Chapter 20

The room was heavy with the weight of her words. Kaguya's eyes glowed faintly as she looked at them—calculating, assessing, but never showing weakness.

Naruto didn't flinch. He stepped forward, his voice determined. "You're not the Kaguya I thought you were. You… You're not the one who sealed the world in an eternal illusion, right?"

Kaguya tilted her head slightly, her gaze never leaving him. "The one you speak of is the one from the past. But I… am not the same. I am the one who seeks to survive."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Survive? So, you're telling us you don't even know how to stop this God?"

Kaguya's expression tightened just a little. The burden of truth was heavy in her voice. "The truth, Uchiha Sasuke, is that I cannot stop him. Not alone."

The room seemed to grow colder as she stood up from her throne, her presence growing even more oppressive. "The Ōtsutsuki God… his power is far beyond anything I ever imagined."

Kakashi took a step forward, his gaze steady. "But you're Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, the progenitor of chakra! Surely there's a way. A plan?"

Kaguya shook her head slowly, her pale eyes shimmering with a glint of something like regret. "I thought I had it all figured out. But no matter how much I learned or what information I gleaned from the future, I cannot escape what is inevitable. I cannot survive once the Ōtsutsuki God sets his sights on me. Not even with the knowledge of time itself."

Naruto clenched his fists. "But you're here, alive. You must have a plan! You've been preparing—this whole army of Zetsu, this world…"

"Yes, I have prepared," Kaguya replied softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "But it's not for me. I've been building an army to slow him down. To delay his coming as much as I can. But the truth is…"

Her voice trailed off for a moment, the silence pressing on them all.

"Once he is serious, once he has his full strength, I will fall."

The Desperate Truth

Kaguya turned to the massive windows, her face hardening. "I have seen the future, I have felt it. I know what is coming. The Ōtsutsuki God's vessel is still on Earth, waiting to be awakened. His power will increase with time, and no matter how much I delay him, once he descends upon this world, no one will be able to stop him."

Sasuke's eyes flickered. "So all this—this army, this world—you're just buying time?"

She nodded. "I can do nothing else. I will fight until I can no longer fight, but my true goal has always been to slow them down. To buy time so that there's even a slim chance someone else will rise to challenge him. If that's even possible."

Naruto's fists tightened even more, his voice low. "You're not giving up, are you?"

Kaguya turned her head to look at him once more. For the first time, a faint glimmer of vulnerability showed in her eyes. "I never gave up, Naruto Uzumaki. But sometimes, even the strongest fall."

A Last Gamble

Her eyes shifted to Black Zetsu, who hovered silently behind her, still loyal and watching with an almost loving gaze. She closed her eyes.

"If there's one thing I know, it's this: my Zetsu army will not be enough to fight them. But it may be enough to hold them off long enough for you, the humans of this world, to do something. To find a way to stop the Ōtsutsuki God. Maybe you will be able to succeed where I failed."

Naruto stepped forward, his determination hardening. "You're not alone, Kaguya. We'll find a way to fight. If you're buying time, then we'll use that time to make our move."

Kaguya said nothing for a moment. Then, she took a deep breath and stared into Naruto's eyes.

"Then fight. Fight until you have nothing left. Fight to the last breath, because that is the only chance you have."

Sasuke's gaze remained sharp. "But you're still holding something back, aren't you? You said you've seen the future. You know exactly what will happen. Tell us everything, Kaguya. Don't keep anything hidden."

Kaguya's eyes hardened again, and her voice became icy. "I have told you everything that matters. The future is not absolute, Uchiha Sasuke. The path ahead is still open—but only if you act."

Naruto raised his head. "Then we will act. We will fight for this world, for everything."

Kaguya gave a small nod. "Do as you will, Uzumaki. But know this: Even with all the strength of the shinobi world, you will need more. More than chakra, more than courage. You will need something else entirely if you hope to survive this war."