Natsume didn't ask further.
There were many things he should confirm on his own.
Those questions he'd just asked had probably already aroused Kukuri's suspicion.
But that couldn't be helped.
Who'd have thought he would travel this far?
He had thought a few decades would be the limit; now he was straight into the Warring States.
And at this point, Hashirama either didn't exist yet or hadn't been born.
But whether this was the era of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's descent remained uncertain.
There was a simple way to find out.
Chakra.
That foreign energy was spread by the Sage of Six Paths, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.
Kukuri before him didn't have chakra.
Given this was the Land of Demons, that was still within normal expectations.
In the original, Shion was the same—she possessed a special Priestess power.
Clearly, this was one of the native power systems, likely a variant of natural energy.
"My name is Natsume."
He thought for a bit and gave his real name.
No big deal.
In the Shinobi World, people with the same name are countless.
"Thank you for saving me."
Even though he had the Resurrection Plate and couldn't die, Kukuri's rescue let him remain in this world.
At least it preserved the possibility of earning Fate Points.
"It was destiny that guided our meeting."
Kukuri shook her head. "As a Priestess, I have some prophetic ability."
Natsume immediately thought of Shion.
She possessed the Death Prophecy and could foresee others' deaths.
Extremely precise.
By the original setting, Shion was the most gifted and powerful Priestess in history.
Kukuri likely didn't match her.
Through prophecy, Natsume also thought of the Great Toad Sage.
This also suggested they were indeed native power users.
"What kind of prophecy?"
Natsume asked with some curiosity.
The Great Toad Sage could vaguely predict a specific future event, which was relatively concrete.
He wondered how far Kukuri's prophecy could go.
"I don't know."
Kukuri shook her head. "It's like a sudden feeling. Yesterday I was guided, and so I found you."
"With a prophecy that vague, you believed it so easily?"
Natsume rubbed his chin. "What if I had ill intentions? Wouldn't your prophecy have harmed you?"
"I can tell good omens from bad."
Kukuri looked at him, eyes full of curiosity.
"No wonder."
Natsume felt this prophecy was more like a sense for fortune and misfortune.
If it benefited her, she could approach.
If it didn't, she'd quickly avoid it.
In other words, seek benefit and avoid harm.
"Then, can you tell me your background?"
Kukuri finally asked the biggest question in her heart.
"It's complicated."
Natsume smiled. "Since your prophecy has told you I'm a good person, set aside your curiosity for now."
The two looked at each other for a moment, and Kukuri nodded.
Priestess are attendants who serve the gods.
Her nature was kind. She wouldn't resort to violence just because Natsume wouldn't reveal his background.
Besides, she suspected she couldn't beat him.
Natsume's constitution was very special.
Even without treatment, he would recover soon.
That feeling was very godlike.
"Thank you."
Natsume had been thinking that if things went south, he would use his ocular power.
Fortunately, things ended smoothly.
He didn't need to act against his savior.
"Then rest for now."
Kukuri smiled, stood up, and left the room.
Only then did Natsume have time to check his body.
How to put it?
Pretty miserable.
After exchanging for the Sage Body, the vast chakra it afforded had been completely squandered.
Natsume never thought he'd see the day.
Fortunately, chakra can recover.
It would just take some time to fully replenish.
Not a big problem, though. Without chakra, he still had ocular power.
The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan would carry him for a long while.
If this really was a time before chakra existed, he was practically invincible.
Unless he encountered the Three Great Holy Lands or certain deities.
After confirming he had no major problems, Natsume sank into thought again.
He didn't know whether this was the past or a parallel world.
Which meant he had to act cautiously.
Otherwise, there could be big trouble.
For example, if Ōtsutsuki Kaguya hadn't been sealed and had killed Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo and Ōtsutsuki Hamura, then there would be no descendants like the Senju or Uzumaki.
But thinking about it, Natsume felt he was being too fanciful.
With his current strength, how could he fight those three?
As the saying goes:
The grand trend cannot be changed; small trends can.
He just needed to earn enough Fate Points, then return.
…
Two days of rest later, Natsume could move normally.
Although the weakness from massive chakra loss lingered, it wasn't too impactful.
Given the capacity of his Sage Body, even "weakened," he was still around a standard jōnin.
The Land of Demons was a special country.
The Priestess was the daimyo.
Though young, Kukuri already held the reins of a nation.
Thus, Natsume received special treatment.
The first thing delivered to him once he was out of bed was material on this world.
After reading it, he confirmed he was before Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's descent.
This world had no chakra, and samurai were mainstream.
Scattered among them were the Three Great Holy Lands and some deities.
This was a native system built on natural energy.
No—wait.
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya and Ōtsutsuki Isshiki should already be in this world.
Because they needed to plant the God Tree—the so-called Ten-Tails.
After a thousand years of nurturing, the God Tree would ripen.
By the clan's rules, the lower-ranked Kaguya would be sacrificed to the tree.
But she refused and, during the ritual, ambushed Isshiki and sacrificed him instead.
Only half, though, and he narrowly escaped.
After eating the chakra fruit, Kaguya gained immense power.
After that, she pacified the chaos and was called the "Rabbit Goddess."
With the blessings of the people, she became pregnant and gave birth to Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo and Ōtsutsuki Hamura.
That's the manga version.
Kaguya is an ascetic by nature, with little emotion beyond greed for chakra.
But in the anime, her characterization was altered.
The sequence was inverted.
She descended first, fell in love with the emperor of the Land of Ancestors, became pregnant, and then was betrayed.
Disappointed, Kaguya swallowed the fruit, cast Infinite Tsukuyomi, and turned everyone into sacrifices.
These became the origins of the White Zetsu.
To prevent humanity's extinction, Kaguya released some people.
She was then called the "Rabbit Goddess" and gave birth to Hagoromo and Hamura.
To be honest, Natsume felt the manga's setup was more reasonable.
The Ōtsutsuki clan weren't human and were born with great power.
To them, humans were ants.
With such disparity, true feelings were unlikely.
Because Kaguya ate the fruit, she effectively betrayed the clan.
To prepare for possible pursuers, she would periodically have humans offer sacrifices to the God Tree.
But this act was opposed by Hagoromo and Hamura. With help from the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku, mother and sons became enemies.
In the end, Kaguya was sealed.
The God Tree—the Ten-Tails—had its husk thrown to the moon, while its chakra became the nine Tailed Beasts.
Hamura migrated to the moon to guard the Ten-Tails' husk. Hagoromo became the Sage of Six Paths and founded Ninshū.
His two sons were Indra and Asura.
Natsume unfolded a map and soon locked onto the Land of Ancestors.
There wasn't much he could do right now.
He simply couldn't find the God Tree, nor Kaguya or Isshiki.
And even if he could, what could he do?
To earn Fate Points, the figures had to be named in the original works—manga or anime.
The only person he could currently earn points from was the emperor of the Land of Ancestors.
He could also learn through him which version of Kaguya this world followed and plan accordingly.
If it was the "love-brain" version, it would be trickier.
If the emperor were killed, Hagoromo and Hamura wouldn't be born.
Even if Natsume stepped in himself, the children would be different.
If it was the ascetic version of Kaguya, then he didn't need to worry about affecting Hagoromo and Hamura.
They were born through blessings.
If it was the ascetic Kaguya, she'd be a stoic, emotionless maiden.
To earn Fate Points, he'd have to think carefully.
The only consolation was that Natsume wasn't an ordinary human.
At least in Kaguya's eyes, he was a comparatively strong ant.
Easier to attract her attention.
No matter the version, she needed help from humans.
Becoming a follower should be no problem for Natsume.
Going by the plot, the current grand trend was Kaguya pacifying the chaos, then planting the tree.
But her method was too crude—directly sacrificing humans.
That would naturally provoke Hagoromo and Hamura's opposition.
Meanwhile, the Three Great Holy Lands, as native forces, wouldn't want the God Tree draining the planet.
Though Natsume disliked the toads, the Great Toad Sage wasn't wrong here.
Kaguya's planting of the tree was essentially to siphon more energy to ripen another fruit, strengthen herself, and deal with the Ōtsutsuki clan.
If there were a better method, Natsume could more easily infiltrate and earn points.
…
Priestess's Hall.
Kukuri was handling state affairs.
After being announced, Natsume was allowed in.
"Lady Priestess."
"It's you."
Kukuri looked up, smiled, gave him a once-over, and said, "Your body really is impressive."
That sounded odd.
Natsume said, "Lady Priestess, I plan to leave for a while."
"Leave?"
Kukuri frowned slightly.
She didn't know how Natsume would benefit her, but prophecies don't lie.
Thus, she didn't want him to leave.
"I have something to take care of."
Guessing her thoughts, Natsume added, "I'll be back soon. Whatever you require then, I'll do my best to accomplish it, to repay you for saving me."
Kukuri's eyes narrowed slightly. She didn't understand him and couldn't judge the truth of his words.
But she trusted the prophecy and wouldn't offend Natsume.
After a moment's thought, she agreed.