"My friend, there is no creation without destruction."
Ōtsutsuki Taraine looked at Naruto calmly, his voice steady and profound, carrying the weight of countless years.
"Do not be afraid of loss," he continued gently. "Because as long as existence itself has not ended, there will always be a day of reunion."
Naruto looked at Taraine blankly, still unable to fully digest everything he had just learned.
Taraine smiled faintly and went on, "As long as you master dark matter, one day you will be able to return to that place. You will be able to gather them all together again—your companions, your bonds, your lost powers—and meet them once more."
Naruto's lips parted slightly, then slowly closed again.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then, finally, he nodded.
"…Okay."
That single word carried far more weight than it sounded.
"Come," Taraine said, turning around. "I'll take you out."
As he spoke, Taraine led Naruto out of the quiet courtyard. After passing through several gates, Naruto saw Ichiro Taraine waiting outside, looking restless.
"Grandpa, you're out!"
Taraine nodded and turned toward Ichiro. "Take him with you. Arrange a guest room for him and let him stay here for now. During this period, take him around and help him familiarize himself with this world."
"When he has fully adapted, bring him back to see me."
Ichiro's eyes lit up instantly.
"Don't worry, Grandpa! Leave it to me!"
Without waiting for further instructions, Ichiro grabbed Naruto's arm and dragged him away at once.
The two figures quickly disappeared from sight.
Taraine watched them go, then shook his head helplessly, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
"This child really hasn't changed at all…"
After pulling Naruto out of the palace grounds, Ichiro casually placed an arm around Naruto's shoulder.
"Come on, buddy," Ichiro said cheerfully. "I'll take you down the mountain."
"Down the mountain?" Naruto asked, confused.
Ichiro nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah. Staying up there is boring. The real life is down the mountain. Didn't Grandpa tell me to help you adapt to this world?"
Naruto thought for a moment, then nodded.
"…Alright. Let's go."
"That's the spirit!" Ichiro laughed. "Let's move!"
As they walked downhill, Ichiro began introducing this world to Naruto. Naruto listened carefully, gradually forming a clearer picture.
He soon realized that the basic structure of this world was surprisingly similar to the world he was familiar with.
"There's only one country here," Ichiro explained. "The Taraine Country."
"The entire planet is inhabited by the Taraine Clan."
"There are no borders. Wherever Taraine Clan members live, that's considered our territory. After all, this planet itself is called Taraine Star."
Naruto chuckled softly. "That's convenient."
Then he asked curiously, "So… how many people are there in your country?"
Ichiro stopped beside a fruit tree, casually plucked a fruit, and tossed it to Naruto. It looked somewhat like an apple.
Naruto caught it and took a bite.
Ichiro thought for a moment. "I don't know the exact number. Probably a little over one hundred thousand."
Naruto almost choked.
"So… few?"
A whole planet, yet only a little more than a hundred thousand people.
For comparison, the Land of Fire alone had millions of civilians, and Konoha itself had tens of thousands of villagers.
Ichiro immediately looked dissatisfied.
"Hey! That's already impressive!"
"When our ancestors first came to this planet, there were only about six hundred of us!"
"After all these years, we've managed to grow to over a hundred thousand purely through reproduction."
Naruto was stunned.
"That's still… very slow."
Ichiro sighed. "You don't understand."
"In our clan, children born from close blood relations are strictly forbidden."
"Our reproduction has always been heavily restricted."
"Sometimes, even after a hundred years, only a dozen children are born in the entire clan."
Naruto's eyes widened.
"So few?!"
Ichiro nodded seriously. "If reproduction wasn't restricted, our clan would've grown strong enough long ago to crush the Ōtsutsuki clan."
"But…" he hesitated.
Naruto noticed the pause. "But what?"
Ichiro sighed deeply. "Grandpa is very wary of the Ōtsutsuki clan."
"When we go out, we have to be extremely careful to avoid them. He doesn't want us to fight them unless absolutely necessary."
"To be honest… it's not even certain who would win if we really fought."
At this point, Ichiro clenched his fist, his eyes full of confidence.
Naruto suddenly thought of something.
"…Ichiro," he asked cautiously, "the God of Ōtsutsuki is extremely powerful. Then… Grandpa's strength…"
Ichiro's expression dimmed.
"Grandpa has entered a state of returning to nature," he said quietly. "He has almost no combat power now."
"But," Ichiro added immediately, "his ability to judge the future is terrifyingly accurate."
"In the past… Grandpa was the strongest person in our entire clan."
When he said this, Ichiro's eyes shone with pride.
Naruto nodded slowly.
This matched exactly what Taraine had told him earlier.
It seemed Taraine hadn't hidden the truth from anyone.
Ichiro looked at Naruto and continued, "Grandpa told me you're the one who will save the universe—the Child of Prophecy."
"To be honest…" Ichiro scratched his head. "I don't really see what's special about you."
"But you adapted to our planet's gravity incredibly fast earlier."
Naruto laughed awkwardly. "Honestly, I don't think I'm the Child of Prophecy either."
"Impossible!" Ichiro waved his hand decisively. "If Grandpa said it, it must be true. He's never been wrong!"
Naruto took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
When he recalled his battle with the Ōtsutsuki clan before—how the clan head never even took action, yet six elites alone nearly exhausted him—he felt a deep sense of pressure.
The God of Ōtsutsuki…
Just thinking about that existence felt like staring at an insurmountable mountain.
"The road ahead is long…" Naruto murmured.
After walking for a while, sweat formed on his forehead.
"…Ichiro, can we take a break?"
Ichiro glanced at the road behind them. They hadn't even walked a tenth of the way yet.
The stone-paved mountain path wasn't even steep.
But seeing Naruto's pale face, Ichiro nodded. "Alright. Let's rest."
"I'll get you some spring water."
Naruto quickly found a rock beneath a large tree and sat down.
He couldn't help but smile bitterly.
If this were before…
He could've sprinted down this mountain as training.
Now, he was exhausted just from walking.
Ichiro returned with a large leaf filled with water.
"Here."
"Thanks."
Naruto drank greedily. The cool water instantly refreshed him.
"Want more?" Ichiro asked.
Naruto nodded instinctively. "If there is—"
Ichiro laughed. "Of course there is."
He fetched more water, and Naruto drank again.
After resting for a while, Naruto stood up slowly.
His legs still felt heavy, but his eyes were steady.
"…Training," he said quietly. "Let's start from here."
From the top of the mountain…
Uzumaki Naruto had fallen to the very bottom.
No Kurama.
No Six Paths power.
No Rinnegan.
No Ōtsutsuki chakra.
Only his body.
His will.
And his resolve.
But Naruto knew one thing clearly—
He had started from nothing before.
And he would do it again
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