"Father..."
Hearing Namikawa Yū's plans, the Hagoromo Brothers were both stunned.
"This is far too generous."
Hagoromo was about to step forward and urge Namikawa Yū to take back his order when Namikawa Yū shook his head. "They're only two barren little islands. They're nothing to the country, and they're just right for them."
"Of course, the same goes for you two."
He smiled, then looked at Hagoromo and Hamura before him. "Yū, you've spent many years out in the world. It's about time."
"I'm giving you the territories that once belonged to the Land of Them and the Land of Birds to govern."
"From now on, you'll be the kings of those lands."
He looked at the two young men before him and spoke softly.
Compared with the islands he had granted his two grandsons, the fiefs he was giving Hagoromo and Hamura were prosperous lands. They were vast, and home to many people—undoubtedly fine places to rule.
"Father..."
Listening to Namikawa Yū, the Hagoromo Brothers felt conflicted.
Naturally, they were glad that Namikawa Yū had entrusted them with such an important responsibility.
But alongside their joy, they also felt uneasy.
Namikawa Yū's manner of handling things this time was rather unusual.
This didn't feel like an ordinary grant. It was more like he was entrusting his final wishes to them.
It gave them the impression that Namikawa Yū might leave at any moment, and was already preparing for what came after.
Namikawa Yū's next words only reinforced that impression.
"It's not just the two of you. If Hamura has children in the future, I've already prepared fiefs for them as well."
Namikawa Yū looked at Hamura before him, his eyes full of encouragement. "The documents granting the fiefs have already been prepared. When the time comes, you can simply go and claim them."
"Father..."
Hamura furrowed his brow. "Yū..."
He hesitated, seeming to want to ask Namikawa Yū something, but in the end, he said nothing.
Everyone present fell silent, and the atmosphere grew oppressive.
Only after a while, when Namikawa Yū had someone escort the Hagoromo Brothers out, did the atmosphere return to normal.
"Mother."
Hagoromo took a deep breath and looked at Kaguya. "We came here not only to visit you and Father, but also to warn you."
"Things can't go on like this."
He tried to persuade her. "The God Tree keeps absorbing Natural Energy, and it's reached its limit. If it continues, sooner or later, something terrible will happen."
"If this goes on, the world may be destroyed by our own hands before your enemies even arrive."
"Please, stop."
Beside him, Hamura stood without a word, his gaze fixed on Kaguya. Clearly, he felt the same way.
The atmosphere around them turned tense.
Everyone present looked to Kaguya, waiting for her response.
Under their gaze, Kaguya finally spoke.
"Are you trying to force my hand?"
Kaguya spoke coolly, not a trace of emotion in her Byakugan. "All this for a bunch of insignificant people who have nothing to do with you..."
"We're not forcing you. We're trying to reason with you."
Hagoromo's expression was solemn. "The people living in this world are alive, Mother. They aren't the ants you call them."
"They have families and peaceful lives of their own."
"We have no right to decide their fate."
"And what if I insist?"
Kaguya's expression was cold. "What will you do then?"
"If that's the case..."
Hagoromo took a deep breath. "Then we'll have no choice but to stop you ourselves."
"With these Rinnegan!"
As he spoke, his aura changed abruptly. His once-peaceful presence turned terrifying in an instant.
Though he still couldn't match Kaguya, he was far beyond any ordinary opponent.
What drew the most attention was his eyes. At some point, they had become a pair of purple Rinnegan.
The Rinnegan were pure, carrying the same source of power as Otsutsuki Kaguya. They looked terrifying and mighty.
"And me."
Hamura's voice rang out beside him.
He stepped forward, and his aura changed as well.
A faint golden light blossomed around him. In the blink of an eye, he was completely different from before.
Most striking of all were his Byakugan. At some point, they had turned a deep blue, as though the sky itself were contained within them, stirring endless wonder.
They were Tenseigan. In terms of rank, they were in no way inferior to Hagoromo's Rinnegan, and held equally boundless power.
"Rinnegan, Tenseigan..."
Looking at the two young men before her, Otsutsuki Kaguya showed shock for the first time. "Hagoromo, Hamura... Yū, you actually..."
Neither the Rinnegan nor the Tenseigan was ordinary.
The former was said to be a hallmark of powerful members of the Otsutsuki Clan, but awakening it was no easy feat.
And Hagoromo's Rinnegan were especially unusual. Their ocular power far exceeded that of ordinary Otsutsuki, rivaling that of Kaguya, the Progenitor of Chakra.
Hamura's Tenseigan were just as unique. They were exceedingly rare even within the Otsutsuki Clan, and could only be awakened once one's Otsutsuki blood had awakened to a certain degree.
Unlike the immature boys they had once been, the Hagoromo Brothers had now come fully into their own. Their strength was far from insignificant, even among the Otsutsuki Clan.
If Kaguya hadn't once consumed the Chakra Fruit, her original strength would have been so inferior that she likely wouldn't even have been qualified to stand before Hagoromo and Hamura.
This was far beyond anything she had expected.
She stood there, looking at the two young men before her, and said nothing for a long time.
After a while, she spoke again. "Turn back now and obey me. I can pretend none of this ever happened."
She thought of the Otsutsuki Clan, whose arrival was imminent.
If she had to face the Otsutsuki Clan alone, she might struggle.
But with the Hagoromo Brothers, now fully grown, the outcome would be entirely different.
Once that second Chakra Fruit ripened, and Namikawa Yū consumed it and awakened his Otsutsuki power, their side would have four elite-level fighters by the standards of the Otsutsuki Clan.
And that was without counting Indra and Asura, who were still young but had immense potential...
With such strength, they would be powerful even among the Otsutsuki Clan—strong enough to establish a faction of their own.
Thinking this, Kaguya's tone softened slightly, and she became more patient with the two young men before her.
"Give it up."
Hagoromo stared at Kaguya, resolve shining in his purple Rinnegan. "As long as you refuse to abandon your plans, we can't back down."
"We can't let this world be destroyed by our hands."
"Attack!"
The next moment, he reached out and thrust one hand forward.
Several Truth-Seeking Orbs formed and shot straight toward her.