The Royal Court Ninja Army, whose numbers had returned to five hundred after the mass resurrection, was still reeling from the shock of what had happened.
News spread quickly.
One person told ten.
Ten told a hundred.
Soon the entire army—and even the surrounding ninja forces—knew what had happened.
The position within the Royal Court Ninja Army had already been highly coveted before.
Now it had become even more desirable.
Countless ninja whose strength had reached Elite Jonin level could only beat their chests in regret for not having joined earlier.
At the same time, Otsutsuki Hagoromo, the Sage of Six Paths, finally realized the answer to a mystery that had troubled him for years.
"Damn that Uchiha Soren!"
He could resurrect hundreds of fallen warriors with a single motion.
If their souls were not somehow under Soren's control—
Hagoromo refused to believe it.
"No wonder the number of souls reaching the Pure Land has been decreasing over the years."
"Only empty shells arrive here now…"
"So the real souls have been taken by Uchiha Soren!"
"What exactly is he planning?!"
Questions swirled endlessly in his mind.
Then Hagoromo suddenly remembered Soren's clone.
"Could it be…"
"Is he trying to repeat the path I walked?"
"Trying to leave me in the same position as the Dragon Emperor—with no way forward?"
To the Dragon Emperor, the Sea of Magic was everything.
To Hagoromo, the souls of the ninja world were just as important.
"Fortunately, my preparations are already complete."
"Otherwise, I might have had to join forces with the Dragon Emperor just to eliminate this threat first."
His expression darkened.
"I can't let him grow too comfortable."
After thinking for a long moment, Hagoromo turned his gaze toward the fractured boundary between worlds.
Using the natural resonance between the two realms—
He began accelerating the fusion of the worlds.
"The resurrection magic has made my brother impatient."
Elsewhere, Otsutsuki Hamura sensed the sudden disturbance immediately.
The hesitation in his eyes vanished.
With powerful enemies closing in, hesitation would only waste precious opportunities.
His gaze fell upon a man within the Royal Court Ninja Army camp.
Hyuga Hizashi.
Inside Hizashi's arms, the Tenseigan vessel he carried suddenly began to grow warm.
Realizing what it meant, Hizashi's face lit up with excitement.
"In terms of bloodline… the Hyuga clan is not inferior to the Uchiha!"
The Sharingan could trace its origin back to the Rinnegan.
Likewise, the Byakugan could evolve into the legendary Tenseigan, an eye equal in status.
Both bloodlines came from the same origin.
There was no reason the Hyuga clan should remain so far behind the Uchiha.
"If I reach the Blazing Sun level…"
"If I reach the Six Paths…"
"Then the entire ninja world—no, the entire world—will know my name!"
As one of the few surviving clan leaders from the Warring States era, Hizashi had considered the possibility that this might be a trap.
But a Six Paths–level ancestor would hardly covet someone like him.
"What could they possibly want from me?"
"Other than these eyes… I have nothing worth taking."
"Our ancestor already possesses the Tenseigan and has lived for a thousand years."
"Why would he want my Byakugan?"
Having made up his mind, Hizashi prepared to lead members of the Hyuga clan to the moon.
There, they would honor their ancestors.
And perhaps restore the Hyuga clan to the same status as the Uchiha—
A true noble family of the ninja world.
Not merely scouts used by others.
"After observing for a thousand years…"
"I hope my choice is not a mistake."
High above, Hamura silently watched Hizashi begin his preparations.
Soon after, Hamura returned to the Hamura Shrine on the moon, entering the core of the massive Golden Tenseigan.
The intense Yang Release chakra flowing within it filled him with vitality.
The powerful life energy soothed his previously tense expression.
As his mind drifted, a long-buried thought surfaced.
His mother.
Otsutsuki Kaguya.
"The mother of all chakra…"
"She is the origin of everything."
Hamura murmured quietly.
"If I followed the path of those from the other timeline…"
"Senju Hashirama, Uchiha Madara, Hyuga Tenjin…"
"They devoured those above them."
"If I did the same…"
"If I absorbed Mother…"
"I might transcend everything in a single step."
The thought shocked him.
"What am I thinking?!"
Hamura felt a chill run down his spine.
He almost slapped himself.
For a thousand years, Kaguya had been sealed away in endless darkness.
The more Hamura thought about it, the heavier his guilt became.
He didn't even know what would emerge if she were released.
Would it still be his mother?
Or merely a mindless monster?
"Perhaps… freeing her would also free her from endless suffering."
Hamura whispered.
"Perhaps… Mother would want that as well."
Once he had already decided to act against his own descendants—
the burden of acting against his mother gradually became lighter.
With that decision forming in his mind, Hamura went to find Hagoromo.
To his surprise—
Hagoromo did not hesitate.
The two brothers immediately reached an agreement.
Together, they entered a hidden dimensional layer where Kaguya was sealed.
What greeted them was an enormous humanoid creature nearly a thousand meters tall.
It possessed nine eyes.
Its body resembled dried wood.
Behind it protruded ten massive pillars.
This was the husk of the Ten-Tails, stripped of most of its chakra.
Though weakened, it still possessed terrifying vitality.
"Brother," Hamura said quietly, looking at the sealed creature.
"Should we use the Rinne Rebirth Technique to revive you?"
"Then gather the Tailed Beasts and restore you as the complete Sage of Six Paths?"
During his lifetime, when Hagoromo had become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, his power had nearly reached the highest level of the Six Paths.
In Hamura's mind—
Even if Hagoromo faced Kaguya one-on-one, victory would belong to his experienced elder brother.
Kaguya's power might exceed them both—
But her combat instincts were far inferior.
She could only use perhaps seventy percent of her true strength.
But Hagoromo shook his head.
"My path is already nearing completion."
"If I change directions now…"
"A thousand years of effort will be wasted."
On the Magic Continent, resurrection for powerful beings was not difficult.
In the ninja world, the same was true.
Even Senju Tobirama had created Impure World Reincarnation.
For Hagoromo, reviving himself would be trivial.
But once revived—
His path of transcendence would be broken.
Hamura sighed.
"If only Uchiha Soren had obeyed us…"
"We would never have reached this point."
Hagoromo did not respond to the complaint.
Instead, he said calmly:
"Hamura."
"Never place your hopes in others."
"No matter what you do…"
"You must rely only on yourself."
"When we achieve transcendence…"
"The world will become something entirely different."
"A thousand years ago, we stood at the center of the world."
"And a thousand years from now…"
"That will still be true."
Hamura nodded slowly.
"I understand, brother."
"Then…"
"Let us release Mother from her endless nightmare."
Hagoromo gave a faint smile.
"That would be fitting."
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