Giant Tenseigan

"Let's go see if it's still there."

Hyuga Qinglan lowered his gaze and glanced up at the sky.

The weather was clear, the sunlight bright, and the wind had swept the clouds high overhead.

At first glance, it really did seem like a fine day for a wedding.

But there was always something about this place that made him uncomfortable.

Hyuga Qinglan pulled his hood back on, lowered his body, and quickly darted toward the place he remembered.

Before long, he reached the area near the cliffs on the western side of the village.

An old, crooked tree grew close to the cliff.

Behind it, layers of vines hung down, concealing an inconspicuous cave.

That was where he had hidden his things.

His Byakugan quietly activated.

"The seal is still intact..."

A flicker of light crossed Hyuga Qinglan's eyes.

It seemed no one had discovered this place during his absence.

He didn't let down his guard. Instead, he crept forward even more cautiously, slipping sideways into the depths of the cave.

As he went deeper, the seemingly ordinary stone wall at the very back finally came into view.

Hyuga Qinglan extended his hand. Purple chakra slowly gathered in his palm, gradually taking shape as a soft glow.

Then he gently pressed his palm against the wall.

Humm...

As the Sealing Jutsu activated, the patterns on the stone wall began to glow faintly, rippling outward in layers like water.

The heavy stone wall slowly began to slide apart.

At last, a secret long sealed away was revealed once more.

"Whether in my past life or this one, seeing it never fails to leave me in awe..."

Hyuga Qinglan murmured softly. His gaze fell on the center of the stone platform, and a trace of nostalgia crept into his eyes.

A humanoid puppet sat motionless atop the stone platform.

Long, snow-white hair fell to its waist, and two horns were faintly visible on its forehead. Its skin was so translucent that it hardly seemed mortal.

Beneath its closed eyes, some power far beyond the ordinary seemed to lie dormant.

And that face...

It was the puppet body he had personally crafted in the Otsutsuki Main Family, modeled after his appearance in his previous life.

It possessed fifty percent of his original body's strength. With chakra transmitted by the Tenseigan—or by himself—it might be able to reach even greater heights.

Unlike the traditional puppets of Sunagakure, which required Chakra Threads for control, this Otsutsuki Puppet had been developed using the power of the Tenseigan and needed no threads at all.

Once infused with his chakra, it could operate on its own like a living being.

More importantly, it could also be controlled remotely.

That was the real reason Hyuga Qinglan had come here ahead of time and taken this puppet.

If he wanted to move freely through this chaotic age, interfere in events, and even sway the course of the future, he couldn't remain forever bound by his identity as a Konoha Ninja.

There were things Hyuga Qinglan couldn't do.

But someone with another identity could.

Of course, he understood perfectly well.

The moment he activated this puppet, the Otsutsuki Clan on the moon would very likely sense it.

But even if they did, that didn't mean Hyuga Qinglan would hesitate.

He seized the puppet and poured a steady stream of purple chakra into it.

"I wonder..."

Hyuga Qinglan's eyes darkened, and his voice was barely audible.

"How many of my dear clansmen are left?"

In the boundless expanse of space, the moon formed by Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei drifted alone among the stars.

From the outside, it appeared utterly desolate.

Dust blanketed the land, and craters from meteorite impacts pocked its surface.

The moon's interior, however, was the complete opposite.

There were mountains and rivers, fish and shrimp swimming in clear lakes, and birds and beasts roaming through the forests.

Yet the barren surface and the near-paradisiacal world within the moon shared one thing in common.

Stillness...

Endless stretches of ancient buildings might once have borne the glory of an entire age of the Otsutsuki Clan.

But now, only ruins remained.

Nearly every trace of human life had been erased by time.

An artificial "sun" hanging high in the sky shone without pause, keeping the world inside the moon perpetually bright.

On the central island, a few scattered figures bustled about, maintaining the golden Giant Tenseigan, which was surrounded by layer upon layer of enormous mechanisms.

"It should be just about ready after one more round of repairs today."

An Otsutsuki elder, his hair white and his face lined with wrinkles, slowly approached the Giant Tenseigan, leaning on his cane.

He gathered chakra at his forehead and carefully examined the enormous eye.

"Elder, you should go rest first..."

A younger Otsutsuki stood nearby, his eyes also shut. Despite his calm tone, his concern was unmistakable.

"Your health..."

The old man didn't turn around. He simply waved a hand.

"Yuku, your mission... is more important than mine."

"Our generation has already done what we were meant to do."

"The future belongs to the next generation. It's up to the younger ones now."

He paused as though recalling something, then continued slowly, "Among us, the one whose bloodline is closest to our ancestor is you."

"And Aoshiki of the Main Family..."

At that, the old man's expression darkened for a moment, but soon returned to normal.

"But all that is in the past."

"Our goal from here on is clear."

"The Tenseigan is nearly repaired. We only need to wait for a child with the purest bloodline to be born..."

As he spoke, a near-obsessive ferocity suddenly appeared on his cloudy, aged face.

"Then we'll go to the lower world and reclaim the Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan."

"By then, the Tenseigan's might... will be enough for us to inherit the will of our ancestor, Hamura, and completely destroy the Shinobi World left behind by the Sage of Six Paths!"

Before he could finish, he suddenly broke into a violent fit of coughing.

"Cough... cough, cough!"

Yuku hurried forward and caught him.

"Elder, please go rest. I can take care of things here. Nothing will happen."

The old man struggled to catch his breath for a long while before he finally seemed to recover. He slowly raised a hand and rested it on the back of Yuku's hand. His voice was strained, but his resolve remained unshaken.

"You must... pass this will down to your child..."

Otsutsuki Yuku shuddered, then nodded firmly.

"I understand."

He gestured, and soon four or five puppets hurried over, carefully helping the old man away.

Only after the old man had left did Yuku turn back toward the brilliant golden Giant Tenseigan.

Beneath his tightly closed eyes, his expression gradually grew resolute.

"Our ancestor's will..."

"I'll see it through..."

He murmured under his breath, as if swearing an oath to his ancestor.

But in the very next instant, his expression suddenly changed.

"Hm?"

The Giant Tenseigan's light seemed to have dimmed for the briefest moment just now.

The change had been so subtle that he could almost have mistaken it for an illusion.

Yuku furrowed his brow, immediately gathering chakra at his forehead to examine it carefully once more.

But no matter how thoroughly he checked, the Giant Tenseigan showed no signs of anything amiss. It remained intact, its power flowing steadily and smoothly.

"Was it an illusion?"

Yuku stood where he was, silent for a long time.

He stared at the splendid, radiant Giant Tenseigan for a long, long while.

But in the end, he slowly let out a breath.

"As I thought... it was an illusion."

He turned away, intending to study the ancient texts left behind by Otsutsuki Hamura later.

After all, only by constantly remembering and understanding the will contained in those words could their branch of the bloodline truly fulfill the purpose of its existence.

And after he turned away,

the Giant Tenseigan's light dimmed again, ever so slightly, for an instant.

Then it returned to normal.