"Hamura, come with me to train at Mount Myoboku," Hayato said.
"Brother, someone must remain here to guard the God Tree," Hamura replied, shaking his head. He could feel it—Gamamaru valued Hayato far more than Hamura. He was probably only second best.
"Alright then, Hamura. I'll leave this place in your hands. I'll return every day. Once my strength improves further, I'll be able to use Yin-Yang Release jutsu even more skillfully," Hayato said.
"Hmm."
"Oh, by the way, we should give this place a name. What do you think, Hamura?"
Hamura glanced at the God Tree. "How about Tree Village? A settlement built around the sacred tree."
"Great name," Hayato smiled.
While the two brothers discussed their plans, life among humans carried on.
Building settlements and gradually uniting into larger tribes.
The deep-rooted feudal monarchy still remained in people's hearts. But since Kaguya had altered everyone's memories, large regions were left without leaders.
Thus, ambitious individuals climbed their way to power.
Humanity reentered the cycle of war.
Among them, a man named Shuushi stood out for his unmatched martial prowess. Leading his own tribe, he charged forward courageously, conquering other villages and seizing more than half the land.
"Lord Shuushi, we've discovered a new village. Judging from the layout of the houses, it must have at least four hundred households—it seems newly built..."
"Four hundred families? That means at least a thousand people — show me the way!"
"Yes, sir."
Appearing about thirty years old, tall and strong, wearing light armor, the man led his grand army forward.
Tree Village.
Hamura sat cross-legged beneath the God Tree, eyes tightly shut.
Mother had once said he looked especially like Father, and that his eyes might evolve to become just like his.
When they relocated, Father passed down his old notes to him.
At this moment, setting aside all distractions, Hamura visualized and contemplated those techniques within his mind.
Suddenly, the sound of synchronized footsteps reached him, breaking the silence. He frowned, interrupting the mental imagery, then opened his eyes toward the direction of the sound.
Outside Tree Village, Shuushi stood with his subordinates, staring upward in shock at the towering God Tree that pierced the clouds.
After a long silence, even the disciplined soldiers couldn't help voicing their shock.
"What is that? Is that really a tree?"
"How did it grow so huge?"
"Why would something like this suddenly appear?"
"Silence!" After barking the order, Shuushi furrowed his brows. "Strange. Although there are clearly so many houses, there's no trace of any cooking smoke or signs of daily life. Why is everything so quiet? Did everyone go out to work?"
"Have all memories of the God Tree truly been erased?" Hearing their loud chatter, Hamura sighed, rose to his foot, and stepped outside.
As he appeared before them, the soldiers' faces showed confusion and unease—they immediately blocked Shuushi's front.
With all memories of the God Tree and beings like Kaguya erased, humanity's understanding of the world had returned to normal. To them, Hamura's pale white eyes naturally appeared eerie and terrifying—clearly not human as they knew it.
Strange tree, strange person... This is definitely something unusual!
"Brother, who are you?" Shuushi remained calm, his eyes flashing with subtle suspicion.
Could this person also possess something special?
"This is Tree Village. I'm a villager here."
"Where are the other villagers then?" Shuushi continued questioning.
"What's your purpose?" Hamura didn't answer, instead countering with a question.
"I've come to invite your village to join our tribe," Shuushi explained calmly. "I will form a nation to protect everyone. Wars are happening everywhere now. Only by uniting can we achieve peace."
Hearing that, Hamura flinched slightly. "War?"
"How could it arrive so soon? Could it really be..." Thinking about what Mother had told him, he murmured softly.
"Soon? What do you mean?" Shuushi found this odd and asked. "Brother, have you never left the village before?"
"No," Hamura replied casually while carefully studying the man in front of him. "What, you really think you can build a country?"
"That's right. I will end this war." Shuushi wore a confident look, as if stating the obvious.
Hamura thought to himself that helping end this war and using it as a chance to spread chakra might be possible.
"Alright, I'm willing to join your tribe," he immediately agreed.
"Brother, not just you — all villagers," Shuushi smiled faintly.
"I must first visit your tribe. If you're truly someone worthy of following, I'll convince the others."
Saying this, he used Shadow Clone Jutsu. Another figure identical to him instantly stepped out from behind.
Seeing this, the soldiers were shocked.
"He's definitely a monster!"
At this loud shout, they simultaneously drew their weapons, ready to seize him at any moment.
"Stand down! Did I say you could attack?!" Shuushi glared at him and his clone, raising his hand to stop them.
"Brother, please don't mind their actions just now — that was simply their duty. Let's go."
Although feeling somewhat uncomfortable inside, Hamura still followed them away.
When Hayato was escorted back by the Gamabunta Clan, only Hamura's clone remained in Tree Village.
"Hamura, you're truly careful enough," Hayato sighed after listening to his description of today's events.
Then he scratched his head, "But later on, where exactly shall we find so many villagers?"
"Brother, that's absolutely not the key point!"
After the banter died down, Hayato fell silent. He finally spoke: "...Must there truly be a ruler? Must there always be figures like Father and Mother? In my vision, everyone should be equal."
Hearing this, Hamura's clone was momentarily stunned. "Brother, your thoughts are way too ahead of time."
"Hamura, so you believe what Mother once told us is correct?" Hayato asked.
Byakugan abilities are often triggered by strong emotions, Hiroki once told them. Currently, Hamura's ocular ability exceeded Hayato's strength-wise. Even though it was still Byakugan, it meant that Hamura had matured earlier than him.
"What Mother said applies to extreme situations," Hamura's clone shook his head. "You, my older brother, represent another extreme."
"Me? Extreme?" Hayato smiled and shrugged. "Hamura, I'd like to check that place out."
"Those people..." Hamura hesitated for a moment. "Let's wait first. If everything goes smoothly, the original will return. If anything unexpected happens, he should recall the chakra from my body."
Meanwhile, Hamura had taken residence at the tribal center established by Shuushi in order to assess the tribe, its people, and their chieftain, Shuushi.
There were so many battles and injured people that during his spare time, Hamura used Medical Ninjutsu to heal them, which helped prevent many deaths.
Gradually, people began changing their perception of him, letting go of their fear and showing gratitude, making their interactions increasingly harmonious.
After some time, he finally decided to help them and sought out Shuushi for a talk.
"Shuushi, I have a way to enhance everyone's strength so we can quickly quell the warfare."
"Tell me about it, Hamura," Shuushi replied with a calm expression and gentle tone, though inwardly he was annoyed at being addressed so casually.
Just because I'm polite to you, do you think we're equals?
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