"Our next objective is to find the entrance to the moon, and quickly," Minato announced, his voice echoing slightly in the vast, subterranean cavern.
Naruto and Chiharu stared at him, their expressions mirroring each other's shock. "The entrance to the moon?" they asked in unison.
"That's right," Minato confirmed, his gaze serious. "Hinata and Hanabi have most likely been taken there by Toneri."
"Toneri?" Chiharu repeated, the name clicking into place. She looked up at her father. "Is that the name of the man who abducted them?"
"It is," Minato nodded. "And in a way, he is a distant relative. He's a descendant of Kaguya, the same as you two."
The connection was complex but undeniable. As Kushina's children, they inherited the blood of the Uzumaki clan, a distant offshoot of the Senju. This lineage traced directly back to the Sage of Six Paths, Otsutsuki Hagoromo. Toneri, on the other hand, was a descendant of Hagoromo's brother, Hamura. Both lines of descent, however ancient and diverged, originated from the same powerful matriarch: Kaguya Otsutsuki.
"But how are we supposed to find a random entrance in a place this huge?" Naruto asked, the anxiety clear in his voice as he gestured wildly at the sprawling underground world.
Seeing the desperation in his son's eyes, Minato felt a pang of nostalgia. It was a perfect reflection of his own frantic panic all those years ago when Kushina had been abducted by ninja from the Cloud Village. He and Chiharu exchanged a subtle, knowing glance. Perhaps Naruto himself hadn't fully realized it yet, but the quiet, gentle girl who had always watched him from the sidelines had carved out an irreplaceable space within his heart.
"Hamura's spirit told me there's a spatial gateway in this world, a gateway sustained by the immense power of the Tenseigan," Minato explained, pulling their focus back to the mission. "When that gateway is used, it will inevitably release a massive fluctuation of power. We just need to be ready to sense it."
"I get it!" Naruto's mind snapped to the task. He wasn't a fool; he understood the plan instantly. With a surge of determination, a colossal aura erupted from his body. Chakra, as brilliant and hot as a miniature sun, blazed to life, enveloping him in a shimmering golden cloak.
This was his Six Paths Sage Mode. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, when Naruto first attained this power, he had also received nine Truth-Seeking Orbs from Hagoromo and the sun-colored seal of Yang Power. Though those gifts had been expended to seal Kaguya, the war had left him fundamentally changed. He had become a living nexus for the nine Tailed Beasts, carrying a portion of each of their chakras within him and able to commune with them at will.
Closing his eyes, Naruto expanded his senses. The world dissolved into a sea of energy signatures. In this state, his perceptive abilities were terrifyingly vast. While he couldn't cover the entirety of the massive underground world at once, he could cast a wide enough net that the moment the Tenseigan's power flared, he would feel it like a thunderclap.
A silent, fervent vow echoed in the depths of his soul.
Hinata, wait for me. I'm coming to get you!
Deep within a magnificent palace on the moon, Hinata stood defiant as Toneri explained his grand, horrifying vision for the world. After hearing his plan to destroy all of humanity and repopulate the world with her as his bride, she was not just shocked, but deeply offended.
She stared at him, her pearl-white eyes holding no fear, only a profound disappointment. "Perhaps you are right about one thing," she conceded, her voice calm but firm. "For thousands of years, the world of shinobi has been trapped in a cycle of hatred and conflict."
"But that time is over. The world is different now!" Her gaze softened as the image of a certain blond-haired ninja, his back broad and reliable, filled her mind. "Through the efforts of the Fourth Hokage, of Naruto-kun, and of the united Five Great Nations, people have finally begun to understand one another. We are moving forward, together. Your apocalyptic vision… it is rooted in a past that no longer exists!"
Toneri's serene expression tightened into a frown. "You are naive, Hinata. Even if the ninja world has found a temporary peace, what of it? Their unity is a fragile thing, born only from the crucible of facing a common, powerful enemy. Now that Kaguya has been defeated, how long do you think it will last?"
He stepped closer, his voice a low, condescending whisper. "Give it time. Human nature is immutable. They will forget their camaraderie. Old grievances will fester, new conflicts will arise, and they will repeat the same mistakes all over again. History is the only proof one needs. Humanity, as it is, has failed its purpose."
His messianic fervor returned, his eyes burning with conviction behind their bandages. "They no longer deserve to exist! This was the final admonition left by my ancestors—to correct the flawed world my uncle, the Sage of Six Paths, created. And you, Hinata," he declared, his voice softening, "you will stand with me as the mother of a new, purer humanity!"
He once again extended a hand to her. "Please, marry me!"
Hinata recoiled as if struck. "I will not," she stated, her voice sharp with finality. "I will never marry you. There is already someone that I love!"
The rejection hit Toneri like a physical blow. For a moment, his calm facade cracked, revealing a flash of raw, bitter jealousy. He gritted his teeth. "It doesn't matter who he is! The Earth is doomed. When it is gone, you will have no one left but me!"
"The Earth will not be destroyed!" Hinata retorted, her voice ringing with absolute faith. "Naruto-kun, my father, my friends from Konoha and the Yondaime… they will come for me! I know they will!"
She struggled against his grip, but it was useless. At her defiance, a powerful, pulsating chakra exploded from Toneri's body. The force of it shredded the white bandages covering his eyes, which snapped open to reveal the dōjutsu they had concealed.
"Those eyes…" Hinata gasped.
They were no longer the Byakugan she shared. The sclera was black, and the irises were a celestial, cerulean blue. Within them bloomed a bright, floral pattern of white light, like a star frozen at the moment of its birth. They were beautiful, hypnotic, and radiated a terrifying power.
"The Tenseigan," she whispered, the name he had spoken earlier now attached to this horrifying new reality.
"With this power, I will dispose of anyone foolish enough to interfere," Toneri snarled, his voice dripping with menace. "No one will stand between us!"
As he spoke, the star-like pattern in his eyes pulsed faintly. A soft green light shimmered in Hinata's vision. Her body went rigid, and her gaze, once filled with fiery defiance, turned vacant and dull. Her consciousness was plunged into a deep, inescapable fog, her will no longer her own.
Toneri glanced at the doll-like puppet maid. "Take Lady Hinata to her chambers. Prepare her wedding dress. The ceremony will take place at once."
"Yes, Master Toneri," the puppet replied, bowing stiffly before leading the now-pliant Hinata away.
Toneri watched her go, a flicker of something resembling guilt crossing his face. "This method may be… distasteful," he murmured to the empty room. "But one day, as my wife, you will understand my purpose. You will understand that this was the only way."
With that, he turned and strode from the palace, his destination a sacred temple deep within the moon's core. There, suspended in the center of a vast chamber, was a colossal sphere of pulsating energy—a gigantic Tenseigan, formed from the sealed Byakugan of countless generations of his clan.
He slowly raised a hand toward it. The celestial pattern in his own eyes began to glow brightly.
BOOM!
Across the silent void of space, the moon shuddered. Its slow, ominous drift toward Earth abruptly ceased, and with a terrifying lurch, it began to accelerate once more.
On Earth, the change was immediate and horrifying.
"What in the hell is happening now?!" the Fourth Raikage, A, roared from the top of the Raikage building in Kumogakure. He stared up at the moon, its pale, pockmarked surface now growing visibly larger with each passing second. His dark face was a mask of grim fury.
He whirled on a nearby Cloud ninja. "Report! How much longer to reload the Chakra Cannon?"
"At least another twenty-four hours, Lord Raikage!" the ninja replied, his voice strained with panic.
"Dammit!" A slammed his fist on the railing, cracking the stone. At this new speed, they didn't have twenty-four hours. They barely had twelve. If they fired the cannon before it was fully charged, it might not be powerful enough to completely vaporize the moon. It would shatter it, yes, but that would only turn one giant bullet into a shotgun blast of continent-killing asteroids. It was a choice between certain annihilation and a slightly less certain, but still catastrophic, disaster.
But it was a choice he had to make.
"There's no other way," the Raikage growled, his decision made. "Prepare to fire the Chakra Cannon on my command."
The subordinate ninja looked at him in horror. "Lord Raikage, if we do that…"
"I know the consequences!" A snapped. "But a chance at survival is infinitely better than none at all! There's no time to argue! Do it!" His voice thundered across the rooftop, a command backed by the absolute authority of a Kage.
Just as the ninja scrambled to obey, another shinobi landed on the rooftop, breathing heavily. "Lord Raikage! An urgent message from the Hokage of Konoha!"
A spun around. "What is it?!"
The messenger relayed the message verbatim. "He says… 'Do not act rashly. The situation is under control. Konoha's shinobi will stop the moon from falling. Have faith.'"