Hagoromo and Hamura

"Do you know what that place is?"

Gamamaru stopped, raised a forelimb, and pointed toward the God Tree in the distance as he asked casually.

Gamamaru

Hagoromo and Hamura exchanged glances.

"Of course. That's the God Tree, the sacred treasure our mother protects and the source that nourishes this land."

Hagoromo spoke first.

It was what their mother had taught them since childhood: the God Tree was sacred and inviolable.

"The source that nourishes this land?"

Gamamaru gave a scoff, his voice dripping with contempt. "Have you ever seen the real God Tree? Has your mother ever let you get close to it?"

"No, she hasn't."

Hagoromo and Hamura's expressions shifted slightly.

It was true. Their mother had warned them since childhood that the God Tree was forbidden ground and no one was allowed near it. Even the two brothers could only watch from afar.

"Nourishes it? Take a look for yourselves. What's the land around the God Tree like?"

Gamamaru pointed at the scene surrounding the God Tree.

Hagoromo and Hamura followed his gesture. Their expressions immediately grew somber.

The area around the God Tree was not lush and full of life, as they had imagined. Instead, it was a barren wasteland.

Not a blade of grass grew there. The earth was cracked, and the air was filled with a dead stillness. It stood in stark contrast to the immense Chakra radiating from the God Tree itself, making the two seem utterly at odds.

"The truth is, this God Tree isn't nourishing the earth at all. It's constantly absorbing the land's energy and life force!"

Gamamaru's voice grew grave.

Hagoromo furrowed his brow, his eyes full of confusion and doubt.

He looked at the desolate land around the God Tree, then remembered what his mother had done over the years: those "offerings" regularly sent to the God Tree.

Hamura fell silent too...

"If you want to know whether it's true, go investigate for yourselves."

Gamamaru said no more, leaving them with only those words.

In a flash, he vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving Hagoromo and Hamura standing atop the peak, gazing at the distant God Tree with conflicted expressions.

A cold wind swept across the summit, stirring up the dust at their feet. The two stood in silence for a long while.

Doubt gnawed at Hagoromo. He wanted to go beneath the God Tree and uncover the truth.

But when he thought of their mother's stern warning and her immense power, he hesitated...

Their mother's authority had been etched into their hearts since childhood, making them afraid to defy her.

"Big brother, should we... go take a look?"

Hamura's voice held a note of uncertainty. He wanted to know the truth too, but he was just as afraid of their mother's punishment.

Hagoromo took a deep breath, then shook his head. His eyes were full of conflict. "No. Mother wouldn't let us go near it for a reason. Maybe... what he said wasn't the whole truth.

"We can't doubt Mother just because of what some strange toad said."

Hearing this, Hamura nodded too, suppressing his curiosity.

Their doubts hadn't gone away, but faced with their mother's authority, they ultimately chose to back down.

Still, once a seed of doubt had been planted, the years would nurture it until it took root and grew, eventually becoming a towering tree.

A few days later, the day of the regular offering arrived.

A neat, orderly line slowly shuffled toward the God Tree.

The mortals in the line were all expressionless, as if they had long since accepted this fate as their lot.

Hagoromo and Hamura stood on a nearby rise, watching in silence. The atmosphere was oppressive.

For days, Gamamaru's words had been like a thorn buried deep in their hearts.

The desolate scene around the God Tree kept resurfacing in their minds, clashing with their mother's claim that "the God Tree nourishes the land."

Their gazes wandered over the line of offerings,

then kept drifting toward the towering God Tree. Their doubts grew like vines, spreading wildly.

Yet their awe of their mother kept them tightly bound. A thousand questions caught in their throats, and in the end, they didn't dare step forward and ask why.

"Big brother, look..."

Hamura's voice suddenly faltered. His eyes were fixed on the line of offerings, and his expression changed.

Hagoromo's heart sank. He followed Hamura's gaze, and in the next moment, his pupils contracted as he cried out, "Haori? What?!"

In the middle of the line, a slender figure stood out.

She was a woman in plain clothes, with gentle features and simply pinned-up hair. She was the human woman Hagoromo had secretly loved for years, Haori.

Haori was a pretty girl, too.

What was she doing in the line of offerings?!

Hagoromo's mind went blank. Shock and alarm swept away all his hesitation and reverence.

"Haori! Haori!"

At the sound of her name, Haori stopped and slowly turned around.

When she saw Hagoromo rushing toward her with Hamura close behind, surprise flickered in her eyes before her expression settled back into calm.

"Hagoromo? Hamura? What are you doing here?"

Haori asked calmly.

"Why are you in the line of offerings? Who chose you? Come out of the line! You can't go through with this offering!"

Hagoromo rushed up to her, his eyes full of alarm and desperation.

As he spoke, he reached out to pull Haori away, but she gently sidestepped him.

"Hagoromo..."

Haori looked at his frantic face and gave him a faint, bitter smile. Her voice was gentle, yet utterly resolute. "I received the notice. This is my fate. I'm supposed to be offered to the God Tree."

Haori, Hagoromo, and Hamura

Her voice was terrifyingly calm, as if she were talking about something that had nothing to do with her—as if the death awaiting her were no more than an ordinary parting.

"Fate? What fate? This has nothing to do with fate!"

"This is a rule Mother made, but it's wrong!"

Hagoromo grew more agitated, his clenched fists trembling slightly.

"You're her son. You don't understand."

Haori only shook her head gently. She didn't know the truth about the God Tree, and she had never considered rebelling against Kaguya's rules.

To her, Kaguya was the creator god, the ruler of this land. A god's rules were a fate mortals had to obey.

"These are the rules Lady Kaguya made. We were born into this, and we can't fight it."

She looked at Hagoromo, a trace of reluctance in her eyes.

"I'm glad I got to know you, Hagoromo."

When she finished, she raised a hand and unclasped the Magatama Necklace from around her neck.

She had carved the necklace herself from a stone she found in the mountains. It was simple but delicate, and it was her most precious possession.

She rose onto her toes and gently placed it around Hagoromo's neck.

"Don't forget me, Hagoromo."

Haori's voice was soft, like a passing breeze.

Then she stopped looking at Hagoromo, turned around, and rejoined the line of offerings. She walked resolutely toward the God Tree without looking back.

Her slender figure grew smaller in the distance, until she disappeared into the long line and could no longer be picked out.

"Haori!"

Hagoromo stood frozen. The Magatama Necklace around his neck seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, pressing the breath from his lungs.

He watched Haori walk away and felt the cold stone against his skin. He couldn't accept it!

Hagoromo slowly clenched his fists. His knuckles turned white, and his nails dug into his palms, drawing blood, but he didn't notice.