Chapter 280: Kaguya: Let Us Have Children!
Kinoshita Genichi hadn't interfered in the battle at all. Naruto and the others had truly grown, and he was thoroughly satisfied. If a "junior" like Ōtsutsuki Toneri still required his personal intervention, what would have been the point of cultivating all that talent?
"Next up is the giant Tenseigan…"
A jutsu formula spread beneath Genichi's feet, and his body dissolved into countless motes of light, shooting towards the heavens.
Inside the Moon
The battle between Kakashi's team and the Hamura Golem was still raging. They had destroyed it time and time again, but the statue kept reassembling itself.
When Sasuke and Naruto returned and saw the golem was still active, Naruto was stunned. "Hey, how is this guy still here?"
Sasuke was thoughtful. "It seems Toneri wasn't the one controlling the statue."
"Does that mean there's another enemy here?" Naruto asked, alarmed.
Kakashi landed beside them, his expression contemplative. "It's likely that the power controlling the statue isn't Toneri's Tenseigan, but that giant Tenseigan. Naruto, take Hinata and find it."
Naruto nodded and hurried over to Hinata, placing the eyes back into her empty sockets.
Hinata blinked, adjusting to the sensation. When her vision cleared, she saw Naruto's concerned face. "Naruto-kun… thank you!"
Naruto grinned. "Haha, I'm just glad you're okay. Um, Sensei Kakashi said that to deal with this statue, we have to find the giant Tenseigan."
Hinata nodded. "Yes, I understand!" She composed herself and activated her Byakugan, her vision rapidly extending outwards.
Soon, she noticed a particular area. "Only this place has distorted vision. It's highly likely… Naruto-kun, it's over there!" Hinata pointed.
Naruto looked, then grabbed Hinata's hand and called back, "Sasuke, keep up!" With that, he leaped away with Hinata in tow.
Sasuke pouted but followed them.
Not long after the three had left, Kinoshita Genichi appeared in the castle. He looked at the Hamura Golem fighting Kakashi and the others and simply raised his right hand.
BOOM!
The entire massive golem exploded into countless fragments.
Kakashi and the others were startled. They turned to see Genichi and were overcome with surprised delight.
"Genichi?"
"Lord Genichi!"
Kurenai and Kakashi were the first to appear by his side.
"The statue's power comes from the giant Tenseigan," Kakashi explained. "We probably have to take it down to stop the statue from reassembling."
As he spoke, the stone fragments in the air began to coalesce, reforming the Hamura Golem once more.
Genichi nodded. "I know."
SNAP!
He snapped his fingers. The newly reassembled golem was instantly covered in a layer of hard ice that spread rapidly, encasing the entire massive statue in a frozen tomb.
CRASH!
The frozen statue fell from the sky, crushing the castle beneath it.
"A… amazing!" Kiba and the others stared, dumbfounded.
"Let's go meet up with Naruto and the others," Genichi said, then vanished with Kurenai.
Shino pushed up his sunglasses. "I seem to recall Naruto has mastered Ice Release as well, has he not?"
Sakura replied as if it were obvious, "Of course Naruto can't compare to Lord Genichi. Besides, Lord Genichi's Ice Release is a Kekkei Tōta, isn't it?"
Kakashi looked at the frozen statue, sighing internally. "They're on completely different levels."
In front of the giant Tenseigan, Naruto formed an Ice Release: Rasengan and leaped up, slamming it against the massive eye. With a flash of light, the giant Tenseigan remained completely unscathed.
Sasuke frowned, then activated his Perfect Susanoo and fired an arrow. However, it was equally useless.
"Let me try," Hinata said quickly.
"Okay, Hinata, give it a shot," Naruto nodded.
Hinata took a deep breath, concentrating chakra into her hands to form the heads of two lions.
Twin Lion Fists!
She leaped up and struck the giant Tenseigan. Yet, it was still no use.
Naruto scratched his head. "Looks like we'll have to call Uncle Genichi over."
"Not going to try thinking of another way?"
Genichi's voice sounded out behind them.
Naruto turned, his face lighting up. "Uncle Genichi!"
Sasuke and Hinata quickly greeted him.
Genichi gave a slight nod. "You all completed this mission very well," he said with a smile. "Especially you, Sasuke."
Naruto, who had been beaming, felt a pang of disappointment. "Uncle Genichi, I played a really important role too!"
Sasuke walked over to Genichi. "Lord Genichi, this Tenseigan seems incredibly difficult to break."
"That's because it absorbs the chakra of ordinary people," Genichi explained. "Only the chakra of the Hyuga clan is not absorbed."
"Lord Genichi, I already tried," Hinata said.
"Hinata, your power is not yet sufficient."
"Then all I have to do is give my chakra to Hinata, right?" Naruto suggested.
Genichi shook his head. "It would be a waste to destroy this eye. The moon could serve as an excellent fortress to defend Earth from an Ōtsutsuki invasion."
"Genichi, can you control it?" Kurenai asked.
Genichi chuckled. "Let's find out."
With that, he flew up to the massive eye, raised his right arm, and placed his open palm on its surface. He felt an incredibly vast power. The giant Tenseigan was formed from the fusion of countless Byakugan from the moon's Ōtsutsuki clan, concentrating all of their dōjutsu. More importantly, it had the ability to absorb power from the artificial sun to replenish its chakra.
Genichi possessed a Tenseigan of his own, so he wasn't afraid of having his chakra absorbed. Even if he didn't, he wouldn't have been concerned. As his palm rested on the surface, he could feel a multitude of consciousnesses within. They were the residual wills of the Ōtsutsuki clan members.
Truly insane, Genichi sighed to himself.
He then exerted his own powerful spiritual will, suppressing the complex web of consciousnesses within the eye and seizing control.
Just then, Kakashi and the others arrived. Kiba and his teammates stared at the giant Tenseigan in shock.
"Is… is that really an eye?" Kiba couldn't help but scratch his head. "Even the Ten-Tails' eye couldn't have been this big, right?"
"Definitely not," Shino replied with complete seriousness.
Genichi turned to Hinata. "Hinata, are your eyes alright?"
Hinata, startled for a moment, quickly replied, "They're fine, Lord Genichi."
Genichi nodded, then addressed Kurenai and Kakashi. "The mission is complete. Return the way you came and report the situation to the Fifth Hokage."
"Are you planning to develop this place?" Kakashi asked.
Genichi nodded. "If the Ōtsutsuki clan is to enter Earth's atmosphere, the moon is their first stop. It would be best if we could end the battle here."
Besides, with the existing space-time tunnel and Konoha's teleportation arrays, the distance between the Earth and the moon had already been greatly reduced. Even without the Ōtsutsuki threat, the moon was a valuable asset. Furthermore, Genichi planned to plant a God Tree here.
Kakashi and the others departed, while Genichi remained. After a brief tour of the moon's interior, he returned to the castle. He drew in meteorites from outer space and repaired the hole that had been blasted through the moon. Fortunately, it had only been a hole; the moon hadn't been split in two. Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's consciousness had not escaped.
After finishing the repairs, Genichi thought for a moment, then sent out his Spiritual Projection, which phased through the moon's rock layers. When it reached the stratum where Kaguya's consciousness was sealed, the scenery before him instantly changed.
"This is…"
Genichi looked around. A wooden house, mountains, rivers, grassy fields… It was as if he had returned to the shinobi world. No, it was more like he had returned to Kaguya's era.
Genjutsu.
Just then, the door of the wooden house opened, and Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, with her long white hair and a regal, icy demeanor, slowly emerged. Standing before the door, she looked at him and said, "I am the mother of the Sage of Six Paths, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya."
Genichi smiled slightly. "I know who you are. From the Ōtsutsuki clan beyond the stars, sealed on the moon by your sons, the Sage of Six Paths and Ōtsutsuki Hamura."
Kaguya's expression remained impassive. "I can feel the chakra of Hamura, Indra, and Asura within you. You can break my seal. What is it that you desire?"
So direct.
Genichi looked at her and asked in return, "What can you offer me?"
"I can give you the entire world," Kaguya said. "I can give you unparalleled power, allow you to consume the fruit of the God Tree, and obtain strength far beyond what you possess now."
Genichi laughed and shook his head. "The shinobi world is already in the palm of my hand. The fruit of the God Tree… I can grow one myself. Ōtsutsuki Isshiki came to this planet with you, did he not? You ambushed him… and he also possesses a Ten-Tails."
A look of surprise crossed Kaguya's face. "You know of such things. However, I have already dealt with Isshiki."
"No," Genichi said with a knowing smile. "Ōtsutsuki Isshiki is not dead. He is hiding on Earth, searching for a suitable vessel. Kaguya, your enemies are not just the Ōtsutsuki main family in the distant stars, but also Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, right under your nose. You know his power better than I do, don't you?"
Kaguya's cold expression returned. "My power has completely surpassed his."
"Power and combat ability are not the same thing," Genichi countered. "The Sage of Six Paths and Hamura were not as powerful as you, yet you were still sealed."
On paper, Kaguya was undoubtedly stronger. She was absolutely the most powerful Ōtsutsuki Genichi knew of, aside from the god-like Ōtsutsuki Shibai. After all, the fruit she had consumed had ripened for a thousand years. But paper stats were just paper stats. In a real fight, it wasn't certain that Kaguya could defeat Isshiki. Of course, Isshiki couldn't kill her either. And the fact that Kaguya feared the Ōtsutsuki main family suggested that there were beings even more powerful than her among them, beyond just Ōtsutsuki Shibai.
Hearing Genichi's words, Kaguya did not argue. Instead, she stated, "You want me to bear your children."
It was a statement, not a question.
Genichi nearly stumbled. Even if that's true, you don't have to be so direct about it! But… He looked at Kaguya, a new sense of caution in his eyes.
"I do have such thoughts," he admitted shamelessly. "After all, you are the most powerful woman on this planet. However, considering you once ambushed Isshiki, I find it difficult to trust you completely."
"I attacked Isshiki because I was to be sacrificed to the Ten-Tails," Kaguya explained. "It was to escape the fate of the Ōtsutsuki clan. You and I share the same enemy."
Genichi smiled. "Kaguya, if I were to break your seal, I suspect the first thing you would do is try to eliminate me and reclaim all the chakra in the world."
Kaguya frowned, feeling that she could not persuade the man before her.
But then, Genichi changed the subject. "Is a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki the only body you can be revived in?"
According to Black Zetsu's plan, it required a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, the Infinite Tsukuyomi, the God Tree, and himself to revive Kaguya. And the revived Kaguya was incredibly powerful from the start. But were all those conditions truly necessary?
Kaguya looked at Genichi for a long moment before answering, "No, not necessarily. Any body that can withstand my power will suffice."
Just as I thought!
Based on his current knowledge of the Ōtsutsuki clan, reviving Kaguya and reviving a powerful Kaguya were two different things. Of course, the key was breaking the Six Paths Planetary Devastation seal.
"But that would not be my complete self, nor would I have my full power," Kaguya continued. "If you want my aid against the Ōtsutsuki main family, you must restore me to my full strength. The Ten-Tails Jinchuriki… that power was originally mine. Besides, without that power, we cannot hope to defeat them."
Genichi was lost in thought. According to the information he knew, the Ten-Tails and Kaguya were not originally one. Gamamaru's memories indicated that the God Tree existed before Kaguya and Isshiki arrived. It must have been planted long ago, but by whom? He didn't know. Perhaps it was the deified Ōtsutsuki progenitor, Ōtsutsuki Shibai. Or maybe another Ōtsutsuki.
The pair of Kaguya and Isshiki came to Earth to harvest the fruit and plant a second God Tree. And that second tree required an Ōtsutsuki as a sacrifice. So Kaguya ambushed Isshiki, nearly killing him, and sacrificed half of his body to the tree she had planted, then ate the fruit. Later, she fell out with her sons, a great war broke out, and Kaguya summoned the God Tree, which transformed back into the Ten-Tails to fight. During the battle, she even merged with the Ten-Tails.
Genichi carefully sorted through the timeline and suddenly had a realization. Perhaps the first Ten-Tails Jinchuriki wasn't the Sage of Six Paths, but Ōtsutsuki Kaguya herself! That was likely why Black Zetsu considered her and the Ten-Tails to be one and the same. By the end, the Ten-Tails had effectively become Kaguya's body—what was later known as the Gedo Mazo, stripped of its chakra.
Seeing Genichi in deep thought, Kaguya spoke again. "You have the ability to become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, but you have not done so. You must not wish to become one. In that case, why not return it to me? I can bear your children. Our union will produce children of incredible power."
Genichi looked at Kaguya. Her words completely subverted his established impression of her.
"I will consider it seriously!" he said with a sudden smile. He then withdrew from the illusion, his Spiritual Projection returning to his body.