"How's this form?"
Natsume performed the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist technique, Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, right in front of Otsutsuki Kaguya.
He'd learned it because of Hyuga Hinata.
He saw it several times a day during their regular genjutsu training.
And with his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, memorizing it was fairly simple.
Of course, without the Byakugan, it was all form and no bite.
Otsutsuki Kaguya didn't answer his question; she fell into thought instead.
She realized this set of strikes suited her very well.
Thinking this, the look she gave Natsume shifted ever so slightly.
Was this created for her?
Kaguya thought of that book again.
It was undoubtedly an expression of love.
She didn't quite understand why Natsume would like her.
The gap between them was far too great.
By rights, he should only feel fear.
"It should be used in concert with the Byakugan."
Kaguya pressed down the jumble in her thoughts and spoke.
As expected of the progenitor of chakra.
Natsume wasn't surprised that she could see the flaw at a glance.
He nodded. "Mm. I hope it's helpful to you."
Kaguya was slightly taken aback.
So it really was for her?
For some reason, an impulse to kiss him suddenly welled up in her heart.
She didn't understand the emotion, but she wasn't an ordinary girl.
For her, if she thought it, she could do it.
Kaguya walked up to him. Cool and aloof, yet tinged with a bit of gentleness, she leaned in and gave him a perfect, light kiss.
The soft touch left Natsume a little dazed.
Since arriving in this world, he'd been on the receiving end a lot.
"Um…"
Otsutsuki Hagoromo's eyes went wide like he'd seen a ghost.
He knew their relationship was pretty good, but had it really gotten to this point?
Should he start calling him something else?
The future Sage of Six Paths froze up completely.
"What is it?"
Kaguya showed not the slightest embarrassment at being caught.
With her personality, she wouldn't care about anyone's feelings.
"It's time to eat."
Hagoromo kept his tone as calm as possible. "Hamura's already yelling for teacher to come back and cook."
"Got it."
Natsume waved a hand. "I'll head back now."
Hagoromo glanced at the two of them, said nothing, and turned to leave.
He knew to take a hint.
And he didn't dislike the idea of Natsume and Kaguya being together.
In his eyes, only his teacher was worthy of his mother in this world.
Everyone else was worse by far.
"Lady Goddess."
Natsume asked with expectation, "May I hold your hand?"
Kaguya tilted her head slightly, looked at him, then took his hand.
"Let's go home!"
Natsume smiled, genuinely excited.
Miss Kaguya has been defeated!
Victory today was his.
…
They returned to the palace.
Otsutsuki Hamura was about to run over when Hagoromo stopped him.
Read the room!
Natsume headed for the kitchen.
He instinctively tried to pull his hand free, but Kaguya didn't let go.
What's this?
He looked up, puzzled.
Kaguya said nothing, only releasing him once they reached the kitchen doorway.
"Can't resist, huh."
Natsume sighed inwardly.
Are all stoic, expressionless girls this cute when they fall in love?
He rolled up his sleeves and started preparing lunch.
Kaguya still didn't leave, watching his every move.
"Want some juice?"
Natsume took a spare moment to open the cabinet, pulled out some orange juice, and handed her a glass.
Kaguya didn't refuse. She took the glass and downed it in one go.
Yeah, definitely not an ordinary woman.
Natsume couldn't help but smile.
Kaguya instinctively felt a bit puzzled.
Was something off?
"Want more?"
Natsume asked again.
Kaguya shook her head.
"Alright then."
He turned back to cooking.
A moment later, he noticed she was still standing there, which surprised him.
Especially since she still had that cool, distant look.
It gave Natsume a catlike impression.
Clearly wanted to show affection, but proud about it.
Careless enough to hurt someone by accident.
Natsume thought about it and said nothing.
After half an hour of hustle, lunch was on the table.
The four of them took their seats and began to eat.
Hamura knew nothing of elegance and dug in without restraint.
Because of his mother's changes, Hagoromo seemed preoccupied.
Only Natsume and Kaguya were as they had always been.
Lunch ended.
Hagoromo and Hamura ran off to train again.
They no longer needed their teacher at all.
There was nothing more to teach them.
Natsume's decade-plus of ninjutsu knowledge had been wrung dry.
Even Sage Mode, too.
All one can say is that geniuses leave no room for others.
Or maybe their genes were just too good.
Mm, Kaguya's credit, really.
Natsume thought to himself that someday he should have her help improve his descendants' genes.
By habit, Kaguya would be counting the chakra contributed to Skynet today like a miser.
But this time, she didn't—she started practicing Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms instead.
Natsume watched the ultimate final boss openly and unabashedly.
Her face—needless to say—was exquisitely beautiful.
Her clothing was conservative, though, hiding her figure.
But she wasn't chubby.
The occasional glimpse of her hands showed snow-white skin.
A skin quality basically unattainable by normal humans.
Because of her height, Natsume felt she'd look great in an evening gown—stunning, surely.
Especially with her noble, mysterious aura—she was a born empress.
Thinking of that awe-inspiring empress letting down her guard before him, Natsume felt a real thrill.
Because of her unique history, Kaguya was fundamentally different.
One had to admit, this character setup was excellent.
Kaguya instantly caught the predatory look in Natsume's eyes.
If it were anyone else, she would have swatted him with one palm and sent him out of this world.
Given her nature, she wouldn't tolerate anyone looking at her that way.
It would feel like an affront to her dignity.
But for some reason, she could tolerate Natsume's gaze.
And she didn't feel angry at all.
Natsume didn't know what Kaguya was thinking, but he was quite pleased.
After all, once she learned Gentle Fist, he could make requests and have her do some "modifications."
Mm, better yet, return to the shinobi world and have Kaguya take Hyuga Hinata as a disciple.
Add Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, and Team 9 could probably go straight to attacking the Akatsuki.
Natsume kept daydreaming about the future.
Until he received a message from his mole, the Slug Sage.
To keep in touch, he'd given it a Skynet login device.
Now they could chat anytime, anywhere.
"Otsutsuki Isshiki used sacred seal tag to barely recover to seventy percent of his strength."
"Not bad."
"But he still doesn't dare face Kaguya. Says he needs a few more years to recuperate."
"…"
Natsume was speechless.
Weren't you ridiculously cocky in the original story?
Why are you so lame now?
"Give me his location."
Natsume's eyes narrowed. If Isshiki wouldn't come, he'd go to him.
But before that, he needed to leave a letter for Hagoromo and Hamura.
Otherwise their disappearance might alter history.
I've worked so hard just to abduct Princess Kaguya.
As for being swayed by the Toad Sage—whatever.
At worst, in a thousand years, mom and dad can duo up and teach the unfilial son a lesson.
Natsume looked at Kaguya in the distance and couldn't help but smile.
…
A new day.
"We've found his trail."
Natsume seized a moment alone with her.
"Really?"
A flash of joy lit Kaguya's snowy eyes. She asked urgently, "Where?"
For someone as cool as her, that expression was rare.
"He's in the Land of Demons."
Natsume took her hand. "If you rush over like this, you'll scare him off."
"What should I do, then?"
Kaguya stopped.
She could use space-time transfer; Isshiki could too.
If she couldn't finish him in one blow, he'd likely escape again.
"Can you suppress your presence?"
Natsume suggested, "Best to approach quietly, then lock his space."
Kaguya fell into thought.
She had Amenominaka.
That was an ability granted by the Rinne Sharingan after consuming the God Tree fruit.
In an instant, she could transfer herself and nearby people to a pocket dimension under her control.
Isshiki didn't know she had that ability.
In other words, he wouldn't guard against it.
Following Natsume's suggestion—approach, then throw him into Amenominaka—the odds of victory were high.
Kaguya thought, this servant is really handy. I'll reward him when I get back.
She closed her eyes, and her body began to change.
That mysterious, oppressive aura weakened and finally vanished.
She recalled Natsume's Transformation Technique, and her appearance changed drastically too.
No longer eye-catching—just an extremely ordinary human.
Natsume was full of admiration.
As expected of Kaguya—effortlessly doing what others can't.
She knew no concealment arts, yet produced one on a whim.
The tier difference was too great.
One had to admit, Kaguya was actually quite smart.
Just lacking in experience.
"Can you take me with you?"
Natsume looked at her and asked.
"No."
Kaguya refused outright.
Even though Isshiki was badly injured, fighting him was still extremely dangerous.
If Natsume was present, she wasn't confident she could keep him safe.
And she felt she might lose focus because of him.
In short, it was best she went alone.
"You know my strength. I can protect myself."
Natsume pressed on, arguing his case. "With me there, I might be able to help you."
Kaguya frowned slightly.
Only Natsume could say that to her.
Otherwise, she'd reply, "You ant, you think too highly of yourself."
Her pride was hardly less than Isshiki's.
For the first time, Kaguya felt the situation slipping a bit out of her control.
She stared at Natsume, silent for a long while.
In the end, she thought of a compromise.
Amenominaka had six spaces. She'd toss Natsume into the safest— the Starting Sphere Space.
Having lived so long, Kaguya made her first-ever compromise.