Exploring the Moon

Time slips away silently, like sand through your fingers.

Three days have passed since Taiichi swiftly defeated the arrogant lunar visitor Yuto Otsutsuki, at the Hyuga Main Family.

The morning sun had just dispelled the thin mist, and the air in Konoha Hospital was filled with the mixed scents of disinfectant and herbs.

Taiichi was conducting an experiment on a newly arrived sample of cell activity in a private research room. He was focused, and a faint green Chakra aura lingered around his fingertips.

Suddenly, there was a soft knock on the lab door. Without even Taiichi, "Come in."

A ninja wearing a standard Raccoon Dog mask and Anbu uniform silently slid into the room and respectfully knelt on one knee. "Taiichi, the Hokage-sama urgently summons you. Please proceed to the Hokage's Office immediately." His voice, deep yet respectful, came through the mask.

The efficiency of this message transmission was exceptionally high; one can only lament Kakashi's bad luck last time.

Taiichi put down his pen and raised an eyebrow. "Understood, I'll be right there."

He understood; it seemed that his "in-depth exchange" with Yuto Otsutsuki had finally yielded results.

The efficiency was good; it was a little faster than he expected.

After all, he knew all too well the methods of those "professionals" in Konoha's Interrogation Department. To make a living person hold out for three days before talking, that Yuto Otsutsuki was certainly tight-lipped and had a tough bone to stick in.

For a normal person, being able to hold on for half a day without breaking down and revealing the truth in the hands of those "experts" would be considered a real tough guy.

When Taiichi pushed open the heavy wooden door to the Hokage's Office, he found several people already sitting inside. The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, was sitting on the sofa by the window, puffing on his pipe, wisps of smoke curling upwards. His aged face carried his usual composure, but his eyes were sharper than usual.

Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuga Clan, sat on the other side, his back ramrod straight, his pure white eyes lowered, seemingly deep in thought. But Taiichi keenly caught a glimpse of undisguised satisfaction and anticipation deep in his eyes.

Sure enough, he was the last to arrive again. Taiichi chuckled inwardly; it seemed the information about the moon had made these two restless.

He gave a slight nod to Minato and the Third Kazekage Hokage: "Hokage-sama, Third Kazekage Hokage-sama, Head of the Hiashi Clan."

"Taiichi, please sit." Minato put down a scroll he was holding, pointed to the empty seat next to Hiashi, and said solemnly, "We've been waiting for you."

The atmosphere in the office was heavy and solemn. Once everyone had arrived, the meeting officially began.

Without any unnecessary pleasantries, Minato Namikaze cut straight to the point. He picked up a report that was clearly freshly copied and still smelled of ink, and in a clear and steady voice, he presented the three people present with the core information that the Interrogation Department had extracted from Yuto Otsutsuki over the past three days.

The intelligence was extremely shocking, as if it had unveiled a thick veil covering the history of the Ninja World.

On the moon, there truly exists a clan called the Otsutsuki. They share the same origin and ancestor as the Hyuga Clan! Their lineage can be traced back to the legendary Sage of Sage of Six Paths' younger brother, Hamura Otsutsuki, a thousand years ago!

Hamura and some of his descendants have lived in the magnificent palace complex at the core of the moon for generations, following their promise to their elder brother, the Sage of Six Paths.

Their mission is noble yet weighty: to oversee the Ninja World and guard a vital seal deep within the moon (what exactly the seal is remains unclear to Yuto, and even his clan's records seem to have become blurred).

They are constantly on guard against threats from beyond the heavens (namely, the Ōtsutsuki Clan, the "Celestial Being" known to the village).

Minato details the millennia-long internal structure of the Moon Otsutsuki Clan: the conflict between the Main Family and the Branch Family, and the clash of their ideologies.

The civil war that broke out some time ago led to a sharp decline in the clan's population and a significant loss of strength, leaving them with less than a hundred members. It is precisely for this reason that they urgently need to seek "cooperation" with the Hyuga Clan, who share the same bloodline on the surface, in order to continue their bloodline and restore their strength.

As Minato continued his narration, the office became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Although Hyuga Hiashi had already learned some of the secrets about the Byakugan's evolution from the previous interrogation, his pure white eyes still shone with shock and realization as he listened to this grand background.

It turns out that the moon, hanging in the night sky every day, so cold and aloof, actually hides such an earth-shattering secret!

It turns out that the Byakugan bloodline, which the Hyuga Clan is so proud of, has such an ancient and noble origin!

This completely overturned his understanding of his family history and even the origins of the Ninja World.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, never took his pipe away from his lips, and his tightly furrowed brows remained furrowed amidst the swirling smoke.

The existence of the Otsutsuki on the moon, the legend of the Sage of Sage of Six Paths creating the moon, and the sealed world-ending crisis—the sheer volume of information was overwhelming, impacting his decades-long understanding of the Ninja World.

He needs time to process this information, and even more so, he needs to be wary of the potential traps and far-reaching consequences hidden behind it.

"That's roughly the situation." Minato put down the report, his gaze slowly sweeping over the three people present, his azure eyes questioning. "Gentlemen, after hearing this, what are your thoughts? How should we deal with this threat from the moon?"

After a brief silence, Hyuga Hiashi spoke first, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible excitement, but more so a consideration for the clan's interests. "Hokage-sama, Third Kazekage Hokage-sama, this information—is truly astonishing. For our Hyuga Clan, the deeper applications and mysteries of the Byakugan revealed by Yuto are of immeasurable value. This is crucial to the future development of our clan."

He paused slightly, then stated his position. "As for the current situation of the Moon Otsutsuki Clan, their demands, and the so-called 'extraterrestrial threat'—the Hyuga Clan will follow the village's lead and fully cooperate with the village's decisions."

His meaning was clear: the core interests of the clan (the secret of the Byakugan) had been partially achieved, and subsequent strategic decisions would be left to the village to lead, with the Hyuga not participating.

The Third Kazekage remained as "composed" as ever. From the interrogation, it was learned that the Moon Otsutsuki Clan now Little Cat only a few, though they still possessed some powerful trump cards, such as that Giant Tenseigan.

But that can only be used for defense; it's completely useless for offense. Konoha's most important task right now is to develop itself and track down Akatsuki.

The two conservative statements naturally did not satisfy Minato, so he turned to Taiichi, wanting to hear his opinion.

Taiichi could tell what Minato was thinking just by looking at his eyes, but he himself was not a reckless person.

"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle. All the intelligence we have now comes from that Yuto Otsutsuki. Not to mention how much he knows about the current situation on the moon, he probably doesn't even know many of their clan's secrets."

I think it's necessary for us to send someone to investigate and see their situation firsthand in order to make a better judgment.

Taiichi's words were relatively prudent and not too radical. Although the Third Kazekage wanted peace and stability, he was not against intelligence Scout.

The same applies to Minato; even if they wanted to launch a major operation on the moon, prior intelligence gathering was essential.

With this consensus reached, the remaining key issue was assigning someone to gather intelligence. After all, it was on the moon, a place no one had ever been before, and the dangers were self-evident.

Finally, everyone's eyes fell on Taiichi, the meaning of which was clear: at present, Konoha was the most suitable person in Taiichi to do this.

Taiichi knew that this task was indispensable to him, so he readily accepted the mission.

After the meeting, Taiichi received more information from Minato, including the secret passage between Earth and Moon that Yuto Otsutsuki used.

"Safety is paramount when Scout intelligence." Minato patted Taiichi on the shoulder, solemnly reminding him, "There might be their people guarding the other side of the passage, so be extremely careful."

Taiichi's lips curled into a confident smile. "Don't worry, Hokage-sama, even if we can't win, running away won't be a problem. However—"

Taiichi paused, his expression turning somewhat strange. Under the questioning gazes of Minato and Hiruzen Sarutobi, Taiichi whispered, "Have you thought of a reason to fool my teacher? I just heard her praising how wonderful life is yesterday!"

Hearing Taiichi's words, Minato's expression stiffened slightly, and Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed from the smoke.

This is really a problem.

Minato turned to look at the Third Kazekage, his eyes conveying a complex mix of emotions—a plea for help and a veiled attempt to shift blame by saying, "That was your disciple."

The Third Kazekage turned his head away from Minato, making his meaning clear: now you are the Hokage.

Taiichi ignored the exchange of glances between the two Hokage, took the intelligence scroll, and left the Hokage's Office.

To be honest, he had long wanted to go to the moon, but he didn't know the exact location of the Earth-Moon Passage. With his current strength, he could only look at the moon and sigh helplessly.

This is truly a great opportunity.

Taiichi returned home, tidied up his Ninja Tool Pouch, looked at the Short Sword on the sword rack, hesitated for a long time, and finally picked it up and carried it on his back.

After explaining the training tasks for his disciples to Mizuki, who was on duty today, and recounting his message to Tsunade, Taiichi was all ready.

The Moon! That cold, silvery disc hanging in the sky, I, Taichi Matsushita, have arrived.

He walked lightly, almost stirring up the wind, but suddenly felt a heavy weight on his shoulder as a fluffy, warm, fiery red thing stuck to him.

"Kid, going out already?" Nine-Tails' voice was a little lazy, its little paws tugging at Taiichi's collar, its fluffy tail brushing against his neck, causing a slight tickle. "Take me with you!"

Taiichi the side, squinting as he examined the increasingly wild fox on his shoulder.

Unsolicited kindness is either a sign of malice or theft.

His nostrils flared, and a faint yet strangely familiar aroma of mellow liquor mingled with the fluffy fur of the Nine-Tails fox and entered his nasal cavity.

"You've been drinking?" Taiichi's voice suddenly rose, tinged with disbelief.

The Nine-Tails fox unconsciously tilted its head to the side, its eyes darting around, avoiding eye contact. Its guilt seemed to solidify and seep from its fiery red fur.

Taiichi's heart skipped a beat. He glanced in the direction the creature had come from and saw it was Tsunade's residence, where Tsunade kept a large collection of fine wines.

A bead of cold sweat instantly slid down his forehead.

"You wouldn't have—" Taiichi's voice trembled slightly, "... ruined Teacher Tsunade's treasured wine?"

Caught red-handed, Nine-Tails- Tailed Fox stubbornly retorted, "Hmph! It's all because of that woman! Last time she got completely drunk and kept nagging me, saying things like 'Life is short, so enjoy it while you can,' and 'A fox is a true hero when it drinks,' and forced me to drink a glass! Who knew—that stuff was actually pretty good—"

As it spoke, it stuck out its pink tongue and licked its lips with lingering satisfaction, a hint of relish flashing in its fox eyes.

Taiichi's lips twitched.

He knew all too well how crazy Teacher Tsunade was drunk; she was absolutely capable of pulling a fox along, calling him brother, and urging him to drink.

But this Nine-Tails —once it tasted the sweetness, it couldn't stop!

"Even so," Taiichi poked its round belly in annoyance, "you can't just empty the teacher's coffers, can you? Those are her lifeblood! What if she finds the wine cellar empty—"

He deliberately dragged out the last syllable, and looking at Nine-Tails's forced composure, he felt a strange sense of schadenfreude.

She resumed her steps after stopping, and carrying the hot, fluffy ball of fur, walked straight out.

"Heh! This great one is afraid of her?" Nine-Tails Fox remained defiant, but her little paws were scratching at Taiichi's arm restlessly, and her tail was swishing back and forth impatiently.

Its mind had already begun to uncontrollably replay the image of Tsunade clenching her fists, veins bulging on her forehead, and black mist swirling behind her as she approached step by step—this tiny Chakra entity had a truly slim chance of winning against that woman with unparalleled Chakra Enhanced Strength!

Sorrow! For the first time in his life, Grandpa Nine-Tails felt genuine sorrow over a few jars of wine.

In the northwest of the Land of Fire, deep within a primeval forest with towering peaks.

Towering ancient trees block out the sun, and vines twist and turn like giant pythons. The air is filled with the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves, a vibrant yet wildly silent landscape.

If it weren't for the precise information on the scroll pointing to this place, no one would believe that hidden deep within this seemingly unchanging ancient forest lies a secret passage through time and space leading to the moon.

Taiichi's figure was like the wind blending into the forest, silently sweeping across the treetops and stepping over the stream.

His eyes were slightly closed, and his vast Chakra Perception spread out silently in all directions from himself, like the most sophisticated radar waves.

The veins of every leaf, the texture of every rock, even the faint pulsations of water and mineral veins deep underground—all of these are present.

A clear, three-dimensional picture formed in his mind.

The Nine-Tails on Tai's shoulder was already impatient, its four little paws taking turns stepping on Taiichi's shoulder, looking just like a furry ball with ADHD.

"Hey! Taiichi, how long are you going to dawdle?" It stretched its neck, its fiery red fur bristling, and pointed to an inconspicuous cave entrance deep in the dense forest, almost completely obscured by thick vines. "Isn't the passage in that dark cave? Just charge in, won't you? My claws are itching!"

Taiichi finally stopped and landed on a thick horizontal branch, giving it a disgruntled sideways glance. "What's the rush? Only a brute knows how to use brute force. The way of strength lies in knowing not only what it is, but also why it is."

At my level, observing, understanding, and analyzing the rules governing these forces—"these rules themselves—are the true key to advancement."

O

His tone was calm, yet it carried the teachings of a pioneer, as if a teacher were instructing a slow-witted student.

"You!" Nine-Tails was infuriated by this "teacher's" tone, and its little paws, making a whooshing sound, scratched at Taiichi's ear. "Stop trying to be all highbrow with me!"

With a soft "snap," Taiichi didn't even turn his head. He simply raised his hand casually and precisely caught the Nine-Tails' claw as it swung towards him. The sharp claw struck Taiichi's tough skin, leaving only a few shallow white marks that vanished instantly.

"Alright, stop fooling around." Taiichi released it, his gaze returning to this seemingly ordinary yet subtly mysterious area, a faint blue Chakra glow flowing in his eyes. "I've almost seen the outer field—it's truly an exquisite spatial anchoring and energy circulation structure, perfectly natural, a masterpiece of craftsmanship—"

He murmured his admiration, as if appreciating a masterpiece. A cold, impersonal message silently surfaced in his mind:

[Observe the spacetime formation, and enhance your related understanding.]

[Your skill Sealing Jutsu has been upgraded, experience points +500]

The experience bar for the Sealing Jutsu flickered slightly. This unexpected gain brought a smile to Taiichi's face, adding to his anticipation for the trip to the moon.

He held the Nine-Tails, who was still fuming and lashing his arm with its tail, and with a flash, disappeared into the cave entrance covered by vines.