Chapter 302: Countless Planets, Countless Choices
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki used his ability to escape from the Shinobi World. At this moment, he appeared on a planet far away from it.
This planet had once been like the one the Shinobi World resided on, teeming with abundant species and a brilliant civilization.
However, in some bygone era, it was attacked by other members of the Ōtsutsuki clan. All life was absorbed by the Divine Tree, turned into nourishment, and ultimately transformed into resources that helped that particular Ōtsutsuki evolve.
Now, it had become nothing more than a desolate, lifeless star, abandoned for countless years.
When Isshiki and Kaguya first arrived here, they made some modifications and turned it into one of their temporary resting places.
The sealing barrier placed on this planet still remained. At the very least, it could ensure Isshiki's safety, helping him conceal his presence so that his enemies could neither track his chakra nor pinpoint his location.
After landing, Isshiki immediately sat upon the throne, breathing heavily.
"I didn't expect Uchiha Dali's strength to grow so quickly. Is it his extraordinary talent, or did he gain some opportunity unknown to me? Or perhaps he was deliberately hiding his true power from the very beginning, misleading us?"
At this moment, Isshiki's heart was filled with endless resentment and boundless confusion.
Because he simply could not comprehend why Uchiha Dali, who was not even a true Ōtsutsuki, could possess such terrifying power.
"Most importantly, his clones… Those aren't shadow clones. They're completely identical to his original body—chakra and abilities exactly the same, without any weakening—true duplicates…"
"This should be impossible, unless he has already evolved into an Ōtsutsuki and awakened his own divine technique!"
The more Isshiki thought about it, the more unwilling he became, and the more unwilling he was, the greater his desire to uncover the truth.
As his thoughts tangled, his brows knit tightly, and he muttered to himself, "But now, it seems I'll have to give up on the Shinobi World's Chakra Fruit…"
"That guy won't yield in the slightest. As long as he exists, my plan will never succeed."
"The good news is…"
Isshiki trailed off, subconsciously lifting his gaze toward the expanse beyond the palace.
In this star system, countless planets existed—so many that ordinary beings couldn't even begin to imagine the number.
Among them, quite a few harbored vast populations of living beings.
If he could not obtain the Chakra Fruit from the Shinobi World, then he could simply carry out his plan on another planet.
The end result would be the same. As long as he acquired Chakra Fruits, he could continue evolving. One day, Uchiha Dali would be nothing before him.
With his current power, all it would take was consuming one complete Chakra Fruit, and he could undergo another evolution.
To what level his strength would rise at that time—even he dared not imagine.
Defeating Uchiha Dali would then be nothing more than child's play.
In fact, before that, he could devour even more Chakra Fruits. There was no shortage of choices, and no shortage of ways to accelerate his growth.
With these thoughts, Isshiki could no longer contain himself. He began to act at once.
He had already selected a target planet.
It was roughly the same size as the Shinobi World's, brimming with energy.
But as he stepped toward the palace gates, Isshiki suddenly glanced back at the towering wall dozens of meters high.
Upon that wall lay countless strange-looking markings.
These markings were actually records—symbols of Ōtsutsuki clan members who had once partnered together to carry out missions.
Seeing this, Isshiki suddenly remembered something important.
If he wanted to travel to another planet, plant a Divine Tree, and swiftly harvest a Chakra Fruit, there was still one crucial step.
That step was the most important of all—there had to be an Ōtsutsuki offered as a sacrifice to the Ten Tails.
Only then could the infant Ten Tails rapidly grow and evolve into a Divine Tree, allowing it to bear a Chakra Fruit for him.
This step was vital. Without it, the Ten Tails could still become a Divine Tree and produce a fruit, but the process would be agonizingly long.
A thousand years was only the beginning.
If the target planet contained too vast a quantity of chakra to absorb, the wait could stretch to several thousand—even tens of thousands of years.
Isshiki had no intention of waiting millennia for a single Chakra Fruit.
He needed immediate gains.
Because once Uchiha Dali uncovered these secrets, he would certainly interfere again.
The longer the delay, the greater the chance of unexpected complications.
His own experiences had already proven this.
For a thousand years, he had been unable to find a perfect vessel, leaving him unable to reincarnate.
That delay dragged on until now, when he encountered Uchiha Dali and the others.
If he had begun reviving the Divine Tree five hundred years earlier, the outcome would have been entirely different.
To avoid letting time breed more unforeseen disasters, Isshiki had to make the Ten Tails mature into a Divine Tree in the shortest time possible.
And for that, he needed a willing teammate ready to sacrifice themselves.
This was one of the real reasons he had agreed to cooperate with Uchiha Madara in the first place, joining forces against Uchiha Dali. To be honest, his fear of Uchiha Dali's strength was only part of the motive.
His true intent had been just this.
Isshiki had never harbored good intentions. He had planned to sacrifice Madara at the critical moment, feeding him to the young Ten Tails.
Everything could have gone smoothly.
But now, unfortunately, Madara had been defeated, and his plan was no longer viable.
To continue, he first needed to find a new partner—someone who was a genuine Ōtsutsuki.
That, however, was no easy task.
His former partner had already betrayed him. Back then, Kaguya, unwilling to become the Ten Tails' sacrifice, ambushed him, nearly allowing him to be devoured instead.
There was no possibility of cooperating with Kaguya again. Fortunately, that woman had been sealed. If not, she would have been his first problem.
"As for the others… it won't be so simple to gain their cooperation either."
Gazing at the wall with its record of partnered Ōtsutsuki, Isshiki narrowed his eyes.
"There's no way to find them now. I'll just have to wait… Damn it…"
"In any case, first I should investigate the situation on the next planet."