"Do you know what this place is?"
Gamadamaru stopped in his tracks, raising his front limbs to point toward the God Tree in the distance, his voice calm yet probing.
Hane and Hamura exchanged a glance.
"Of course we know. That's the God Tree, the sacred relic our mother protects. It is the source that nourishes this land," Hane replied first.
Their mother had taught them this from childhood: the God Tree was sacred, untouchable.
"The source that nourishes the land?"
Gamadamaru let out a snort, his tone tinged with clear derision. "Have you ever truly seen the God Tree? Has your mother ever let you approach it?"
"No, she hasn't," both Hane and Hamura admitted, their expressions darkening.
Indeed, their mother had always warned them that the God Tree was forbidden territory. No one, not even the two of them, could ever come near. They had only been allowed to observe from a distance.
"Nourishing? Look closely. What do you see around the God Tree?"
Gamadamaru gestured toward the land encircling the tree.
Following his point, Hane and Hamura's eyes widened in shock.
The area surrounding the God Tree was not lush and thriving, as they had imagined. Instead, it was barren and desolate.
No grass grew. The earth was cracked and dry. A suffocating stillness hung in the air, a stark contrast to the immense chakra radiating from the tree itself. It felt profoundly unnatural.
"The truth is this," Gamadamaru's voice grew serious. "This God Tree does not nourish the land. It drains it relentlessly of its energy and life."
Hane's brows knitted tightly. His gaze wavered between disbelief and confusion.
He stared at the desolate land around the tree, recalling his mother's actions over the years the "offerings" sent periodically to the God Tree.
Hamura fell silent as well.
"If you want to know the truth, you must see for yourselves," Gamadamaru said, leaving the statement hanging in the air.
With a flicker, his figure dissipated into a puff of smoke, leaving Hane and Hamura standing atop the peak, staring at the God Tree, their expressions complex.
The cold wind whipped across the summit, stirring the dust at their feet. The two remained silent for a long while.
Hane's curiosity grew unbearably. He wanted to approach the God Tree, to uncover the truth.
But the thought of their mother's stern warnings and overwhelming power made him hesitate.
Their mother's authority had been ingrained in them since childhood. Defying her was unthinkable.
"Big brother, should we… go see for ourselves?"
Hamura's voice trembled slightly, his tone probing. He, too, wanted answers, yet he feared the consequences of defying their mother.
Hane inhaled deeply, ultimately shaking his head, his expression conflicted. "No. Mother forbade us from approaching for a reason. Perhaps… she hasn't told us everything. We cannot doubt her based on the words of a stranger no matter how strange he seems."
Hamura nodded, swallowing his curiosity.
Though doubt still simmered in their hearts, respect for their mother's authority held them back.
Yet the seed of suspicion had been planted. In time, it would grow quietly, nurtured by the passage of years, until it blossomed into a towering tree of its own.
…
Several days later, the day of the routine offerings arrived.
A long, orderly line of villagers slowly moved toward the God Tree.
The villagers showed no emotion, their faces blank, as though resigned to their inevitable fate.
Hane and Hamura stood on a nearby slope, watching silently, a heavy tension settling over them.
Gamadamaru's words had lodged themselves like thorns in their hearts.
The barren land around the God Tree replayed in their minds, contradicting everything their mother had taught them about the tree nourishing the earth.
Their gaze drifted to the line of villagers, occasionally flicking toward the towering God Tree. Doubt wrapped around them like wild vines.
Still, their respect for their mother held them firmly in place. Questions died on their lips, unasked.
"Big brother, look…"
Hamura's voice was tentative, his eyes fixed on the line of villagers. His face paled.
Hane followed his gaze. His pupils widened in shock, and he gasped. "Hiori? What?!"
Midway through the line of offerings stood a slender figure, impossibly striking against the dull crowd.
A young woman in simple, plain clothes, her features gentle, her hair tied modestly Hiori, the human girl Hane had secretly loved for years.
Hiori, a delicate and graceful girl.
How could she be part of the offering?
Hane's mind went blank, his shock and panic overriding all hesitation and fear.
"Hiori! Hiori!"
At his call, Hiori stopped and slowly turned.
Her eyes showed a flicker of surprise upon seeing Hane and Hamura racing toward her, then settled back into calm.
"Hane? Hamura? Why are you here?"
Hiori asked evenly.
"Why are you in the line for the offering? Who chose you? Come out! You can't be part of this!"
Hane rushed to her side, urgency and disbelief etched across his face.
He reached for her, intending to pull her away, but Hiori gently avoided his grasp.
"Hane…"
Hiori looked at him with a faint, bittersweet smile, her voice soft yet resolute. "I received the notice. This is my fate. I must go as an offering to the God Tree."
Her calm tone was chilling, as though she were speaking of an event that did not concern her, as though death itself were merely a routine farewell.
"Fate? What fate? This isn't fate at all!"
"This is the rule set by our mother, but it is a rule that is wrong!"
Hane's emotions surged. His fists clenched, knuckles whitening, nails biting into his palms, drawing blood, yet he barely noticed.
"You are her son. You don't understand," Hiori said, gently shaking her head. She did not know the truth of the God Tree, nor had she ever questioned the rules set by Kaguya.
To her, Kaguya was a god, the ruler of the land. Divine rules were the fate of humans.
"This is the rule set by Lady Kaguya. We are born into it, unable to resist."
Looking at Hane, her eyes carried a trace of sorrow.
"I am glad to have met you, Hane."
With that, she lifted the jade necklace she wore around her neck and carefully removed it.
The necklace had been handcrafted by her from mountain jade, simple yet exquisite, her most treasured possession.
She stood on her tiptoes and gently placed it around Hane's neck.
"Do not forget me, Hane," she whispered like a soft breeze.
Then she turned and rejoined the line of offerings, her steps steady as she moved toward the God Tree, never looking back.
Her slender figure gradually disappeared into the long line, until she could no longer be distinguished.
"Hiori!"
Hane froze in place, the jade necklace around his neck feeling impossibly heavy, suffocating him.
He watched her retreating back, the cool touch of the jade pressing against his skin, and his heart filled with bitter helplessness.
Hane clenched his fists slowly, fingers white and nails digging into his palms, drawing blood, yet he felt nothing but burning resolve.