"So," Kyusei said lightly, "I still prefer the way you were at the beginning—arrogant and untamed."
He stepped forward, grabbed Otsutsuki Yomei, and lifted him up with one hand, staring at the man's barely open Tenseigan.
"…"
Yomei forced his eyes open, looking at the person who had dragged him back into the moon. His lips trembled as if he wanted to speak, but no words came out.
Kyusei quickly returned to the interior of the moon. The moment he arrived, he saw Nao.
And the woman standing beside her.
With Kyusei's return—and Yomei in his grasp—the outcome of the battle was obvious.
"Kyusei!"
Nao immediately ran to his side, her gaze sharp and wary as she stared at the woman.
"A descendant of the Sage of Six Paths, welcome."
The woman gave a slight bow to Kyusei before looking at Yomei in his hand.
"My name is Otsutsuki Keishin. Since your spar with my husband has concluded, I hope you can release him."
"If you have any conditions, feel free to name them."
Her posture was humble—remarkably so.
To her, everything else was insignificant. Only the man in Kyusei's hand truly mattered.
With just a few words, she reframed a life-and-death battle as a mere spar, attempting to turn hostility into peace and offering anything in exchange for her husband.
"First," Kyusei said calmly, "this wasn't a spar."
He showed no trace of pity for the woman before him. His compassion was reserved only for his own people.
"Second, that guy tried to kill me the moment we met. You sensed the fight, didn't you?"
"That doesn't look like a spar."
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
He had won. And the victor had every right to set the terms.
Yet the way she spoke made it sound as if he were the aggressor.
Keishin fell silent. She had indeed witnessed the battle through her own means.
Her husband had even used the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion in Tenseigan Chakra Mode—yet this Nine-Tails jinchūriki had endured it head-on.
It shattered everything she thought she knew.
If that attack had been a direct downward slash instead of a sweep, even the ground beneath them would have been split in two.
"And I'm not here to talk," Kyusei continued. "A few hundred years ago, did a Hyuga clan member come here?"
He had no interest in small talk. He went straight to the point.
That Hyuga traitor who had slaughtered sixty percent of the clan and possessed power capable of reshaping terrain—there was no doubt he had awakened the Tenseigan.
Afterward, he vanished, with his last known location being the passage between Earth and the moon.
And here, on the moon, existed a giant Tenseigan.
It was impossible not to connect the dots.
Keishin shook her head slightly. "I'm not sure. But the clan archives should have records."
"Take us there," Nao said immediately.
"Please follow me."
Keishin formed a hand seal, and three massive puppet birds descended from afar, landing before them.
"Please, ride these."
Kyusei said nothing. He grabbed Yomei and stepped onto one of the birds. Nao glanced at Keishin, then silently followed him.
Keishin paid no mind. She commanded the birds to take flight, guiding them toward the artificial sun in the sky.
Soon, they entered its interior.
The first thing they saw was a vast space filled with floating structures.
Unlike the gravity outside, which mimicked Earth, this place felt light—closer to the weightlessness of space.
Kyusei's Kagura Mind's Eye expanded instantly.
In an instant, he sensed an enormous, intricate formation.
The entire artificial sun was a massive sealing array.
And at its core—
The giant Tenseigan.
Even setting the Tenseigan aside, the array alone made this journey worthwhile.
"Are you interested in these formations?" Keishin asked, noticing his reaction.
"Your sealing techniques are impressive," Kyusei replied.
Her expression tightened slightly.
In this world, sealing techniques encompassed a vast range—barriers, formations, scrolls, teleportation, even space-time manipulation.
And Kyusei's mastery was among the very best.
The moment he entered, he had already begun considering whether Konoha could be transformed into something similar—or if he could build one himself.
"These are merely remnants of our ancestors' wisdom," Keishin said calmly. "We can't compare to them."
She didn't deny his words.
Soon, they arrived at a floating castle.
Before entering, Kyusei glanced toward the center—where the giant Tenseigan resided.
"I want to go there."
For the first time, Keishin's calm expression cracked with tension.
If he wanted scrolls, techniques—even the entire clan's records—she would hand them over without hesitation in exchange for her husband.
But the giant Tenseigan…
That was different.
Yet she had no power to stop him.
Even if she possessed Yomei's strength, it would make no difference.
"…That place… is forbidden," she said with difficulty.
"Oh," Kyusei replied casually. "I'll just take a look."
He sealed the unconscious Yomei with a Heavenly Flame Prison and tossed him aside before grabbing Nao's hand and leaping toward the Tenseigan without another word.
Keishin watched helplessly.
She had no choice.
All she could do was hope he wouldn't take it.
"Kyusei… what are you doing?" Nao asked, confused.
He clearly knew something—but hadn't told her.
"There's something ahead that's very important to you," he said.
"Something that can evolve the Byakugan into the Tenseigan."
That only deepened her confusion.
But she trusted him completely.
The artificial sun wasn't small, but it wasn't vast either. Within minutes, they arrived before a towering ancient structure.
Kyusei stepped inside without hesitation.
There were no puppet guards.
Keishin must have known resistance was futile.
As they entered, Nao suddenly clutched her eyes, her expression pained.
"What's wrong?" Kyusei stopped immediately.
"I don't know… my eyes feel like… they're alive. Like they're beating… like a heart…"
Kyusei understood instantly.
In the original story, Otsutsuki Toneri had been born without eyes, forcing him to steal pure Byakugan to serve as a vessel for the Tenseigan.
That was why he kidnapped Hyuga Hanabi and transplanted her eyes.
Whether it was obsession or necessity, the point remained—Hanabi and Hinata were Nao's daughters.
Which meant Nao herself possessed extremely pure Otsutsuki Hamura blood—purer even than those on the moon.
At the very least, Keishin couldn't awaken the Tenseigan.
"It's fine," Kyusei said gently, holding her hand. "It'll be over soon."
Nao calmed down slightly, reassured by his warmth.
He had already decided—he would tell her everything.
But not now.
She needed this power.
And so did he.
For Akatsuki.
For the future purification of the Dragon Vein.
The Tenseigan was essential.
As they moved forward, a magnificent golden palace came into view.
But neither of them paid attention to it.
Their eyes were drawn to the center.
The giant Tenseigan.
It filled nearly the entire hall, surrounded by flowing, mysterious runes.
Kyusei immediately recognized the sealing barrier—designed to contain its overwhelming chakra.
"This is…" Nao murmured.
"The giant Tenseigan. An evolved form of the Byakugan. Far beyond the Sharingan, the Mangekyo Sharingan, or even the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan."
Before Kyusei could speak, an aged voice echoed through the hall.
"Who's there?!"
Kyusei's voice rang out sharply.
"Descendant of my brother, there is no need for hostility."
A phantom figure appeared above the Tenseigan.
A horned, elderly man.
Otsutsuki Hamura.
A true Six Paths-level existence.
Kyusei stared at him cautiously.
But Hamura barely acknowledged him, turning instead to Nao.
"To think that after a thousand years, someone of such pure blood would appear…"
His expression was complicated.
Back then, he and his brother had sealed their mother on the moon.
He had stayed behind to watch over her.
But his descendants…
They had grown arrogant.
They saw themselves as gods, separate from humanity.
Their internal conflicts had only deepened his disappointment.
And now—
A descendant from Earth stood before him.
"Our clan?" Nao asked, confused.
"Wait… am I an alien?"
Kyusei and Hamura both fell silent for a moment.
Even Kyusei hadn't expected this side of her.
"The moon's people are like a decaying tree," Hamura continued calmly.
"They appear strong, but are already dying—just like me."
"To see themselves as gods… how absurd."
"They were born from Earth, yet seek to destroy it."
"That is backward thinking."
He looked at Nao seriously.
"Child, are you willing to inherit my Tenseigan and become the guardian of the moon's seal?"
"Wait," Kyusei interrupted. "What do you mean by 'guardian of the moon's seal'?"
Hamura looked at both of them and said slowly,
"Do you know of the Rabbit Goddess… Otsutsuki Kaguya?"