322.The Moon Temple

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"Did you find anything?" Madara walked over. 

Kaito's eyes, marked with a five-pointed star pattern, spun slowly as spiritual light flickered in his palm. He pressed his hand against the stone sphere. 

A blue aura enveloped the entire sphere before gradually fading away. 

"As I thought. I wasn't mistaken." 

He muttered to himself, withdrawing his hand before turning to Madara. "This sculpture, representing the Tenseigan, is connected to the entire moon—more specifically, to Kaguya's seal beneath it." 

He paced around the sculpture once more before continuing, "To be precise, this is an artifact meant to suppress the seal." 

"What do you mean?" Izuna's voice came from behind. 

"Was I not clear enough?" 

Kaito glanced at Izuna and Hikaku as they approached, then pointed at the Tenseigan sculpture. 

"The Tenseigan stone carving, the actual Tenseigan within the castle, and the Hyūga clan's Caged Bird Seal—put them together, and the answer should be obvious." He spread his hands. "Surely you can see it." 

"Are you saying…" Izuna stepped forward, examining the sculpture before scanning the ancient hall. He turned back to Kaito. "That the sculpture, the real Tenseigan, and the Caged Bird Seal are all connected to Kaguya's seal?" 

Kaito smiled and nodded. "As expected of you, Izuna." 

"Impossible." Izuna shot him a sidelong glance. "Based on the stories you've gathered, the appearance of the Tenseigan and the era of Kaguya's sealing are too far apart." 

"That's true." 

Kaito didn't argue. Instead, he raised his hand and traced the patterns on the spherical sculpture in the air. 

"I used to think the same way." 

"Is there more to the story?" Hikaku asked curiously. 

"Indeed." Kaito continued tracing the patterns. "If I hadn't examined the sculpture up close, I wouldn't have noticed." 

Madara frowned and cut straight to the point. "Explain." 

"Let me demonstrate visually." 

Kaito clenched his fist, then suddenly opened his palm. 

A surge of translucent blue spiritual energy erupted from his hand, forming two spheres in the air—one large, one small. 

"This is our planet and the moon." 

He tapped the two spheres, and their surfaces gradually transformed, displaying the rough terrain of both celestial bodies. 

"By the way, while there's a legend in the shinobi world that the moon was created by the Sage of Six Paths and his brother, Hamura, to seal their mother Kaguya, I believe that's incorrect." He smirked. "The moon has existed since ancient times. Historical records and myths even refer to the sun and moon as Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi." 

"I agree," Izuna chimed in. "The moon is far too massive to have been created by ninjutsu." 

"…" Hikaku stared at them in confusion. 

"Ahem. Back to the main topic." 

Kaito tapped the spiritual energy sphere representing the moon. A long-haired woman with horns appeared at its center. 

"This is Kaguya, sealed within." 

He then flicked two points of spiritual light from his fingertips, which floated near the "moon." 

"These two points represent the castle housing the real Tenseigan and the temple where this sculpture resides." 

The two points of light morphed into miniature versions of the castle and temple. 

"For a long time, I believed one of the purposes of the Caged Bird Seal was to serve as Hamura's means of monitoring Earth." 

As soon as Kaito finished speaking, countless fine threads emerged from the planet representing the shinobi world, stretching toward the moon. 

"They share a subtle connection." 

The model in midair demonstrated how these threads ultimately linked to the temple. 

"Yes." Kaito turned his gaze to the massive spherical sculpture beside him. "The final connection point is here." 

"What's the purpose of this?" Izuna furrowed his brow in thought. 

Kaito didn't keep them in suspense. "Its primary function is to catalyze the artifact, reinforcing the seal's suppression." 

Madara let out a low chuckle. "So even after the Sage of Six Paths and Hamura established the seal, it wasn't completely foolproof?" 

"Everything in this world is subject to the erosion of time." Kaito's tone was profound. "If the seal were truly unbreakable, Hamura wouldn't have needed to station himself on the moon to maintain it." 

He paused before continuing, "While Hamura was alive, his presence alone was enough to sustain the seal. But after his death, something else had to take his place." 

"So the Caged Bird Seal and the Tenseigan sculpture were his contingency plan?" Hikaku nodded in understanding. 

"Speaking of which," Izuna interjected, "why couldn't the Sage of Six Paths and Hamura achieve immortality like Kaguya and Isshiki?" 

Kaito raised an eyebrow. "Hagoromo and Hamura were born after Kaguya consumed the chakra fruit and absorbed the planet's energy. But Lord Seimei had long since cursed the chakra fruit's power through Ryūmyaku, stripping them of the Ōtsutsuki clan's natural immortality." 

"A curse can be that powerful?" Hikaku gasped in surprise. 

Kaito grinned. "The true terror lies not in the curse itself, but in the one who cast it." 

"Continue," Izuna urged. 

"Very well." Kaito turned his attention back to the floating model. "With the Hyūga clan unknowingly sustaining it from afar, the sculpture became the instrument that replaced Hamura in maintaining the seal." 

He tapped the temple in the model, and a beam of light shot from its base, piercing through the moon like a sword and pinning Kaguya firmly in place. 

"Of course, this is just a simplified representation." He went on, "However, Hamura likely never anticipated the existence of Black Zetsu lurking in the shadows. Over time, Black Zetsu's resonance with Kaguya gradually weakened the seal." 

The model shifted accordingly—the "sword" of light stabbing through the moon dimmed. 

"And then, for whatever reason, the Tenseigan appeared, filling the gap!" Izuna concluded. 

"Exactly. It seems you've already pieced it together." 

Kaito tapped the castle in the model, and a bright light—representing the Tenseigan device—flared within. A transparent spherical barrier encased the entire castle, giving it the appearance of a miniature sun. 

"Finally, with the immense power of the Tenseigan, formed from countless Byakugan…" 

Kaito swiped his finger, and a thread of light extended from the "sun," connecting to the temple. 

"The seal was restored to full strength." 

In the model, the beam of light beneath the temple grew brighter once more. 

"But too much time has passed, and the seal's effectiveness has waned. Day by day, Kaguya has managed to extend her influence beyond it." 

In the model, the woman at the moon's core stretched out her hair like tendrils, breaching the seal. 

"So…" Kaito turned to Izuna. "That's why we encountered Kaguya's spiritual form during our dream journey." 

"I remember," Izuna mused, stroking his chin. "Black Zetsu scolded us for interrupting his rare moment of communication with his mother." 

"Precisely." 

Kaito nodded, a sly grin spreading across his face. "Now that we know all this, tampering with Kaguya's seal should be a simple matter."