"Hamura, you—"
Hagoromo's breath caught as his younger brother calmly refuted him with what almost sounded like a deliberate challenge. Just as he was about to rebuke him sharply, Hamura raised a hand to stop him.
"Brother, hear me out first."
Hamura's voice was steady and resolute, carrying the weight of careful, independent thought.
"Let's look at this from another perspective."
"We humans drink water every day. Why haven't the rivers and lakes run dry because of it?"
"We breathe the air every moment of our lives. Why hasn't the atmosphere been exhausted?"
"We survive by cultivating crops and hunting animals. So why do the fields continue to yield harvests year after year, and why does life continue to flourish?"
Hamura met Hagoromo's gaze, his pale eyes unwavering.
"Because water has its own cycle. Air has its own cycle. Life energy also has its own ecological cycle."
"The world itself is a vast and intricate system of circulation."
"Absorption and release. Consumption and regeneration."
"They are two opposing yet complementary forces that keep the world functioning."
He stepped forward, his tone becoming heavier, yet even more earnest.
"So why must the God Tree's absorption of this world's energy necessarily be an act of destruction?"
"What if it's simply a part of a far greater cycle that we don't yet understand?"
"What if the energy it absorbs is ultimately returned in another form—stabilizing the world or carrying out some necessary process of balance?"
"Until we understand the complete picture of that cycle... until we have real evidence... what right do we have to conclude that it represents nothing but plunder and annihilation?"
Looking at his brother's tense expression, tightened by clashing emotions and convictions, Hamura spoke with heartfelt sincerity.
"Brother, I understand your concerns, and I admire your determination to uncover the truth."
"But unless we possess concrete, irrefutable proof that the God Tree's existence—and Mother's actions—will inevitably lead to this world's destruction, we cannot reach such a conclusion based solely on speculation and one-sided testimony."
"Much less should we recklessly oppose Mother—and risk consequences we cannot foresee—because of nothing more than an uncertain possibility."
Hamura's position could not have been clearer.
He valued reason, caution, and evidence. He retained a fundamental trust in the existing order and refused to be swept away by an unverified prophecy of doom.
His logical, well-founded rebuttal struck directly at the foundation of Hagoromo's argument, leaving him momentarily speechless.
For the first time, Hagoromo realized he could not completely refute his brother from the standpoint of evidence alone.
The two brothers stood frozen in place, their eyes locked on one another.
The air had grown so heavy it seemed almost tangible.
One sought to save the world, believing he possessed the truth, yet lacked indisputable proof that others could witness for themselves.
The other trusted logic and evidence, carried complicated feelings toward his mother, and still acknowledged the legitimacy of the existing order, unwilling to walk a path of rebellion built upon uncertainty.
In the end, Hagoromo was the first to break the chilling silence.
His chest rose and fell violently as he struggled to contain his emotions. The tomoe within his Sharingan seemed to burn with crimson fury.
Unable to suppress the frustration and resentment of being misunderstood any longer, he raised his voice.
"Hamura! You're too stubborn! Utterly obstinate!"
Pointing at his younger brother, his expression was one of bitter disappointment.
"You've been blinded by Mother's cold rule and this superficial peace she created! Your blind trust in her will destroy not only you—but this entire world!"
"When the God Tree has drained this world dry and nothing can be undone, your regret will come far too late!"
Faced with the fierce accusation, Hamura remained unmoved.
He stood there quietly, his expression calm—almost indifferent.
Yet when he finally looked up at Hagoromo, what swirled within those pure white Byakugan was something deeper than anger.
Disappointment.
Profound, overwhelming disappointment.
He slowly shook his head.
His voice was quiet, yet every word fell like shards of ice.
"Brother... it isn't I who am stubborn."
His gaze seemed to pierce through Hagoromo's emotional outburst and stare directly into his soul.
"It is you... who have become obsessed."
"So many years have passed. We've experienced so much together. I truly believed you would have changed—that you would have become more mature and learned to see things from every angle."
"But now..."
"It seems you haven't changed at all."
"Brother..."
"You have truly disappointed me."
The words "disappointed me" carried the weight of a thousand pounds as they left Hamura's lips, crashing heavily into Hagoromo's heart.
Hagoromo's face darkened instantly.
The disappointment in his own eyes was no less profound—perhaps even colder.
At this moment, each brother had become the greatest disappointment in the other's eyes.
Seeing his brother's reaction, the final trace of hope within Hamura quietly vanished.
He let out a long, weary sigh, one filled with even deeper disappointment.
"Brother... there's something I've never understood."
"Why have you never been willing—not even once—to set aside your preconceived judgments and speak with Mother calmly?"
"Have you already decided in your heart that she is nothing more than a cold, obsessive tyrant destined to destroy the world?"
"So that no matter what she does afterward, you've already labeled it as wrong... as driven by hidden motives?"
"You no longer wish to understand who she truly is."
"And you no longer intend to give her any chance to explain herself—or to change."
"Isn't that right?"
"No!"
Hagoromo denied it immediately, shaking his head without the slightest hesitation.
But he was not rejecting the idea of communicating with Kaguya.
He was rejecting what he believed was Hamura's misunderstanding of his motives.
"It's not that I refuse to communicate!"
"I've already reached my conclusions through observation, through reason, and through the truths revealed by the Great Toad Sage!"
"Once the truth has been uncovered and the direction is clear, meaningless conversations that only scratch the surface serve no purpose!"
"In the end, Hamura, it's because you still haven't recognized the true nature of this world's crisis."
"You still haven't realized your own mistake!"
Once again, Hagoromo placed himself upon the high ground of possessing the truth while relegating his younger brother to the position of one blinded by ignorance.
That attitude pierced straight through Hamura's heart.
Looking at Hagoromo's face—made increasingly rigid, stubborn, and almost frightening by his unwavering conviction—the disappointment in Hamura's eyes finally reached its limit.
Slowly, he spoke each word with deliberate clarity.
Every syllable was like a cold dagger, sinking into Hagoromo's heart.
"Brother..."
"I truly never imagined..."
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