Inside Fuyuki's mental space.
Fuyuki, who usually gave Hiashi a hard time, wore an unusually awkward expression.
He sat in the arms of an older-looking Kaguya, held tightly in her embrace.
What was more, Kaguya wore a warm, motherly smile. Fuyuki felt completely ill at ease. His Ancestor was far too affectionate.
"My precious child." Kaguya-hime rested her chin on top of Fuyuki's head, her face full of reluctance. "You're the first person in a thousand years to rescue me from my seal. As a reward for being such a good child, is there anything you want?"
Kaguya was a Leo, and her personality was that of an extremely arrogant queen with an overwhelming need for control.
The moment she saw Fuyuki, she took him for her own son!
As for Hagoromo and Hamura? They were just two strays she'd picked up. She could do without them. Fuyuki was much better: he'd taken the initiative to free her from her seal, and pure Byakugan blood ran through his veins.
She didn't care whether Fuyuki wanted it or not. She was going to be his mother, and that was that.
As his birth mother, seeing her son do something worthy of praise naturally meant she should reward him properly.
Even if he'd only freed her temporarily, she was still overjoyed. A thousand years of waiting had finally led to this moment!
"I..." Fuyuki hesitated, then said, "I want to learn your ninjutsu, Ancestor."
His real wish was actually a little perverted: he wanted Kaguya to give him a kiss on the cheek. But considering the huge age gap between him and his Ancestor, he couldn't bring himself to say it. Instead, he asked for a reward Kaguya-hime would be more likely to accept.
What could he do? As a transmigrator, Fuyuki had always dreamed of someone with white hair and a youthful face. Now that he'd met the real deal, he was too embarrassed to act on it!
"Hmm..."
Kaguya-hime thought for a moment. "All right. I can teach you the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack. With your body as it is now, you won't be able to understand or learn my other techniques."
"Thank you, Ancestor!" Fuyuki exclaimed. The Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack was exactly the Nintaijutsu he most wanted to learn.
Next came Kaguya's lesson, though Fuyuki had clearly underestimated just how unreliable his Ancestor was.
"The Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack is very simple. You do this, then this, then this, and release it outside your body. Then you draw on the chakra in the world and make it resonate with your own. Throw a punch, and that's the Vacuum Attack. Keep throwing punches without stopping, and that's the Eighty Deep Vacuum."
Fuyuki: "???"
How could he understand every word his Ancestor said, yet have no idea what they meant when put together?
What did she mean, "this, then this, then that"? Couldn't she tell him how to circulate his chakra, how to combine the chakra inside him with natural chakra, and how to throw that invincible punch that could shake the world?
Seriously, Fuyuki's wish for Kaguya to teach him ninjutsu was pretty much like a Taobao VIP member asking for a favor.
The concept of "techniques" hadn't existed in Kaguya's lifetime, and the Otsutsuki Clan had no such thing as "ninjutsu." They were born knowing how to use chakra. Controlling it was as instinctive as breathing. They had no need to form Hand Seals like shinobi or develop new techniques.
If you asked Kaguya to use the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack, she could throw one punch after another without even getting winded. But if you asked her to teach it, she wouldn't know how. All she could do was describe what it felt like when she used it.
"Hmm, it's about time. I have to return to the seal now. I look forward to seeing you again, my most adorable child." Kaguya held Fuyuki close and gently rubbed her cheek against his. "Once your chakra reserves are as large as that lowly creature's, you'll be able to perform the Vacuum Attack. The Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack is still too difficult for you while you're young. Goodbye!"
"Is that even humanly possible?" Fuyuki stared at her, dumbfounded.
He'd be able to use the Vacuum Attack once his chakra reserves were as large as that lowly creature's?
Ancestor, did you mean Aunt Orochimaru?
He was a Kage Level powerhouse, one of the top ten fighters in the world! He needed chakra reserves like his to use your Nintaijutsu? Were you trying to mess with your grandkid?!
Inside the mental space, Kaguya was slowly disappearing. Outside, the childlike Kaguya-hime lifted the unconscious Hyuga Natsumi by the feet with her long hair. Using her space-time ability, she sent the child she'd just claimed as her own home. Gazing wistfully out the window at the blue sky and white clouds, she said, "It's a shame no one can understand me. Isshiki, Momoshiki, and the Fisherman won't let the world I created go."
The childlike Kaguya began to dissolve. The black-mud-like Spirit Binding Vehicle peeled away from her face, revealing Fuyuki's features underneath. The chains around her hands, feet, and neck also shattered the instant Kaguya left, falling to the ground in fragments.
"Ugh."
Fuyuki opened his eyes and immediately felt nauseated. His body swayed unsteadily. Gripping the edge of the desk, he began coughing violently. One red, spherical object after another flew out of his mouth and bounced across the desktop a few times. Their red glow faded, leaving them like dark-red glass beads.
"What the heck?"
Fuyuki wiped the saliva from his mouth and frowned at the dark-red spheres on the desk. They looked completely ordinary, with nothing unusual about them. But then he remembered Kaguya's full name: Otsutsuki Kaguya.
Fuyuki suspected these things were Elixirs. He hadn't forgotten that when Kaguya descended, she used Wood Release to extract the Nine-Tails' chakra, squeezing it until not a drop remained.
Kaguya-hime hadn't used many abilities, either—just a Byakugan pressure attack and three Vacuum Attack punches. Could these dark-red glass beads be the Nine-Tails' remaining chakra, processed by Kaguya-hime?
If so...
Allow me to say it: Ancestor, you're amazing!
"Bang!"
The door burst open, and Hinata hurried into Fuyuki's room. "Fuyuki, hurry! The clan shinobi are about to set out!"
"???"
Three question marks appeared over Fuyuki's head as he stared at Hinata, who had barged into his room.
Seeing Fuyuki's reaction, then noticing the quilt on the bed and Natsumi dozing over the low table, Hinata immediately realized Fuyuki had been taking a nap. She said, "Our family—no, the battle happened in the mountains behind our home! The chakra disturbance was on par with the Nine-Tails Incident. Grandpa Third just announced a state of emergency."
"The clan's women and children have all gathered. They're about to leave for the Konoha shelter!"
Fuyuki: "Huh?"
Hinata: "What do you mean, 'huh,' you brat? Hurry up!"
Ryūchi Cave.
"Orochimaru, I'm telling you, no offering can make up for what happened today! I'm going to clap hands with you three times in front of the hall and sever our father-son relationship!"
Back at Ryūchi Cave, Manda let out an enraged hiss.
Before Manda lay a white snake, so weak it was barely able to move. It gave Manda a listless glance.
With great difficulty, it spoke. "Don't you think everything we just did was meaningful?"
"We uncovered the secret that a great clan has kept hidden for a thousand years."
"Orochimaru, I'm warning you!" Terror filled Manda's eyes. "Next time you summon me in front of a monster like that, I'll kill you, even if I have to break the Summoning Contract! Even if we die together!"
That girl wasn't human. No—she wasn't even a living creature. She was terrifying. Just looking at her made his soul tremble. He'd even seen the terrifying apparition of a goddess, who'd bared her teeth in a cruel grin at him.
"Heh."
The weakened white snake said nothing. Its snake-like face merely twisted into an eerie smile.
This had been his closest brush with death.
It had also been the closest he'd ever come to the truth. So the limits of humanity weren't at Kage Level after all. A Kage Level powerhouse like him was as fragile as an ant in front of her. She had to be a fighter beyond Kage Level.
Perhaps the Warring States History hadn't exaggerated when it described Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara's strength. It might even have greatly underestimated the power of those beyond Kage Level!
"The world is just too interesting. Hyuga, Uchiha, Senju..."
P.S.: I successfully signed a contract!
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