"They're treating you like a god."
Kakashi said, "Quite a few citizens dug up newspapers that had published news about you, cut your photo out, and placed it on their offering tables to worship."
A small black-and-white photo placed on the offering table, with fruits and offerings set below it. There might even be people kneeling in front of the photo, bowing and praying.
Ryosuke thought about it and felt it was a bit strange. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I actually wish I had the power of a god."
"Unfortunately, I can't resurrect the dead. I can't bring back the people who were killed by the undead army's blades."
"And also…"
Ryosuke thought of the reason he and Konan had come here.
They came to ambush the masked man, and that's why they arrived in the Land of Demons.
Although, by accident, they foiled Moryo's scheme and obtained a huge amount of Ghost God Power…
They still didn't accomplish their original goal.
Forget ambushing Obito, they didn't even catch a glimpse of his shadow.
Throughout the night Ryosuke had used "Hermit Purple" several times to search for Obito, only to find that Obito stayed inside the Kamui space the entire time.
Combined with earlier observations, Ryosuke finally understood, "The masked man changed his strategy."
"In the past, for the sake of benefit, he would gather manpower, set traps, and fight me head-on."
"But now, his way of thinking has become, benefits, resources, if he can take them, he will. If he can't, he will absolutely avoid any contact with me."
"Everything is prioritized with survival as the number-one rule."
It made sense.
In the past, Obito could use the power of the Akatsuki, and he and Nagato were basically equals.
Every Akatsuki member was someone who could shake an entire region. With teammates like that, of course Obito could act boldly.
But now, look at what kind of useless small-fries that "Evil God Orochimaru" organization has become.
With Obito's personality, unless he rises to power again one day, there is absolutely no chance he'll appear before Ryosuke.
A ninja who has Hollowfication, is skilled in scouting, escaping, and counter-scouting, trying to catch him when he is intentionally hiding and actively avoiding you is basically wishful thinking.
All of this, if Ryosuke could think it through, then someone who knew Obito even better, Konan, naturally understood too.
Her expression was complicated; she regretted deeply not asking Ryosuke for help back then.
If she had, Nagato's body wouldn't have been stolen, and his eyes wouldn't have been gouged out.
Konan took a deep breath and asked, "What do you plan to do next?"
Facing her question, Ryosuke gave his answer, "From here on, it's all about speed."
He had already anticipated this possibility, not just regarding the masked man, but also any other enemies hiding in the ninja world, whether he knew them or not.
Now that the Five Great Nations had surrendered and joined his camp, naturally the transition between the old and new orders would cause turbulence.
But Ryosuke believed that the process wouldn't last long.
Eventually, he would gather the entire world's power into one.
By then, productivity, technology, and military strength would all rise together, and the Anhilation Army's equipment and cultivation methods would improve as well.
As for Ryosuke himself, he had already found a path to elevate his Ripple.
"As long as the speed at which we grow stronger surpasses the speed of the masked man, Uchiha Itachi, or whatever other freaks may show up… their space for survival will be squeezed smaller and smaller."
Until one day, like an Oreo crumb dropped into milk, no matter how they hide, they would be exposed with nowhere left to run.
This was Ryosuke's strategy, and it had always been his approach, 'Don't bother with small matters. Push forward with the force of the era itself and crush every obstacle beneath its tide.'
———
Over the next few days, Ryosuke stayed in the Land of Demons.
On one hand, he waited for the Anhilation Army to arrive and reestablish control over this nation that had lost its daimyo.
On the other hand, he read through the shrine maiden's books, learning the details of controlling Ghost God Power.
During his studies, Ryosuke heard that Shion also had the ability to foresee the future, so he asked what kind of future she had glimpsed.
Shion shyly said, "The future I can see is very limited. I can only vaguely see someone's death scene."
Everyone wants to know the future.
That's why professions like fortune-tellers, diviners, and mediums exist and continue through the generations, always able to make a living no matter the era.
But if the only future you can see is someone's death, that's different.
It means whenever Shion speaks, it's basically like the King of Hell calling the roll. Guaranteed death, no exceptions, no way to avoid it.
In the past, this ability had caused Shion a lot of trouble.
"…And also, after the last war that involved the entire ninja world ended, I can no longer even see 'death' in the future."
When she said this, Shion wasn't disappointed. Instead, she smiled.
Since death cannot be changed, rather than seeing it and only adding sorrow, it's better not to see it at all from the start.
Ryosuke nodded, agreeing with her thinking, and was about to drop the topic and continue asking her about the control of Ghost God Power.
Suddenly, he thought of another possibility.
Ryosuke's lips dried. He stared into Shion's eyes.
"When you say 'can't see anymore'… what exactly do you mean?"
"It just means I can't see anything."
Shion stretched out both hands in front of her eyes and said with a smile, "After the war, every time my foresight activates, I only see darkness."
At first, it was only occasionally; most of the time she could still foresee death normally.
But as time went on, those "black screens" became more and more frequent.
Until, after Ryosuke defeated Moryo, Shion's foresight had, in recent days, fallen into absolute darkness.
Shion smiled happily at the disappearance of her troublesome ability.
But Ryosuke felt a chill crawl up his spine.
Absolute darkness again.
The same future that the Great Toad Sage had seen in his dream.
If it happened once, maybe it was a coincidence, or the Toad Sage's issue.
But now that Shion, a shrine maiden, had the same result, it could only mean one thing, 'Shion did not lose her ability to foresee death.'
'It's because after Moryo's defeat and the peace in the Land of Demons, there won't be any new accidental deaths in the short term.'
'She foresaw death, but got only darkness because those people…'
'All die at the moment when 'Darkness Descends.''
This was Ryosuke's deduction, and based on all known information, the most likely conclusion.
However, seeing Shion's sincere, happy smile, Ryosuke didn't voice his guess.
He simply smiled back, gently patted her head, and didn't continue the topic.
After Shion left, Ryosuke's smile slowly faded.
He sat in the Land of Demons' library, a pen spinning in his fingers.
'Shion said the deaths she can foresee aren't far in the future.'
'The Great Toad Sage also mentioned that he had barely fallen asleep when the darkness descended.:
'In other words, this 'Absolute Darkness' that Shion believes will kill everyone, shortest in a few months, longest no more than a year.'
Ryosuke let out a soft sigh.
He finally understood the mindset of people who had been foretold by Shion that they would die.
Knowing something will happen soon…
But not knowing what will happen… nor how to prepare for it…
All you can do is worry helplessly.
"It really is a terrible feeling."
Ryosuke rubbed his face lightly.
Knock! Knock! Knock.
The sound of knocking interrupted Ryosuke's thoughts.
He looked toward the door.
Haku, beautiful enough to be described as stunning, was standing at the entrance, smiling at Ryosuke.
This time, the one leading the Anhilation Army was Haku.
Behind him stood a short, unfamiliar, slightly stiff old man.
The old man bowed deeply to Ryosuke.
"A pleasure to meet you for the first time… Lord Ryosuke."
"I am Ōnoki."