Standing atop his God Tree, Shinji fell into deep thought.
Now that he had figured out how to use the God Tree to contact other God Trees, luring a few Otsutsuki over wouldn't be difficult.
In the original timeline, Otsutsuki Urashiki, Momoshiki, and Kinshiki had all arrived in the Shinobi World uninvited about ten years later. This proved that the planets they were currently on weren't too far from the Shinobi World.
So Shinji's problem wasn't whether he could lure them, but how to lure them as fast as possible. After all, he could afford to wait, but the Shinobi World couldn't. If he really waited ten years, it would be too late.
"The Otsutsuki are inherently predatory. If I send a distress signal as Isshiki, they might not care, or at least they wouldn't drop everything to come immediately. But if I use a Chakra Fruit as bait, then..."
Thinking of this, Shinji grinned wickedly.
If Momoshiki, Urashiki, and the others knew there was a Chakra Fruit about to ripen in the Shinobi World, they would drop everything and rush over.
If Shinji also leaked information about the infighting between Isshiki and Kaguya—that Kaguya was sealed and Isshiki was forced to parasitize a native via Karma—the Otsutsuki receiving the message would go mad with greed.
Having made up his mind, Shinji gathered his thoughts and quietly stood guard on the God Tree.
Everything had to wait until he had absorbed enough planetary energy from World No. 1. Because this world was separated from the Shinobi World by a spatial barrier, the God Tree here couldn't contact other trees. He could only attempt communication after returning to the Shinobi World.
Shinji stood guard for over a month.
During this month, he witnessed the entire process of the Hegemon eroding the world step by step. However, he chose not to intervene. To avoid a premature conflict, he even set up several shielding barriers around his God Tree.
Thus, he successfully filled the quota of planetary energy needed to nurture a Chakra Fruit without incident.
Transforming the God Tree back into the Ten-Tails and absorbing it into his body, Shinji took one last look around the world.
This was yet another world he had watched fall prey to a Hegemon. From the moment the World-Ending Society's leader defected, its fate had been sealed.
Heaven's calamities can be avoided, but self-inflicted doom is inescapable!
Shinji looked up at the sky, sensing the greedy aura behind the thick clouds.
"Just wait," he muttered to himself, then opened a spatial rift and left.
The Shinobi World.
Returning to the Shinobi World, Shinji immediately went to a secluded mountain range devoid of human presence.
After repeatedly confirming no one was around, he summoned the Ten-Tails from his body and planted it as the God Tree.
Landing on top of the tree, Shinji opened Daikokuten and pulled Obito out of the time-frozen dimension.
"Where... is this!?"
Because time was stopped within Daikokuten, Obito was disoriented as the flow of time resumed.
Shinji spoke slowly, "Didn't you want to know why I manipulated your destiny?"
Obito snapped his head around, "looking" at Shinji with his empty, hollow sockets. "Tell me! Let me die knowing the truth!"
Shinji nodded. "It all stems from the Chakra Fruit..."
He held nothing back. He explained everything to the soon-to-be sacrifice: how the God Tree could nurture a Chakra Fruit, and the price required—planetary energy and an Otsutsuki sacrifice.
Hearing this, Obito looked incredulous. "A Chakra Fruit? I thought that was just a myth!"
There were indeed stories passed down about Princess Kaguya and the fruit, but over a thousand years, they had become detached from reality, evolving into mystical legends. Those not in the know wouldn't believe such a divine object truly existed.
Obito paused, then realized, "So you let me obtain the Rinnegan and become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki just to force me to unlock my bloodline's power, becoming a new Otsutsuki qualified to be a sacrifice?"
"Correct," Shinji nodded gently.
Obito seemed to think of something. "You're lying! You already had Otsutsuki Isshiki; you didn't need me as a sacrifice at all! You couldn't have been sure I would awaken the Rinnegan and seal the Ten-Tails!"
Shinji felt like talking, so he said casually, "I already sacrificed Isshiki."
"You..."
Obito, who wanted to refute him, was instantly rendered speechless.
Then he understood. He cried out, "You... have you already consumed a Chakra Fruit like Kaguya!?"
"Mm," Shinji confirmed.
"No wonder the gap between us is so vast. It wasn't that I was weak, but that you were too strong! I knew it wasn't my fault; I was just unlucky to have met you!"
Obito seemed relieved.
Shinji said, "I've answered your questions. You can go in peace now."
Obito said, "Do it. This time, I am truly convinced of my defeat!"
Shinji wasted no more words. He placed a hand on Obito's abdomen and forcibly ripped out the small Ten-Tails sealed within him.
"Aaahhh!"
Obito screamed in agony.
Shinji quickly sealed the small Ten-Tails temporarily and tossed it into his Kamui Dimension.
Having lost the beast, Obito's aura as a Jinchuriki plummeted, and his life force began to wither rapidly.
Despite this, having once stepped into the Six Paths Level, he was still recognized by the God Tree as a member of the Otsutsuki clan, eligible to be a sacrifice.
Worried that delays might lead to complications, Shinji prepared to sacrifice Obito immediately.
At this moment, with his life counting down, Obito asked, "Shinji, you already possess power above everyone else. Why are you so obsessed with pursuing even more power?"
Shinji paused. "If I told you I'm doing this to protect the Shinobi World, would you believe me?"
Obito froze, then smiled. "I believe you!"
"Thank you."
With that, Shinji sacrificed Obito to the God Tree.
Instantly, the God Tree, having swallowed Obito, began to emit the sound of a beating heart. The flower bud at the top slowly began to bloom.
Having experienced the nurturing of a Chakra Fruit once before, Shinji wasn't overly excited this time. Instead, he calmly used the impending birth of the fruit as an opportunity to send a message through the God Tree to other God Trees in the universe.