Old Man, I've Waited So Long for You

"Who are you?" Genichi shouted.

Although he had identified Hamura Otsutsuki at a glance, he felt it wouldn't do for him to be the one to point it out.

"Heh, this old man is but a wisp of a departed soul; my past identity is of no consequence. I appear here only because this place can also be considered my home," the old man chuckled softly.

"But what about you few? Will you not introduce yourselves first? You are not from this Ninja World, are you?"

Hamura had been jolted from his slumber upon sensing the dense and anomalous aura of space-time chakra radiating from Genichi and his two companions.

"Even the dead can speak? And this attire... could you be the legendary Sage of Six Paths?" Genichi feigned astonishment and stepped forward. "Ancestor, I have searched so hard for you!"

"Heh, I am not your ancestor. Only the young lady beside you with the Byakugan could barely be considered my descendant," Hamura explained leisurely. "I am Hamura Otsutsuki. The Sage of Six Paths you speak of is my elder brother; you may not have heard of him..."

"Who says so? When the Sage of Six Paths passed down the method of cultivating chakra, you and he became the common ancestors of all us ninja. I have long yearned for you, and today, I have finally met you," Genichi interrupted Hamura directly.

"My dream since childhood has been for people to understand one another, to bring peace to this war-torn Ninja World so that everyone might live a harmonious and happy life. This aligns perfectly with the original philosophy of the Ninjutsu Sect; I have long considered myself the successor to the Ninjutsu Sect!"

The two women heard Genichi spouting nonsense again, but unable to expose him, they could only exchange glances and watch his performance with patience.

"Ahem, the Ninjutsu Sect was founded by my brother; it has nothing to do with me." Interrupted by Genichi's sudden enthusiasm, Hamura found it difficult to continue the pleasantries and went straight to the point.

"Why have you three gone to such lengths to cross space and time to come here?"

"Senior, look, Hana is your descendant. Yet, since childhood, she has had a restriction placed upon her, leaving her life and death beyond her own control," Genichi signaled for Hyuga Hana to step forward.

"We have come to find a way to safely break this seal."

Although Hamura often fell into deep slumber, he was not entirely indifferent to the state of the Ninja World. He was aware of the "Caged Bird Seal" of the Hyuga branch family, so he spoke:

"This seal... I still have some residual power; I can barely help you resolve it. But in return, you must do me a favor. How about it?"

Hearing that the seal could truly be broken, Hana asked excitedly, "Senior, what is it that you need us to do?"

"Heh, it is nothing major. A branch of my bloodline exists on the moon. A turmoil occurred there some years ago, and now only a child named Otsutsuki Toneri remains."

Hamura explained slowly, "Because I worried about the future of the Ninja World, I once left a final testament: if the humans on Earth violated the way of the ninja, the Fist of the Moon should be used to reshape the Ninja World. I had hoped they would guide the people of the Ninja World onto the right path, but I did not expect the branch family to misinterpret it as: if the Ninja World cannot be at peace, use the moon to destroy the Earth."

"Now that the child Toneri is walking the wrong path, I hope you can guide and persuade him. If that fails, then destroy that golden Tenseigan to prevent it from causing greater harm."

Genichi was speechless; perhaps it was a difference in era or linguistic habits, but "reshape the Ninja World with the Fist of the Moon" sounded exactly like destroying it.

"But if that is the case, why don't you tell him yourself?" Mikoto asked with a respectful tone, now knowing the old man's identity.

"Both my brother and I believe in the wisdom of our descendants. Since we are already dead, we should not interfere in the affairs of the Ninja World. That is why, even when they slaughtered each other due to misunderstandings years ago, I did not intervene," Hamura said with a touch of emotion.

"However, now that you have crossed space and time to stand before me, I am forced to believe this is also a part of destiny."

Not interfere in the Ninja World? Are we talking about the same Sage of Six Paths? If one counted the reincarnations of chakra, the entire history of the Ninja World was essentially a family feud of the Otsutsuki clan. Genichi was speechless, but he still promised with full confidence:

"No problem, leave it to us. My mission success rate is one hundred percent. Senior, why don't you pay the reward first?"

Hamura was not annoyed; he looked quietly at Hana. "Child, come forward."

A mass of nearly tangible green chakra drifted from Hamura's body and slowly merged into Hana's forehead.

Watching this scene, Genichi asked calmly, "Senior Hamura, I have heard that the children of the Sage of Six Paths can reincarnate continuously through chakra?"

"I did not expect you to know even this," Hamura said, somewhat surprised, though he quickly reacted.

"I know what you are thinking. Do not worry; this is merely very pure chakra. If I wanted a new body, I would have acted long ago. The bloodline of that child Toneri has a higher degree of atavism."

"Haha, you misunderstand. How could I doubt you?" Genichi laughed awkwardly, then thought of how the Sage of Six Paths had bestowed power to create Six Paths Naruto and Rinnegan Sasuke, so he asked:

"Then can Hana also awaken the Tenseigan like you in the future?"

Hearing this, Hamura pondered for a moment and shook his head. "It is difficult. This child's bloodline is actually very thin, and I have been dead for too long. Although the power is of the same origin, it can only unlock the limitations of her bloodline. At most, it is a prototype of the Tenseigan; I fear it will be difficult to complete the evolution due to insufficient subsequent energy."

Genichi nodded. These were all unexpected gains. Wondering if there was more, he asked:

"Senior, what about me? I am also your descendant. Is there any other benefit?"

Hamura glanced at Genichi lightly and smiled. "Did you not say you were the successor to the Ninjutsu Sect? To improve the strength of my descendants, I once collected a copy of my brother's Ninjutsu Sect heritage, which includes various sealing techniques, advanced cultivation methods for Yin-Yang Release, and many of my own insights. Take this and go directly to the depths of the forbidden ground."

As he spoke, without any visible movement, a physical token appeared in his hand.

Seeing this, Genichi's pupils constricted. "Heh, and you said you had no power left."

He took the token engraved with "Hamura" with a smile, then immediately asked, "You said earlier that the Tenseigan could be destroyed if necessary. Can I take it away directly?"

"You are quite greedy, but no. Although your strength stands at the peak of ordinary ninja, you are still lacking compared to my brother and me. Under such space-time fluctuations, you cannot take away the golden Tenseigan."

Hamura explained, "The purple one, however, could be sealed within your body to try."

It really is a 'click to claim' reward. Genichi had already sensed that Hamura did not care much for the giant Tenseigan anymore; otherwise, he wouldn't have suggested destroying it.

Genichi asked cautiously, "Senior Hamura, you said my strength is inferior to yours and the Sage of Six Paths. I wonder how much of a gap there is between us?"

"A single step away, yet as far as the ends of the earth," Hamura looked up, seemingly recalling something.

"In the words of you ninja: if you do not surpass the Kage level, seeing the Sage of Six Paths is like a frog in a well looking at the moon in the sky; if you surpass the Kage level, seeing the Sage of Six Paths is like a mayfly looking at the blue sky."

Without waiting for Genichi's response, Hamura dissipated on the spot, leaving behind only one sentence:

"Even if this isn't the same Ninja World, I can rest easy knowing you are here to protect it; after all, you have reached this stage while still so young.

However, you must remember that once your strength reaches my brother's level, you must restrain yourself, or you risk attracting powerful enemies from across the cosmos. That is the very reason he chose to split the Ten-Tails in the first place.

Very well, your friend should be waking up now."

"Genichi!" Upon waking, Hana felt the 360-degree vision of her Byakugan and could not help but burst into tears. Realizing that the Caged Bird Seal had finally been lifted, she rushed forward in excitement and embraced Genichi.

Genichi held Hana, one hand gently soothing her back. "It's all over now."

Seeing this scene, Mikoto understood just how difficult these past years had been for Hana, so she suppressed her own emotions and waited quietly.