Yugito Hayato clenched his fists, his face filled with anger.
He suddenly felt that Father must be as cold-hearted as Mother.
Of course—only people of similar temperaments would end up together.
He instantly felt a deep sense of unease.
Kagami Hiroki kept staring into Yugito Hayato's eyes the entire time.
Though visibly agitated, there was no sign of awakening in Hayato's eyes—no hint of new ability unlocking at all.
Slightly relieved, Hiroki thought to himself that while the boy might be excited, those other people still weren't as important in his heart as *we* were.
"Father, did you know everything?" Hayato raised his voice.
"I know," Kagami Hiroki replied calmly, nodding slightly.
"Then why didn't you just stop them?" Hayato shot back accusingly.
Compared to him, Hayato seemed much calmer.
He was angry too—but what could he even do now? Kill Hiroki?
Clearly, that wasn't possible either.
Faced with Hiroki's silence, Hayato impulsively stepped forward, grabbed his clothes, hesitated, and locked eyes with him without speaking.
Just as Hayato was about to act, Kagami Hamura suddenly spoke out, "Father, what exactly did you mean by those words earlier? What is Mother afraid of?"
Upon hearing this, like a sudden flicker of hope, Hayato let go and temporarily suppressed his inner turmoil.
For now, he'd hear what explanations they had to offer.
"You want to know?" Hiroki glanced at both their expressions. "Even if I told you everything, could you understand? With your current strength, can you shoulder such burdens?"
"You two have already been influenced—so when I tell you another version…"
Before he could finish speaking, Hayato and Hamura exchanged glances.
Hayato took a deep breath and interrupted heavily, "Father, we have the right to know."
"Fine then. Let's talk outside."
Hiroki led the two away from where the God Tree stood and into a small grove.
Suddenly, with his back turned to them, Hiroki stopped mid-step, spun around, and thrust his palm directly toward Hayato's direction.
"Brother, watch out!" Kagami Hamura, whose Byakugan was still active, shouted urgently.
The words hadn't fully faded when Hayato rolled sideways and barely dodged in a rather clumsy manner—the ear-splitting explosion sound rang beside him.
Then came a thunderous crash. The ground trembled briefly, raising clouds of dirty dust.
Hayato turned his head and stared in disbelief—behind him, a wide stretch of trees had snapped out of nowhere and fallen flat on the ground.
"There was absolutely nothing visible…"
"Father, what are you doing?"
Hamura quickly positioned himself protectively in front of Hayato, wearing a wary expression as he focused his Byakugan on Hiroki, monitoring every trace of chakra flowing within.
"Don't tense up. Let me test your level first," Hiroki said indifferently, beckoning toward the two with a slight hand gesture.
Feeling no killing intent, they breathed easier—but still hesitated to strike.
"The weak don't deserve the right to demand anything—they can only die in ignorance, like those offering souls (those sacrificed for greater purposes)," Hiroki remarked flatly.
As he spoke, a swirling mass of dark chakra formed in his hand and quickly solidified into a long black staff.
Creating simple weapons with Yin-Yang Release jutsu had already become second nature to him.
After briefly lowering his head with shifting expressions, Hayato stood up, pushed aside Hamura, and stood side by side with him in battle formation.
"Hamura, let's go."
Right after speaking, the two charged forward simultaneously.
Their fighting styles contrasted — Hayato was well-rounded, mastering both taijutsu and ninjutsu, while Hamura focused solely on taijutsu.
In addition, under Hiroki's guidance, they also mastered the Shadow Clone technique, enabling them to attack from multiple directions.
Yet all of this proved futile.
To their dismay, they discovered that physically, they couldn't even touch Hiroki.
Hayato's commonly used ninjutsu couldn't harm him at all, and sometimes the techniques were even reflected back, leaving them scrambling.
Both were gasping for breath, yet Hiroki remained untouched and composed, not even activating his Tenseigan Chakra Mode.
"Alright, stop now."
Hiroki sent the two flying one after another, silently assessing their strength.
There were very few individuals across the entire continent who could train at their level. Combined with the fact that Hiroki and Kaguya didn't have time to supervise their practice regularly, it resulted in these two having insufficient practical combat experience, currently barely exhibiting the power level of jonin.
After this display, Hayato and Hamura were completely exhausted, their emotions stabilized, and their minds much calmer.
Quietly sitting together on a large stone, they listened as Hiroki explained.
"Actually, your mother isn't originally from this world."
"Beyond this planet, there are other planets and other races."
"She comes from the Otsutsuki Clan, and that God Tree was planted by members of the Otsutsuki Clan..."
"She chose to leave, but the Otsutsuki Clan will eventually find this planet. Kaguya lives with this anxiety."
"As cruel as it seems, what Kaguya is doing now is actually to accumulate power in preparation for future crises."
"Just how powerful is the Otsutsuki Clan..." Hayato asked, voicing his question.
Deep in thought, he wondered if everything was truly as stated, how could he assist Mother?
What could be done to stop her offering to the God Tree...
Hiroki shook his head. "I'm not sure exactly, but they must be stronger than me. At the very least, you need to possess eyes like mine or Kaguya's to stand any chance against them."
Hayato and Hamura sat in silence, lost in deep contemplation. A cool breeze passed through, gradually drying the sweat on their bodies.
No one dared to break the silence; all remained still and silent. After several hours passed, Hayato led Hiroki to wait for Gamamaru's arrival.
Hamura paused in hesitation before choosing to go back and speak with Kaguya.
The sun shone brightly, a gentle breeze blowing, as Kaguya stood on the corridor, silently gazing into the distance.
Upon hearing approaching footsteps, she slightly turned her head, then redirected her gaze forward.
Lowering his head respectfully, Hamura knelt on one knee. "Honored Mother, please cease your offerings to the God Tree."
"That will not do," Kaguya retorted without even turning around.
"But..."
"Though you are my child, you must never defy my commands," Kaguya continued coldly.
"Mother, if we could find another way to help you, could you spare the lives of those innocents?"
"Hmm?" Kaguya turned around, slightly frowning. "You two?"
"Mother, Hayato and I have already learned the whole truth—we know about the enemy you're afraid of. We want to stand by your side and fight against outside threats. Please trust us and spare those ordinary people," Hamura said calmly.
Kaguya was quiet for what felt like an eternity before she finally spoke again. "Who told you this?"
"It was Father."
"He..." Kaguya whispered softly, her expression complicated. "Where is Hayato now?"
"Hayato is with Father right now."
After saying that, Hamura fell silent, waiting anxiously for Kaguya's reply.
Silence stretched between them, heavy and unbearable.
He found himself glancing up without meaning to. Kaguya was still standing in the same spot, a flicker of worry across her brows. "Will they... come back?"
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