Visitors from the Moon

The puppets swiftly closed in on Doichi Hyuga, their two sawblades chopping down with ferocious speed.

Doichi Hyuga drew the long sword at his waist and blocked the attack.

The sword was three feet long, double-edged, and gleamed with chilling light. One glance was enough to tell it was no ordinary weapon.

Doichi Hyuga had spent considerable time and effort forging this treasured sword. It had been made with many rare materials, and its name was Dao Lord!

A vicious wind rose around him as a group of puppets leaped above Doichi Hyuga. Each wielded twin blades, leaving him nowhere to evade.

Eight Trigrams Palm: Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven Sword!

A white barrier spun at high speed, countless sword shadows whirling and cutting within it. The puppets were instantly shredded into fragments!

Another group of puppets charged forward, once again surrounding Doichi Hyuga.

The puppet leader appeared atop a tree, a ring of light spheres forming before it.

Sage Art: Gold Release: Taiyi Light-Dividing Sword!

The phantom of the sword in his hand flickered, swiftly splitting into more than a hundred copies. Their points faced outward, protecting Doichi Hyuga at the center.

This technique was driven by the metallic energy of the Five Elements and had taken shape after drawing inspiration from the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique.

"Kill!"

Doichi Hyuga barked, and the sword shadows surged forth like a flood sweeping across the land.

The surrounding puppets were blasted into pieces one after another by sword qi. The puppet leader's light spheres were instantly pierced and exploded, injuring many more puppets in the blast.

The hundred sword shadows continued onward, tearing the puppet leader apart and trapping Otsutsuki Zhenlan within their encirclement.

Everything had happened too quickly. Otsutsuki Zhenlan was so astonished that he failed to react.

"Sir! Do you have anything else to say?"

Doichi Hyuga looked at the old man trapped in a hopeless situation and asked with a smile.

"I never expected you to be so powerful, nor did I expect you to use anything other than the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist! I have nothing to say. Kill me!"

Otsutsuki Zhenlan's face was ashen as he lowered his head and waited for death.

"I'll spare you this time out of respect for our ancestor! But if you people on the moon cause trouble for the Hyuga Clan again, I won't be so accommodating!"

Doichi Hyuga waved his hand and dispelled the sword formation before departing with carefree grace.

Otsutsuki Zhenlan stood there blankly for a moment, then mounted a flying puppet and swiftly left!

Sage Art: Breath Concealment Technique!

Doichi Hyuga's presence vanished completely as he followed from a great distance behind.

This technique was effective against all manner of sensory techniques, directly blending him into the aura of nature.

Everyone hated a sneaky schemer, yet everyone was one themselves!

After following for roughly half a day, Otsutsuki Zhenlan, seated atop the bird-shaped puppet, suddenly dove downward.

Byakugan! Activate!

Within his vision, the bird-shaped puppet entered a valley and landed before a cave at its bottom.

Otsutsuki Zhenlan led several puppets into the cave, traveling downward along a sloping passage until he finally stopped at the edge of a pool emitting a faint green glow.

Otsutsuki Zhenlan and the puppets jumped directly into the pool and vanished.

A moment later, Doichi Hyuga revealed himself and scooped up some of the pool water to inspect it.

The water in his hand quickly vanished. This place resembled a barrier technique that gathered natural energy. Or rather, a formation!

For a teleportation array to endure for thousands of years, only a formation could accomplish such a thing.

Doichi Hyuga looked around and discovered a character atop the stalactite cave: Ah! In the ninja world, it roughly meant beginning!

A common phrase formed from it was Ah-Un; one represented the beginning, while the other represented the end.

The Byakugan carefully examined the details of the formation, and he ultimately confirmed that the character "Ah" was its core.

Doichi Hyuga did not linger. He turned and leaped into the green pool.

He continued falling downward, passing through a curtain of water and entering a space filled with glowing orbs and stone spheres. Doichi Hyuga remembered that these glowing spheres were all genjutsu traps called Memory Cage.

He leaped from stone sphere to stone sphere as he fell. He could not tell how far he had descended, but in truth, his body was continuously rising.

This distortion of direction was rather uncomfortable.

After moving forward for several minutes, he saw a patch of faint blue light ahead.

When he arrived, he found a pool of blue water.

He jumped in once more and continued falling for several minutes. After emerging from the pool, he found himself facing a cave.

Doichi Hyuga looked around and found the character "Un" on the cave ceiling!

He proceeded through the cave, passing a large blue crab sleeping along the way.

Doichi Hyuga ignored it. That beast could not detect him.

He saw light ahead, and when he walked out of the cave, a vast sea stretched before him!

Sage Art: Sword Flight Technique!

Sage Art: Breath Concealment Technique!

Doichi Hyuga stepped onto the Dao Lord sword and flew away at high speed without making a sound.

By using the Sage Chakra within his body to stir the wind-attributed natural energy outside, Doichi Hyuga achieved his sword flight technique.

He flew over seas and forests, taking in the beautiful scenery along the way. Nearly every kind of geographical environment could be found here; it was quite a good place for leisure and vacationing.

An hour later, a vast expanse of village ruins appeared ahead.

Otsutsuki Zhenlan and the others had already reached a distant mountain, atop which stood a massive palace complex.

Doichi Hyuga landed at the center of the village and entered the main hall of a shrine.

After looking around, he found some pictographs.

Their general meaning was: if the moral order of Earth's humans collapsed, the Tenseigan would revive and use its immense power to exterminate humanity on Earth.

He walked before Hamura Ōtsutsuki's statue, smashed the stone slab, and revealed stairs leading to a secret chamber.

Doichi Hyuga descended. The space inside was enormous and filled with rounded burial mounds. There was no end in sight, and he could not tell how many graves there were.

In the original story, the lunar Ōtsutsuki Clan had likely numbered more than tens of thousands at its peak.

When the main and branch families of the lunar Ōtsutsuki Clan had gone to war, the armies on both sides had stretched beyond sight.

"Humanity keeps marching toward self-destruction. What a truly tragic fate!"

Doichi Hyuga sighed.

Heh heh! You don't want to meet me? Fine, handling my real business comes first.

He paused for a while, but seeing that a certain sneaky schemer had no intention of showing himself, Doichi Hyuga was not disappointed and simply turned to leave.

After leaving the shrine, Doichi Hyuga mounted the Dao Lord sword and shot into the sky, vanishing beyond the horizon.

"Grand Elder! The mission failed!"

Otsutsuki Zhenlan looked ashamed, feeling too embarrassed to face the two people before him.

"Zhenlan, tell us exactly what happened!"

Otsutsuki Zhenlan carefully recounted the events of the mission, causing the Grand Elder's brows to furrow as he listened.

"This is not your fault. Our intelligence was insufficient, and we took the matter too lightly!"

The Grand Elder sighed.

"With such a figure among Earth's Hyuga Clan, we likely will not have another chance to obtain the Byakugan in our lifetimes! This task can only be entrusted to Toneri!"

"We do not have many years left!"

"Rest assured, Elders. Leave this matter to me!"

Toneri Otsutsuki patted his chest in assurance, his face carrying a confident smile.

"Second Elder! When you went to Earth this time, did you see Hinata Hyuga?"

"No! I did not go to Konoha!"

"I see! Forget it! You will meet eventually."

The three separated and returned to rest.

Doichi Hyuga stepped out of the shadows and secretly observed the Giant Tenseigan in the distance, which resembled a small sun.

The Giant Tenseigan had been drawing him toward it all along, as though it wanted him to approach.

After the three Ōtsutsuki had fallen asleep, Doichi Hyuga slipped into their room.

Sage Art: Soul-Sealing Formula!

The souls of all three were directly imprisoned within their spiritual platforms, completely severing the connection between their souls and bodies. This technique was not complicated, but it would keep them trapped for at least a week.

Unnecessary battles were best avoided whenever possible.