Deep within the moon stood an ancient temple constructed from stone and chakra.
At this moment, Otsutsuki Hamura 's brows were tightly furrowed.
Kiyohara had revived his mother.
That was certainly not good news for him.
Originally, he had planned to send Toneri and his father down to the world below, but Hamura suddenly felt that the father and son might not actually be a match for Kiyohara.
However, for Toneri to grow strong enough would take at least another decade or more.
If they waited another ten or twenty years, there was no telling what level Kiyohara would have reached by then.
"Ah..."
Hamura sighed.
His soul had been wandering here for a thousand years.
He had already died a thousand years ago, yet his soul had continued to guard this place.
However, he spent most of his time asleep.
Only after accumulating enough chakra could he briefly awaken and manifest himself for a short while.
The walls of the temple were covered with murals depicting the Otsutsuki clan. They portrayed the Otsutsuki descending upon this planet from the heavens, the growth of the God Tree, the birth of the chakra fruit, and the night when Kaguya was sealed away.
Hamura's gaze fell upon the largest mural.
It depicted three people standing side by side as mother and sons. Kaguya stood in the center, with Hamura and Hagoromo standing on either side of her.
The mural had been carved more than a thousand years ago. Its colors had already become somewhat faded and mottled, but the faces of the three figures remained clear.
Just then, the Sage of Six Paths arrived.
Seeing Hamura's ethereal and unstable form, the Sage of Six Paths hurriedly transferred a stream of chakra into him.
He did not want Hamura to suddenly fall back into slumber later.
"Hamura."
The Sage of Six Paths spoke.
After receiving the chakra, Hamura's soul indeed became much more solid.
"Brother."
Hamura spoke.
"Did you sense the chakra from the battle just now?"
"I sensed it."
Hamura nodded.
"Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion. That is the power of the Tenseigan."
"Let's put the matter of the Tenseigan aside for now."
The Sage of Six Paths waved his hand and immediately got to the point.
"You know that Kiyohara revived Mother, right?"
"I know."
Hamura nodded slightly.
"What do you think?"
Hamura raised his head. His pure white eyes calmly looked at his elder brother.
"Brother, back then, we sealed Mother because she intended to turn all the humans on the planet into an army of (White) Zetsu and activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi. That was something we absolutely had to stop."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"But Mother no longer possesses that kind of power now. After awakening, she did not destroy the world. Perhaps we could give her a chance?"
The Sage of Six Paths frowned.
"Hamura, you cannot let your guard down simply because Mother has not taken action for the time being. Mother's thoughts are different from ours. She was born without emotions and believes that all chakra belongs solely to her. Sooner or later, she will attempt to gather all the chakra once again. When that happens, the world will once again fall into the same crisis we faced back then."
"But she hasn't gathered it now, has she?"
Hamura countered.
The Sage of Six Paths opened his mouth, but for a moment, he could not find a suitable response.
Did they really have to wait until something happened before they could stop it?
By then, it would already be too late.
However, the Sage of Six Paths did not want to argue with his younger brother. At present, he still needed his brother's power.
"Hamura, your thinking is too naive."
After a long silence, the Sage of Six Paths finally spoke slowly.
…
At the same time, in another corner of the Pure Land, Madara's consciousness was immersed in the memories that his Wood Clone had transmitted back moments ago.
Kiyohara raised his hand, and a golden sword of light stretched across heaven and earth.
Kiyohara kicked straight through Susanoo's chest.
Kiyohara lowered his head and looked down at him.
Every scene repeatedly played through Madara's mind. With every replay, he was able to discover new details.
Kiyohara's speed, strength, reactions, and the changes in the nature of his chakra were all details worthy of careful analysis.
"Such overwhelming power..."
Madara muttered to himself.
"And that green chakra..."
He opened his eyes.
"Kiyohara, just how many trump cards are you hiding?"
Madara frowned.
…
At Kiyohara's home.
Kaguya sat on the sofa. The ramune soda in her hand had already been finished, and the empty bottle lay on the tatami beside her feet.
Perhaps having children with him would not be such a bad choice.
Kaguya thought this to herself before taking out another bottle of soda.
She had discovered that the things ordinary humans liked to drink were actually not bad.
When Kiyohara pushed open the door and entered the house, the bottle of ramune in Kaguya's hand was already empty.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, her pure white eyes turned toward him, and her gaze settled on Kiyohara.
Kiyohara kicked off his shoes at the entrance, walked barefoot over to the sofa, and sat down beside Kaguya.
The sofa cushion sank slightly beneath his weight. Because her center of gravity shifted, Kaguya's body leaned a little toward him, but she did not adjust her posture. She simply sat there quietly and looked at him.
"You used Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion just now."
Kaguya spoke.
"How did you learn it?"
She was genuinely curious.
"You'll find out later."
Kiyohara answered casually, then changed the subject.
"Kaguya, I want to ask you something."
Kaguya tilted her head slightly, indicating that she was listening.
"Regarding Infinite Tsukuyomi and Limited Tsukuyomi, do you know how to use them?"
Kaguya remained silent for a moment before slowly answering.
"Infinite Tsukuyomi is a visual jutsu of the Rinne Sharingan. It uses the moon as a medium to cast a genjutsu upon everyone in the world."
She paused, and a trace of confusion appeared in her pure white eyes.
"As for Limited Tsukuyomi, I don't think it is particularly useful. Why are you asking about it? Do you also want to make everyone in the world dream so that you can collect their chakra now?"
"No."
Kiyohara shook his head.
"I just want to understand the two techniques, especially Limited Tsukuyomi."
"Limited Tsukuyomi?"
Kaguya's brows furrowed slightly.
"I only have a vague understanding of that technique."
"A very long time ago, I did know that such a technique existed, but Limited Tsukuyomi has a special characteristic. Even I cannot say for certain whether its effect is merely a genjutsu or whether it creates a genuine parallel world."
Kaguya answered honestly.
"Some records say that it is merely a world created by genjutsu, and that the person subjected to it will fall into a dream completely opposite to the real world. Everything within that dream is false. However, other records claim that it is a genuine parallel world, and that the technique does not create an illusion at all. Instead, it opens a rift leading to another space-time."
She raised her head and looked at Kiyohara again.
"But I have never tried it myself."
"Why?"
Kaguya's gaze flickered slightly before she told him the truth.
"Because I was always worried that I would become a sacrifice."
"So I was constantly guarding against anything that might cause me to become a sacrifice. I simply had no time or energy to investigate other things."
After hearing this, Kiyohara felt that her reasoning made some sense.
"You don't have to be afraid anymore."
Kiyohara said.
"I will plant the God Tree in Shikkotsu Forest, and the Slug Sage has already agreed to it. The range from which the God Tree can absorb chakra will be strictly controlled by a barrier. As for the chakra supply during its cultivation, I will use the infinite chakra of those in Edo Tensei to deal with that problem. You will not have to become anyone's sacrifice."
"Mm."
Kaguya responded before beginning to explain how to use Limited Tsukuyomi.
"That's about everything."
Kaguya finished.
"I understand."
Kiyohara nodded.
After listening to Kaguya's explanation, he had more or less mastered the method of using the technique.
"Then can you continue teaching me ninjutsu now?"
Kaguya's voice brought Kiyohara's attention back to her.
Kiyohara turned his head toward her.
Kaguya was sitting on the sofa with her hands folded together and resting on her lap.
Her face still wore that calm, emotionless expression.
Kaguya had developed an interest in ninjutsu.
She had discovered that these techniques could indeed increase her strength rapidly.
"Of course."
Kiyohara stood up from the sofa and brushed the dust from his clothes. Then he lowered his head and glanced at her.
Kaguya was still wearing a thin nightgown.
It was breathable enough for the oppressive heat of July. The neckline was cut low, exposing much of her fair collarbones and shoulders, while two thin straps rested over her shoulders. The hem of the nightgown barely reached the middle of her rounded thighs.
She had been sitting on the sofa drinking soda while wearing this same nightgown.
"However, before I teach you a new ninjutsu, you need to change your clothes first."
Kiyohara withdrew his gaze, his tone remaining unchanged.
"This nightgown is too thin. It isn't suitable for going outside."
Kaguya lowered her head and looked at her nightgown before nodding.
"These clothes really aren't appropriate to wear outside."
She rose from the sofa and stepped barefoot onto the tatami. The hem of her nightgown swayed gently with her movements.
Her pure white eyes narrowed slightly, and the faint vertical mark between her brows appeared once more.
"The expendable beings outside have no right to see me like this."
Kaguya said calmly.
"Only you, who are also an Otsutsuki, have the right to see me like this."
In Kaguya's mind, the humans of this world could be divided into two categories.
Her own kind, and expendable materials.
The purpose of those expendable materials was to provide chakra for the God Tree.
Kiyohara simply did not want to use those people for that purpose, but the position Kaguya had assigned to them in her heart remained unchanged.
"I see."
Kiyohara nodded.
Kaguya regarded the shinobi world as her own cultivation ground, so it was only natural that she considered everyone else to be expendable materials.
"However, this nightgown actually suits you very well."
He reached out, wrapped one arm around her waist, and gently pulled her closer.
Kaguya was drawn toward him without struggling. She merely raised her head slightly and looked at him.
Her hands seemed unsure of where they should go. They remained suspended at her sides for a moment before eventually falling back into place.
Then Kiyohara lowered his head and kissed her on the lips.
This was already the second time.
Kaguya's reaction was somewhat better than the first time. At the very least, she did not stiffen up like a wooden statue.
She closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling slightly.
She still did not quite understand the meaning behind this action.
From the perspective of reproduction, pressing one pair of lips against another could neither transfer chakra nor produce offspring.
Yet Kiyohara seemed to enjoy doing it very much.
Since that was the case, she would simply let him do as he pleased.
After all, she still needed Kiyohara to help teach her ninjutsu.
However, this time was somewhat different from the previous one.
Last time, it had merely been a brief touch, but this time, it lasted much longer.
Kaguya felt Kiyohara's arm tighten slightly around her waist. She instinctively rose onto her toes, cooperating with his movement.
This posture caused her body to unconsciously press closer against Kiyohara's chest. She could feel the warmth of his chest mingling with the temperature of her own body.
The sensation was unfamiliar.
For some reason, her heartbeat had become slightly faster than usual, while the temperature of her cheeks was gradually rising.
An inexplicable restlessness began spreading through her heart, as though something deep within her had awakened. It was a feeling she had not experienced in thousands of years, and it seemed to be trying to poke its head through the cracks of a seal.
The strange restlessness caused her fingers to unconsciously tighten around the hem of her nightgown before loosening again.
Just as this feeling was becoming increasingly intense, Kiyohara released her.
Kaguya opened her eyes, a faint trace of bewilderment visible in her pure white eyes.
Her lips were slightly flushed, and two extremely faint patches of red had appeared on her cheeks. Against her fair skin, they were particularly noticeable.
Even her breathing was somewhat faster than usual, and her shoulders rose and fell gently with each breath.
The sensation confused her.
It was only contact between their lips, so why was her body undergoing such inexplicable changes?
However, Kiyohara did not explain, and she felt too embarrassed to ask.
"Go change your clothes."
Kiyohara said.
Kaguya took a moment to calm herself before giving a slight nod and turning toward her room.
The instant the door closed behind her, Kaguya leaned against the door panel and raised a hand. Her fingertips gently touched her lips.
Kiyohara's warmth still lingered there.
"Why did this happen?"
She murmured to herself, her brows furrowing in confusion.
Unable to figure it out after thinking about it for a while, Kaguya lowered her hand and selected an outfit suitable for going outside.
"I'm changed."
She walked into the living room and stood within the pool of light cast by the floor lamp, her hands hanging naturally at her sides.
Kiyohara looked her over from head to toe before nodding.
"Let's go."
He extended a hand toward Kaguya.
She glanced at his hand before placing her own hand in his.
The figures of the two disappeared from the spot at the same time.
In the woods.
Kiyohara teleported with Kaguya to an open area within the forest.
Just as he had done the previous time, he used Earth Release to construct several earthen walls several meters high around them, enclosing the clearing and turning it into a completely sealed training ground.
Over the next several hours, Kiyohara taught her the advanced transformations of the five major chakra natures one after another.
Kaguya learned extremely quickly.
She needed to repeatedly practice each nature transformation several times before she could master it, but after every failure, her improvement was clearly visible.
Her Byakugan allowed her to directly observe the pathways through which chakra flowed inside her body. This gave her an enormous advantage when adjusting her chakra output and saved her from countless rounds of trial and error.
The earthen walls surrounding the bamboo forest gradually became covered in all kinds of burn marks, water stains, cracks, and cuts left behind by wind blades.
Throughout the process, Kiyohara also took quite a few liberties.
When correcting her hand seals, his fingers would linger in her palm for a moment longer than necessary. When standing behind her to guide the path of her chakra circulation, he would stand extremely close. When helping her adjust the angle of an attack, his palm would naturally rest against her waist or shoulder.
Kaguya noticed these little actions, but she did not pay them much attention.
In her eyes, these forms of physical contact were no different from kissing. They were simply some kind of behavior that she could not understand for the time being, but which Kiyohara clearly enjoyed.
Since they were merely "insignificant rewards," she would simply let him do as he pleased.
It was just that her body seemed to be becoming less and less cooperative with her rational mind.
Every time Kiyohara's hand touched her waist, her heartbeat would inexplicably accelerate. The tiny blood vessels around the roots of her ears would expand uncontrollably, causing her earlobes to turn red.
She did not understand why this happened.
The flow of chakra remained perfectly stable, and there were no abnormalities in her meridians, yet her body continued to produce these involuntary reactions.
She could not say that she disliked the sensation, but it certainly caused her some trouble.
The reason was simple. She did not know why this was happening, nor did she know what kind of changes might follow.
Late at night.
When Kiyohara returned to his residence, Kaguya had already been sent back to her own quarters.
A large quantity of Stone of Gelel was placed in front of Kiyohara.
Kiyohara pulled out a chair and sat down, then released Uzumaki Kiyohara's spirit from his mental space.
Uzumaki Kiyohara's translucent spirit floated out of Kiyohara's body. It circled around in midair once before stopping above the tabletop.
His body was semi-transparent, allowing the ore on the table to be seen through his chest.
"I'm going to die of boredom!"
The moment Uzumaki Kiyohara emerged, he began complaining.
His spirit performed a somersault in midair before sitting cross-legged in the air, his arms folded across his chest.
"Every day, I'm locked away in that little dark room. I can't see anything, and I can't hear anything. All I can do is sit there and stare blankly into space. Do you know how boring that is? I've lost count of how many times I've counted my own fingers. If I weren't already dead, I probably would have gone crazy a long time ago."
Kiyohara ignored his complaints and instead began organizing the materials on the table.
"You can see things now."
"Yes. I can see you fiddling around with a pile of rocks."
Uzumaki Kiyohara floated over. His spirit's head moved close to the Stone of Gelel, and he curiously examined the faint green light flowing through the inside of the mineral.
"This is Stone of Gelel? The same thing that was used in the movie? It really does seem to have something special about it. The chakra fluctuations inside are different from Tailed Beast chakra."
"Mm."
Kiyohara picked up a piece of Stone of Gelel.
"Limited Tsukuyomi requires an enormous amount of chakra as an energy source, and it also requires a stable vessel capable of carrying that energy. The chakra density of Stone of Gelel is the highest among all known materials. Combined with Tailed Beast chakra and natural energy, it should be possible to create a core powerful enough to activate Limited Tsukuyomi."
"I already obtained the method of using Limited Tsukuyomi from Kaguya."
"Limited Tsukuyomi? Looks like you moved pretty quickly."
Uzumaki Kiyohara sighed in amazement.
"Forget it. I won't disturb you. You do what you need to do. I'll just float around here."
Kiyohara began constructing the core for Limited Tsukuyomi.
First, he placed the pieces of Stone of Gelel one by one in his palm and used his chakra to sense the chakra pathways within them.
The chakra pathways of every piece of ore were different.
Some were dense while others were sparse. In some, the energy flowed from top to bottom, while in others, it flowed from the outside inward.
He needed to classify the ore according to the direction of these chakra pathways, then select the pieces whose pathways were the most compatible to serve as the main body of the core.
This was because Limited Tsukuyomi required the creation of a crystal ball.
About fifteen minutes later, Kiyohara selected the five pieces with the most compatible pathways from among several dozen pieces of ore.
He placed the five pieces together and formed a series of hand seals.
Fire Release chakra surged from his palms, transforming into a mass of extremely high-temperature flames.
He enveloped the five pieces of ore in the flames. Under the intense heat, the minerals slowly began to melt.
The Stone of Gelel rolled and fused together within the flames, producing a bubbling sound as it gradually merged into one.
Kiyohara carefully controlled the temperature of the flames. He could not allow the heat to become too high, or the chakra within the ore might become unstable and run wild.
Uzumaki Kiyohara watched from the side.
Although he came from the world of Limited Tsukuyomi, he did not know how to create the "key."
After quite some time, Kiyohara finally finished preparing the materials.
Aside from the Stone of Gelel, he had also added many new materials.
"Finished?"
Uzumaki Kiyohara floated over, his spirit's face almost pressed against the surface of the crystal ball.
"The vessel is finished."
Kiyohara answered.
"Next, I still need to fully engrave the Limited Tsukuyomi technique into it. But that can wait until tomorrow. That's enough for today."
Uzumaki Kiyohara nodded.
Then he suddenly thought of something, and the expression on his spirit's face became noticeably more serious.
"Kiyohara, are you really planning to go to that Limited Tsukuyomi world?"
"It's not that I want to go. You're the one who wants to go."
Kiyohara corrected him.
"This is one of your last wills."
"Yes, it is one of my last wills."
Uzumaki Kiyohara sat cross-legged in midair, his arms folded across his chest.
"But aren't you curious yourself? Everyone in that world is the opposite of what they are here. Sasuke is a playboy, Hinata is a delinquent, and Jiraiya-sensei is a serious scholar who could not possibly be more proper. The entire world is like the mirror image of our own."
He paused, and a look of anticipation appeared in his eyes.
"And think about this. The flow of time in that world may not be synchronized with ours. We could spend several days over there while only a few minutes pass here. For us, that would essentially be an infinitely large training ground. Whether it is combat or ninjutsu research, we could do whatever we wanted without having to worry about the consequences."
After listening to him, Kiyohara did not answer immediately.
"I am indeed somewhat interested in that world."
Kiyohara said.
"But I'm not going there for sightseeing."
He extended his hand and held the crystal ball in his palm.
"I want to verify something in that world. I want to find out whether the power of Limited Tsukuyomi is merely a genjutsu, or whether it truly leads to a parallel space-time that genuinely exists."
He was thinking about something on a much higher level.
If Limited Tsukuyomi truly led to a real parallel world, that would mean the barriers between time and space could be opened artificially.
That would possess immeasurable value for him in dealing with the threat of the main Otsutsuki family in the future, and perhaps even in raising his own strength to an entirely higher level.
"All right."
Uzumaki Kiyohara shrugged.
"Anyway, I'm already dead. Dead people don't get a say in anything. You can do whatever you think is best. I'll just be responsible for making sure I don't disappear before all my wills are fulfilled."
Kiyohara nodded.
He placed the crystal ball inside a sealing box and stored it away before extinguishing the chakra lamp on the table.
The room fell into complete darkness.
"Hey, are you going to lock me in that little dark room again?"
"I'll let you out tomorrow."
"Wait a second. I still have something to say..."
The spirit's voice suddenly stopped as he was once again drawn into the darkness of Kiyohara's mental space.
Kiyohara rose from his chair and walked over to the window before pulling open the curtains.
After completing Uzumaki Kiyohara's last wills, perhaps he could also take a look at the God Tree in the other world.
Since everything there was supposed to be the opposite of this world, what exactly would the God Tree in Limited Tsukuyomi's world look like?
Could it possibly be good instead?
(End of Chapter)