After Gotta left, the group rested and ate at the oasis. During this time, their gazes were involuntarily drawn to the scene at the distant construction site.
They saw Star Ninjas forming hand seals and performing techniques, the earth rumbling in response as new hill formations slowly rose under the effect of Earth Release. Large bulldozers and road rollers followed closely, reinforcing and leveling them. Ninjas skilled in Water Release and Sensory Ninjas worked together, carefully guiding underground water resources to create new streams in the valleys between the hills. More workers busily planted saplings of drought-resistant plants like poplars, saxaul trees, and sea buckthorn in the surrounding areas.
Most astonishing was a girl with a few freckles on her face, slightly older than them, nimbly moving about the newly formed hill valleys.
Her hands pressed against the sandy ground, surging with vibrant life energy. Emerald green sprouts broke through the soil at a visible rate, rapidly growing, and in the blink of an eye, formed a small patch of lush vegetation.
This near-creator-like method left Temari and the other desert children dumbfounded, as if witnessing a miracle.
After the break, the team set off again.
Soon, they reached the desert's edge and a city that originally belonged to the border between the Land of Stars and the Land of Wind but had now become an inland transportation hub.
Here, they boarded the legendary Raiden for the first time.
Temari, Kankuro, and the other children excitedly pressed against the large train windows, watching the scenery fly past outside, feeling the wind-whistling speed, and exclaiming in amazement. This was a completely new experience they had never had in their lives.
When the Raiden finally slowed to a stop at the magnificent Star City's train station, the bustling scene before their eyes further dazzled and bewildered these children from the desert.
They closely followed Toneri and the others onto a school bus, already waiting outside the station, bearing the Star Ninja Academy's emblem.
On the school bus, a gray-haired boy with round glasses and a friendly smile enthusiastically served as a temporary guide, introducing the sights along the way in the Star City to the children.
Surprisingly, he could accurately call out the name of every child on the bus, including Temari and Kankuro.
This overly 'thorough' familiarity made Temari feel a vague sense of strangeness and unease.
The school bus smoothly drove into the Star Ninja Academy.
At the school gate, the Principal, Nono personally waited there with several teachers.
She wore a nun's habit, with a gentle and soothing smile on her face, welcoming this batch of special new students.
"Kabuto, please take the children to the dormitory area to settle in first," Yakushi Nono instructed the white-haired boy.
"Understood, Principal," Kabuto replied, narrowing his eyes. He greatly enjoyed his time at the Ninja Academy… it was a rare period of rest in his Ninja Career.
Temari opened her mouth, mustering her courage to ask, "Pr-principal, excuse me, do you know a child named Gaara?"
Even now, she was still concerned about her brother.
Nono glanced at the young girl. Her courage and concern for her family made Nono smile gently. "Don't worry, that child is safe now. You're his sister, right? He will also come to the Academy tomorrow."
Hearing news of Gaara, Temari felt considerably relieved. She pulled Kankuro along and bowed respectfully to Nono to thank her.
After Kabuto and the other teachers led the children away, Nono's gaze turned to Toneri's team, who were about to take their leave, finally settling on Toneri.
Nono walked up to Toneri. The gentle smile on her face receded slightly, replaced by a touch of gravity. She said softly, "Toneri, there's something I need to tell you. Please remain calm... your father's condition suddenly deteriorated yesterday. He has been urgently taken to the hospital."
Toneri, who was about to leave, abruptly halted his steps, his entire body freezing in place as if under a binding spell.
A flash of confusion and shock passed through his pure white eyes.
…
Star City's Central Hospital, in a special ward.
Outside the window, fine snowflakes fell silently, dyeing the world a tranquil pure white.
Inside the ward, it was warm and quiet. Only the medical equipment emitted a regular, low beeping sound, like the final rhythm of a life.
Otsutsuki Shuto lay quietly on the hospital bed. His figure was emaciated, his face as pale as paper. Long-term illness had long exhausted most of his energy.
The soft sound of the door opening broke the silence within the room.
Shuto's thin finger twitched slightly. Through his Mind's Eye scan, he 'saw' a familiar, young Chakra outline approaching step by step.
That outline was filled with suppressed sorrow and unease.
It was his son, Toneri.
Toneri walked with heavy steps to his father's bedside. Seeing his father's appearance, even more haggard than he remembered, as if about to dissipate at any moment, his nose stung, and his eyes instantly reddened.
Tears welled up uncontrollably in those pure white eyes transplanted from the Hyuga Clan, silently tracing down his cheeks.
He opened his mouth but felt something blocking his throat, unable to utter any sound.
Shuto seemed to 'see' his son's tears. He slowly raised his wrinkled, gaunt hand, trembling slightly as he groped towards Toneri's face.
His movements were slow, carrying a weakness of a life nearing its end.
When his icy fingertips touched Toneri's warm tears, he sighed softly, wiping them away with his thumb with extreme gentleness.
"No need to grieve, Toneri..." Shuto's voice was hoarse and weak, yet carried an unusual calmness. "My body... was already a candle in the wind. Being able to hold on until now, to see you grow up, to see the Otsutsuki lineage have new hope... is already the blessing of our ancestors, a rare fortune."
He withdrew his hand, his breathing somewhat labored. He rested for a moment before continuing, his tone becoming solemn, as if imparting the most important matter. "Regarding the arrangements after my passing... I have already discussed with the Hyuga Clan's branch family's head, Hizashi... After you come of age, you may... select a suitable woman from the Hyuga Clan's branch family in terms of age and character to form a marriage contract, to continue our Otsutsuki pure bloodline..."
"Of course, if in the future your heart belongs to another, a woman worthy of your affection, your father... will not force you."
He tilted his head slightly. Though he couldn't see, he still accurately faced Toneri. His voice carried a final entrustment and expectation. "From now on... the Otsutsuki Clan... will be left to you."
Toneri bit his lower lip tightly, forcefully holding back more tears from welling up.
He nodded vigorously, his voice choked yet exceptionally firm. "Yes, Father! I will... I will definitely revive the Otsutsuki Clan! I will never let our ancestors' glory be tarnished!"
Hearing his son's tearful yet powerful promise, a very faint but immensely gratified and satisfied smile slowly appeared on Shuto's pale face.
That smile seemed to have shrugged off a tremendous burden.
"Good... good..." He murmured, his breath growing even weaker. "In this life of mine... for the sake of the branch family's obsession, my sins run deep... my hands are stained with too much innocent blood... Fortunately... fortunately Shura-sama pointed the way, allowing me in my final days... to glimpse the correct path, to have a chance... to make amends, however slight..."
His words were intermittent yet filled with sincere emotion.
He gathered his final strength of spirit and said to Toneri, "Toneri... you must... faithfully follow Shura-sama in the future... He possesses power and magnanimity beyond our imagination... Help him, to achieve... achieve the true wish our ancestors failed to complete... to end this Ninja World's... millenia-long cycle of... chaos and hatred..."
Having said this, he seemed to have exhausted his strength, pausing for a long time. The ward was left with only the regular sound of the equipment and the increasingly dense snowfall outside the window.
After a good while, he seemed to remember something, asking in an extremely faint voice, "This time... the mission... was it smooth? Any... observations or experiences?"
Toneri understood. This was his father wishing, in the final moments of his life, to learn a little more about the changes in this land he had devoted himself to and ultimately chosen to follow.
He quickly knelt by the bedside, holding his father's increasingly cold hand, and began to recount in a low voice.
He told of the bustling desert control project he saw in the Wind County, described the grand blueprint Gotta had painted, spoke of the shock and bewilderment of the former Sunagakure children upon first arriving at the Star City, and also of the order and vitality, so different from the old Ninja World, visible everywhere within the Land of Stars...
He spoke in detail, recounting his observations and feelings along the journey.
Shuto listened quietly, occasionally giving an extremely slight nod or a twitch at the corner of his mouth, as if imagining the scenes his son described.
Outside the window, the snow fell heavier and heavier, swirling through the sky, covering everything in the world with a thick layer of pure white, as if making a silent preparation for an important moment.
Toneri's account gradually trailed off because he felt the strength in his father's hand, holding his own, was fading bit by bit.
"Father?" He called softly.
No response.
A deep silence filled the ward. Only on the medical equipment, the line representing vital signs had, at some unknown time, transformed into a cold, flat, straight line, no longer fluctuating.
Toneri stared blankly at his father's peaceful face, as if merely asleep. In those pure white eyes, tears once again welled up silently, dripping onto the back of his father's hand, gradually losing its warmth.
Outside the window, the heavy snow swirled, covering the entire Star City, as if to gently bury all sorrow and parting.