"I am not joking!" Shinji said with a serious expression, continuing: "Otsutsuki Isshiki, or rather the Otsutsuki clan, is not the real threat to the shinobi world, at least not an immediate one. Right now, the shinobi world faces another huge threat. If we can't resist it, the entire shinobi world will be destroyed!"
Hearing this, Amado was instantly stunned.
Orochimaru said: "Is it the 'Upper Moon Demons'?"
Shinji glanced at Orochimaru.
He hadn't revealed any information about the Hegemons to Orochimaru before, but Orochimaru obviously sensed something.
However, this wasn't strange. In the previous Fourth Great Ninja War, 'Upper Moon One' appeared out of nowhere and caught both sides off guard. Later, a fake Uchiha Itachi appeared, disturbing the peace of the shinobi world. With Orochimaru's keenness, it wasn't surprising that he noticed something.
Although Amado found it somewhat hard to accept, he understood that 'A' had no need to play tricks on him, so he asked directly: "What do you need me to do?"
"Research Shinjutsu!" Pausing for a moment, Shinji said: "I have already found that mysterious Otsutsuki remains from Otsutsuki Isshiki. What I need you to do is to continue researching those remains and uncover the secrets about 'Shinjutsu' hidden within!"
previously at the Six Paths Level, his strength hadn't pulled much distance from Otsutsuki Isshiki, so Shinji also conservatively chose the same attitude as Otsutsuki Isshiki, which was to temporarily keep a respectful distance from 'Shinjutsu'.
Now that Shinji had consumed a Chakra Fruit, counting the important 'legacy' of the Divine Tree he received from Otsutsuki Kaguya, his current strength was equal to, or even greater than, Otsutsuki Kaguya who hadn't given birth to the brothers Otsutsuki Hagoromo and Otsutsuki Hamura.
Even if Otsutsuki Kaguya broke free and resurrected immediately, he now had the confidence to defeat her, which was why he set his sights on 'Shinjutsu'.
Originally, dangerous powers like 'Shinjutsu' should be kept in his own hands as much as possible to be safe.
But time waits for no one!
Now Shinji had neither the extra time nor the extra energy to slowly research Otsutsuki Shibai's remains trapped in a laboratory. So he could only settle for the next best thing, take some risks, and form a research team to research Otsutsuki Shibai's remains in his stead, uncovering the secrets of 'Shinjutsu' hidden within!
And Amado, who already had experience researching Otsutsuki Shibai's remains and successfully transplanted 'Shinjutsu' into the siblings Eida and Daemon, was undoubtedly the best candidate to lead this research team!
Learning that he could continue researching the mysterious Otsutsuki remains, Amado didn't show an excited expression. He carefully considered his words: "'Shinjutsu' is extremely dangerous and uncontrollable. Are you sure you want me to continue researching?"
"I'm sure!"
Shinji nodded.
At this time, Orochimaru on the side laughed: "Count me in!"
Shinji looked at Orochimaru: "Not just you, I will form an entire team, recruiting all talented researchers in the shinobi world to research 'Shinjutsu' together!"
Orochimaru was stunned for a moment.
Amado looked surprised and couldn't help asking: "What exactly are you worried about?"
Shinji's urgency was completely undisguised, which Amado and Orochimaru couldn't understand. After defeating Otsutsuki Isshiki, Shinji was undisputedly the strongest in the shinobi world. They didn't understand what kind of threat could make a powerhouse like Shinji show anxiety.
Shinji pondered for a moment and said: "Follow me!"
Then he activated the power of the Lamp, opened a spatial rift, and brought Amado and Orochimaru to the 'Sixth Ring World'.
The few of them sped all the way, crossing mountain ranges, passing over rivers, gazing at towering Mage Towers from afar, and finally arrived outside a polluted zone.
Shinji said: "There is a kind of existence in the universe that feeds on worlds; I call them 'Hegemons'! Every world targeted by a Hegemon eventually heads toward destruction without exception, becoming food in the Hegemon's belly."
The two, already shocked by the barren, withering scene inside the polluted zone where not even a blade of grass grew, changed their expressions greatly after hearing Shinji's explanation.
Shinji pointed to the polluted zone: "This polluted zone before your eyes was caused by a Hegemon. In fact, there are many similar polluted zones distributed in every corner of this world, continuously spreading and expanding!"
Orochimaru asked: "This shouldn't be the shinobi world, right?"
Shinji nodded lightly: "Mm, this is a world called 'Sixth Ring'. The one targeting this world is the Plague Hegemon."
Amado asked: "Then... then will this world be destroyed?"
"According to the latest model calculations, the 'Sixth Ring World' can last about two more years." Pausing, Shinji added: "However, the further it goes, the faster the Hegemon's erosion, so whether it can last two years is hard to say at the moment."
"Two... two years?!"
Amado was dumbfounded.
He couldn't imagine such a magnificent, majestic world heading toward destruction in just two short years. It must be known that in just two years, a baby wouldn't even have time to grow up.
Orochimaru said in a deep voice: "So you're worried our shinobi world will also be targeted by this existence called 'Hegemon'?"
Shinji shook his head: "Not worried, the shinobi world has already been targeted by a Hegemon!"
"What!?"
Amado and Orochimaru exclaimed in unison.
Shinji said: "The one targeting us is the Hegemon of Terror. As to why we were targeted, it's hard to explain clearly to you for a moment, but you just need to know that according to my speculation, the shinobi world has about two and a half to three years left!"
"How is this possible!?"
The two still found it unbelievable.
Because compared to this conspicuous polluted zone in the 'Sixth Ring World', the shinobi world at least seemed very peaceful at present, without anything unusual.
Suddenly, Orochimaru thought of something: "'Upper Moon Demons', and that fake Uchiha Itachi, were they all created by the Hegemon of Terror?"
Shinji nodded lightly.
It wasn't that there was no movement in the shinobi world; it was just that the power infiltrated into the shinobi world by the Hegemon of Terror had all been silently resolved by Shinji without causing a sensation or spreading, so it seemed the shinobi world wasn't affected by the Hegemon of Terror.
In fact, the Hegemon of Terror's invasion of the shinobi world had already begun several years ago. Earlier than the Plague Hegemon targeting the 'Sixth Ring World' and the Propagation Hegemon targeting 'T33'.
The reason the shinobi world could last so long, appearing calm and tranquil until now, was entirely due to Shinji, this Lampbearer, busying himself inside and out, struggling to support it with all his might.
If the shinobi world didn't have a Lampbearer, or had a Lampbearer with insufficient strength or insufficiently steady and meticulous conduct, the situation might have been completely different.
Amado also reacted at this time; it turned out 'A' had been protecting the peace of the shinobi world from behind the scenes all along...