You grew up listening to my master's stories.

"Teacher! Teacher! Just as you predicted, the girl Hagoromo loved has been sacrificed. I fear Hagoromo will not be able to restrain himself for much longer!"

Gamamaru reported what he had seen to Manji.

"Mm, I know."

Manji wore an expression of unsurprised indifference.

As expected, women truly are a man's forbidden fruit.

Hagoromo, who had previously feared his mother's punishment, rebelled the moment he saw the girl he loved being sacrificed.

"Very good. Now, we simply wait for them to come to me. Gamamaru, go to the outside world and meet them."

Manji said calmly, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Yes, Teacher!"

Gamamaru bowed immediately, unable to help but marvel at his teacher's ability to foresee the future.

He truly possessed the demeanor of an immortal!

"Haori, wait for me to save you!"

The figures of Hagoromo and Hamura sped through the night.

Hagoromo clenched his fists so tightly his nails nearly dug into his flesh, only one thought in his mind: save Haori, no matter the cost.

At the base of the God Tree, massive, gnarled roots twisted together to form deep, cavernous openings, resembling gateways to hell.

"Wait, Brother!"

Hamura stopped first, taking a deep breath. Veins instantly bulged around his eyes as he activated his Byakugan to its full extent!

Pale blue chakra swirled around his eyes, piercing through layers of darkness and tangled roots to peer deep into the underground.

The next second, Hamura's expression shifted violently, his pupils shrinking in sheer shock!

"Those... those are people! They're corpses!"

Hamura then rushed toward one of the deep openings like a madman.

Hagoromo's heart jolted, and he followed closely behind, charging into the tunnel.

Upon entering, Hagoromo saw the scene before him clearly.

The underground was a massive hollow. Countless roots extended down from the God Tree like greedy tentacles, entwining a dense mass of objects.

They were cocoon-like shapes wrapped in green leaves, stacked neatly within the hollow, stretching on as far as the eye could see.

The silhouettes of human forms were vaguely visible inside.

"Brother, hurry and open these!"

Hamura shouted anxiously.

"Right!"

Anger and anxiety intertwined in Hagoromo's eyes. Without a moment's hesitation, he unleashed a Wind Style technique.

Invisible blades of wind whistled out, slicing toward the cocoons like sharp knives.

Puchi!

Puchi!

Hagoromo's gaze remained locked on every cocoon he sliced open, his heart pounding wildly in his chest, filled with both anticipation and dread.

When one of the cocoons was split by the wind blade, a familiar figure rolled out.

Her plain cloth garment was soaked in slime and tattered; her gentle face was devoid of color, her eyes tightly shut, and her breath entirely gone—it was Haori!

"Haori!!!"

Hagoromo shrieked, rushing forward recklessly to cradle Haori's cold body in his arms.

He reached out with trembling fingers to check for a breath, but his fingertips met only a deathly stillness.

"Haori! Wake up!"

"Wake up! I've come to save you! You can't die!"

Hagoromo's voice was hoarse and broken, filled with a desperate, sobbing tone. He shook her body forcefully, trying to rouse her.

However, the girl in his arms remained with her eyes closed, a faint, relieved smile on her lips, offering no response no matter how he called or shook her.

"Brother..."

"Haori... she is already dead."

Hamura knelt to the side, speaking with great difficulty.

"No! Impossible!"

Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo clutched Haori's cold body tightly, as if trying to merge her into his very bones and blood.

The warmth in his arms faded, and Haori's body gradually stiffened. Those familiar brows, those gentle eyes, and that tender smile could now only exist within his memories.

A massive wave of grief engulfed Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, shattering all his reason and defenses.

He felt something within his heart break completely, followed by excruciating pain and towering rage.

He recalled the way Haori had calmly accepted her fate, the gentleness with which she wore her Magatama Necklace, his mother's deception, the greed of the God Tree, and the desolation of this land.

Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo pressed his lips into a thin line, remaining silent.

The warmth that once resided in his eyes faded away, leaving only icy chill and intense fury.

That lofty God Tree, the sacred and inviolable relic his mother spoke of, was now nothing more than a monster that devoured life in his eyes.

Those so-called rules were merely cold shackles forged by his mother to satisfy her own selfish desires.

Gamamaru's words echoed in his ears, the desolate scene around the God Tree surfaced in his mind, and Haori's gentle yet despairing smile remained vivid before his eyes. All his doubts and reverence collapsed in that instant!

"AAAHHH--!!!"

A heart-wrenching roar erupted from Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo!

Extreme emotions surged through his body, and a power he had never felt before welled up from the depths of his eyes.

His eyes turned crimson, and black tomoe spun rapidly within his pupils, condensing until they finally formed three sinister tomoe suspended in his red irises—the Sharingan.

The Three-Tomoe Sharingan emitted an eerie red light, illuminating Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo's grief-stricken face and the countless cold corpses in the hollow.

At this moment, the warmth of the past was gone from his eyes, replaced only by endless sorrow, rage, and the flames of vengeance.

"Brother? Your eyes!"

Hamura stared at the Sharingan in his brother's eyes, too shocked to speak.

He had never seen such eyes, nor had he ever felt such a terrifying aura emanating from his brother!

As dawn broke, a faint white light touched the horizon.

The two traveled through the morning dew, racing until they finally reached the mountain peak where they had met Gamamaru.

The tragedy beneath the God Tree, Haori's cold corpse, the strange power brought by the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and his mother's long-standing deception.

Like countless threads tangled in their hearts, these things drove them to seek the truth!

"Gamamaru! Where are you? I need you!"

Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo shouted toward the empty valley, his voice hoarse from a sleepless night.

As soon as he finished speaking, a puff of smoke exploded before them, and Gamamaru's chubby figure hopped out!

Gamamaru maintained his usual air of profound mystery and said calmly, "Stop shouting. I've been waiting here for you for a long time."

Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo frowned, his heart filled with confusion: "How did you know I would definitely come?"

"Heh heh, because my master said so!"

"My master is a man of great supernatural powers; he can calculate anything and long ago predicted you would come looking for me!"

Gamamaru puffed out his chest, his face full of pride and smugness.

"Who is your master?"

Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo pressed, his curiosity fully piqued.

Gamamaru smiled mysteriously and said with deep meaning: "Let's go. I'll take you to see him. Come to think of it, you should have known of him for a long time, and perhaps... even met him."

He paused, observing their stunned expressions, and added: "After all, you grew up listening to my master's stories."

"Grew up listening to his stories!?"

Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo and Hamura were stunned at first, then their expressions changed drastically as a single name flashed through their minds simultaneously—Manji!

The heroic legends their mother told year after year, the temple portraits they worshipped annually, and that man who had mysteriously vanished while fishing in the snow... all the clues connected in an instant.

"Could the man fishing that day be the Manji our mother spoke of?"

Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo's pupils constricted as he muttered in shock.

"Could it really be..."

Hamura also trembled, his eyes filled with disbelief.

The man's appearance that day was almost identical to the youth in the temple portrait, only with a bit more of the composure and detachment that comes with the passage of time.

The figure his mother had cast as a hero, the person who made her feel guilty enough to build a temple, actually existed and they had even crossed paths with him!

"Heh heh..."

Gamamaru watched their shocked expressions and couldn't help but laugh, waving his forelimbs: "Follow me."

The two suppressed the turbulent waves in their hearts and followed closely behind Gamamaru.