Dinner time.
In the dining room of the Konoha mansion, the long table was laden with a feast.
The women sat around the table, chatting and laughing as they ate.
Hinata was also there.
She sat at a corner of the table, next to Hanabi.
At first, Hinata ate one bowl properly.
Then she had another.
Watching Hinata go for bowl after bowl, the other girls were a bit dumbfounded.
They couldn't help but wondered, 'How long had this girl been starving?'
Yotsuba stopped eating, blinked at the five empty bowls stacked in front of Hinata. She was seeing someone who could eat even more than her for the first time.
Noticing the others' eyes, Hinata blushed and put down her chopsticks, reluctantly saying:
"I-I'm full..."
Seeing this, Makoto couldn't help but laugh. "Eat if you want."
Encouraged by Makoto's words, Hinata finally summoned her courage, looked at Mrs. Yuigahama, who was helping serve rice, and asked softly:
"Excuse me... could I have one more bowl?"
Mrs. Yuigahama smiled brightly, took Hinata's bowl, and helped her add another large, full bowl of rice.
"Eat up. You are growing."
It was then that Makoto also remembered that Hinata had a big eater trait.
Apparently, in the original work, she could eat dozens of bowls of ramen in one meal, even surpassing Choji's appetite.
Thinking of this, Makoto couldn't help but glance at Hinata's figure, wrapped in the fishnet outfit under her collar.
'Malnourished since childhood, yet she had grown so big.'
'Now with proper nutrition, wouldn't she eventually rival Tsunade in size?'
When the meal was almost finished, Makoto looked at the two Hyuga sisters, Hinata and Hanabi.
"Tomorrow, I'm taking you to get some power-ups."
At these words, both sisters looked confused.
Makoto smiled and said they would find out tomorrow.
At this, Momoi couldn't hold back anymore.
She put down her chopsticks, looked at Makoto, and said with a hint of dissatisfaction:
"Makoto-sama, why give it to them first?"
She understood that she and the other new players had been in this world for over half a year.
While they had gradually learned to mold Chakra, compared to the other veteran players, the gap was still too wide.
Moreover, during these past six months, she and the other new players, including the Kessoku Band girls, had realized that if they studied normally in this world, they would never become top-tier experts.
They either needed to be given a direct power-up, like Utaha.
Or directly cling to the leg of a strong person, like Mai.
If they followed the rules and learned, they'd be lucky to become a Special Jonin at best.
And now, it seemed like Makoto was clearly giving special treatment to the Hyuga sisters. This made Momoi, who was eager to improve, a little unhappy.
After all, she had been diligently serving Makoto for over half a year.
Although her cooking skills were still as indescribable as ever, she had never slacked off on the housework.
Those two little girls only came to learn Haki each time... they didn't contribute as much as she did.
That's why Momoi was somewhat dissatisfied.
She couldn't compete with the official wives like Utaha and the Nakano sisters because they had known Makoto longer and entered the household earlier, so of course she had nothing to say.
She couldn't compete with Mai because Mai had better talent, which made Tsunade willing to take her as an apprentice.
But now, with a new power-up available, Makoto chose to give it to these two white-eyed girls first...
Why? On what grounds?
"Satsuki, don't be like that!"
Beside her, Marin quickly tugged at Momoi's sleeve, her expression somewhat embarrassed.
Itsuki, sitting on the other side, blinked.
Having the same name was troublesome in that regard.
"I-I'm sorry, I was out of line."
Snapping out of it, Momoi quickly sat back down and apologized to Makoto.
She knew very well that she wasn't qualified to question Makoto's decisions.
But even so, Momoi was still somewhat dissatisfied.
She glanced at Marin beside her and lowered her voice to ask, "Marin, don't you think it's unfair?"
Marin looked down in silence, tracing circles on the table with her finger.
Of course she did!
But she didn't dare say it...
Makoto glanced at them. "Only the two of them can use this power-up."
This wasn't really Makoto being biased.
The main issue was that only Hinata and Hanabi could actually awaken the Tenseigan.
For now, though, Makoto was just thinking of going to take a look first.
After all, he didn't want to transplant male cells into these two sisters either. What if a man's face grew on their chests?
Then he'd rather not have this power-up at all.
Utaha asked curiously, "Where are you going to find it?"
Makoto extended a finger and pointed at the full moon in the night sky.
"The moon."
At these words, everyone looked up at the bright moon outside the window, their faces blank.
…
The next day.
Northern border of the Land of Fire.
Passing through a dense forest, Makoto and his group arrived here.
Standing on a mountainside, they looked into the distance.
There, on top of another high mountain opposite, a waterfall over a thousand meters high cascaded down from the summit into the ravine below.
Makoto looked somewhat helplessly at the girls who had followed him.
"I told you all you didn't need to come. There's nothing interesting up there."
Yamato was the first to object.
"Something as fun as going to the moon, how could I not want to see it with my own eyes?"
Even the usually quiet Mai nodded vigorously.
She had taken many international trips.
But an interplanetary trip? Never.
Makoto glanced at these girls, and they all came to the waterfall.
Makoto then signaled to Saeko.
Saeko understood and drew the Shodai Kitetsu from her waist.
With one slash.
Golden flying slash roared from the blade, crashing head-on into the massive waterfall.
Boom—!!!
The waterfall was split in two, with a wide gap appearing in the middle.
White water cascaded down on either side, like two huge curtains being pulled apart, revealing a cave hidden behind the waterfall.
"From here, we can go to the moon?"
Ikuyo said incredulously.
Everyone entered the cave together.
After walking for about ten minutes, a low rumbling sound came from ahead.
"Something's coming."
Hancock said, using her Observation Haki.
No sooner had she spoken.
Boom—!!!
An enormous crab charged out from the depths of the cave.
'A summoned creature?!'
[Water Release: Gunshot]
The newly appeared crab opened its mouth between its giant pincers and spewed out a massive pillar of water.
"This should be a guard left behind by Otsutsuki Hamura."
Makoto said.
"I'll take it!"
Chika charged out of the group, pulling the kanabo off her back.
The Cancer of the Earth gripped the handle with both hands, raising the kanabo high above her head.
Blue electric arcs began to jump around her body, making crackling sounds.
"One hundred million volts—"
"Roaring Thunder Bagua!"
Chika swung the club down.
The kanabo, carrying the violent power of lightning, crashed into the water pillar spewed by the giant crab.
Boom—!!!
The lightning surged back up the water pillar, instantly piercing through the crab's entire body.
Blue-white electric light ran wild inside the crab, cracking its bluish-gray shell from the inside.
Bang!
The entire crab exploded into fragments, bluish-gray shell pieces scattering everywhere, hitting the ground with a crackling sound.
Chika hoisted the kanabo onto her shoulder and turned back to Makoto, giving him a 'V' sign.
Makoto walked up and patted her little head, leading the group to continue forward.
After walking for about another ten minutes, the cave finally ended.
What came into view was an unremarkable-looking pond.
"This water... feels intangible?"
Ai curiously crouched down and gently pressed her hand against it.
The other girls also curiously reached out to touch it.
"It really does!"
Marin poked the water with her finger. She couldn't feel the texture a liquid should have at all.
"It's probably materialized Chakra."
Having obtained the Mangekyo Sharingan, Utaha's perception of Chakra had greatly improved.
In her Mangekyo Sharingan's field of view, this wasn't water at all, but highly concentrated Chakra.
"Let's go."
Makoto didn't say much more and was the first to jump into the pond.
The other girls exchanged glances and followed.
The moment they entered—
A strange mental shock surged into everyone's minds.
It felt like being hit on the temple with a heavy hammer, the world before their eyes spinning.
A chaotic, colorful space replaced everything in their sight, various colored lights spinning, intertwining, and colliding before them.
"Is this... a Genjutsu?"
Utaha, who had already obtained the Kamui Sharingan, said instinctively.
Instantly, both Makoto and Utaha activated their Mangekyo Sharingan simultaneously.
Their eyes emitted powerful Ocular Power, shaking the surrounding Genjutsu barrier to its core.
Meanwhile, Saeko, Hancock, Hiyori, and others released their Conqueror's Haki.
Dark red Haki waves burst from their bodies like invisible waves, crashing against the Genjutsu barrier again and again.
"This is the second line of defense left by Otsutsuki Hamura to stop intruders."
Makoto's voice sounded in the chaotic mental space.
"But it's been thousands of years. Its power is far less than before."
Utaha and the others immediately took action.
They placed their hands on the shoulders of the other girls, injecting Chakra into their bodies to help them dispel the Genjutsu.
"I'm so scared..."
Bocchi's face was pale, her forehead covered in sweat.
Her mental resistance had always been poor. On her own, she definitely couldn't have broken this Genjutsu.
Utaha patted her shoulder without saying much.
Soon, everyone recovered from the shock of the Genjutsu.
Makoto scanned the group, confirmed everyone was fine, and signaled for them to continue.
"There might be a fight later."
Makoto turned his head and glanced at the new players, starting with the Kessoku Band.
"You few, hide at the back when we get there."
And at that moment, inside the moon.
Inside the palace where Hamura once lived, a battle was taking place.
This palace, built thousands of years ago, was the dwelling constructed after Hamura led his clan to the moon.
Over a dozen corpses now lay on the floor of the palace.
Blood stained the white stone tiles.
The living were still fighting.
Not long after Hamura's death, his descendants on the moon had split into the main family and branch family.
This was exactly like the Hyuga Clan on Earth.
And like the Hyuga Clan, the branch family greatly resented the main family.
From a long time ago, the branch family had been brewing a huge conspiracy to eliminate the main family.
And today—
Was the day the branch family made its move.