"According to Mineo's intel, Ushiki might not be stronger than me," Kaguya suddenly said.
"I know, but can you really unleash your full strength—especially when facing the Otsutsuki?"
At this, Kaguya instantly fell silent. It was precisely because they were Otsutsuki that she felt fear and doubt.
The surname Otsutsuki had deeply rooted itself in her shadows.
"Why does Grandmother feel so much fear toward the Otsutsuki?" Indra asked curiously, picking up on their implications.
"Because in that family...there could be countless others like me," Kaguya murmured softly.
Hiroki sighed quietly.
After Ashura and Indra left, he walked up beside Kaguya, wrapping his arms around her as he whispered into her ear:
"What's wrong?"
After a moment of silence, Kaguya countered with, "Why did you keep sparing that Miko and Halfkin again and again?"
"Baby, you're misunderstanding," Hiroki sighed helplessly.
"Kikyo should currently be the strongest Miko, and she still has her uses. Remember what they told us about the Chrono Tree? We can use it to create time-space passages—but probably only the Miko knows exactly how."
"Otherwise, we'd have no choice but to rely on you constantly ferrying us between worlds—and that would be far too taxing."
"But I *do* think it's inconvenient!" Kaguya snapped.
"Hiroki, you've been unusually anxious lately. Tell me, is it because of them, Ushiki, or something else entirely?"
Kaguya opened her mouth slightly, then said nothing.
Hiroki decided to share his plan with her.
"I intend to connect four different timelines together—the world I originally came from, the one where we lived with Hayato and Hamura, the world we're currently in, and that futuristic world we visited before."
"The world I was born in is about a thousand years ahead of the one where our family lived, making it a perfect forward base against the Otsutsuki Clan."
"The corresponding world a thousand years ago will give us ample time to prepare and amass our forces over the centuries."
"This current world will naturally draw both ambitious humans and yokai, enticing them to gather here—only to meet their end and become nourishment for the God Tree to bear its fruit."
"And that future world offers possibilities for continued research in biology or technology."
Kaguya looked at him with resentful eyes, filled with irritation. Who wants to hear all this?
"What's wrong? Are you uncomfortable? Let me massage you..."
"I'm not like you, thinking about those things all day long," Kaguya muttered, her face reddening.
"Really?" Hiroki chuckled as he pinched her bottom playfully.
Her face flushed even deeper red.
As the two flirted affectionately, Indra and Ashura were busy discussing battle strategies elsewhere.
"Ashura, during the fight, I'll keep the enemy busy—just wait for the perfect opening to strike."
"After all, only your [Sage Art] has the power to harm the Otsutsuki's divine bodies."
More accurately speaking, only power equal to Ushiki's level—or completely different system abilities—could potentially harm him.
Though Indra also possessed the Rinnegan, his core strength still relied on Chakra.
"Yin-Yang Release jutsu, he possesses it, but so does Ushiki."
"Only Sage Art might create an unexpected effect."
"Hmm," Ashura nodded.
Faced with a major enemy, the two brothers didn't argue.
During those waiting days, White Zetsu's rumors spread quickly.
It completely mythologized the God Tree.
The yokai were skeptical, but some factions had already begun forming teams heading toward Penglai Island (Penglai, a legendary island in Chinese mythology) to investigate.
The movements of the yokai naturally drew attention from demon slayers, mikos, generals, and others among the human race, who began trying to determine their purposes and track them.
During this time, Hiroki also asked Kaguya to send him to the Pure Land of the Ancient Ninja World to meet Hayato.
"Dear Father, is the enemy difficult to handle?"
Hayato naturally assumed he had come seeking help.
Hamura had already told him about their actions.
"No," Hiroki shook his head.
He was thinking that in Inuyasha's world, there was a place called Yomotsu (the Underworld), and if Hayato could control it, wouldn't that be equivalent to capturing another city?
After listening to this idea for quite a while, Hayato finally said, "Father, you know I'm a pacifist."
Looking at him, Hiroki fell silent too.
"You poor kid, if everyone hadn't been accommodating you, your ideals would have collapsed long ago!"
After a quiet moment, he said, "We all know you're a pacifist, but we don't know whether others are or not. What if they attack us? What if they target us? Sigh, it's hard to imagine what might happen..."
Hayato followed along with his thoughts.
Indeed, if Mother got angry, it wouldn't just concern the Yomotsu alone.
That would involve the entire world's survival.
One [Infinite Tsukuyomi], and almost all life could vanish.
Gamamaru had told him, before Kaguya appeared, humans in this world were still in the agricultural era.
Then one [Infinite Tsukuyomi] reduced humanity by nearly eighty percent.
After that, wars broke out again, eliminating half of what remained.
Even now after nearly twenty years of recovery, the population still hadn't returned to its former levels.
As he was deep in thought, Hiroki spoke again, "Hayato, I think your idea of wanting people to understand each other might work, but the approach is wrong..."
Upon hearing this, Hayato immediately looked up, suddenly becoming attentive.
Pleased that his ideas were finally being acknowledged, Hayato felt delighted.
He was ready to really listen now.
"What you're saying—no one's going to get it."
"You've got to realize what kind of environment they're living in. Everyone is pressured to succeed, compete, and strive. How can you expect them to fully appreciate others' feelings?"
"Their environment is what shapes their personalities and actions."
"To reach the level you're aiming for, they'll need a total re-education."
"How should we educate them?" Hayato followed up accordingly.
"When they're like a blank slate, plant the ideas you want them to have—like treating others with kindness."
"If people kept their word and understood each other, no one would do harm or break trust. Everyone would get what they deserved, so conflicts would naturally fade away."
"At what age should education begin? Three? Five?" Hayato mumbled. "Can't really teach much to kids that tiny, can you?"
"Prenatal education."
Hiroki interrupted his thoughts.
Hayato raised an eyebrow, slightly puzzled. "Prenatal education?"
Hiroki cleared his throat and turned serious.
"My point is, we could start even before they're born. After all, you control the Pure Land now."
"We could implant certain ideas into their consciousness before letting them reincarnate. Even in their new lives, their souls marked by these impressions would still be deeply influenced."
Just like the later reincarnations of Indra and Ashura, who shared similar temperaments to those two brothers.
He added silently in his mind.
"..." Hayato frowned slightly, as if contemplating.
Well then, since I have nothing better to do, trying won't hurt.
As the sole administrator of the Pure Land, Hayato didn't seek help from anyone else.
So, every soul entering the Pure Land was placed in slumber by him.
After Hiroki left, he gathered all these souls together and awakened them.
The resurrected souls awoke confused, their memories stopping at the moment before death.
Standing before them, Hayato began his lecture earnestly.
Everyone listened restlessly, trying multiple times to leave, but Hayato's control over the Pure Land prevented them from moving freely.
Under invisible pressure, they had no choice but to stay put.
After several disturbances, they gradually quieted down from loud complaints.
Their irritation grew stronger while their expressions became increasingly numb.
Hayato, however, talked on eloquently, as if finally finding an audience for the complete philosophy within his heart.
Watching Hayato energetically speaking, these people painfully thought: Who knew the Pure Land could be so terrifying? Next time, we've got to live a lot longer!
Wait, did they even get another life?
They slowly stopped thinking altogether, just zoning out.
Hayato carefully observed their expressions, finally focusing on a few with dazed eyes, secretly proud in his heart: Good, good. It seems some people have indeed realized the truth...
If they were to reincarnate, they'd probably become kind and understanding individuals.
Father's words do make sense.
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