Chapter 557: Well, Well, You’re Quite the Runner!

What made her feel even more eerie and extremely uncomfortable was...

Why was there another version of herself standing by his side?

She was referring to the other Otsutsuki Otohime in the future timeline, who had chosen to stand on Naruto’s side and even fiercely opposed her.

The gaze and posture of that other self made her feel a sense of unfamiliarity and visceral disgust.

It was as if she were looking at an ugly, polluted, and "tamed" version of herself!

"If that other me hadn’t used Kamimusubi to forcibly interfere with space-time and temporarily block the channel leading to the birth point of the ’Sixth Hokage’..."

Otohime gritted her teeth in anger.

Her original plan was to travel directly to the moment Naruto Uzumaki was just born and at his weakest, to nip him in the bud. This would fundamentally erase the variable that had caused her so much suffering in the future timeline and might even alter the Otsutsuki Clan’s descent plan.

But that "traitor" self of hers had spared no expense, consuming a massive amount of Chakra to activate Kamimusubi to seal the space-time rift of that period and disrupt the precise coordinates. This forced her to settle for the next best option, randomly jumping to this relatively "safe" time anchor.

Naruto had already grown up, but he didn’t seem to have reached the suffocating heights of the future timeline yet, and that "traitor" self should not have appeared yet or established a connection with Naruto.

"Now..."

Otohime slowly stood up straight. Though she was in a wretched state, a cold and resolute flame reignited in her eyes.

She sensed the rough coordinates and energy fluctuations of this timeline, confirming the general era.

"It’s time to kill the still-young Sixth Hokage of this timeline and completely change that sickening future!"

As long as she successfully killed Naruto Uzumaki here, the Sixth Hokage who toyed with her like a cat with a mouse in the future would not exist, and the version of her standing by his side naturally wouldn’t oppose her either.

Everything would return to the right track. The Otsutsuki Clan would descend, harvesting this planet’s Chakra Fruit, and she, Otohime, could use this to mock Isshiki’s incompetence.

Speaking of which, why hadn’t she seen Isshiki?

Recalling the scene in the future timeline where her "other self", like a dependent, surrounded that blonde man with a group of other women...

That indescribable feeling welled up in Otohime’s heart once again.

If she had to describe it, it was a mixture of disdain, anger, and a deeper, visceral disgust, as if her own noble bloodline had been defiled.

"As long as I kill him, everything will be clean."

Otohime muttered to herself, beginning to mobilize the remaining power in her body, preparing to locate the Naruto Uzumaki of this timeline and execute a decapitation strike.

However, just as she had gathered a wisp of Chakra and was trying to sense the direction...

Boom!!!

The purplish-black space-time rift, which had not yet completely closed and was slowly healing, suddenly expanded violently once again.

It was as if it were being torn open from the inside by a giant, invisible hand!

Immediately after, a giant hand condensed from brilliant golden Chakra, looking like a divine creation, fiercely reached out from the depths of the rift with lightning speed.

The target of this giant golden hand was extremely clear; it grabbed the head of Otohime, who was just about to make a move, in a single clutch!

"Yo, you’re pretty good at running, aren’t you!"

A familiar, teasing voice came from the other side of the space-time rift.

Otohime’s pupils contracted instantly, and boundless shock and disbelief overwhelmed her in an instant.

This voice... this power fluctuation... How is this possible? How could he have chased me all the way here!

Wasn’t the version of herself standing by the Sixth Hokage in the future timeline almost completely depleted of Chakra?

Before she could make any response, the scene inside the rift changed once again.

A slender and vigorous Silver Dragon, its entire body shimmering with a cold silver glow, suddenly rushed out of the rift carrying a figure.

Standing on the back of the Silver Dragon was precisely the object of Otohime’s dread—Naruto from about twenty years in the future.

The adult Naruto stood on the back of the Silver Dragon, a lazy smile on his face.

"Playing hide-and-seek across timelines?"

The adult Naruto grinned, revealing a row of white teeth. To Otohime, however, that smile looked like a demon’s. "Get back here!"

Before she could even react, the giant golden hand exerted force, dragging the terrified and desperately struggling Otohime—along with her newly ignited ambition and killing intent—violently back toward the space-time rift, back to the "future" she had risked her life to escape!

"No—!!!"

Otohime only had time to let out a short, desperate scream before her figure, along with the giant golden hand, completely vanished into the rapidly closing space-time rift.

The Silver Dragon let out a long roar. Carrying Naruto, it turned gracefully before the rift closed completely, plunging into it and vanishing as well.

The interior of the space-time rift was not a passage in the ordinary sense, but a bizarre dimension of grotesque, distorted colors where the Laws of time and space appeared chaotic and fragile. The golden Chakra hand firmly bound the white-haired Otsutsuki Otohime, dragging her into this chaotic, flowing light like a bird unable to struggle.

The adult Naruto rode on the back of the majestic and elegant Silver Dragon with an easy expression, as if he had only taken a short trip. He released his golden Chakra hand, instead using his hand covered in faint golden Chakra to casually, yet inescapably, grab the iconic, white jade-carved horn on Otohime’s head.

"Don’t be afraid," the adult Naruto lowered his head, looking at Otohime, who was held in his hand and looked extremely wretched due to her power being completely suppressed and the impact of the space-time turbulence. A "kindly" smile appeared on his face, and his tone was as relaxed as if he were comforting a startled little animal.

"I won’t kill you."

Hearing these words, Otohime felt a chill run deeper than the most vicious curse.

Not kill her?

Falling into the hands of an enemy, especially into the hands of this despairingly powerful Naruto Uzumaki, "not killing" often meant a fate worse than death.

It could mean a living death of imprisonment, or endless experimentation.

The Silver Dragon’s body glided steadily through the space-time rift. It turned its head, its lava-like dragon pupils casting a glance at the "Otohime" being carried by Naruto.

"Otohime, would it maximize our benefits to eat her directly, or would it maximize benefits to make her nourishment for the God Tree?"

The adult Naruto asked Silver Dragon Otohime casually, as if seeking his companion’s opinion.

Clearly, he treated how to handle this "trophy" as a negotiable question of "efficiency".

Silver Dragon Otohime did not hesitate at all, as if stating a simple fact: "No need to go through all that trouble."

Its gaze swept over the captive Otohime, as if evaluating the quality of a material. "Didn’t you use Amenotajikara to seize Momoshiki’s Kamimusubi?

Just refine her directly into a Chakra Pill.

Her Origin power is not weak. If it can be completely stripped and refined, combined with her own Chakra...

If you don’t plan to absorb her Rinnegan, you can probably produce an upper-grade Chakra Fruit of quite excellent quality."

This was Otohime’s confidence in herself.

Chakra Pill!

High-grade Chakra Fruit!

These two terms were like icicles, stabbing fiercely into the captive Otohime’s heart, leaving her cold all over, as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

She knew all too well what these terms meant! That was an ability of the Otsutsuki Clan, which could refine creatures with large amounts of Chakra into a pill or fruit containing vast energy to strengthen themselves.

The fruit of the God Tree was also one of them, though the God Tree acted as a converter to transform local energy.

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