May we live long and share the moon's beauty across a thousand miles (Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone!!!)

Inside the grand hall.

"Where were we?"

Yuya came back to his senses and asked.

"You were telling me about Emperor Jiji!"

Princess Kaguya pouted, a little displeased.

She had been completely engrossed in the story! Yet Ye'er had gotten distracted!

"Oh, right. Then Emperor Jiji defied the heavens and challenged the immortals. He vowed that the sky would no longer blind his eyes, that the earth would no longer bury his heart,

that all living beings would understand his will, and that all the gods and Buddhas in heaven would vanish into smoke!"

"Wow, Emperor Jiji was amazing!"

Princess Kaguya clapped excitedly.

The words in the story had shaken her to the core.

"Unfortunately... even someone as powerful as Emperor Jiji had someone he feared."

At this point, Yuya stood with his hands behind his back, his expression inscrutable.

"Ah, then who was that person?"

"A monk."

"A monk?"

Princess Kaguya's eyes widened in disbelief.

She had never imagined that the mighty Emperor Jiji would actually fear a monk.

Seeing that he had piqued Princess Kaguya's curiosity,

Yuya let out a quiet sigh, looking unfathomably profound.

"Yes. That monk's name was Jiumozhi... his mastery of the Six Meridians Divine Sword was unparalleled."

"Gasp!"

Princess Kaguya was too shocked to speak.

After telling Princess Kaguya a few short stories, he finally managed to lull her to sleep.

By then, the Vassal Nation Ranking Tournament had finally ended.

Yuya had taken first place, as expected.

After getting the Yin-Yang Pearl,

he drifted away under the crowd's reverent, fervent... and faintly peculiar gazes.

Hmm... they must be jealous of me.

[You chose option three: participate in the tournament in an ordinary, straightforward manner. Mission complete. Reward: Dōjutsu · Tsukuyomi]

Instantly, a warm current began flowing into his eyes.

It was the power of Dōjutsu · Tsukuyomi.

At the same time, under Tsukuyomi's influence,

his mastery of genjutsu improved as well.

More techniques for using dōjutsu power appeared in his mind.

Combined with the insights and realizations he had gained when acquiring Amaterasu,

it felt as though he had finally broken through a bottleneck.

[Due to your exceptional comprehension, you gained some genjutsu application techniques while gaining insight into Dōjutsu · Tsukuyomi.]

[Genjutsu +5]

[Due to your exceptional comprehension, you automatically comprehended the Mangekyō Sharingan's ultimate dōjutsu · Susanoo.]

"So I have to master the dōjutsu in both eyes before I can awaken Susanoo?"

Yuya murmured. That matched the description in the original story.

With Susanoo, his strength would undergo another qualitative transformation.

His chances on this journey to the Wind-Snow Realm had undoubtedly improved.

Without further hesitation, he decided to head to the Wind-Snow Realm immediately!

He gazed deeply at Princess Kaguya.

Large patches of barklike wrinkles already covered her face.

She looked like this even in her normal state.

More importantly, her mind was being steadily eroded.

Over time, she would become like a little child... and this change had been especially pronounced lately...

Her nerves were also on the verge of snapping at any moment.

It had been the same even while she listened to Yuya's stories just now.

She had needed to hold on to his arm the entire time.

Only then could her mind relax.

Princess Kaguya suffered every second. He no longer wanted to wait, nor could he.

Finally, Yuya leaned down and gently kissed her forehead.

"I'll save you..."

He murmured, leaving a clone behind to keep Princess Kaguya company.

The next moment, a ripple spread through space.

He was going to find Ambe Kiyuki and head to the Wind-Snow Realm immediately.

He did not know what dangers awaited him, but he would press forward without turning back...

After Yuya's real body left, Princess Kaguya seemed to sense something.

Though she was asleep, her brows knitted tightly together.

It seemed as though she was having another nightmare.

Yuya's clone gently patted her shoulder, trying to soothe her.

But her condition did not improve.

Inside Princess Kaguya's mindscape.

"Princess Kaguya, that child you picked up is leaving with a strange woman. Are you really going to let him?"

A completely unfamiliar voice rang out in Princess Kaguya's mind.

"What nonsense are you talking about? He's right here beside me."

Princess Kaguya shouted, but a trace of fear remained in her voice.

"Don't be a fool. He left long ago. He merely left a lump of chakra to fob you off. How pitiful... you're about to die, yet he's run off with another woman."

"Impossible. He wouldn't leave me. He said he didn't find me annoying anymore..."

Princess Kaguya's voice trembled.

"Tsk, tsk... just look at yourself now. Who could stand you? You might as well hand your body over to me sooner..."

The voice cackled sinisterly.

"Shut up!"

"Whether it's true or not, activate your Byakugan and see for yourself..."

Princess Kaguya jolted awake.

She sat bolt upright in bed, drenched in sweat.

Yuya's clone moved forward to comfort her.

But the next moment, veins bulged around Princess Kaguya's eyes as she stared at him.

"So you really are just a lump of chakra..."

Princess Kaguya gave a bitter smile. Her already wrinkled face looked even more hideous and terrifying.

Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's words still echoed in her ears.

Scenes of her time with Yuya intertwined in her mind.

Eroded by the God Tree, her mental faculties continued to deteriorate.

For a moment, she could no longer distinguish truth from falsehood.

"You..."

The clone was about to say something, but a powerful repulsive force struck him.

Before he could recover from his shock, he burst apart and dispersed into smoke.

Princess Kaguya's consciousness descended into chaos.

The powerful repulsive force devastated the room once again.

Everything became a mess once more.

Her hair hung loose, her face twisted.

Fragments of everything in the room lay scattered across the floor.

She could not tell what was real, but there was one thing she knew.

Yuya was gone... she had to find him...

"Ye'er..."

She murmured, yet stood blankly in place for a long time.

Her consciousness was already hazy and confused.

She even suddenly forgot what she had meant to do.

"Ye'er... I have to find Ye'er..."

She held her head for a long while.

Only then did she seem to remember something.

She kept murmuring, repeating herself.

Swaying unsteadily, she began to walk forward like a living corpse.

But halfway there,

Crack!

She stepped on a broken mirror and stopped.

Lowering her head, she stared blankly at the hideous, terrifying face reflected in the shattered mirror.

She gazed at it in a daze for a long time.

"Looking like this... Ye'er wouldn't like me, would he..."

She murmured to herself.

Finally, she forcibly used her power, even draining her life force once again,

to suppress the God Tree's corruption.

Little by little, her face grew younger and returned to normal.

Once again, it became delicate and breathtakingly beautiful.

"Ye'er..."

She murmured, but tears streamed from her eyes.

Yuya frowned. The clone he had left beside Princess Kaguya had dispersed.

Its memories came to him.

Princess Kaguya seemed to be in a terrible state.

Unease stirred in Yuya's heart, and he prepared to return and check on her.

But ripples spread through the space before him.

A pitch-black portal appeared, and Princess Kaguya stepped out of it.

She had put on the clothes she had worn that night at the Fireworks Festival.

A light, gauzy dress draped her body, her silver hair fluttering.

Her breathtaking beauty had returned to her face.

Just as it had been before.

Except... there was not even a trace of life in her expression...

A grayish-white aura spread over her.

She was like an exquisite piece of porcelain, yet seemed liable to shatter at the slightest touch...

"Come back... with me..."

Princess Kaguya's voice was slightly hoarse.

She raised a hand, as though she wanted to reach toward him.

Yet she was so cautious, so unsteady.

Yuya's nose stung, his heart clenching in pain.

What had happened this time...?

What... had she sacrificed this time to suppress all of this again?

Just to... find him?

He was about to speak,

to say he would go back with her right away, that he had never intended to leave...

But the next moment, those words lodged firmly in his throat.

He could not say them...

[The entrance to the Wind-Snow Realm is about to close permanently, and Kaguya Otsutsuki has come to stop you once again. How can one find a way to honor both Tathagata and one's beloved? Faced with prolonged pain or brief pain, you now choose:]

[Option 1: Though the world holds three thousand ailments, only lovesickness has no cure. Go back with her and soothe her emotions. Reward: physique +1]

[Option 2: May we live long and share the moon's beauty, even a thousand miles apart. Try to explain. Perhaps it will end happily, or perhaps it will lead into a bottomless abyss. Note: a mysterious guest will be eavesdropping. Reward: Byakugan]

[Option 3: Young man, do not look back. Keep moving forward. The road to success is always strewn with thorns. All you can do is press forward! Forward! Forward! Reward: Rinnegan]

"Come... back with me..."

Princess Kaguya's voice came again, this time with a pleading note...