In Sunagakure, an elder who had witnessed multiple Kazekage rise and fall slammed his cane in frustration.
"Among the Kazekage, some were harsh, some were relatively lenient. Does that mean the lenient ones weren't respected? That's twisted logic!"
"Exactly! Since when does ruling us require fear and bloodshed? That's slander—blatant slander!"
Civilians and lower-ranking shinobi felt even more humiliated.
They had lived diligent lives. Perhaps they had selfish thoughts—but to label them "ingrate" and "base at heart"?
Kaguya's words had nailed the entire human race to a pillar of moral shame.
"I may be nobody important," a young shinobi shouted, "but I know gratitude! The comrade who saved me on the battlefield—I'll remember him for life! The villagers who helped me—I repay them however I can! 'Base'? That's too much!"
Voices like these rose everywhere.
"This may be blunt—but it's outrageous!"
The entire shinobi world erupted.
Because this was not criticism of a single nation, village, or class.
Through the Heavenly Curtain, the Progenitor of Chakra—the Rabbit Goddess herself—had issued a sweeping condemnation of all humanity.
It was direct. Absolute. Merciless.
This kind of indiscriminate denunciation ignited collective pride and instinctive resistance.
No matter what sympathy some had previously felt for Kaguya, no matter what opinions they held about Hagoromo's ideals—
For the moment, they were united in outrage.
Inside the Lunar Sealing Space
Yet in the isolated prison within the moon, the situation was entirely different.
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's true body listened silently to the version of "herself" speaking in the Heavenly Curtain.
On her exquisite, expressionless face, something rare flickered.
Agreement.
Perhaps even resonance.
She tilted her head slightly. Her Byakugan-like pale eyes reflected the Curtain's light—and perhaps fragments of her own distant memories before her sealing.
Nations that had submitted briefly under her power.
Plots that stirred the moment she seemed distracted.
And in the end—the deepest betrayal of all—from her own flesh and blood.
"An inferior species… base to the core… unfit for excessive kindness… ruled only by fear and blood…"
Each word spoken by the projected "Kaguya" seemed to unlock something buried within her.
The phrasing was crude.
But not entirely wrong.
"Why did I never summarize it so clearly before?" she murmured into the empty void.
The details of the story were distorted beyond recognition.
Yet regarding the nature of the native species…
It had touched something uncomfortably close to her own conclusions.
Or perhaps it had simply articulated what she had never bothered to phrase.
The sensation was strange.
For an existence sealed for untold years—long accustomed to solitude and indifference—this faint sense of being understood was… almost comforting.
It even sparked the slightest trace of goodwill toward the unseen author behind the Curtain.
"This one who weaves the narrative…"
"There is… some talent there."
The plot was chaotic. The interpretation wildly speculative.
Yet somehow it had captured the cold judgment she had once held of humanity.
The imagination alone was impressive.
No doubt this person spent all day lost in strange thoughts.
For the briefest instant, something like anticipation stirred within her.
"If there were a chance… perhaps we could meet."
Assuming they could reach this sealed dimension.
Or assuming she could leave it.
The thought dimmed quickly.
Still—
The Heavenly Curtain had eased her loneliness.
"You're… actually not bad."
The words were awkward—almost clumsy—for someone like her.
But it was, in its way, praise.
Though most of the narrative did not align with reality—
It had not deliberately slandered her.
And it had relieved her boredom.
Thus, while the shinobi world seethed at being insulted, the very subject of that insult—sealed Kaguya Ōtsutsuki—felt a strange flicker of recognition… and faint approval.
The irony added another layer of dark humor to the entire affair.
Back Within the Heavenly Curtain
Hagoromo was still reeling from his mother's frigid condemnation of humanity.
He forced himself to argue from logic, his voice strained with final resistance.
"Even if… even if, as you say, their nature contains flaws that require strong restraint…"
"Why must it be sacrifice to the God Tree?"
"Why not rule through structured laws? Through clear systems of reward and punishment? Through orderly governance—even if strict?"
"Why must you trample life itself? Why reduce them to 'materials'?"
Kaguya did not directly address his proposal of systemic rule.
Her gaze drifted past him, toward the distant sky. In her mismatched eyes flickered something deeper—an anxiety and resolve Hagoromo could not comprehend.
After a long silence, she spoke.
"There are matters you do not yet understand. Perhaps… one day you will."
She paused, then gave an explanation both cold and pragmatic.
"Call it… efficient use."
"Rather than allowing these unstable elements to sow chaos, they can be transformed into something stable. Something that does not betray. Something absolutely obedient."
"This, too… is preparation."
"Preparation?" Hagoromo's heart dropped. "For what?"
The implication chilled him.
Living people… refined into tools?
What kind of inhuman logic was that?
"Mother! That is—"
"Enough."
Her voice cut him off.
"Withdraw."
The tone left no room for further argument.
Cold. Absolute.
Unyielding.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70+ chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789