"It wasn't your father who wanted to do this. It was your mother."
"Otsutsuki Kaguya."
The Toad Sage's voice suddenly sounded beside them.
They didn't know when he had arrived. He was now standing near the Temple, quietly watching them.
"Otsutsuki Kaguya is an outsider who came from beyond the heavens."
"She sees the entire world as her territory, and she will bring great disaster upon it."
"If no one can restrain this desire of hers, then sooner or later, she will destroy the world."
"What exactly do you mean?"
Hagoromo Otsutsuki looked at the Toad Sage before him and couldn't help frowning. "Isn't saying she'll destroy the world a bit of an exaggeration?"
They didn't approve of sacrificing human lives to the God Tree, but their concern came only from a sense of compassion.
Still, they couldn't believe that such behavior would destroy the world.
After all, even the lives sacrificed to the God Tree didn't amount to much compared to the world's entire population.
It was still within reasonable limits.
"I'm not exaggerating..."
The Toad Sage shook his head, insisting he wasn't overstating things. He continued, "That God Tree is the source of all evil."
"It needs to absorb not only the life force of living creatures, but also an unending supply of Natural Energy from the world."
"In the process, the world's Natural Energy will gradually dry up, until it becomes nothing but a wasteland."
The Toad Sage's gaze was profound. As he spoke, scenes flickered in his eyes, as if they revealed what would happen in the future.
The Hagoromo Brothers frowned.
At that moment, they felt something change within them.
The Toad Sage stepped forward and handed them an oily substance.
"This is Toad Oil, a substance that helps you make contact with Natural Energy. If you apply it to your body, you'll be able to sense the flow of Natural Energy."
He explained, indicating that the Hagoromo Brothers could try it for themselves.
"Brother..."
Hamura looked at Hagoromo, his face showing some hesitation.
He felt it was foolish to simply trust a stranger and smear a substance that looked dangerous all over his body.
If the other man harbored ill intentions, the consequences would be unimaginable.
But Hagoromo shook his head.
He understood his younger brother's concerns, but for some reason, when he looked at the Toad Sage before him, he felt an inexplicable trust.
He had a feeling the other man wouldn't deceive him, at least not over something this small.
So he took the Toad Sage's Toad Oil and began applying it in front of Hamura.
The moment the Toad Oil touched his body, all kinds of intense reactions began. Hagoromo couldn't help frowning; he could feel something changing.
"Phew..."
He sucked in a breath. The sensation was intense.
Hamura watched Hagoromo warily.
A faint, pearly glow appeared in his Byakugan as he carefully observed Hagoromo, recording every detail.
In Hamura's eyes, Hagoromo's arm gradually turned to stone, as if undergoing some unknown transformation.
"Brother!"
Seeing this, Hamura was alarmed and immediately tried to stop him.
"It's all right."
Hagoromo waved his hand, stopping Hamura in time. Then he said, "Don't worry. I'm fine."
"I see. So this is Natural Energy..."
Standing where he was, Hagoromo felt the changes around him, a dazed look appearing on his face. "If that's the case..."
He waved his hand, and in an instant, the chakra within him combined with Natural Energy, unleashing a terrifying attack.
With a single strike, he pierced a small hill ahead and swept away everything within it.
Its power far surpassed what he could achieve with chakra alone.
Hamura was stunned by the sight. Even the Toad Sage looked surprised, a hint of admiration in his eyes.
"As expected of a child of Otsutsuki Kaguya, an outsider from beyond the heavens. Not only is he powerful, but his talent for Senjutsu is astonishing as well."
"With talent like that, if he seriously studies Senjutsu, he may one day surpass everyone who came before him..."
Hagoromo looked at the Toad Sage.
He said nothing, simply turning his gaze to the God Tree and beginning to observe it carefully.
At that moment, he hadn't formally begun training in Senjutsu, so his perception of Natural Energy wasn't very keen.
But the Toad Oil made up for that, allowing him to sense Natural Energy more clearly.
And so he realized that the Toad Sage hadn't lied.
Besides devouring life, the God Tree before him was also slowly consuming the world's Natural Energy.
The amount it consumed wasn't small. If it continued for long enough, it might drain the area dry.
And within the God Tree was an immense quantity of Natural Energy.
It was the accumulated energy of the Ninja World, gathered inside the God Tree to nourish its fruit.
If this process continued, it was only a matter of time before the God Tree drained all the Natural Energy from the Ninja World.
"What will happen if all the Natural Energy in the world is drained?"
Hagoromo slowly opened his eyes and asked the Toad Sage beside him.
"That would bring about a tremendous disaster, one that could even destroy the world itself."
The Toad Sage explained.
Natural Energy was a force produced as the world functioned.
It was generated continuously as the world turned. Generally speaking, the more prosperous a world was, the more Natural Energy it produced.
This force was like a cornerstone that sustained the world's existence. Only with enough Natural Energy could the world remain stable.
Once the God Tree completely drained the Natural Energy, a tremendous disaster would follow.
The world itself would become incredibly fragile, and might well plunge into the abyss of self-destruction.
Disasters would erupt across the land, and the entire world could collapse.
Hearing this near-apocalyptic outcome, the Hagoromo Brothers felt their hearts tighten.
"If that's really going to happen, why would Father leave the God Tree alone?"
Hamura challenged him.
If their mother Kaguya had planted the God Tree, they wouldn't have been surprised if she didn't care whether the world was destroyed.
But Namikawa Yū hadn't tried to stop it, either. In fact, he had even arranged for sacrificial offerings to be brought here. That was far beyond anything they could have imagined.
If the God Tree really would bring about such a terrifying outcome, why hadn't he stopped it?