Ch 237 : Above the Moon

What truly surprised Makoto was that Otsutsuki Kaname died at dawn, his pulse and breath completely gone.

Before passing, he entrusted Toneri to Makoto and told him the method to reach the moon.

Yet, Toneri showed no sorrow over his father's death.

Instead, he remained remarkably calm, as if he had long been accustomed to witnessing death despite his young age.

Makoto was initially surprised that Kaname trusted him so unconditionally, but after talking with Toneri for a while, he came to understand.

The conflict among the Otsutsuki on the moon had no material interests involved; it was purely a clash of faith between fervent believers.

The Otsutsuki clansmen on the moon unconditionally believed in the destiny left behind by Hamura.

The Main Family wished to continue protecting Earth, while the Branch Family firmly believed that Hamura had lost faith in the ninja of Earth.

Both sides were convinced they were absolutely right.

That was why Kaname believed that, after learning of Hamura's divine decree, Makoto would undoubtedly follow through and restart the world—allowing him to pass away in peace.

Little did he know that no such divine decree existed.

Makoto simply knew the story all along.

Makoto brought Hakumen, Kakashi, and Toneri along to search for the teleportation array that Kaname had mentioned, which would lead them to the moon.

The array was hidden within an underground cave, completely undetectable from the outside.

Even Makoto, with his sharp perception, couldn't sense anything unusual—the concealment methods were unexpectedly advanced.

Inside the cave, there was no light at all, shrouding everything in complete darkness.

This posed little trouble for Makoto.

He lifted a chakra light orb with one hand, illuminating their path as they continued forward.

Before long, they began to hear the faint trickle of flowing water.

After walking for a while longer, they finally caught sight of a small spring, its gentle glow shimmering softly in the darkness.

Something seemed to be beneath it…

Makoto glanced around.

Above them, stalactite-like rock pillars stretched downward, and at the very top, a symbol was engraved.

After studying it carefully, Makoto recognized it as the character "A", as in "Amo".

These two syllables represented the beginning and end of the universe.

Deep in thought, Makoto gazed at the glowing spring below.

Hakumen crouched down and reached into the water, feeling a cool sensation.

But when he withdrew his hand, he was startled to find that it wasn't wet at all.

"Lord Hokage, this water… it's strange."

Makoto stood still for a moment before suddenly leaping into the spring with Toneri in tow, causing a splash.

Seeing this, Kakashi and Hakumen quickly followed suit, diving in after them.

Light.

Beneath the spring, an endless, warm radiance stretched out.

As they descended further, they discovered something astonishing—there was an entire mysterious space below, as if they were still within the cave.

The spring they had just jumped through now hovered above them like a liquid ceiling.

Countless floating light orbs filled the space, radiating an eerie glow that instinctively made them wary of touching them.

Carefully navigating through this enigmatic realm, they soon encountered another glowing spring below.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Makoto took the lead once more and dove straight in.

"Splash!"

They continued diving deeper through the water until, just like before, they emerged into another cave-like space.

However, this one was noticeably darker than the previous one.

In this narrow space, all sensory abilities were completely blocked.

Unable to detect any trace of natural energy, the group remained cautious as they moved forward.

The ground and cave walls were rough and uneven, with countless jagged stalactites hanging menacingly from above.

Traversing such terrain demanded extreme vigilance.

As they ventured deeper, strange, bubble-like orbs began to appear ahead—growing in number.

Some resembled the glowing spheres they had encountered earlier, while others seemed incomplete, as if still forming.

Observing their surroundings carefully, everyone remained on high alert.

Boom!

A sudden loud noise erupted from ahead, causing the four of them to halt instantly.

The cave began to tremble slightly as a massive shadow slowly emerged in front of them.

It was a giant crab, its shell covered in alternating yellow and red patterns, crawling toward them.

Makoto stood motionless, narrowing his eyes at the enormous creature that nearly filled the cavern.

The crab abruptly stopped, then spewed a dense barrage of bubbles from its mouth, launching them rapidly toward the group.

At that moment, Hakumen stepped forward and swung his fist fiercely.

A visible shockwave blasted forward, striking the monstrous creature.

In an instant, blood splattered everywhere.

With just a single punch, Hakumen had effortlessly taken down the giant beast.

A beam of light suddenly shone down from above.

Looking up, the group saw an opening in the cave—finally, an exit.

Through the gaps between countless interwoven stone pillars, they could vaguely glimpse a vast, azure sky.

A blue sky…

Makoto's eyes flickered with thought before he led the others upward.

The four of them soared toward the cave's stone-covered exit.

Light.

Stepping back onto solid ground, they were overwhelmed by an indescribable feeling.

Beside them stretched an endless ocean—yet it curved upward, defying logic, twisting toward the sky. 

Floating islands drifted high above, suspended among the white clouds.

Kakashi muttered in a low voice, "Is this… the moon?"

The world was brilliantly illuminated, yet something about it felt profoundly unnatural to Makoto.

A strange new land.

Mountains, forests, and flowing waters were all present, stretching to the edge of an endless ocean.

Yet, the natural energy in the surroundings was exceptionally thin—something that made Makoto uncomfortable, given his deep affinity with it.

After all, this was merely an artificially created small planet, incomparable to Earth.

Flying through the sky for a while, Makoto suddenly spotted a town below and immediately descended with the group.

However, calling it a town was an overstatement.

What lay before them was a place filled with ruins and broken walls, bearing clear signs of destruction.

Hakumen and Kakashi searched the area, but there wasn't a single person in sight—only remnants of ninja supplies scattered about.

They soon returned to report their findings: no signs of life.

But it was certain that people had once lived here, and not too long ago.

At that moment, Toneri spoke: "They're all dead."

The Otsutsuki had perished—wiped out by their own bloodshed.

Hamura had willingly led his descendants into isolation, choosing to protect the ninja world his brother had created while staying by his mother's side.

He likely never imagined that his own lineage would meet such a tragic end.

Makoto surveyed the surroundings, his gaze falling on a grand palace in the distance.

Without hesitation, he led the group toward it.

Upon stepping inside, figures suddenly darted out from the shadows.

Hakumen and Kakashi immediately tensed, ready for battle—but these people instead knelt before Toneri, bowing their heads in greeting.

Toneri explained, "These are puppet servants."

Some of them were wrapped in bandages and cloaked, while others exposed their stiff, artificial faces—lifeless and rigid.

They were similar to the puppet techniques of Sunagakure.

Makoto observed these puppets thoughtfully.

Konoha had been researching this kind of technology for years, yet with little success, as they had been fumbling their way through it from scratch.

Then, a thought struck Makoto—in the original story, Toneri had lived alone here for over a decade.

A complex feeling stirred within him.

Beneath what appeared to be grandeur and nobility, surpassing even the Hyuga clan, lay nothing but endless solitude and cold emptiness.

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