Chapter 194: Kaguya's Confusion
Kaguya carefully savored the word "discuss."
In the Otsutsuki's strict hierarchical system, this was vocabulary only used between those of equal standing.
And she and this man before her were clearly not on the same level.
After a moment of silence, she finally spoke: "What is it?"
Yu casually retrieved a body from his Kamui dimension, tossing it carelessly onto the rocky ground.
When she clearly saw that body's features, Kaguya's breath caught—this was unmistakably the Otsutsuki elder who ruled this star sector!
With her past rank, she hadn't even possessed qualifications to meet him, only able to distantly sense that awe-inspiring pressure.
Yet now, this existence she'd once needed to look up to lay discarded like waste on cold stone, completely lifeless.
"You... killed him?"
"Not yet." Yu bent down to examine the seal. "Just sealed his consciousness and power."
After confirming the seal was intact, he looked back at Kaguya. "Otsutsuki can evolve through mutual devouring. You happen to possess spatial abilities."
"I hope after you devour him, you'll temporarily hide this planet."
Kaguya hadn't yet recovered from her shock. Hearing this, she frowned further. "You want me to devour him... then hide Earth?"
Seeing Yu nod, she couldn't help pressing: "Why?"
When Yu informed her of the acquired intelligence, Kaguya felt her entire body run cold.
This man had not only slaughtered numerous Otsutsuki nobles, but deliberately let survivors transmit false intelligence to draw the entire Otsutsuki clan's main forces to this star sector!
She'd originally only wanted to avoid the main family's accountability. Now she was forced to stand in opposition to the entire Otsutsuki clan.
According to clan law, her current crimes were a hundred times more severe than betrayal.
Watching Kaguya's pale face, Yu's tone softened somewhat. "In my eyes, you're different from them." His words made Kaguya freeze slightly. "You only need to handle concealment. I'll resolve all invading enemies."
These words plunged Kaguya into deeper confusion.
Why did this man trust her so much? Previously he'd unhesitatingly revealed the truth that his life was ending. Now he was handing over such an important Otsutsuki elder for her to absorb, even entrusting her with the crucial task of protecting Earth.
Yoya had said Uchiha Yu extremely valued family. Yet now, he was willing to entrust the most important rear guard to an Otsutsuki who'd once been an enemy.
Kaguya gazed at this unfathomable man before her, finally voicing her confusion: "Why do you... trust me so much?"
Yu's gaze remained calm as water, voice especially clear in the cliff wind. "Because you're different from them. You're trying to adapt to this world, protect Yoya, even willing to change yourself. I see your choices, not merely your origins."
He turned his head toward the horizon, continuing: "Trust isn't baseless. During this time together, you clearly had opportunities to flee or retaliate, yet consistently kept your promises. I've seen that sincerity."
Of course, there was a deeper reason he didn't voice—when subduing Kaguya on the moon, he'd already planted obedience marks in her subconscious. This consciousness would embed deeper over time.
This was the fundamental guarantee for letting her approach Sasuko with confidence.
These words made Kaguya's heartstrings tremble slightly. In this man's eyes, she wasn't a tool, wasn't a threat, but an individual treated equally.
Under the Otsutsuki's strict hierarchy, she'd never experienced such respect. In humans' fearful gazes, she'd never received such understanding.
An unfamiliar emotion quietly sprouted in her heart. It wasn't only gratitude, not entirely trust, but more like after drifting for millennia in eternal solitude, finally encountering a fellow traveler willing to truly see and understand her.
She lowered her eyes, slender fingers unconsciously tightening. This sudden warmth made her both anxious and attached, like the first spring breeze when ice and snow begin thawing—gentle yet sufficient to shake an entire frozen land.
"I understand." She finally responded softly, voice carrying softness she herself hadn't detected. "I'll complete what you've entrusted to me."
After brief silence, she raised her eyes, tone revealing a trace of hesitation. "Your body... is it alright?"
"Should be able to hold on for a while longer." Yu's answer remained calm.
Kaguya's expression dimmed for an instant, then as though thinking of something, determination flashed in her eyes.
She extended her palm, pressing it over that Otsutsuki elder's body. With a gentle glow, the corpse began emitting an eerie red light, ultimately condensing into five crimson fruits suspended in midair.
Each fruit contained overwhelming energy, surfaces flowing with dark golden patterns—these were treasures countless Otsutsuki dreamed of, condensing an elder's tens of thousands of years of cultivation into God Tree fruits.
Just one was sufficient to let an ordinary Otsutsuki complete transformation, ascending to nobility.
Kaguya carefully took one, offering it to Yu. "Try this."
Yu glanced at her with slight surprise, gently shaking his head.
Actually, he'd already tried refining Otsutsuki energy, but such fruits had minimal effect on him—only crudely increasing chakra quantity while proving extremely incompatible with human bodies.
Compared to improvements from magnetic field power, this was a drop in the bucket.
Kaguya misunderstood his concern, hastily explaining: "Four fruits are already sufficient for the energy needed to hide Earth." Seeing Yu still hadn't moved, she couldn't help adding: "This might help your injuries."
Watching her persistent gaze, Yu finally accepted the fruit. In any case, this wasn't exactly a rare item—after all, more Otsutsuki would deliver themselves later. If insufficient, he could always send over a basket then.
However, in Kaguya's eyes, this simple action inexplicably eased something in her heart. She couldn't explain where this subtle emotion originated, only that watching him store the fruit away seemed to lighten days of accumulated anxiety.
She hastily averted her gaze, beginning to concentrate on refining the remaining fruits, ignoring her slightly warming cheeks.
Right now the most important thing was completing his assigned task. Everything else...
Seeing Kaguya focused on refining the fruits, Yu's figure silently vanished from the clifftop.
Kaguya looked up at the empty cliff, inexplicable loss rising in her heart.
This unfamiliar emotion left her both confused and unable to resist—for the first time in millennia, she actually began anticipating the next meeting with someone, yearning to see the approving light in his eyes, even unconsciously worrying about his safety.
Cliff wind stirred her silver-white hair. Kaguya gently pressed her chest, where unprecedented warmth surged.
Perhaps this was what Yoya once mentioned—the "concern" between humans?