Naruto remembered that Ōtsutsuki Isshiki was a character who only appeared in Boruto.
But in his previous life, he had only watched Shippuden—he had never followed Boruto.
His understanding of Isshiki was limited to short clips from online videos.
From what he'd seen, the guy was no pushover.
Apparently, he had some kind of power that could shrink anything infinitely… and could kick through a complete Susanoo like it was paper.
Since this information came from Kaguya, who was now under the control of Kotoamatsukami, Naruto trusted that it wasn't a trap. She wouldn't risk lying to him—it had to be in her own best interest.
Still, the idea of an Ōtsutsuki secretly lurking somewhere in the shinobi world?
Yeah, Naruto couldn't exactly sleep soundly knowing that.
Without hesitation, he split into over a hundred shadow clones, launching a full-scale, grid-based sweep of the shinobi world with Konoha as the central hub.
Every clone possessed advanced combat strength and sensory ability.
No matter how well Isshiki had hidden himself, it would be hard to stay concealed now.
At the same time, in the Land of Demons...
Inside a secluded temple courtyard, a white-haired, violet-eyed girl jolted awake from a nightmare, visibly shaken.
On closer inspection, her face bore a surprising resemblance to Hinata—
But her hair and eye color were completely different.
She had just dreamed of a terrifying vision:
Someone had prematurely released Mōryō, and not only that—
They had absorbed it whole!
That person had immense power.
Even with the powers she had inherited as the next Shrine Maiden, she knew she wouldn't be able to stop him.
If this were merely a dream, she wouldn't have been so afraid.
But as a Shrine Maiden, she possessed the ability of crisis premonition—
And such dreams were rarely false.
The girl remembered that at the end of the dream, a white-haired boy descended upon the Land of Demons.
"Is he the key to breaking this disaster?"
she murmured to herself.
The dream had stopped the moment she met that boy's blue eyes.
It was as if even her prophetic abilities couldn't see beyond his fate.
Two and a half days later…
In a remote area of the Land of Demons—
At the sealed site of Mōryō, previously sealed by the last Shrine Maiden.
An old monk in tattered robes, hunched and withered with age, slowly approached the purple sealing gate.
Mystical runes were etched all across its surface.
"Even Kaguya has been killed…
I need to accelerate the restoration of my body."
This withered monk was none other than Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, in disguise.
His real body—gravely injured—was hidden inside this shell, recovering at a painstakingly slow pace.
But the recent moon explosion, and the escalating chaos in the shinobi world, left him deeply unsettled.
That overwhelming unease forced him to abandon patience and take a shortcut.
And his first target was this demonic entity: Mōryō.
"If I absorb this thing…
my body will recover far more quickly!"
Though frail in appearance, his voice still carried intense pressure.
The moment Isshiki arrived at the gate, the violet-eyed Shrine Maiden inside the temple received a vision.
This time, it was no dream.
It was sharper, more vivid than any premonition before.
Even just from the image alone, she could feel the overwhelming threat.
"If no one stops him…
the shinobi world will face ruin!"
She panicked.
She knew she couldn't stop him alone.
Then—
She remembered the boy from her dream.
"Will he really appear…?"
As soon as the thought crossed her mind—
a white-haired figure suddenly materialized before her.
It was exactly the boy she had seen in her vision.
"Wha…?"
The violet-eyed girl froze.
She couldn't believe her prophecy had come true with such precision.
Standing before her now was Naruto.
He had failed to locate Isshiki for over two days…
But the massive surge of energy released when Isshiki began absorbing Mōryō had exposed his location.
Naruto and the Shrine Maiden locked eyes—
Both of them surprised.
'She looks just like a grown-up Hinata…'
She looked like an alternate-universe Hinata, with only her hair and eye color setting her apart.
"Did you… answer my call?"
The girl stared at Naruto.
Unlike the shy Hinata, she was bold.
Her gaze didn't waver, her eyes full of hope.
She had felt immense danger—
She had whispered a silent plea in her heart—
And then Naruto appeared, as if summoned by destiny itself.
It all felt like fate.
'He must be the knight sent by heaven to save the world!'
She gripped that belief tightly in her heart.
'Call?'
Naruto had no idea what she was talking about.
He had simply used Yomotsu Hirasaka to teleport and landed here by coincidence.
The girl stepped forward without hesitation, completely treating him as one of her own.
"Hello! I'm Shion, the Shrine Maiden of the Land of Demons.
What's your name?"
Hearing the name "Shion," Naruto suddenly remembered.
'No wonder she looks like Hinata…
She's the Shrine Maiden from that Naruto movie!'
"Uzumaki Naruto," he replied flatly.
Then he asked a question he vaguely recalled from the movie.
"So… when you activate your power as a Shrine Maiden, do you transform?"
Shion smiled sweetly.
"Yes.
When I use my abilities, my body temporarily changes form from the surge of spiritual energy."
She added quickly:
"But don't worry. It's just temporary.
Everything returns to normal afterward."
"Oh~" Naruto nodded thoughtfully.
Suddenly, another vision flooded Shion's mind.
In it, Isshiki—disguised as the old monk—had fully absorbed Mōryō!
"What?! That's impossible!"
Shion cried out in shock.
Mōryō, that terrifying, destructive entity… had been devoured like nothing.
Her violet eyes shimmered with deep anxiety.
Clinging to Naruto's hand like a drowning survivor:
"Naruto! Is your power… strong?"
They had only just met,
But her call of his name was gentle, almost intimate—like it came from long familiarity.
"Eh, it's alright.
I'm just… average strong," Naruto answered modestly.
"Average?!
That's not going to cut it…"
Shion's confidence wavered.
For a brief second, she thought of something… shady.
'What if… I just ran away with Naruto?
The two of us together, far from this cursed land…'
The idea vanished just as quickly—
but it shocked her.
'I'm the Shrine Maiden…
How could I think of something so selfish…?'
Still—
The monstrous aura now radiating from the fully-powered Isshiki made her despair.