"Successors..."
A spiritual voice echoed in the minds of all four, carrying the exhaustion and relief of a thousand years.
Naruto instinctively took a defensive stance, warily watching the illusory figure formed from light and shadow.
Sasuke's Rinnegan narrowed slightly as he analyzed the image's makeup. It wasn't a physical Chakra entity, but seemed more like a vast body of information, sealed deep within the system and possessing a will of its own.
"Who are you?" Konan asked again. Her hand remained pressed against the shield, the blue crystal in her palm resonating with the marking on the figure's brow, forming an invisible connection.
"I was once the shrine maiden who guarded this artificial sun. My people perished long ago, over the course of many years."
The woman in the image—the Guide—gazed gently at Konan.
"My name is of no importance. It turned to lunar dust along with my physical body. You may think of me as... a 'last message.'"
Her gaze slowly swept over Sasuke and Nagato, lingering for a moment on their two pairs of eyes, each marked with purple ripples. A complex emotion flickered in her eyes, somewhere between nostalgia and sorrow.
"The Rinnegan... So the bloodline of our homeland endured after all."
"You know these eyes?"
Nagato asked in a low voice. Those eyes had brought him boundless power, as well as boundless pain. Now, deep within the moon, it seemed he was finally about to reach their source.
"They came from our ancestor, Otsutsuki Hamura."
The Guide made no attempt to hide the truth.
"But the descendants of our branch ultimately strayed from the path."
She raised a translucent hand and pointed at the giant cocoon throbbing before them. "The one responsible for all this is inside. He was once the most brilliant genius in