it had been caused by him using the Tenseigan to strengthen his own eyes and letting its power leak into the universe, or whether it had been caused by the moon's Ōtsutsuki using the Tenseigan during their battle.
This question was worth investigating.
Even if he did not know how many people he had drawn here, or whether reinforcements would come later, he had to figure this out for the future.
While teleporting, Hikaru left several shadow clones behind.
Then he crossed the obstruction of space and appeared near the edge of Konoha.
After that, he walked steadily toward the enemy's location.
His Jōgan remained locked onto Urashiki Ōtsutsuki, watching every movement.
Urashiki concealed his power extremely well.
Even though Hikaru's Jōgan had already reached its first stage, he still could not see through much.
He could see Urashiki standing there, but if he relied only on perception, it was difficult to detect anything.
The man seemed like an ordinary person.
Utterly unremarkable.
But the more ordinary he seemed, the more alert Hikaru became.
An enemy like this was the most frightening and most difficult to deal with.
Hikaru took a deep breath and continued forward.
Before long, he could see Urashiki with the naked eye.
Urashiki was still looking at him curiously, as if he had discovered something amusing.
"Who are you?
"Why have you come here?
"And why do you have the Byakugan?"
Hikaru already knew most of the answer, but he still asked coldly.
"Before asking me, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?"
Urashiki smiled lightly.
His tone was gentle, but his slightly raised chin revealed his arrogance clearly.
"Still, you really are interesting.
"You have Ōtsutsuki power and blood in your body, but your power is much weaker than your bloodline.
"And your bloodline seems defective. It's slowly repairing itself, but it is far from complete.
"You don't seem to have Karma either.
"So where exactly did your power and bloodline come from?
"And your eyes are interesting too.
"You clearly don't have the Byakugan, yet you obtained the Byakugan's power.
"I have to say, you really are a strange one."
Hikaru silently looked at Urashiki.
He had to admit that this man's observation was frighteningly accurate.
Although there were still some things he found confusing.
He did have Ōtsutsuki power.
After all, he had obtained the damaged Power of Asura, and the Senju Clan itself was a branch of the Ōtsutsuki bloodline.
Hikaru indeed did not possess the Byakugan.
He had directly obtained the Byakugan's evolution and power through the system, resulting in his current eyes.
As for the bloodline issue, that was something Hikaru had wondered about for a long time.
Was his bloodline improvement strengthening the Senju bloodline?
Or was it restoring Ōtsutsuki power?
Now he seemed to have received an answer.
According to Urashiki, his bloodline was restoring itself toward the Ōtsutsuki level.
That was excellent news for Hikaru.
Even if he suspected the system had helped restore it because he had unexpectedly obtained Yin Release.
After all, the Senju's power leaned heavily toward Yang Release. They had almost nothing to do with Yin Release.
But Hikaru now possessed Yin Release.
Even if it was only beginner-level Yin Release, it was still Yin Release.
More importantly, through the White Zetsu bodies, he had obtained that terrifying fusion power, giving him the most basic yet most frightening foundation of Yin-Yang Release.
If the system still calculated his bloodline only as a pure Senju bloodline after all that, it would be strange.
However, after understanding one question, Hikaru had a bigger doubt.
What exactly was the "Karma" Urashiki mentioned?
From the way he spoke, Karma seemed capable of granting someone Ōtsutsuki power, maybe even Ōtsutsuki blood.
But hearing something like that from Urashiki made Hikaru deeply uneasy.
The Ōtsutsuki were not good people.
They were cold and ruthless, treating life like insects.
They also possessed extreme power.
Why would they ever give their own power to others?
If that was not the purpose, then was it used for their own resurrection?
After all, in Hikaru's eyes, the greatest use of transforming an ordinary person into an Ōtsutsuki was to make them a vessel.
But were the Ōtsutsuki really that easy to kill?
Kaguya had been sealed inside the moon for over a thousand years, yet after her seal was broken, she was still alive and well.
Hamura also appeared later like a ghost, handing out power.
At least, that was what Hikaru remembered—
Suddenly, Hikaru seemed to recall something else.
Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki had dragged down the overall reputation of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
He had been caught off guard by an invisible Rasengan, then tricked by Boruto's Transformation Technique, losing the Rinnegan in his palm.
In the end, he had been blasted away by an enormous Rasengan, spinning into the sky like he was being launched into space.
Looking at that, he probably had not survived.
Not only him.
Kinshiki, who had been eaten by Momoshiki, had clearly also been finished.
Remembering this, Hikaru seemed to understand.
These so-called Ōtsutsuki were not truly immortal.
If enough power was gathered to a certain extreme, they could indeed be killed.
If that was the case, then his theory that Karma was used for resurrection really could be correct.
Following that logic, Momoshiki might still be alive in the future.
Not only Momoshiki.
Kinshiki might also have some chance of surviving through similar means.
"Forget it.
"Since you have Ōtsutsuki blood and power, and since you have something I want inside you, I'll show mercy."
While Hikaru was thinking, Urashiki yawned lazily and spoke with casual indifference.
"My name is Urashiki Ōtsutsuki.
"You may call me Lord Urashiki.
"Follow me and let me study you properly.
"Let me see why your origin is incomplete.
"Perhaps I can help you."
At that point, Urashiki paused.
Then his smile grew even brighter.
"Perhaps I can even turn you into a true Ōtsutsuki."
…
"Hikaru? Why are you here? And as a shadow clone?"
Hikaru quickly found Hashirama, who had already moved out of his house.
After Mito Uzumaki was awakened by Hikaru, Hashirama had realized it was no longer suitable to continue living in Hikaru's home.
Especially after he learned that Hikaru had sent someone to find Tsunade.
So he went to Senju Shōma and asked him to arrange a new residence.
Shōma naturally could not refuse Hashirama's request.
In fact, he was extremely happy to do it.
In less than a day, Hashirama brought Mito into their new home.
Hikaru was finally free of him.
Sometimes, Hikaru wondered how many houses the Senju Clan actually owned.
When they said they would arrange one for him, they arranged it immediately.
And it was prime real estate near the Hokage Tower.
When they arranged a house for Pakura, they also did it immediately.
And when they said it would be next door to him, it really was next door.
Hikaru felt as if the Senju Clan might secretly be a massive landlord family.
Everything was their land.
There were houses everywhere.
At the time, Hikaru could not help but wonder that if he had never achieved such high status, maybe he could have simply lived comfortably as a landlord.
But that thought only passed briefly.
Without power, how could he possibly inherit the Senju Clan's property?
Getting one house to live in would probably have been the limit.
A person had to know their place.
No clan would give everything to someone who had contributed nothing.
"Emergency. There is an enemy."
After seeing Hashirama, Hikaru did not waste words.
He directly explained the situation.
"I'm not sure if I need help, but I'm certain of one thing.
"I need Konoha evacuated quickly."
"An enemy? That serious?"
Hashirama immediately stood up.
"Your other shadow clones have already started moving. Looks like the emergency plan is being activated.
"What do you need me to do?"
"Protect Konoha from the fallout for now."
Hikaru thought briefly, then spoke quickly.
"This opponent is not ordinary.
"Even I feel fear.
"I don't know what the fight will look like once it begins, but I do know he is not far from Konoha.
"If we fight, the village may not withstand the shockwaves."
"I see. Understood."
Hashirama's expression grew extremely serious.
He was curious what kind of enemy could make Hikaru feel fear.
But he understood something even more clearly.
If such an enemy truly existed and they fought near the village, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The battle between him and Hikaru three years ago had taken place in the Land of Tea.
Fortunately, the Land of Tea was truly vast and sparsely populated.
It bordered Konoha's territory, while the rest was surrounded by sea, so in a sense, it was part of Konoha's backyard.
They had chosen an extremely remote place.
Even so, the terrain within dozens of kilometers had been completely changed by their battle.
Even three years later, that place reportedly still had not recovered. It remained a dead land.
If something like that happened near Konoha, forget the long-term impact.
The immediate destructive force alone could destroy the entire village.
The only person capable of protecting Konoha from that kind of impact might be Hashirama himself, using large-scale Wood Release.
Hashirama had already made up his mind.
No matter what, he would not allow Konoha to suffer major damage.
Even if it cost him his life, he would protect everything here.
Back then, to protect Konoha, he had been willing to strike down his closest friend, Madara Uchiha.
Now, he had already died once.
According to Hikaru, he had returned for the sake of Konoha.
So even if he had to pay with his life again, he would not hesitate.
"I'll leave it to you."
Hikaru nodded softly, then sighed.
"My real body has already gone there to hold him back.
"I know you're curious who he is.
"Do you remember those people hidden inside the moon when we were there?"
"The Ōtsutsuki?"
Hashirama's expression grew strange.
"Is it them? Have they come for revenge?"
"If it were them, I wouldn't care.
"If I could kill them once, I could kill them countless times."
Hikaru shook his head disdainfully.
Then his tone became extremely serious.
"This one is similar to the being who created the moon's interior environment.
"Someone on the same level as the creator of that massive Tenseigan."
Hikaru's words were not obscure, and Hashirama's expression changed completely.
He had seen the records on the moon.
How could he not know who had created the moon's interior?
How could he not know who the true owner of that Tenseigan was?
That was Hamura Ōtsutsuki.
The younger brother of the Sage of Six Paths.
The ancestor of the moon's Ōtsutsuki.
The one who had sealed the world-destroyer alongside the Sage himself.
And now Hikaru had encountered an enemy like that?
That enemy was near Konoha?
The news sent a chill through Hashirama's entire body.
But at the same time, he felt his blood boiling.
The Senju Clan had always possessed a battle-loving nature, no matter how much they loved peace.
Hashirama had rarely felt this way.
During his spar with Hikaru three years ago, he had not yet been truly resurrected, which had been deeply disappointing.
After his resurrection, he did not dare fight Hikaru recklessly.
Not only might he lose, but if they both went all out, neither might be able to hold back.
Standing at the peak of the shinobi world also brought boredom.
Especially after his resurrection, after continuously studying Yin-Yang Release, his strength had improved again.
But there were no opponents in the shinobi world.
Now that an enemy like this had appeared, Hashirama truly wanted to know how strong this opponent was.
He had already decided that after protecting Konoha, if he was still intact, he would go and see this enemy himself.
Boom!
At that moment, a violent roar suddenly exploded.
An invisible air current swept through Konoha in an instant.
In the sky, countless spiderweb-like cracks appeared, visible to the naked eye.
…
"Submit to you, and let you study me?"
Hikaru narrowed his eyes at Urashiki Ōtsutsuki.
His tone had already cooled.
His brilliant blue eyes now carried a dangerous light.
Hikaru knew the Ōtsutsuki were arrogant.
But this level of arrogance still exceeded his expectations.
Let Urashiki study his secrets?
How could Hikaru possibly agree to that?
Besides, Urashiki was far too self-important.
Did Hikaru, who had the system, need Urashiki's help to evolve into a true Ōtsutsuki bloodline?
And what could Urashiki even do?
Rely on that so-called Karma?
This bastard was clearly treating him as a backup vessel.
After his earlier deductions, Hikaru did not know the exact details of Karma, but he felt his guess should be correct.
If nothing happened, perhaps it would be fine.
But if something did happen, he would probably be swallowed and overwritten by Karma, then ultimately become Urashiki Ōtsutsuki.
Now Hikaru truly regretted not forcing himself to watch Boruto.
He had heard the later parts became better.
But before he could watch it, he had heard that Sasuke lost an eye and Kurama died.
That news had felt like a bolt from the blue.
Characters who had accompanied him from elementary school to university were crippled just like that?
He had refused to accept it.
Even though he knew it was to make way for Boruto, he still rejected it.
If he had known he would transmigrate, he would definitely have watched it.
Shinobi were a strange profession.
To them, intelligence was often the key to victory.
"Oh? Do you have some other idea?"
Urashiki looked at Hikaru curiously, then smiled with contempt.
"To follow a master like me and become a true celestial being—what could you possibly be unwilling about?
"Don't tell me you're thinking about something like free will?"
"No. Free will is only a joke."
To Urashiki's surprise, Hikaru shook his head without hesitation.
His voice was calm and slow.
"So-called free will only sounds nice on the surface.
"And by my own understanding, you have the freedom to live, while I have the freedom to take your life.
"I believe more in the authority of order, because order brings stability.
"And I am firmly convinced that in this world, I will be the one who creates that order."
"An excellent idea. The authority of order is indeed the most stable thing."
Urashiki smiled and nodded.
But in the next second, his expression darkened.
"So you intend to create your own order and reject the order I am about to bring you?"
"The order you bring me?"
Hikaru no longer bothered pretending.
His smile turned cold.
"You would only destroy the order I already built.
"Order exists to maintain stability.
"You bring only destruction.
"And personally speaking, why should I agree to you?
"For the so-called Ōtsutsuki you keep talking about?"
"Very good thinking. Very good confidence."
Urashiki sighed and shook his head.
Then he smiled again.
"That makes sense.
"For people like you, you do not understand what the Ōtsutsuki truly are.
"And you cannot comprehend the great power that belongs to the Ōtsutsuki."
At that point, Urashiki suddenly floated upward.
Vast chakra surged from his body.
That immense pressure instantly swept toward Hikaru.
Without facing an Ōtsutsuki personally, one could never understand how terrifying they truly were.
Hikaru had faced the moon's Ōtsutsuki before.
To be honest, those people had not pressured him much.
But now everything was different.
Even Urashiki releasing only a little of his aura made Hikaru feel suffocated.
He felt as if he were facing an ancient beast that had opened its eyes, a savage monster that wanted to swallow him whole.
Hikaru forced himself to remain calm.
This kind of enemy was one he had rarely encountered in his life.
And yet, strangely, he felt his blood heating up.
Every cell in his body seemed to become active.
He felt almost impatient to test how strong this enemy really was.
Although Hikaru did not know why he felt this way, he understood that it was not a bad thing.
His brilliant blue eyes suddenly erupted with powerful energy.
Under his control, his body slowly floated upward as well.
At the same time, Sage Mode activated instantly.
Red markings appeared around his eyes.
"Oh?"
Urashiki looked at Hikaru's transformation and raised his brows slightly.
"It seems I underestimated you.
"And I underestimated your eyes as well.
"You have mastered natural energy, and your mastery seems quite high.
"That truly surprises me.
"I have to say, you do possess the potential to fight me.
"And your eyes are fascinating.
"Such incredible eyes.
"I can sense their power, but you have not fully developed them yet.
"Of course, that is only natural.
"Your life is as brief as a falling star.
"But you do have hope of surpassing the limits of insects.
"As long as you accept my terms, I can grant you that opportunity.
"Otherwise, your fate will be no different from the other insects.
"In fact, you may die even faster."
"Is that so?"
Hikaru looked at him coldly.
Then he suddenly smiled with contempt.
"Do you know something?
"There is one thing I've wanted to tell you this entire time."
"Oh?"
Urashiki looked at Hikaru with interest.
"Go ahead. Although I doubt it will be the answer I want, I do not mind listening."
"You think I need your help to grow?"
Hikaru raised his head slightly.
At that moment, his own pride was fully revealed.
"And who do you think you are?
"What makes you think you can decide my fate?"
The instant his words fell, Hikaru's figure flickered.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared beside Urashiki.
At some point, a black chakra sphere had appeared in his hand.
In the next instant, he slammed it into Urashiki's body.
Boom!
A violent explosion roared through the air.
Orange firelight lit up the sky.
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