"The branch-family descendants of the Ōtsutsuki clan on the moon…"
"Then where does he live?"
Shinju asked.
He already had a rough guess in his heart, but the result was simply unacceptable…
Naruto blurted out, "Didn't I already say it? He lives on the mo—"
Before he even finished, he realized something was wrong!
"He lives on the moon?! (꒪⌓꒪)"
"Then how are we supposed to get Hanabi's eyes back?! ∑(✘Д✘๑)"
Shinju rubbed his chin and gestured for Naruto not to panic.
"If he can get to the moon, then we can too…"
"Come to think of it… could his actions be connected to those strange phenomena on the moon?"
"Narudo, bring your head over here…"
Naruto: "What for? (≖╻≖;)"
Shinju: "I want to look at that memory of your. Maybe I can find a way to reach the moon…"
Naruto did as told and leaned his head toward Shinju.
Shinju immediately used Mind Body Switch Technique to search his memories…
Very quickly, Shinju found something odd!
"I originally thought that if he lives on the moon, he'd be flying back and forth. But no—when people chased him, he ran away just like anyone else… I made an assumption too soon…"
"He vanished at the edge of the forest outside the village. Let's go check that forest!"
After a brief investigation, Shinju spoke.
Once the direction was clear, Naruto and Shinju quickly set out!
...
Just as they reached the hospital entrance, they ran into Hinata, who had come to visit Hyuga Hiashi.
"Narudo, Sixth-sama…" Hinata softly called out when she saw the two rushing out.
As Naruto's good niichan, Shinju smiled back and hurried off…
Naruto was in a hurry to go fight the bad guys with Shinju. He exchanged one look with Hinata and left her a line:
"Your father's already fine in the hospital. I'll get Hanabi's eyes back for sure!"
Then he sped up to catch Shinju.
Seeing Naruto catch up so fast, Shinju asked, "You didn't comfort her?"
Naruto: "No need, right? Hinata's a really strong girl…"
Shinju was speechless. How did Hinata fall for someone this dense…
"Her father's badly hurt, her sister's eyes were stolen—this is exactly when she needs you beside her." Shinju tried to knock some sense into him.
Naruto pouted. "Didn't you already heal Hiashi-sama? And I'm going with you to get Hanabi's eyes back… ┐(´-｀)┌"
"And besides, if I stay with Hinata, what about you?"
As he kept talking, Naruto's expression turned teasing.
"Shinju, you've never even been in a relationship. Are you seriously teaching me how to date? ( •̀∀•́ )"
Shinju: "What are you smug about →_→ You and Hinata haven't even confirmed you're together."
Naruto clenched his fists. "Once we get Hanabi's eyes back, I'm confessing to Hinata! ୧⍢⃝୨"
Seeing Naruto's resolve, Shinju's eyes shone with approval.
"Good kid! I'm helping you no matter what this time! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧"
...
Soon, they reached the place where Hyuga Hiashi had been attacked.
There, Shinju saw the shattered remains of the black-clad figures Naruto had destroyed.
Taking a closer look, he realized they were puppets!
"There were thirty or forty of them fighting your clone… so that white-haired guy was a puppeteer?"
Shinju frowned, but there was no time to think further. He stored the puppet remains and continued forward.
Before long, they reached the dense forest where the white-haired man had vanished.
With a soft whoosh, Shinju activated Sage Mode and sensed the traces of chakra he'd left behind!
"As long as there's chakra in him, some of it will always leak out. Normally a sensor wouldn't detect anything this faint… but Sage Mode amplifies my perception dozens—hundreds—of times…"
A few seconds later, Shinju sorted through the dozens of lingering chakra trails and found the one belonging to the white-haired man!!
"This chakra feels similar to the Hyuga's Byakugan…. It has to be him! ꐦ≖ ≖"
Naruto: (⊙o⊙)
"You can even track that?! Not even the ninja hounds could smell it out! ⊙▽⊙"
Shinju sighed. "Ever wonder why Hinata hasn't dated you all this time? Maybe you're part of the problem. (ー_ー)!!"
Naruto: "You're insulting me…"
Shinju didn't bother replying and continued tracking the faint chakra thread.
Eventually, they arrived at a clear pond.
"The trail ends here," Shinju said gravely.
"He went into the water?" Naruto asked.
Shinju shook his head. "Normally, even if he dove in, I'd still feel his chakra in the water…"
"This water is strange…"
Before Shinju could finish, Naruto had already stripped completely!!
Staring at the naked Naruto, Shinju was speechless: 눈_눈
"Were you even listening to me?! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻"
Naruto answered seriously, "I listened. The water is strange…"
Then he dove straight in!
SPLASH!!
Water burst everywhere, drenching Shinju—except… it didn't.
Shinju realized with shock that the water didn't wet his clothes at all! Not even cold!
Underwater, Naruto kept diving.
Shinju noticed that although the water was clear, the depth was bottomless—like a pit that might lead to another world entirely.
"Don't just rush in alone…"
Muttering helplessly, Shinju followed him in.
...
After they had dived dozens of meters, a green light appeared ahead.
Then bubbles began rising all around Shinju.
He immediately sensed that the space here was warped!
This stretch of water was like a passage to another world!
A wave of dizziness struck. Fragmented old memories replayed in Shinju's mind.
A young Shinju walked beside Naruto, surrounded by the cold, disdainful looks of the people in Konoha…
Those looks stabbed like knives, carved deep into his bones, still making his heart jolt even now.
Then came the academy days—mockery and isolation because he wasn't good at ninjutsu…
"No… that's not me."
Lost in the memories, Shinju suddenly woke and muttered.
In the next instant, he forcibly halted his chakra flow and broke the illusion!
When he opened his eyes, he was still in the underwater space, surrounded by floating bubbles filled with dream-hallucinations.
Not far away, Naruto was still trapped in his memories, mumbling softly…
"Shinju… Sasuke… hehehe… ´◡`"
"And Hinata… hehe… (´つヮ⊂︎)"
Shinju: (▼ヘ▼)
What on earth was this guy dreaming about?!
"Wake up, stop sleeping!"
Shinju snapped Naruto out of it and explained, "The enemy set up an illusion here. They used memories to weave a cage to trap us and kill us down here…"
"We almost fell for it…"