Within the Pure Land.
The soul of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki silently watched the carefully orchestrated tragedy unfolding upon the Heavenly Curtain, along with the complicated hatred festering within Sarutobi Hi.
A trace of long-buried bitterness flickered across the eyes that had witnessed the rise and fall of ages.
In his true memories, there had indeed been a woman who held a special place in his heart.
She was not named Butterfly, nor had she entered and exited his life in such a dramatic, meticulously arranged fashion.
Yet the emotions...
The heartache of loss...
The ripples that followed...
Though the Heavenly Curtain blended truth with fiction, it had still touched the core of those emotions, stirring the part of him that had once belonged to an ordinary human being.
"...It truly brings back memories."
The Sage of Six Paths let out a quiet sigh, his voice drifting through the eternal stillness of the Pure Land.
Then his gaze grew profound, as though trying to pierce through the Heavenly Curtain itself and look directly at the unseen force manipulating everything.
"So... who exactly are you?"
"You seem to know many fragments of ancient history. You can even grasp emotional threads that may have faded from the memories of those who experienced them."
"And yet..."
"You insist on weaving those fragments together with so many fabrications and alterations, creating a story that is neither wholly true nor wholly false."
He slowly shook his head. For the first time, genuine confusion and curiosity appeared on his face.
"Even I... can no longer see through it."
"You reveal these truths, stir people's hearts, reshape their understanding..."
"But in the end..."
"What is it that you truly seek to accomplish?"
"Is it merely deception?"
"Or is there a deeper purpose... one that even I have failed to perceive?"
As the former savior of the world, the founder of Ninshū, and now the supreme soul overlooking the Pure Land, even the Sage of Six Paths found himself unable to fully comprehend the intentions of the one behind the Heavenly Curtain.
It resembled an elaborate riddle—
Half a reflection of real history...
Half an unrestrained work of fiction...
Disturbing not only the present world, but even the hearts of ancient beings such as himself.
The scene within the Heavenly Curtain shifted back to Hagoromo.
He sprinted forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Only one thought filled his mind—
Reach the God Tree.
Find Butterfly.
Prove that the horrifying rumor was false.
Yet the closer he drew to the God Tree, the more the overwhelming aura of his mother filled the air.
It was vast.
Cold.
Absolute.
Combined with the immense life force radiating from the God Tree itself, it became an invisible mire that gradually slowed his pace.
Nothing physically restrained him.
Rather, it was something born from the depths of his soul—
A mixture of reverence...
Fear...
And an instinctive reluctance to face the cruel truth awaiting him.
Before long, he came to a complete stop.
The towering God Tree stood before him, its colossal canopy seeming to connect heaven and earth.
Countless white cocoons hung from its trunk, reflecting an eerie sheen beneath the sunlight.
The place was terrifyingly silent.
Only the rustling of leaves in the wind could be heard, accompanied by an almost imperceptible low hum, like the muffled heartbeats of countless imprisoned lives.
Standing motionless, Hagoromo's ragged breathing gradually steadied.
Unexpectedly, the despair, madness, and agony that had consumed his face only moments earlier vanished.
In their place remained a terrifying stillness.
No tears.
No screams.
No furious accusations.
He merely gazed quietly at the colossal tree that had devoured Butterfly...
And countless other lives.
His pale Byakugan, inherited from his mother, were now as deep and still as ancient wells.
No emotion could be seen within them.
Yet they seemed to conceal a storm powerful enough to overturn the entire world.
That absolute calm...
Was far more unsettling than any hysterical outburst.
Across the shinobi world, every viewer unconsciously held their breath.
They all understood.
This calm was the final stillness before a volcano erupted.
The retreating tide before the arrival of a tsunami.
Hamura's timely arrival shattered the suffocating silence beneath the God Tree.
Seeing his elder brother standing there in unnatural stillness, he hurried over in confusion.
"Brother?"
"What happened?"
"Why did you suddenly come here...?"
"Butterfly is dead."
Hagoromo did not turn around.
His voice was completely flat, as though he were stating a fact that had nothing to do with him.
"...Butterfly?"
Hamura blinked in surprise before realizing whom he meant.
"The girl you always went to visit?"
Following Hagoromo's gaze toward the God Tree, then recalling his brother's expression and those simple words—
A terrible realization dawned on him.
"She couldn't have..."
"Yes."
Only then did Hagoromo slowly turn toward him.
His pale eyes remained calm...
Yet so hollow that they made Hamura's heart tighten.
"She was sacrificed to the God Tree."
"Because of Mother's laws."
Upon hearing the confirmation, Hamura frowned deeply.
His expression became one of confusion, mixed with a trace of reproach.
"But, Brother..."
"If she truly meant that much to you..."
"You could have saved her."
"...What?"
For the first time, cracks appeared in Hagoromo's deathly calm.
Hamura hurriedly explained,
"The sacrifices may have been Mother's decree, but she never personally oversees them."
"The people chosen are decided by those carrying out her orders."
"But with your status..."
"If you had personally asked for a specific person to be pardoned and exempted from the sacrifice..."
"It wouldn't have been impossible."
"Mother may be strict, but over something this insignificant..."
"Especially when it concerns an ordinary girl..."
"I'm certain she wouldn't have refused your request."
"So why..."
"Why did you never mention it?"
He looked directly into his brother's eyes.
"Brother..."
"Did you truly refuse to leave yourself even the slightest possibility of speaking with Mother?"
"Did you really believe..."
"...that she could never be right?"
Hamura's words struck Hagoromo harder than a bolt of lightning.
No—
They were infinitely more devastating.
They shattered the already fragile walls protecting his heart.
Shock.
Unimaginable shock engulfed his consciousness like a tidal wave.
He stood frozen.
His pupils contracted sharply.
The mask of absolute calm completely shattered, exposing naked disbelief.
So...
Saving Butterfly...
Had been that simple?
As simple as...
Uttering a single sentence?
Simply exercising a trivial privilege he already possessed as one of the Divine Princes?
That realization was far crueler...
Far more destructive...
Than learning of Butterfly's death itself.
"So..."
"Did Butterfly..."
"...die for nothing?"
Hagoromo's voice trembled, breaking apart with every word.
"Her death..."
"Was it..."
"My fault as well...?"
Inside his mind, the chain of logic collapsed, rebuilt itself, and collapsed again.
If only he had not so naively believed Butterfly's lie about "going on a journey..."
If only he had not been so cowardly that he avoided witnessing the sacrifices...
Then—
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