For the next two weeks, Kyosuke freeloaded off the Hyuga Clan.
While wandering around, he secretly studied the Space-Time Barrier Ōtsutsuki Hamura had left behind.
It was a long-distance teleportation array. He could not destroy it and rebuild it, but he could make slight modifications to its existing structure.
For example, he could add restrictions so that only those with his permission could open the passage to the moon.
That would let him pressure Hyuga Tennin. If he wanted the Tenseigan, he had better not forget their partnership.
With his foundation in Flying Thunder God, Kyosuke finished the modifications in no time.
Put simply, all he had done was hook up a router. The actual work was not complicated; the Space Barrier left by the Ōtsutsuki still did most of the teleportation work.
He ordered his subordinates to conceal the cave. He did not want anyone to know the passage existed.
At least until he could travel between star systems, it would be best not to expose the Moon Base.
Once Hyuga Tennin successfully obtained an Ōtsutsuki body, he would seal the passage completely.
If the clan ran into trouble in the future, he could secretly evacuate its members and turn the moon into an Uchiha base.
Then no one would be able to threaten the Uchiha's safety.
For now, though, he would first prove to the Hyuga Clan that the Ōtsutsuki existed.
Arriving at the clan leader's study, Kyosuke briefly explained that the passage was open.
At the news, Hyuga Tennin immediately perked up, thrilled by the sense that he was about to come face-to-face with history.
"Oh, right." Kyosuke reminded him with a faint smile, "The clan on the moon probably won't be all that friendly."
"I understand." Hyuga Tennin nodded. He knew that what they were doing amounted to an invasion.
They were even coveting the other side's bodies. It would be strange if they received a warm welcome.
Looking at the boy, whose head was lowered in thought, the Hyuga clan leader had a whole host of questions he wanted answered.
But even without asking, he knew the boy would never tell him the truth.
Kyosuke could easily use ancient texts to brush off any questions about history.
As for the Space Barrier, couldn't he simply claim he had triggered it by accident while training?
As an ignorant bumpkin who knew nothing about space-time, did Tennin even have the right to question him?
Since he was destined to get no answers, he could not be bothered to press the matter.
From the looks of it, the boy's claims were most likely true.
If there was any deception or malice involved, the Hyuga Clan would immediately march north. With enemies on three fronts, the Uchiha would face certain death.
Both sides having something to fear was the proper foundation for a lasting partnership.
Once the boy left, Hyuga Tennin immediately summoned his trusted men, preparing to assemble a squad of jonin.
Combining their bloodline with that of the Ōtsutsuki sounded simple, but the actual process of awakening those eyes would certainly not be easy.
Exploration was only one part of it. Hyuga Tennin needed to find sufficiently substantial records.
Living on the moon meant that clan had not undergone any major upheavals. There was bound to be invaluable knowledge to find there.
For the legendary Tenseigan, Hyuga Tennin resolved to set foot on a path he should never have approached.
Whether it would bring fortune or disaster, no one could yet say.
Soon, five trusted jonin assembled. Their leader was a Hyuga with elite jonin-level strength.
Including Kyosuke and Tennin, seven members gathered in the clan's forbidden grounds.
"Let's do it here," the Hyuga clan leader explained. "No one can approach this place without my orders. It's perfect for setting up your Space-Time Barrier."
"All right." Kyosuke nodded and began forming hand seals. A black web of markings covered in arcane symbols slowly spread beneath his feet.
After scrutinizing it for a good while, Hyuga Tennin finally shook his head helplessly, knowing he had no aptitude for learning Space-Time Ninjutsu.
Perhaps I should let Yayoi try.
Yayoi Hyuga was the most outstanding prodigy of her generation. Exceptional talents had emerged among both the Uchiha and the Senju, and naturally, the Hyuga Clan refused to fall behind.
She had a remarkable capacity for understanding, able to reconstruct powerful techniques long lost to the clan from information recorded in ancient books.
Space-time might be mysterious, but the Hyuga clan leader had confidence in his disciple.
If no one understood this ninjutsu, wouldn't he remain at someone else's mercy? Every time he wanted to go to the moon, he would have to ask Uchiha Kyosuke for help.
Over time, they might accumulate more favors than they could ever repay.
That was precisely how an overwhelming debt of gratitude could turn into resentment.
After roughly two minutes, Kyosuke finally finished carving his "router."
With this Flying Thunder God Barrier, the group could teleport into the original passage and use the arrangements the Ōtsutsuki had made a thousand years ago to reach the celestial body roughly 400,000 kilometers away.
"Are you ready?" Kyosuke asked the others. In truth, he was a little apprehensive himself.
There were still seventy or eighty years before the events of Naruto's journey to the moon. Who knew what things were like up there now?
Based on Otsutsuki Toneri's memories, they could very well be in the midst of the war that split their clan. Simply put, it was an Ōtsutsuki civil war.
As people from Earth, recklessly getting involved could have unforeseen consequences.
But for the sake of the war, Kyosuke had no choice but to take the risk.
Of course, what happened to those people did not matter to him in the slightest.
The Lunar Ōtsutsuki launching a war of extermination against the Shinobi World?
That would actually make things much more interesting.
The Senju and Uchiha did nothing but fight each other all day. Even if no one else was tired of it, he was bored.
Besides, Earth already had more than enough crises. What difference would those few people on the moon make?
He slowly formed a few seals, and the Space-Time Barrier lit up at once.
A gentle breeze swept past. Not a soul remained in the Hyuga Clan's forbidden grounds.
Kyosuke had finally completed his first...
Moon landing.
The moon's surface was visibly barren.
Standing at the entrance to the teleportation array, Kyosuke felt rather wistful. He had never imagined there would come a day when he could land on the moon.
After a short journey through the teleportation array, the group successfully arrived at the Ōtsutsuki palace.
Unlike in later years, the Ōtsutsuki were still alive and well. As the gateway to Earth, this place was bound to be heavily guarded.
The moment they appeared, their presence was detected.
Seeing this, Hyuga Kenji immediately sprang into action, easily dispatching all the guards.
Hyuga Kenji was one of the Tennin Clan Leader's closest subordinates. His strength had reached the elite jonin level, and he had a very good chance of reaching the pinnacle in the future.
"Ah..." With a quiet sigh, Kyosuke withdrew his gaze.
Nearby, Hyuga Tennin's eyes shone. He finally believed Kyosuke's words completely.
He took out a Sealing Scroll and sealed all three Ōtsutsuki corpses inside.
Once that was done, Tennin, the strongest among them, immediately activated his Byakugan, preparing to inspect the Ōtsutsuki palace thoroughly.
He discovered that the enemy seemed rather weak. Despite their powerful chakra, they lacked the means to control it effectively.
What did that mean?
It meant the clan on the moon had stopped seriously developing ninjutsu.
Their methods of combat were still as crude as they had been a thousand years ago.
"Found it!"
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