The One Who Knew Everything

At a spring, the two brothers and the toad slipped inside.

The deeper they went, the more the atmosphere changed. A pure, immense energy filled the air!

It was nothing like the Chakra of the Ninja World. Gentle yet powerful, it felt like the force of nature itself.

"The energy here... it's so unusual."

Hamura could not help speaking up. His Byakugan activated instinctively, but the energy permeating the land was both varied and pure, impossible to measure through ordinary Chakra sensing.

"Mm..."

Hagoromo nodded. His Sharingan turned slightly, revealing countless tiny points of light drifting in the air—the visible form of that strange energy.

"This is Senjutsu Chakra, unique to Mount Myōboku. It is the oldest, purest energy there is."

Gamamaru smiled, a hint of pride in his voice.

Beyond layer after layer of mist, a magnificent hall appeared before them.

The hall was built from enormous stones carved all over with ancient toad script. A faint golden light shone from them. Vines covered the roof, blending it into the surrounding forest as though it had formed naturally.

This was the Toad Great Hall, home of Mount Myōboku's sages.

Of course, White Eyebrow had since stepped back from leadership.

The one truly in charge of Mount Myōboku was Manji!

Gamamaru entered the hall first.

"Master, I've brought them."

Gamamaru called respectfully into the hall.

Hagoromo and Hamura followed close behind. The moment they stepped inside, the sight before them seized their attention.

The hall was vast and solemn. A figure sat atop the raised platform at its center.

He wore a black-and-red robe, his dark hair falling loose. His handsome face was just as they remembered: he was the mysterious man who had fished in the snow that day!

Manji slowly raised his eyes to the brothers. His gaze held a touch of warmth and a depth that seemed to see through everything. His voice was exactly as it had been that day.

He spoke gently:

"You're here?"

That familiar voice and face shattered the brothers' last defenses.

Hagoromo's pupils widened. He took an involuntary half step back, disbelief surging through him!

The hero from his childhood stories, the idol he paid tribute to every year, was standing before him in the flesh!

"It's you?"

Hagoromo's voice trembled with nervousness. He clasped his hands in greeting, his tone full of respect.

Hamura stood beside him, too stunned to speak. He could only stare at Manji on the platform, his mind blank.

They had never imagined the heroic legends of their childhood, the beautiful stories their mother had told them, were based on a real person. And now that person sat before them.

The shock of seeing a legend come to life was more than either brother could process. None of it felt real.

"I told you we would meet again."

Manji watched their stunned faces with a faint smile. His voice remained gentle.

His words struck like thunder, jolting the brothers out of their daze.

They took deep breaths and struggled to steady themselves. Hagoromo clasped his hands again and asked respectfully, "Sage, how should we address you?"

"Just call me Sage."

Manji's reply was calm and even.

"Sage!"

Hagoromo raised his head, his eyes filled with urgency and pleading.

"If you knew we would come, you must know why we're here. You know the whole truth. Please tell us—what has our mother been hiding? What is the truth about the God Tree?"

The questions poured out of him, carrying all the doubt and pain he had kept buried for so long.

Hamura looked at Manji too, his eyes full of hope. He also longed to know the truth.

"Be patient."

Manji slowly raised a hand. A crystal-clear orb appeared in his palm.

The orb gave off a soft glow. As Manji poured Chakra into it, clear images began to form within.

The images in the orb shifted.

First, two figures in strange clothing descended upon the Ninja World: Kaguya and Isshiki.

Then the scene changed.

Kaguya, her face drawn with worry, told Manji that she was to be sacrificed to the God Tree. Her eyes were full of resentment and pleading.

She promised Manji that if he helped her escape Isshiki's control and obtain the God Tree Fruit, she would share its power with him and they would protect this land together.

A younger Manji smiled warmly and agreed to her request.

The scene changed again!

Before the Ten-Tails, Manji fought Isshiki in a fierce battle. In the end, he helped Kaguya sacrifice Isshiki.

But just as they had succeeded,

Manji turned away. Resolve flashed in Kaguya's eyes, and a vicious All-Killing Ash Bones shot from her hand, piercing straight through his chest.

Hagoromo and Hamura's pupils contracted. Shock and disbelief filled their faces.

They had never imagined their mother could commit such a betrayal!

The images continued to shift. Kaguya swallowed the God Tree Fruit and gained tremendous power.

Then came the Infinite Tsukuyomi!

"Back then, your mother was an outsider. She and her companion Isshiki came to this planet.

"By the rules of their clan, she was the one meant to be sacrificed to the God Tree."

"She refused to die that way, so she came to me. She promised me the God Tree Fruit and begged for my help.

"I thought she was a kind woman who longed for freedom, so I agreed. I never imagined she would stab me in the back for power."

Manji spoke slowly, explaining the truth behind the images.

He paused, then looked at the brothers. "I should have died from that betrayal. Fortunately, Mount Myōboku's Senjutsu kept me alive.

"As for your mother, she keeps sacrificing ordinary people not to nourish the land, but to create an army of White Zetsu. She's afraid her clan will find this place and punish her for betraying them and seizing power.

"Every person she sacrifices will eventually become a White Zetsu—mindless, obedient, and nothing more than a pawn to use against her clan."

Manji deliberately concealed the fact that a system had made him immortal. Attributing his survival to Senjutsu suited his identity as a sage and spared him unnecessary trouble.

The crystal orb's glow gradually faded, leaving the hall deathly silent.

Hagoromo and Hamura stood where they were, pale and cold to the bone.

Their mother's betrayal. The truth behind the sacrifices. The secret of the White Zetsu... all of it.

"So the beautiful stories Mother told us were only meant to hide the fact that she stabbed you in the back!"

"The truth is so dark!"

Hagoromo clenched his fists. The Magatama Necklace around his neck turned cold once more.

He remembered Haori's gentle smile, the cold corpses beneath the God Tree, and all the years their mother had lied to them. The red light of his Three-Tomoe Sharingan flared as anger and grief swept over him again.

"Mother..."

Hamura's Byakugan remained fixed on the spot where the crystal orb had vanished. Disappointment and pain filled his face.

The mother he had always respected was someone who would sacrifice countless lives for her own desires!

But Hamura also felt sympathy for his mother. She, too, had been betrayed.

On the platform, Manji watched the brothers in silence.

He was studying their expressions.

Just as he had expected, Hagoromo—the man later known as the Sage of Six Paths—was the harder-hearted of the two.

Hamura, ancestor of the Otsutsuki on the moon, was more sensitive. He understood that his mother had once believed in love, too.

When it came to devotion to their mother, Hamura was clearly the stronger of the two.

But when it came to compassion for the wider world, Hagoromo—the future Sage of Six Paths—had the edge!

Given the path they were on now, though,

Hagoromo appealed to Manji more.

"Still, your mother's betrayal of me is a small matter. What matters now is saving the world and making her stop!"

Manji spoke evenly, placing himself firmly on the moral high ground.