"Did something special happen... to make your eyes change like this, Brother?"
Hamura pressed further.
Kaguya nodded.
Her gaze settled once more on Hagoromo as she answered in an even, matter-of-fact tone.
"Before the two of you were born, I consumed the Chakra Fruit."
"The power of the fruit merged with my own."
"And part of that power... was likely passed down through my bloodline and remained within both of you."
"Now, under the stimulation of intense emotions or the proper catalyst..."
"The portion of the God Tree's power sleeping inside you has begun to awaken."
"These eyes are proof of that."
So that was it.
The anger within Hagoromo gradually gave way to a cold understanding.
His power...
His suffering...
The transformation of his eyes...
Every thread traced back to one origin—
His mother's consumption of the Chakra Fruit.
To the God Tree that had brought both "peace"...
And sacrifice.
It was a cycle of cause and effect from which there seemed to be no escape.
"...I see."
"I understand now."
Hagoromo's voice was unnervingly calm.
"So..."
Hamura looked at him anxiously.
"This power... it won't harm you, will it?"
His greatest concern remained his brother's safety.
Kaguya shook her head.
There was even a hint of certainty in her voice, as though the answer were self-evident.
"The power of the God Tree cannot be harmful."
"It is a pure and powerful force."
"It is power that every member of the Ōtsutsuki Clan should rightfully possess."
Her words once again reminded Hagoromo of the cold reality.
Within Kaguya's worldview...
Power itself possessed neither good nor evil.
It was simply the foundation of existence—
And of dominion.
What mattered to her was only whether that power was strong...
Whether it was pure...
Whether it belonged to their clan.
As for the tragedy that had awakened it...
Or the emotions and suffering hidden behind it...
Those things lay entirely outside the scope of her concern.
After receiving his mother's explanation about the true nature of his eyes, the turmoil within Hagoromo did not subside.
Instead, he became even more painfully aware of the enormous gulf in strength separating him from Kaguya.
Leaving the area surrounding the God Tree alone, he stood in the distance, staring at his mother's solemn palace, its overwhelming aura pressing down upon the land.
His fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"I have no chance..."
he whispered bitterly.
"Not even the slightest."
"Even with these new eyes..."
"I'm still nothing before Mother."
A wave of despair nearly swallowed him whole.
Yet it was quickly overwhelmed by another emotion—
The determination ignited by Butterfly's death.
Pain.
Responsibility.
The resolve to change the world.
"I can't give up!"
Hagoromo suddenly lifted his head.
A determined light flashed within his crimson Sharingan.
"I need power."
"Greater power."
"My own strength..."
"The power inherited from Mother's bloodline alone..."
"It will never be enough to oppose her."
"Much less stop the sacrifices..."
"Or destroy that God Tree that devours lives."
His thoughts gradually became clear.
Both he and Hamura drew their power from Kaguya.
Their abilities shared the same source.
That meant their limits were also determined by that source.
It also meant Kaguya thoroughly understood every aspect of their power.
If he wished to surpass her...
He would have to seek strength from somewhere else.
A power his mother neither understood...
Nor completely controlled.
Having reached that conclusion, Hagoromo hesitated no longer.
Instead of returning to the Divine Realm, he turned away and embarked alone upon a journey of wandering and discovery.
He began traveling the world with purpose.
He ventured deep into remote mountain ranges and untouched forests.
He explored dangerous lands and forgotten ruins described in ancient legends and folk tales as places where mysterious beings or lost inheritances might still remain.
He climbed snow-covered peaks hidden above the clouds.
He dove into ancient lakes whose depths no one had ever measured.
He crossed primeval jungles thick with poisonous miasma.
He searched through crumbling ruins half-buried beneath endless sands.
Again and again...
He set out filled with hope.
Again and again...
He returned disappointed.
Those places were certainly wondrous.
Some were home to fearsome beasts.
Others sheltered rare and extraordinary plants.
Yet nowhere did he find what he truly sought—
No powerful source of natural energy native to the world.
No ancient inheritance separate from the power of chakra.
It was as though...
Aside from the God Tree and the chakra Kaguya had brought with her...
The world itself was barren.
"Could it be..."
Standing at the edge of a desolate wasteland, watching the setting sun paint the earth in shades of amber, Hagoromo felt more discouraged than ever.
"...that this world truly possesses no power of its own?"
"If I cannot find a new source of strength..."
"How can I ever accomplish my goal?"
"How can I stop Mother's tyranny..."
"And destroy that accursed God Tree?"
Just as despair threatened to consume him...
A turning point finally appeared.
While passing through a prosperous human settlement one day, Hagoromo stopped at a marketplace to rest.
There, he overheard several merchants discussing a distant land.
They vividly described a dense forest forever shrouded in mist—
A place from which no traveler had ever returned alive.
Deep within that forest, they claimed, lay a mysterious waterfall that never ran dry.
Even more astonishing...
A wise toad sage was said to live near the waterfall—
One who knew both the past and the future.
"That's no ordinary toad!"
an elderly merchant declared confidently.
"They say it speaks the language of men."
"It knows the sky above and the earth below."
"It can even foretell fortune and disaster."
"But..."
"It only appears before those who are fated to meet it."
"Even if ordinary people find the waterfall, they'll never catch so much as a glimpse of it."
"Exactly."
Another traveler nodded.
"My great-grandfather heard the same legend from his own elders."
"But no one has ever actually seen it."
"They say it's a sacred being that's existed since the most ancient of times."
The speakers were merely chatting.
But Hagoromo listened intently.
"A sage who knows the past and the future..."
"A toad sage..."
"One who awaits those destined to meet him..."
Those few words reignited the hope that had nearly gone out within his heart.
What he lacked most now...
Was direction.
A method.
Guidance toward a power capable of surpassing his mother's.
This mysterious toad sage sounded like exactly the wise guide—and the external source of strength—he had been searching for.
Whether the legend was true...
Or wildly exaggerated...
To Hagoromo, it represented a ray of hope too precious to ignore.
"...Interesting."
A spark of curiosity returned to his face for the first time in many days.
"No matter what..."
"It's worth investigating."
Without wasting another moment, he questioned the merchants about the forest's approximate location and every detail they knew.
Then, carrying newfound hope and unwavering determination, Hagoromo changed course and set off once more—
Toward the waterfall hidden within the legendary forest of mist.
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