Chapter 222: Kaguya Opening with a War Cry, the Emotionally Stable Hokage

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the Third Raikage and Onoki warily, not taking the initiative to attack.

The woman’s voice in his ear had gone from ethereal to increasingly solid!

The two Kage were even more bewildered…

Wait…

Weren’t you the one who just shattered a war ninjutsu cast by thousands of people with a single punch?

Your guarded posture makes it look like we were the ones who teamed up and did that to you!

The Third Raikage’s expression was one of resignation.

In his view, he had done his absolute utmost during his years as Raikage of Kumogakure. Always charging to the front lines at a moment’s notice, constantly honing his body and skills…

He hadn’t neglected scientific research either, striving to patch up the village’s shortcomings.

He had developed the prototypes for the “Heavenly Transfer Jutsu” and the “Chakra Cannon.”

Their application of Tailed Beasts was also at the forefront of the shinobi world.

But there was nothing he could do…

Konoha had produced another shinobi who could look toward the tier of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha!

This was simply beyond human capability…

Onoki, on the other hand, was staring intently at the jet-black heavy armor Hiruzen Sarutobi wore.

The Tsuchikage’s expression was uncharacteristically contorted. Intelligence he had once read in ancient texts flooded his mind…

Across the entire shinobi world, there were many who paid attention to Madara Uchiha.

After all, the Asura of the Shinobi World was top-tier, a mega-star among shinobi…

But when it came to meticulous research and dedication to studying Madara, if there were an objective and fair ranking, the Uchiha clansmen themselves often wouldn’t even make the list…

Tobirama Senju was the number one researcher of Madara Uchiha!

In a certain timeline, when the Fourth Great Ninja War began, the four Edo Tensei Hokage of Konoha each had their own thoughts before joining the battle, representing their deepest obsessions.

Hashirama thought of “a familiar friend”; Minato thought, “I finally get to see my son.”

Tobirama only single-mindedly thought of the Uchiha: “Madara, you won’t escape this time!”

As for the other Third Hokage, he muttered: “Come, the long-awaited war!”

The four of them each had their own expectations…

And aside from Tobirama, Onoki was the second foremost expert in “Madara Studies”…

Because this Tsuchikage had suffered a brutal beating from Madara Uchiha right at the start of his career. Over the years, his psychological trauma hadn’t dissipated with Madara’s “death”; instead, it had only grown deeper…

So much so that he utilized his resources and authority as Tsuchikage to collect various intelligence on Madara from across the shinobi world, continuously researching the Uchiha Clan’s biggest freak…

The jet-black heavy armor draped over Hiruzen Sarutobi triggered the Tsuchikage’s knowledge base…

“That! That’s the armor Madara Uchiha wore in his youth!”

“At that time, Madara Uchiha hadn’t fully mastered the power of Susanoo, so he still needed to rely on external objects for defense. But that was also when he was at his most arrogant…”

“So even though he wasn’t as powerful as he was at his peak, this form left the deepest impression on the older generation of Warring States shinobi because his fighting style was the most ferocious…”

Onoki muttered to himself, as if caught in a genjutsu, acting almost possessed.

Beside him, the Third Raikage cast a surprised glance at his old rival.

This old guy had been driven mad by Madara Uchiha…

The Asura of the Shinobi World has been dead for fifty years, and you’re still reciting textbooks about him here?

“Are you alright?”

The Third Raikage couldn’t help but say:

“Why are you focusing so much on Madara Uchiha? Snap out of it. The person in front of us is Hiruzen Sarutobi…”

“What are you thinking? My suggestion is to surrender and talk with the Hokage…”

The Third Raikage said something shocking: “It’s already over. There are no miracles left in this war.”

Behind him, his son, the Fourth A, was astounded: “Father, how can we surrender? The Hokage is right here. Shouldn’t we at least try to capture him?!”

“Capture the Hokage? Do you have that kind of ability?”

The Third Raikage, furious at his son’s failure to meet expectations, threw an elbow right into the Fourth A’s face.

The force was so great it instantly gave the Fourth A a bloody nose.

Beside them, Killer B focused his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, remaining completely silent.

Although the Third Raikage usually had a gentle personality, when he got angry and decided to teach the Fourth A a lesson, it was truly a case of “a father beating his son”! The force behind his blows was far greater than when the Fourth A taught Killer B a lesson…

The Fourth A clutched his face, feeling somewhat aggrieved.

What a heavy elbow!

But he had no choice. Even a tough guy like him, when beaten by his even tougher old man, could only clutch his head in both hands.

He only had one dad…

And this dad happened to be a better fighter than he was.

“True toughness means never giving up when there’s a chance of victory, even if it’s only a one percent chance. You must try everything to find an opportunity to turn the tables.”

The Third Raikage looked at the battlefield Hiruzen Sarutobi had turned into scorched earth and shook his head: “But right now, there is absolutely no possibility…”

“Your eyes still see too little of the truth, my foolish son.”

“As a fellow taijutsu shinobi, you should at least be able to recognize the realm of someone stronger. Hiruzen Sarutobi’s physical body has been tempered to at least my level. Ordinary ninjutsu will have no effect…”

“And war ninjutsu is equally ineffective against him. I’ve never seen a shinobi like this! The reason that shorty recklessly increased the population of Iwagakure over the years was precisely to deal with jutsu similar to Susanoo, wasn’t it?”

The Third Raikage said coldly: “By using the form of collective war ninjutsu…”

“Pooling the power of mid-to-lower-tier shinobi into a collective force to deal with individually outstanding shinobi. I’m not wrong, am I, shorty?”

“But Hiruzen Sarutobi has overcome this as well. So, to defeat the Hokage, numbers have lost their meaning. We can only rely on single-point combat power capable of matching him.”

“If a shinobi of your level intervenes in a battle with the Hokage, you’ll only cause trouble. Because you can’t inflict any damage on him, while simultaneously taking up space on the battlefield and disrupting everyone else’s rhythm.”

The Third Raikage spoke without any mercy.

This was his and Kumogakure’s style. On major issues, they never cared about sparing feelings; they focused on being straightforward.

The Fourth A listened in silence.

“Even if Onoki and I joined forces, and I managed to pin Hiruzen Sarutobi down, creating the perfect opportunity for the Hokage to be hit by Particle Style without being able to use his secret jutsu…”

“That would only make everything worse.”

The Third Raikage said with a heavy tone:

“The rest of the Konoha shinobi would go crazy! It’s foreseeable that if Hiruzen Sarutobi were gone, Konoha would definitely plunge into massive internal chaos…”

“Without a figure of sufficient weight to hold things down, Konoha, much like the Uchiha Clan of the past with their Izanagi, would suffer internal conflict and perhaps eventually fracture…”

“But before that happens, the Konoha shinobi will tear Iwagakure and Kumogakure to pieces, with a cruelty far exceeding the Warring States period. Only after that would they fight among themselves due to the power of the various factions.”

“Therefore, even putting aside the fact that Onoki and I cannot defeat the Hokage, this war is already over.”

The Third Raikage offered a meticulous analysis that sharply contrasted with his muscular physique.

“Then what should we do?” the Fourth A couldn’t help but ask.

“Surrender, pay reparations, agree to the Hokage’s terms, and then wait quietly…”

The Third Raikage’s expression was very calm:

“In this land of the shinobi world, unexpected things always happen. Konoha once boasted the two greatest legends among shinobi, yet they still fell apart…”

“Do you know Isshin, the current Clan Head of the Uchiha Clan?”

The Fourth A paused for a moment. After this war, he had become quite familiar with the shinobi inside Konoha.

“I know him. I heard he’s a very cunning Uchiha, completely different from the stereotype…”

The Fourth A replied honestly.

“The reason the Uchiha Clan survived until now, despite Tobirama Senju’s targeting, and managed to hold on until the era where Hiruzen Sarutobi began manifesting the Will of Fire, is entirely thanks to this man named Isshin.”

The Third Raikage said with deep emotion:

“The Konoha Police Force, Madara Uchiha’s departure…”

“The Uchiha Clan in the past was in an incredibly dangerous position in Konoha. They had a militant style but lacked true capability for resistance, and didn’t even have a decent ally within the village.”

“They also had Warring States-era blood feuds with various clans. It could almost be said they were standing on the edge of a cliff.”

“Tobirama Senju held all of Konoha’s resources in his hands. On one hand, as Hashirama’s brother, he had innate legal authority. On the other hand, he constantly provoked the Uchiha…”

The Third Raikage said slowly:

“‘A clan inherently evil.’ Those words weren’t spoken by just anyone. Yet Tobirama Senju could claim that, as Hokage, he was equally monitoring every unstable element…”

“And step by step, he forced the Uchiha to move out of the core areas of Konoha.”

“If it were you, could you have endured it?” The Third Raikage looked at his son.

The Fourth A froze, thought hard for a moment, and slowly shook his head: “Probably not. If I were Isshin Uchiha, I’d probably fight Tobirama Senju to the death!”

“Then both you and the Uchiha Clan would have vanished from the shinobi world…”

The Third Raikage shook his head:

“But Isshin managed to endure. As Clan Head, he consistently suppressed the negative emotions within the Uchiha, finally waiting until the changes brought by Hiruzen Sarutobi…”

“What we need to learn now is precisely this approach of Isshin’s.”

“If you can’t win, you must bow your head and quietly wait for a turning point.”

Beside them, Onoki finally tore his gaze away from Hiruzen Sarutobi’s black heavy armor and couldn’t help but look at the Third Raikage, his expression filled with astonishment.

You understand the Uchiha pretty well, don’t you?

You even know about Isshin, this man who hides his light under a bushel!

Truly worthy of being my lifelong rival…

“But what if, in the end, we don’t get a new generation’s Madara Uchiha in Konoha? Then what do we do…” the Fourth A still couldn’t resist asking.

The internal conflict between Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha can’t just replay itself over and over again, can it?

“Then go ask the Sage of Six Paths!”

The Third Raikage said testily, glancing at Onoki: “What is your opinion?”

“The same.”

Onoki sighed softly: “Have the other shinobi retreat. This war no longer concerns them. But we can’t just surrender without a fight…”

“Hiruzen Sarutobi won’t agree to it. He charged into the enemy formation alone to make a name for himself, to elevate his prestige in the shinobi world to the level of those two, further increasing his influence…”

“Breaking an army of ten thousand and capturing two Kage in a single battle. If you were given this opportunity, would you miss it?”

“Furthermore, you and I, as Kage, should do our duty. We must at least put up a fight…”

The Third Raikage nodded silently and waved his hand.

Onoki also issued his orders.

The military formations of Iwagakure and Kumogakure receded like the tide. Many scouts rushed to the frontlines, ordering the guard units not to engage the Konoha shinobi coming to reinforce the Hokage.

The Third Great Ninja War was about to end…

The winners would digest their spoils and dividends, while the losers would lick their wounds and await an opportunity. Everyone had their own things to keep busy with.

And this was reputation at work.

If this were Madara Uchiha’s Infinite Tsukuyomi, leaving no way out for the shinobi world, then even the weakest shinobi would be spurred to fight against a powerful enemy.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi was different…

Whether it was the Third Raikage or Onoki, they might not say it aloud, but they both implicitly harbored an indescribable “trust” in Hiruzen Sarutobi.

This man truly was different from other shinobi; he possessed the strength of character of Hashirama.

Although he was more pragmatic, he wasn’t extreme like Madara Uchiha.

“I keep feeling like the Hokage is thinking about something else entirely…”

Onoki looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who stood quietly atop the Five-Tails in the distance, and whispered:

“Actually, by charging into the military formation alone, he is giving Iwagakure and Kumogakure a chance.”

“There is an information gap between us. We didn’t know his strength had reached this level.”

“If he had allowed Danzo and Ao Uchiha to be captured by you and me, nothing would have happened to the two of them, and we wouldn’t be in a position to do anything to them anyway…”

“Instead, Hiruzen Sarutobi could have used this as a perfectly reasonable pretext to expand the war and utterly destroy Iwagakure and Kumogakure. But he didn’t do that…”

“Rather than saying he’s showing off his military might, it’s more accurate to say he’s preemptively mediating this war.”

The Third Raikage nodded silently.

He had similar thoughts…

Ultimately, after destroying Iwagakure and Kumogakure, Konoha would indeed find it difficult to govern these two regions properly. Objectively, they lacked sufficient manpower…

But is that something a shinobi should be considering?

In the past, didn’t everyone just focus on plundering?

There was nothing else besides that…

In a sense, Onoki and the Third Raikage felt that Hiruzen Sarutobi might even be thinking using the mindset of the Raikage or the Tsuchikage…

He was like the patriarch of the shinobi world. He would punish the children who made mistakes, but the punishment wasn’t a lethal blow; rather, it was to make them reflect and admit their faults.

Onoki and the Third Raikage had, in a sense, guessed part of Hiruzen Sarutobi’s thoughts…

Regarding Kumogakure and Iwagakure, Hiruzen Sarutobi, as Hokage, naturally had to punish them. He had to ruthlessly purge the unhealthy trend of starting wars, and reclaim the reparations and technology Konoha deserved…

But the waters of the shinobi world were too deep.

The Five Great Hidden Villages were merely the surface issues. The true masterminds lurking beneath the surface were the ultimate trial the entire shinobi world had to face.

Therefore, although Kumogakure and Iwagakure needed to be punished, their power was also worth controlling. Under the premise of rendering them harmless, it was best to let them maintain their combat capabilities.

Hiruzen Sarutobi constantly remembered the intelligence regarding the “Deus ex Machina.”

It’s just that he still hadn’t figured out exactly what this so-called “Deus ex Machina” was.

Was it the Sage from the stone monument manifesting in the world, or would new enemies appear from outer space or deep underground…

“Chakra…”

“Chakra… it’s all my chakra!”

“Hamura, Hagoromo, you two traitors…”

“Zetsu, was your plan successful? Truly my son, I will reward you handsomely!”

Kaguya’s voice echoed in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s ears. The ethereal voice grew increasingly distinct, finally allowing the Hokage to hear it clearly.

This bizarre phenomenon set alarm bells ringing in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s heart!

One must know, his “Ten Thousand Seals Body Integration” had already achieved minor mastery. The “Evil Sealing Method” portion had even been tempered with the combined help of the entire Uchiha Clan…

The Kurama Clan’s “True Genjutsu” had also contributed significantly.

It wasn’t that Hiruzen Sarutobi was arrogant; there might still be ninjutsu in the shinobi world that he couldn’t crack.

But when it came to genjutsu, he didn’t believe he could fall victim to one without noticing…

After all, the Mangekyo Sharingan and the Kurama Clan were universally acknowledged as the ceiling for genjutsu in the shinobi world.

But clearly, Kaguya’s appearance had just taught Hiruzen Sarutobi a lesson.

“Impressive tricks, Onoki, Third Raikage…”

Hiruzen Sarutobi said as he entered the Spirit Release Chakra Mode.

Cyan-white light swirled around his body and surroundings. He attempted to eliminate the genjutsu chakra he believed he hadn’t detected by using full-coverage cleansing.

But this only made Kaguya’s voice grow louder…

Because the reason Kaguya’s voice could appear in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s ears.

Was that during this battle, by repeatedly using large-scale “Spirit Release: Shockwave Form,” he had objectively dismantled the chakra of the nine Tailed Beasts, promoting their fusion with one another.

This caused the chakra, which inherently belonged to Kaguya, to merge into a small, unified whole, creating an anchor point for Kaguya’s consciousness to descend.

Washing himself with Spirit Release in this manner only accelerated the process.

“To think Kumogakure and Iwagakure were hiding such a genjutsu…”

“I underestimated the heroes of the world!”

“Use whatever tricks you have!” Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a deep voice.

Onoki and the Third Raikage exchanged a glance, their eyes questioning each other…

Why did you go and enrage him?!

Don’t pull these underhanded tricks!

Just fight a proper battle, and negotiate after we lose…

“You did this?”

“Don’t do this…”

The Third Raikage and Onoki subconsciously asked each other.

After all, both Kumogakure and Iwagakure were quite impoverished when it came to genjutsu. They each thought it was the other’s ultimate trump card hidden until now, one that could even affect the Hokage!

“Hokage, I don’t know what you’re talking about. This genjutsu matter has absolutely nothing to do with Iwagakure…”

Onoki chose his words carefully and said loudly:

“With the war having reached this point, the outcome is actually already predetermined. You, the Raikage, and I will have one last clash, and no other shinobi will intervene…”

“Winner takes all.”

It was only because Hiruzen Sarutobi’s reputation was so solid that Onoki even briefly wondered if the Hokage was pretending to be caught in a genjutsu, intending to use the guise of being attacked to wipe out Kumogakure and Iwagakure in one fell swoop!

“It definitely has nothing to do with Kumogakure either.”

The Third Raikage hurriedly added: “Our village never engages in this genjutsu nonsense!”

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused.

It wasn’t that he casually believed Onoki and the Third Raikage’s words…

But rather, it was out of confidence in his own Spirit Release and sealing capabilities…

Most importantly, Hiruzen Sarutobi had never heard of a genjutsu that consisted of a woman murmuring in his ear, incessantly babbling inexplicable nonsense like she was having a psychotic break…

Did a jutsu like this have any use other than being annoying?

Therefore, it was clear that something beyond Hiruzen Sarutobi’s understanding was occurring!

“Wait…

“Why can’t I descend into this vessel!

“The chakra is far too little, why is there only this much…

“Is it sealing jutsu? It can’t compare to Hagoromo’s, but the magnitude and structure…

“This sensation? Is it Kekkei Mora? It seems like it, yet not quite…

“This is bad, has a Main Branch pursuer arrived?! Who exactly are you?!”

Kaguya’s voice alternated between loud and soft, sometimes calm and sometimes manic. Her emotions fluctuated continuously like a roller coaster. The noise made Hiruzen Sarutobi shake his head slightly.

By inspecting his own body, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already discovered the source of this bizarre phenomenon…

It lay in the chakra of the nine Tailed Beasts he had previously absorbed, which had melted into an eerie, reddish-white sphere.

Through Hiruzen Sarutobi’s manipulation, this sphere hovered within the “Cyclic Palace” he had constructed in his body, using multiple Four Symbols Seals as pillars, and other seals as beams and auxiliary materials.

With this, the woman’s voice finally became slightly more controllable, though she was still screaming and shouting.

Hiruzen Sarutobi clicked his tongue.

“I was always worried about the ‘Deus ex Machina’ problem, and it turns out the very first one to manifest targets me…”

“Oh well, if it landed on another shinobi, I wouldn’t be able to rest easy.”

“With me, at least I can rapidly acquire first-hand intelligence on the enemy…”

Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly understood.

Something that could make even him feel it was bizarre must be an issue that exceeded the current framework of the shinobi world…

“Hello.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s steady voice also echoed in Kaguya’s ears.

“Who are you?! What do you intend to do?! Were you sent by Hagoromo or Hamura? Or the Main Branch?!”

“Tell me!!!”

Kaguya’s shrill voice exploded within Hiruzen Sarutobi’s sea of consciousness, exceptionally piercing.

The Goddess of the Rabbit was panicking as well; this situation was incredibly disadvantageous for her…

Because she felt that while her combat skills were somewhat exquisite, her raw stats were also one of her crucial advantages; the two were indispensable.

Therefore, upon realizing that she couldn’t return to the shinobi world in anything close to her peak state, she subconsciously lost her confidence and blurted out things she shouldn’t have.

Simply put, she acted cowardly…

Hiruzen Sarutobi endured the noise, silently committing these few terms to memory.

The Lord Hokage suddenly missed Danzo a little bit…

In Konoha, when pushing through certain initiatives, it wasn’t as if there weren’t troublemakers who thought about causing problems…

After all, in a large village, there are all sorts of people. There will always be a small minority who want to take a bit more for themselves.

Just like Kaguya screaming right now, trying to secure more benefits…

But with Danzo around, usually before these signs even fully surfaced, he would have basically handled the other party.

Coupled with Hizashi’s coordination, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s daily administrative work and policy implementation were quite smooth. He had never encountered someone like Kaguya who just started screaming and acting unreasonably right off the bat…

But unfortunately, this wasn’t Konoha, and even if Danzo and Hizashi wanted to exert themselves, they couldn’t.

“It’s like this…”

Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed lightly, speaking with a steady tone: “You were likely summoned by the Tailed Beast chakra condensing within my body.”

“What do you mean, the chakra within your body? That’s mine! My chakra!” Kaguya’s shrill voice rang out again, trembling with anger: “All the chakra in the shinobi world belongs to me!”

“Oh…” Hiruzen Sarutobi’s eyes flashed.

Does she really hold such high status?

It seems he had caught a big fish…

The Third Raikage and Onoki simply watched Hiruzen Sarutobi sitting atop the Five-Tails. He made a gesture by his ear like he was talking on a phone, and then waved a hand at them.

The two Kage exchanged a glance, sighed helplessly, and threw their hands up.

Nothing they could do…

Under someone else’s roof, you have to bow your head.

Even if they wanted to preserve their dignity, if Hiruzen Sarutobi didn’t give the word, it couldn’t be done.

Because the Hokage had stated…

He was currently caught in a genjutsu!!

A battle between Kage to bring a war to a close carries a certain human touch and a sense of legend.

If elements of a sneak attack were mixed in, the flavor would completely change!

Being despised by the entire shinobi world was one thing; after losing the battle, they would suffer even more during peace talks…

“It’s like this, there is a misunderstanding between us.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s tone remained unchanged, still steady and powerful:

“I bear no ill will towards you, please believe me. Therefore, I suggest you calm down first…”

“Let’s first analyze each other’s situations and the causes behind this phenomenon. Once we find the source of the problem, we can work together to coordinate a solution.”

“Discover the problem and solve the problem, that’s all. Getting angry like this is meaningless.”

Kaguya’s expression froze, and she was about to continue venting her anger at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

How dare he reprimand her!

But Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to anticipate Kaguya’s thoughts and said softly:

“This is beneficial to you. Haven’t you noticed that you know nothing about my situation, yet you’ve already revealed a lot of information about yourself?”

“Otsutsuki, Main Branch, Hamura and Hagoromo, and the shinobi world’s chakra belonging to you…”

Hiruzen Sarutobi repeated these key terms: “I hope we can ultimately resolve the issue or reach an agreement in a manner that satisfies both of us.”

“You and I might both be victims here.”

“I am not taking advantage of you regarding intelligence; reminding you is me showing sincerity…”

“Do you think what I’m saying makes sense?”

Hiruzen Sarutobi displayed the emotional stability expected of a Hokage.

Actually, he was lying…

It wasn’t that Hiruzen Sarutobi didn’t want to take advantage.

It was because, having reached this point, he judged that this mysterious woman had probably realized her slip of the tongue. Continuing to lead her with questions wouldn’t yield much more intelligence.

Instead, it would make subsequent communication difficult.

This was a classic “retreat to advance” negotiation tactic.

Kaguya fell into silence, slightly stunned.

Having been sealed for a millennium, on one hand, she was venting her pent-up emotions. On the other hand, she was using this method to combat the emotions she couldn’t control.

And a crucial point was that she had always possessed this kind of personality. It could be said that the Sage of Six Paths and Hamura had actually inherited this trait from her.

Otherwise, during the great war back then, they wouldn’t have fought for months without even being able to communicate properly.

The Sage of Six Paths’ handling of Indra’s issues, and Hamura’s management of his descendants, were both atrocious…

At this moment, due to the anomaly occurring on the moon, Hamura’s descendant also felt astonished.

Although Hamura’s descendants were now only reduced to two—one named “Toneri Otsutsuki” and the other his father.

The other descendants of Hamura, due to a divergence in their interpretation of Hamura’s dying wishes, had engaged in mutual slaughter between the Main Branch and the Branch Family. In the end, only Toneri and his father remained.

The Byakugan of the deceased clansmen were fused together to form the “Giant Tenseigan”…

It was worth mentioning that although Toneri wasn’t very old, because he possessed a special constitution close to that of the Otsutsuki Clan, his mental maturity and physical size were already approaching those of a teenager.

At this moment.

Toneri’s father was gazing at the shinobi world, whispering: “Damn it! The flawed world created by the Sage of Six Paths… not only have wars raged incessantly for a millennium, it’s simply fundamentally flawed…”

“Not to mention the Gedo Statue was stolen, and now they are even tampering with the seal!”

“I heard the shinobi there possessing the Byakugan are using cruel methods to oppress Branch Family members like you and me. It should have been destroyed long ago…”

Toneri listened in silence. As a youth, he actually felt quite resistant to these ideas.

Because the mutual slaughter between clansmen was simply too cruel.

“You don’t believe it? Toneri…”

Toneri’s father shook his head helplessly: “Then Father will make preparations, and take you to the shinobi world to see for yourself! Seeing is believing, surely that will be enough?”

“Afterwards, you must prepare to carry out Ancestor Hamura’s true will!”

Only then did Toneri speak softly: “Yes, Father…”

What this father-and-son pair didn’t know was that Kaguya hadn’t actually been released.

She merely had an anchor point inside a body that her consciousness could attach to.

Theoretically, a brief possession between the two was possible, but the initiative rested in the hands of the seal’s owner, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

In most situations, it was more like “making a phone call” rather than being a true Jinchuriki.

At this moment, Kaguya, deep within the moon, was pondering how to reply to Hiruzen Sarutobi…

This family of theirs essentially specialized in screaming, shouting, and bickering. If they could use their fists, they wouldn’t use reason; whoever had the bigger fist made the rules…

As for regret, of course they felt regret. But they would just stiffen their necks and remain silent, sighing secretly to themselves.

Kaguya, the Sage of Six Paths, and Indra were all exactly like this…

Someone like Hiruzen Sarutobi, who could achieve “mutual understanding” and “put himself in the other person’s shoes,” was a type Kaguya had never encountered, neither among the Otsutsuki nor in the shinobi world.

Wait, is it actually possible to communicate properly?

“Hmm…”

Kaguya pondered for a long while before saying tentatively: “Alright, then I will listen to you for now.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s excessively stable emotions and polite attitude had completely baffled the previously enraged Kaguya…

Of course, the most crucial factor was the continuously refined “Ten Thousand Seals Body Integration,” which allowed this extremely weakened Goddess of the Rabbit—who currently possessed only a tiny fraction of her chakra—to actually speak reasonably…

“Good. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a sigh of relief:

“I have a few matters to attend to on my end. Could I trouble you to wait for a moment? I am currently engaged in a battle. After that, we can find a large block of time to talk slowly. Does that sound acceptable to you?”

Not bad…

He doesn’t seem that unreasonable after all…

He feels much easier to communicate with than Danzo!

Since Kaguya had yet to master the two ultimate divine skills of refusing communication—”You will regret this” and “Slamming the door”—

If they could talk, then anything was possible…

Kaguya was taken aback.

A battle?

That was her domain!

Back when she was with the Otsutsuki Clan, who didn’t praise her exceptional talent?

“Perhaps I can offer him a pointer or two with my world-shaking combat skills…”

Kaguya thought to herself:

“After all, if he truly is a creature of the shinobi world, his understanding of chakra must be quite inferior…”

“This seems like a good opportunity to make him submit to me!”