" Shinsei, will you leave me?"
Kaguya sat on the stone bed, grabbed Shinsei's arm, and looked at Shinsei with teary eyes.
Shinsei sighed inwardly, but had to force a smile.
"Of course not, why would you think that?"
Kaguya wasn't particularly pleased by Shinsei's words of comfort; instead, she continued speaking with a worried expression.
The Natural Energy between heaven and earth is about to return to calm.
You'll be able to go back to your world soon. Please don't leave me, okay? I'm afraid my child will be born without a father.
Shinsei looked at her; her eyes were still so pale, like a pair of bright silver moons.
Her hand gripped his wrist tightly, her knuckles turning white.
He knew what she was afraid of.
She is Otsutsuki Kaguya. She has witnessed too many people leave.
Her mother was killed by her father, and her younger sister used her powers to make her lose her previous memories.
She fell from the sky alone, landing in this unfamiliar world.
She finally had a partner and two children.
She was afraid that this person would leave too.
Shinsei did not say "no" again.
She wouldn't listen to those words. He simply reached out his other hand, placed it on the back of her hand, and gently patted it.
"Your most important task right now is to get well," Shinsei said. "Please trust me about everything else, okay?"
Kaguya looked at him and slowly nodded.
She buried her face in his shoulder and stopped talking.
Shinsei put his arm around her and patted her on the back.
Her breathing gradually calmed down, and after a while, she fell asleep.
Shinsei put her back on the stone platform, covered her with her outer clothes, and then walked to the cave entrance.
The rain had stopped long ago. The air in the Shikkotsu Forest was moist and cool, and the flow of Natural Energy was indeed much smoother than before.
He closed his eyes and tried to sense the spatial coordinates. The turbulent current was still there, but it was thinner than before. If he waited a little longer, he could try to go back.
Life was peaceful. Shinsei would get up early every day to hunt and then cook when he came back.
Kaguya sat at the cave entrance waiting for him, occasionally walking to the edge of the pool to look at the water.
Her belly grew bigger every day, and she walked slower and slower.
Shinsei helped her walk, and she didn't refuse.
The two of them lived like that, like an ordinary couple living in the woods.
Suddenly, the Katsuyu Sage emerged from the depths of the pool.
She waved her antennae toward the valley entrance and spoke in a gentle yet somewhat anxious voice.
" Shinsei, someone has come in."
"Who?"
" Madara Uchiha," the Katsuyu Sage said, "Is holding a child in his arms."
Shinsei paused for a moment. He turned around and glanced into the cave.
Kaguya is still asleep.
He walked towards the valley entrance, and a thin layer of lightning instantly appeared on his body.
Outside the Shikkotsu Forest, beside a grove of low bushes, stood Madara Uchiha.
He was wearing a drab old robe, and his hair was still sticking out like a hedgehog.
But he looked different than before. His back wasn't as straight as it used to be.
There was something about his face that Shinsei had never seen before.
exhausted.
There was also a bit of caution.
He was holding a very small girl in his arms, wrapped in an old cloth, her wrinkled little face peeking out.
The girl opened her eyes, her brown eyes quietly observing her surroundings.
Ban saw Shinsei come out, but didn't move.
He simply stood there, waiting for Shinsei to approach.
" Madara-senpai, is this your child?"
Ban glanced down at the girl in his arms, then looked up again.
I've come to find you.
His tone was flat, but Shinsei could tell how difficult it was for him to say those words.
"I need your help to look after my daughter."
Shinsei looked at the child in Madara Uchiha's arms and did not refuse. He dispersed the lightning around him and stretched out his hands.
"The little girl is so cute. Give her to me, come with me."
Strangely enough, Madara Uchiha seemed to have an inexplicable trust in Shinsei.
Even though the two are currently at odds, he firmly believes that Shinsei would not use his daughter to blackmail him.
The Katsuyu Sage had already retreated back into the pool, leaving only a narrow stone path at the entrance of the valley.
After they reached the bottom of the valley, Shinsei had him sit on a stone platform by the pool.
Ban sat down and looked down at the girl in his arms.
Her eyes... they've been replaced.
He reached out and gently pried open the girl's eyelids. Chakra seeped into her fingertips. He looked at her for a moment, then withdrew his hand.
Shinsei looked down and glanced into the girl's eyes.
His eyes were dark brown and ordinary, seemingly no different from those of an average person.
But Shinsei had already noticed that these eyes didn't match the little girl's growth rate.
The nerves in her eyes also showed signs of stiffening and malfunctioning, but for this little girl, it wasn't a major problem.
"There's nothing wrong with her eyes themselves. They were cleaned very thoroughly when they were replaced, so it won't affect her health. But she won't be able to Sharingan later."
These eyes aren't Uchiha eyes; they don't possess the qualities of the Sharingan.
Ban didn't speak, his expression remained unchanged, but in Shinsei's eyes, there was a deep sorrow.
"However," Shinsei continued, "She still carries your blood."
Wait until she grows up, then have more children.
That child will regain the Uchiha eyes.
They are no different from ordinary Uchiha.
Ban remained silent for a long time.
Then he nodded. He looked down at the girl in his arms.
The girl woke up, reached her little hand out from under the cloth, and made a grasping motion in the air.
Ban extended his finger, and the girl's small hand grasped it.
He stared at it for a long time, then looked up.
"There's one more thing. I'm not sure if that person tampered with Izumiya's will."
Shinsei knew who he was talking about; Kushinadahime was also Omoikane-no-Kami.
This is a major scandal that recently broke. Because of this, he and Kaguya discussed Madara Uchiha for a long time.
He thought for a moment, then turned and walked towards the pool. He patted the surface of the water.
A small Katsuyu crawled out from a crack in the rock and looked up at him.
"Could you please do me a favor Katsuyu Sage?"
A moment later, a Katsuyu the size of a fist crawled up from the edge of the pool and landed on the girl's forehead.
It lay there for a while, then climbed down again.
The Katsuyu Sage's voice came from the direction of the pool.
"Her will was not altered. Her consciousness is pure."
Ban's shoulders relaxed slightly. He looked at Shinsei as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he kept his mouth shut.
He picked up the girl, stood up, and walked towards the valley entrance.
After walking a few steps, Shinsei called out to him.
" Madara Uchiha."
The spot stopped.
"Do you remember, you owe me a request?"
Ban turned around and looked at him. His expression was cold.
"As long as the requirements aren't outrageous."
"Can you give up the idea of unifying the Shinobi World?"
Madara Uchiha remained silent with a cold expression, but his expression revealed his true thoughts.
Shinsei shrugged and spread his hands.
"Okay. I knew you wouldn't agree. Just kidding."
Shinsei looked at him. "My condition is that you cannot return to our timeline before I do."
Ban carried the girl and strode out of the Shikkotsu Forest.
"I agree. But don't even think about staying here forever."