Chapter 308: A Mysterious Force from Another Dimension
The remaining hundreds of enemies fell one by one under Kyosuke's blade. Encircled by the Uchiha Secret Guards, not a single one escaped.
With a flick of his wrist, Kyosuke flung the blood from his sword and issued a cold command. "Everyone, move out and take control of the Moon Palace. Eliminate any survivors you find, regardless of age or gender."
"Yes, sir."
Number 7 acknowledged the order and led his subordinates toward the massive palace floating in the distance.
Kyosuke walked over to Saori and smiled. "From today on, this is our base."
Looking at the sprawling complex of palaces, Hyuga Saori returned the smile. Regardless of what happened next, they now had a retreat, a sanctuary that would allow them to operate with much more freedom in the future.
"But we still have too few people," Saori said, a hint of worry in her voice. "It will be difficult to fully control the Moon Palace with just this many, let alone monitor the entire moon."
"That's simple enough. We'll gradually send clansmen up here. You can also bring the members of your clan that you truly trust to settle here." Kyosuke looked out at the vast, empty landscape and shrugged. "After all, the moon is huge. The Uchiha clan alone can't fill it."
"Alright." That was exactly what Saori wanted to hear. No matter how good Konoha was, it was just a village. It couldn't compare to the abundant resources and safety of the moon.
As for moving the clansmen, it would be easy. A few "accidents" during missions, a few names added to the "killed in action" list, and they could be quietly relocated. For someone with her current authority, such manipulation of official records was trivial.
Shinobi World, Border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Rice Fields.
A young boy arrived in this desolate region, his heart heavy with grief.
He was Toneri Otsutsuki, who had fled from the moon.
Before the war began, his father, Hanyu, had sent him here to ensure the survival of their bloodline in case of defeat. Just a few days ago, a bloodied clansman had found him and reported the tragic news of what had transpired in the Moon Palace.
Upon learning of his father's death and the fall of the moon into Kyosuke's hands, Toneri, as the sole surviving descendant of the Otsutsuki on the moon, made a vow. No matter the cost, he would avenge his father and his people.
It was then that he remembered his father's parting words. He had come to this place to find a glimmer of hope that might still exist.
Several days passed. The landscape had changed over the centuries, and even with a map, it took Toneri a great deal of effort to find it: a door engraved with strange patterns, hidden deep within the mountains.
Following his father's oral instructions, Toneri formed the hand signs with trembling hands, daring not to make a single mistake. As the seal broke, the door suddenly emitted a ghostly glow.
Creak.
Looking at the door that hadn't been opened in who knows how many years, Toneri swallowed hard. He pushed it open with shaking hands and stepped inside, alert for any danger.
Once inside, he discovered that the mountain, which looked small from the outside, contained a vast space within. It was as if... he was no longer in the mountains, but in a different spacetime entirely.
Toneri, who was sensitive to spatial fluctuations, confirmed this as he walked deeper in. He had truly left the mountains, and perhaps even the Shinobi World itself.
Though his heart pounded with anxiety, he had no retreat. He chose to continue forward along the path that seemed to stretch on forever.
Whether it was minutes, hours, or days, Toneri lost all sense of time. Finally, he emerged from the tunnel and found himself in a colossal hall.
If the Moon Palace was the largest structure he had ever seen, this place was three times its size. But what terrified Toneri the most was the sight on the stone steps lining both sides of the hall. There sat countless figures, eyes closed in meditation, looking as if they had been sitting there since the beginning of time.
Everything he saw today completely overturned his worldview. After the initial shock that nearly broke him, a strange calm settled over him.
"Phew..." Taking a deep breath, Toneri stepped forward and shouted to the silent figures.
"Is anyone there?!"
No one answered. Desperate, Toneri shouted it three times, his voice echoing in the vast emptiness.
Just then, a ripple of mental energy swept through Toneri's body, and a figure sitting on the highest step slowly opened his eyes.
"Descendant of Hamura, for what purpose have you come?"
Looking at the man, who radiated no aura of the living, Toneri felt as if he were facing a prehistoric beast awakening from a slumber. The intense pressure rendered him speechless.
Seeing this, the man on the high platform let out a helpless sigh. "Is your strength truly this pitiful? How..."
Before he finished speaking, he beckoned with one hand. Toneri's body instantly lifted off the ground, pulled by an inexplicable gravitational force, until he hovered directly in front of the man.
"I..." Toneri tried to speak, but was interrupted as the man placed a hand on his head.
"No need to speak. I will look for myself."
Toneri felt a powerful spiritual energy invade his mind. Despite the intense discomfort, he had no choice but to submit. The man was so powerful that if he wanted Toneri dead, he wouldn't need to go to such lengths.
Soon, the man removed his hand. For the first time, a clear emotion appeared on his face.
Toneri knew the man was grieving... grieving for the extinction of Hamura's descendants.
But the emotion came and went quickly. The man's face returned to its impassive state. After a moment of thought, he raised his right hand, and a golden light began to glow from his palm.
Toneri, who had been educated in the ancient lore since childhood, recognized it immediately. It was the effect of Yang Release chakra refined to its absolute limit.
The condensed golden light flew from the man's palm and sank into three figures sitting on the platform to his left.
Toneri watched intently as the three withered, corpse-like bodies began to inflate like balloons. As their bodies were restored, a terrifying aura began to radiate from them, intensifying with every passing second.
After a few minutes, the three figures—two men and one woman—now fully restored to their prime, walked down from the platform and bowed before the man.
"Go with him. Expel the invaders. Once the deed is done, assist him in re-establishing the rule of the Moon Palace." The man spoke, then closed his eyes again, as if the matter were a trivial annoyance beneath his notice.
"Yes." The three responded simply, then turned and walked toward the entrance.
Toneri, seeing that the man had no intention of speaking further, forced his legs to move and followed the three powerful beings out of the mysterious dimension.
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