"Aoba-kun? Are you okay?"
Seeing Aoba's eyes gradually return to clarity, Hinata quickly asked again.
Looking at the worry written all over her face, Aoba felt a bit helpless.
He rubbed her soft cheek, signaling for her not to be so nervous, then said, "Hinata, don't worry. Not only am I completely fine, I actually ran into something good."
That Otsutsuki Kaguya trapped alone in the sealed space for so long was far more simple-minded than he had expected.
You could even say she was the naive type.
He had gained her trust very easily.
If they kept interacting more in the future, then even if he released her someday, there probably wouldn't be any hostility between them at all.
And if it weren't for being inside the sealed space, he would've definitely gotten a camera out and had Otsutsuki Kaguya smile for him.
Then… he'd show it to those toads from Mount Myoboku, and to the Sage of Six Paths and the others.
Aoba naturally knew that Otsutsuki Hagoromo's soul was still lingering in the ninja world.
After all, in the original storyline, he had appeared during the final battle and gave Naruto and Sasuke each a power-up.
Just imagining how he would react when he finally saw his mother's long-lost happy smile… he'd probably be so happy he'd jump up.
"Something good?"
Hinata froze for a moment. Looking at the not-so-innocent expression on Aoba's face, it didn't feel like something good. It felt more like he had come up with another bad idea.
"Yeah."
Aoba didn't explain further. Instead, he glanced at the empty plates on the table.
"Are you full?"
"?"
Hinata clearly hadn't expected him to suddenly ask that. After pausing for a moment, her cheeks flushed slightly as she nodded.
"Mhm…"
"Then next, let's head back to the ninja world. There's no need to stay on the moon any longer," Aoba said with a smile.
The Tenseigan had been awakened, they had completed the achievement of eating lunch on the moon, and he had even chatted pleasantly with the legendary Otsutsuki Kaguya. This trip could be considered perfectly complete.
As for what came next in their date, it was better to change locations.
"I'll go with whatever you decide, Aoba-kun."
Hinata didn't object.
The scenery on the moon was just this much. She had originally thought they could walk around together a bit more.
But this… If that original palace were still there, it might have been worth seeing. But now there was only a stretch of ruins left.
And this moon wasn't as romantic as she had imagined. It felt lifeless.
"Alright, then let's go."
"Aoba-kun, aren't we going back with Flying Thunder God?"
Hinata had thought they would just teleport back, but instead, Aoba led her toward a small hill.
"Mm, there's a teleportation formation on the moon that can directly send you to the ninja world. It's their dedicated passage."
Aoba explained, "Like that guy earlier, he had gone to the ninja world before. But he thought it was a failed world, so he quickly came back and planned to use the Tenseigan's power to destroy it."
"Huh? Is that so?", Hinata asked, a little dazed.
No wonder he attacked them without hesitation. He really was a bad person.
"Yeah."
Aoba nodded as he led Hinata to the base of a small hill.
At the foot of the hill was a cave. Aoba had sensed a strange chakra fluctuation from inside.
The two of them walked into the cave. The entrance was deep, and the surroundings were pitch black, with only a faint light in the distance.
After walking for a while, as if nearing the end, the dim light suddenly opened up.
They stepped into the interior of the cave, and in front of them appeared a lake.
And the light source from the darkness wasn't a lamp or any kind of scientific ninja tool, but the lake itself.
The surface of the water was still, like solidified glass. Countless tiny points of light drifted within the ripples. It was this starlike shimmer that illuminated the dark cave, casting mottled reflections on the stone walls, giving it a very strange beauty.
"So beautiful…"
Hinata was completely captivated by the shimmering water.
Her eyes stayed fixed on the center of the lake without blinking, "Aoba-kun, is this the passage back?"
"Yeah."
Aoba walked over to take a look, sensing it briefly, "It's probably a space-time ninjutsu similar to the Summoning Technique. There might even be another space inside."
With Aoba's current strength, seeing through its nature was effortless.
"Then do we jump in?", Hinata blinked.
"Yeah."
Aoba took Hinata's hand, then wrapped both of them in chakra, forming a protective layer.
At the same time, it lifted their bodies and carried them toward the surface of the lake.
Just as they were about to leave, Aoba seemed to sense another consciousness calling out to him. But compared to Kaguya's earlier call, this one felt more muddled.
'Another consciousness on the moon…'
'Could it be?'
Aoba vaguely guessed who it might belong to.
If Otsutsuki Hagoromo could do it, then his brother, Otsutsuki Hamura, should be able to as well.
It was just that one was in the Pure Land, while the other was on the moon.
Aoba thought about it briefly, but didn't try to communicate with that consciousness.
After all, he had just met the other's mother. There was no need to meet the younger son for now.
Spending time with Hinata was more important.
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