The two quickly finished reading the inscriptions carved into the stone wall.
Aside from several passages recounting Kaguya's story, the rest mainly recorded how Hamura had led his people after settling on the moon, reclaiming land, cultivating fields, and building a new civilization.
It was surprisingly ordinary.
At the very end of the mural stood a protruding ornament shaped like a clan crest.
Hayashi placed his palm against it and pushed.
The ornament sank several centimeters into the wall.
A section of rock suddenly flipped over, and the ground began to tremble. Moments later, a deep underground passage emerged not far from where they stood.
Once the tunnel opened, Hayashi immediately formed hand seals and released a powerful Wind Release into the darkness.
The passage had likely remained sealed for over a century. No matter how advanced its ventilation system might have been, there was no guarantee harmful gases hadn't accumulated inside.
Only after allowing the Wind Release to circulate through the tunnel for half an hour did he feel comfortable proceeding.
Together with Himeji, he descended into the underground passage.
The hidden chamber contained neither gold nor treasure, nor ancient archives.
Instead, it was filled with graves.
Rows upon rows of them stretched into the darkness, each lacking a tombstone or marker.
Fortunately, the tomb did not appear to be designed with elaborate anti-intruder mechanisms. The pair traveled hundreds of meters without triggering a single trap.
As they advanced deeper underground, the cavern gradually widened.
A rough estimate revealed no fewer than a thousand graves.
The significance of such a sight was astonishing.
The individuals buried here were not ordinary people. Every one of them carried the bloodline of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
"Be careful. There's still someone ahead."
Himeji, who had been maintaining her Byakugan, suddenly pointed toward a dark area in the distance.
Moments later, an elderly man dressed in rough linen staggered out of the shadows.
The sight was eerie.
This was a tomb containing thousands of graves, and now a corpse-like old man had suddenly appeared from the darkness.
His face was even more unsettling.
Where his eyes should have been were two hollow, black cavities, as though his eyes had been forcibly removed.
"Byakugan... I can sense the aura of the Byakugan..."
His voice sounded like the cry of a wandering spirit.
Stumbling forward as though he might collapse at any moment, he radiated an indescribable sense of dread.
Hayashi watched silently.
The moment he entered the underground chamber, Sage Mode had already detected the old man's presence.
Although he was technically still alive, only a faint trace of vitality remained within him.
It was nowhere near enough to sustain a fight.
At most, it would last long enough for him to speak a few more sentences.
"Ah! There's no mistake... a princess with the Byakugan... wonderful... the Tenseigan... has been revived... must stop... the Ōtsutsuki..."
The old man's remaining life force finally burned away.
After uttering those fragmented words, his body collapsed.
At the same time, a purple sphere of light emerged from his mouth.
It was his soul.
As the soul's radiance intensified, countless memories accompanied the glowing light and surged directly toward Himeji.
Meanwhile, Hayashi, despite being a genuine descendant of Hagoromo's bloodline through the Uchiha Clan, was completely ignored.
As expected.
The Sharingan looked impressive, but when it came to inheriting ancient legacies, the Byakugan truly had the advantage.
The torrent of memories flooded into Himeji's consciousness instantly.
Unable to withstand such an enormous amount of information, she quickly lost consciousness.
The spirit of the Ōtsutsuki main family appeared determined to pass on the entire history of the moon's Ōtsutsuki Clan.
The volume of memories was staggering.
Even with Himeji's strength, organizing and absorbing everything would take considerable time.
As soon as Himeji collapsed, Hayashi got to work.
He formed hand seals.
Wood Release: Four-Pillar House Technique!
The earth trembled.
A two-story wooden house rose from the ground in moments.
Wood Release really was convenient.
Especially for real estate development.
Hayashi carried the unconscious Himeji inside and gently laid her on a bed.
After covering her with a blanket, he created a Shadow Clone.
The clone remained behind to watch over her while the original body continued deeper into the tomb.
In the original timeline, Naruto and the others had left immediately after seeing Hinata lose consciousness.
However, Hayashi had no intention of leaving so soon.
A tomb belonging to the Ōtsutsuki Clan was far too valuable to ignore.
Using Sage Mode, he carefully surveyed the area.
What he discovered immediately caught his attention.
There was a region beyond a certain massive gate that even his sensory abilities could not penetrate.
Not even slightly.
A powerful Barrier Ninjutsu clearly blocked all perception.
This tomb was enormous.
After all, it had served as the burial ground of the moon's Ōtsutsuki Clan for thousands of years.
After walking for nearly half an hour, Hayashi finally reached the deepest section.
His vision suddenly brightened.
A vast expanse of white light flooded the area.
Instinctively raising an arm to shield his eyes, he squinted and finally made out the source.
An ancient bronze gate.
Its surface was covered with countless black inscriptions that seemed to absorb light.
"This is..."
Hayashi stepped forward and placed both hands on the gate.
There was no telling who might be resting behind it.
Although the gate radiated a brilliant glow, he had no intention of forcing it open.
It wasn't because he lacked the ability.
With Amaterasu at his disposal, even a heavily protected gate that had gone unmaintained for centuries would eventually succumb to the black flames.
The problem was that he wasn't here to rob graves.
He was conducting archaeology.
Granted, the distinction was questionable from certain perspectives, but it sounded much better.
Besides, who knew whether Hamura still existed in some mysterious form, quietly observing everything from above?
Hayashi might be a descendant of Hagoromo rather than Hamura, but provoking an ancient figure like that seemed unwise.
If Hamura became displeased and merely sent a prophetic dream to the surviving Ōtsutsuki, that would be manageable.
But if he sent one to Himeji and granted her some special power to eliminate an "unfilial descendant" like him, things could become very awkward.
Since brute force was off the table, Hayashi shifted his focus toward the barrier itself.
His expertise in sealing techniques spoke for itself.
Under the scrutiny of his Mangekyō Sharingan, the entire structure of the Barrier Ninjutsu became visible.
Every pathway and connection was exposed.
Although the design was extraordinarily complex, he gradually deciphered it.
Forming hand seals, Hayashi began altering the barrier's flow.
As his fingers moved across the inscriptions, he infused them with his own ocular power.
Then he drew a kunai and cut his palm.
Blood flowed freely.
Pressing his hand against the grooves carved into the two bronze doors, he allowed the blood to seep into the channels.
Afterward, he waited quietly.
Nothing happened.
The gate remained perfectly still.
"...That's not very scientific."
Hayashi frowned.
Could it require Himeji's blood instead?
He took out a small bottle and was about to pour its contents into the grooves when a deep creaking sound suddenly echoed through the chamber.
The two bronze gates began to move.
Slowly.
Reluctantly.
As the opening widened and the scene beyond gradually revealed itself, Hayashi froze.
He was completely dumbfounded.
...
...
===
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