Somewhere in a vast, white void.
Otsutsuki Hamura's Byakugan was fully activated, his gaze piercing through the realm between illusion and reality, observing a scene unfolding on the surface of the moon.
"Damn it!"
He clenched his fists in frustration and turned to leave, heading toward a certain direction.
But at that moment, the Sage of Six Paths raised his hand, blocking his path with the Six Paths staff in his grasp.
"This, too, is part of the great change. You must not interfere any further, Hamura."
"But… the moon has been destroyed…" Hamura said with a grim expression.
The Sage of Six Paths shook his head.
"Change is inevitable. Mother's resurrection may be something we can no longer stop. When the time comes, I will send out my chakra as well. But we must no longer meddle in the affairs of the world."
"When I created Ninshu, it led to the birth of the shinobi, and in turn, to endless war. Now your intervention has brought about the end of your descendants… That is enough."
The Sage looked toward the ninja world, his eyes reflecting a faint, emotionless light.
From the moment he split the Nine Tails until the day of his passing, he had been watching over the shinobi world from this space. Hamura had been by his side all along. Over a thousand years had passed.
In that time, he had witnessed countless lives begin and end. To him, life and death no longer held much meaning. What mattered more was the fate of the world itself.
Hamura stared at the Sage of Six Paths for several seconds.
Then, slowly, he sat down and closed his eyes, falling silent.
Somewhere in the ninja world.
White Zetsu emerged atop a towering tree, gazing off into the distant sky.
"That direction… that's not within the ninja world, is it?"
"It's the moon…" came Black Zetsu's low voice. "The moon has been shattered."
"The moon? Shattered? Can anyone even do such a thing?" White Zetsu asked in shock.
Black Zetsu was silent, his gaze fixed on the remains of the moon.
Neither Uchiha Obito nor Kaede should have had the power to destroy the moon. Even compared to the Sage of Six Paths, they were still an entire level beneath him.
Yet the moon had clearly been broken in the midst of battle, this meant that a force had appeared in the world that surpassed the likes of Uchiha Obito, Senju Hashirama, and Uchiha Madara.
A power on par with the Sage of Six Paths.
"Could it be… Hamura's power?"
Black Zetsu muttered inwardly.
But rather than feel fear, he was exhilarated.
The moon had been the main seal created by the Sage of Six Paths to imprison Kaguya Otsutsuki. It not only sealed the Geto Statue but also Kaguya's consciousness.
Even after Uchiha Madara awakened the Rinnegan and summoned the Demonic Statue, Kaguya's spirit remained locked within the moon and did not escape.
Infinite Tsukuyomi was the key to releasing her spirit.
But now, the moon is gone.
The primary vessel sealing Kaguya's consciousness had been destroyed. Although her will had not yet fully awakened, partly because her chakra had been split into the Nine Tailed Beasts and the shell of the Ten Tails, her fragmented consciousness had already begun to drift into the ninja world. Inevitably, it would begin to influence it.
Now, resurrecting Kaguya no longer required Infinite Tsukuyomi, or even the Rinnegan. All that was needed was to gather the chakra of the Nine Tailed Beasts and fuse them with the Demonic Statue, reforming the Ten Tails. Kaguya's will would then instantly awaken within it!
A twisted smile crept onto Black Zetsu's face.
"Well done… Hamura."
"At this rate, even if I do nothing, Mother's will is bound to awaken within the Demonic Statue and the Tailed Beasts over time. Sooner or later, it will all come together again."
"Her resurrection… can no longer be stopped."
=============
Amidst the shattered remnants of the moon.
Kaede stood silently.
Nearby, Otsutsuki Toneri was slumped over, blood streaming from his hollow eye sockets. He panted heavily, enduring the pain, as he carefully gathered his remaining strength.
He forced the last fragments of his chakra to form into a small black Truth-Seeking Orb, which condensed into a sharp bone-like spear at his fingertip.
With a sudden burst of energy,
Whoosh!
Using every last ounce of strength, he lunged forward, thrusting the spear toward Kaede's head in a desperate final attack.
But in the very next moment, Kaede's body shifted slightly, his eyes still closed, as he instantly dodged the strike and appeared above Toneri.
Boom!!
A wave of powerful Sage Chakra crashed down.
Having exhausted all his power, Otsutsuki Toneri was struck and utterly obliterated by the surge of chakra. His broken body twitched slightly before finally going limp. The last remnants of his chakra and life force faded away into nothingness.
After ending Toneri, Kaede landed on a floating shard of the moon, sitting down with his eyes still shut, his eyelids trembling faintly.
Moments later,
He gently opened his eyes.
His eyes had turned white, and even the pupils at their center were white, but not a plain, lifeless white. From the core of his pupils, faint strands of blue radiance shimmered outward like glowing gemstones.
"So this is… the Tenseigan…"
"No, not yet…"
Kaede waved his hand, creating a shallow pool of water before him. As he stared at his reflection, he studied the changes in his eyes and murmured to himself.
Compared to the Tenseigan in his memories, the blue hue in his current eyes was still faint, and the central pupils had not yet fully turned blue.
But he could feel it,
His eyes were still evolving.
"Just like when Madara awakened the Rinnegan… the full fusion of ocular power and the Sage Body takes time."
Kaede pondered the changes he felt, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
A moment later, he had a clearer understanding of his condition.
His eyes were indeed undergoing a qualitative transformation toward the Tenseigan, and at a remarkable pace. The progress of the transformation was clearly perceptible.
Madara had only transplanted a tiny amount of Hashirama's cells, and it had taken him until old age to finally awaken the Rinnegan. Kaede's case was vastly different.
He possessed a perfect Sage Body.
And a Byakugan infused with the power of Otsutsuki Hamura.
The reaction between the two far exceeded that of Madara's meager cell transplant. By Kaede's estimate, it would take no more than a few months to complete the transformation, and if he used his time acceleration ability, the process could be made even faster.
More importantly,
As his ocular power fused with the Sage Body, these eyes were becoming an inseparable part of him. With his control over time, no one could take them from him.
Not Hamura.
Not even the Sage of Six Paths.
And certainly not Kaguya Otsutsuki.
Nothing could stop him from obtaining the Tenseigan and stepping into the realm of Six Paths.
==========
You can find much more on my Patreon: Patreon.com/Veltoria
There are currently 5 active fanfictions on Patreon, with over 726+ advanced chapters available across them!
From Naruto Onwards, I Control Time — Up to Chapter 337
Haikyuu!!: Rise of Sengoku — Up to Chapter 279
Danmachi: Is It Wrong To Aspire to Be An Adventurer? — Up to Chapter 97
Legend of Hogwarts (Harry Potter x League of Legends) — Up to Chapter 244
I Am Luffy: Partner System Online (One Piece) — Up to Chapter 226
Playing Genshin Impact in Danmachi (Danmachi x Genshin Impact) — Up to Chapter 156
Kuroko no Basket: The Phantom Ace — Up to Chapter 94
Yukigaoka: Project Ace — Up to Chapter 79
Naruto: Starting from the Duel — Up to Chapter 69