Hamura Ōtsutsuki surveyed the room and asked, "Is this Earth?"
Hearing him speak, Naruto whispered to Sasuke, "This guy really doesn't think he's from Earth."
"I'm more curious— is that horn on his forehead real?" Obito leaned in to whisper to the young Kakashi.
The adult Kakashi beside them seemed cautious around all three.
Hamura heard Obito's words and politely explained, "After parting ways with my elder brother, I went to the moon to watch over our mother."
Elder brother—
The same term Tobirama Senju used to refer to Hashirama Senju.
It was the respectful term used by a great clan when addressing their elder brother.
But the people of Konoha had never heard of the Ōtsutsuki clan. The only time the Ōtsutsuki surname had ever come up was when the Rikudō Sennin mentioned his mother, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
Clearly, Hamura Ōtsutsuki also noticed Hiashi Hyūga and the Hyūga clan members nearby.
"Greetings, descendants of my elder brother and myself on Earth," he said, looking somewhat pleased. "It seems this is the future. To see you all living here safely brings sincere joy to both my elder brother and me."
His speech carried a hint of ancient courtesy.
Being suddenly addressed by the ancestor of the Hyūga Clan by a handsome young man who appeared younger than themselves left everyone momentarily stunned. Hiashi Hyūga, the clan head, didn't know how to respond.
"Excuse me, but might your elder brother be...?"
"His name is Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki. I recall him mentioning during our last meeting that many on Earth seem to refer to him as the Sage of Six Paths."
"!!"
"So that connects everything!" Naruto exclaimed in surprise. "Didn't the Sage of Six Paths Grandpa recently say my future self would defeat his mother?"
Hamura Ōtsutsuki nodded. "It sounds like someone in the future will re-liberate our mother, who was sealed away on the moon by me and my brother."
Naruto froze. "Sealed away their own mother?!"
"Our mother was once a very gentle being," Hamura explained. "But after she consumed the fruit of the God Tree, she became ruthless and merciless, attempting to turn the entire Earth into a seedbed for the God Tree."
The Earth as the God Tree's seedbed?! What would happen to the planet?
Young Obito thought of his counterpart in this world and asked, "Why did the Rikudō Sennin have the Rinnegan while you have the Byakugan? Also, I want to know what the Infinite Tsukuyomi truly is."
"Yes, I too want to know what Madara Uchiha once called the Infinite Tsukuyomi. He said it was the true way to bring peace to the world," said the Edo Tensei Hashirama Senju.
Obito Uchiha in Kamui's Dimension glanced at Kakashi's corpse behind him, his numb eyes turning toward the figures outside the space.
Infinite Tsukuyomi...
Moon's Eye...
It meant nothing to him anymore.
Yet even so, when he learned the true meaning of Infinite Tsukuyomi from Hamura Ōtsutsuki, he still broke down.
"Infinite Tsukuyomi is the method to revive Mother from her seal," Hamura explained. "By summoning the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path I oversee on the moon back to Earth, we'll fuse the nine Tailed Beasts with it once more. Under Infinite Tsukuyomi's power, the Ten-Tails will sacrifice all living beings in the world, allowing Mother to be reborn within the caster of Infinite Tsukuyomi."
Ashura: "How can that be?!!"
"Father said Grandmother killed countless people back then to make the God Tree bloom and bear fruit on Earth. That's why he founded the ninshū—to atone for her sins!"
"In short, Grandmother absolutely must not be freed from her seal!"
Indra didn't dispute this point.
"But Father's way of governing the ninshū is wrong. Only power is the best method of rule."
"Brother," Ashura scratched his head, "Why can't I get through to you?"
Indra: "If you can't understand, then stop talking. Ashura, you're far too naive!"
"Possessing Sharingan, yet attempting to rule the world through force—and bearing such a striking resemblance to Madara." Tobirama Senju: "You must be the ancestor of the Uchiha clan. Yet I still cannot fathom why the Sharingan and Byakugan are so closely related."
Ōtsutsuki Hamura: "My elder brother also possessed the Byakugan. It was through experiencing profound sorrow that the Sharingan emerged within him. Later, during his battle with our mother, the Sharingan transformed into the Rinnegan."
This revelation left the Hyūga clan members utterly dumbfounded.
The Byakugan can transform into the Sharingan?!
Fortunately, Hamura sensed their confusion and clarified: "Logically speaking, it's not that the Byakugan transformed into the Sharingan. Rather, my brother, who had always used the Byakugan, awakened the Sharingan bloodline inherited from our mother through the pain he endured."
"Whew—" Hiashi Hyūga exhaled a silent sigh of relief.
Thank goodness. If the Hyūga Clan were a branch of the Uchiha, he'd never accept it. Besides, the Uchiha clan had dwindled to just a few descendants. Merge them into the Hyūga? That was unthinkable.
The only two remaining Uchiha here were Sasuke Uchiha and Obito Uchiha, and at most, Adult Obito from Kamui's Dimension.
The two children exchanged glances and noticed the twitching muscles at the corners of Hiashi Hyūga's eyes. It was clear he did not want to accept the situation.
Fortunately, Indra and Ashura both realized that this might not be their world. Though their faces grew cold, they didn't actually start fighting.
"Has the time travel not been initiated yet?" Ashura asked, his voice impatient.
Minato Namikaze, observing the surroundings, replied, "Perhaps we must wait a little longer. The spatial fluctuations here aren't strong enough yet."
Adult Kakashi sighed. "Who would've thought completing that S-rank and A-rank mission would end up like this." He ruffled Naruto's hair affectionately. "Truly the most unpredictable ninja ever."
Konohagakure had summoned three individuals from ancient times, and now the village felt like it had invited gods—only to find that sending them away was far more difficult than expected.
Especially when they examined the young man named Ashura and discovered his Senju Clan bloodline...
Tobirama Senju was not pleased. He would never admit that he was related to Madara Uchiha and Izuna Uchiha!
Similarly, Sasuke Uchiha, Obito Uchiha, and the higher-ups of Konoha were equally stunned. The Senju and Uchiha are actually family?!
The situation had become even more complicated. The Edo Tensei Hokages, the future Orochimaru, and the three ancient Ōtsutsuki urgently needed to understand the current state of Konoha.
Frequent intermarriage, abandoning surnames and clan concepts—the Senju clan, having dissolved into the village, had long since declined. Tsunade, having rarely returned to Konoha for years, didn't even own a house. Lately, she'd been staying with Nawaki and Dan at Kakashi's old family home.
Hiruzen Sarutobi inquired about where the two sensei planned to live.
The Sarutobi Clan residence still had plenty of rooms available for occupancy.
Tobirama Senju disliked staying at other people's homes. He would rather find any vacant dwelling to settle in. After all, both he and his elder brother were Edo Tensei bodies with no physical needs. They could go without sleep indefinitely.
Staying at someone else's place risked disturbing them at night, which made him uncomfortable.
Hashirama Senju, on the other hand, was eager to engage with the people of this world, especially about Madara. He didn't understand what it meant that Madara had been deceived.
He glanced at Minato Namikaze from the Kannabi Bridge Timeline. This young man seemed to be the one who knew the most about everything happening here.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to know right now what you've been through. And also, what exactly happened with Madara? I'm very curious about that too."
"Me too," Hashirama added. "What exactly happened back then? And didn't you say that to claim the reward for an S-rank mission, you should have taken the A-rank mission's reward to time travel?"
The Edo Tensei Fourth Hokage was likely the most eager to understand what had transpired.
Moreover, because of his counterpart from another world being present, Naruto seemed unable to adjust his feelings toward him immediately. He often stayed close to Minato from the Kannabi Bridge Timeline instead.
Minato from the Kannabi Bridge Timeline looked thoughtful. "As for why we didn't time travel immediately, I haven't figured that out yet either. But if we're talking about…"
He turned his gaze toward the adult Kakashi, a hint of apology in his smile.
"If Kakashi doesn't mind, then let's go to the house next to his place."
Adult Kakashi replied, "Of course I don't mind. Besides, I've been wanting to talk to Minato-sensei too…"
The 'Sensei' he referred to was the Edo Tensei Fourth Hokage. Seeing this world's Minato-sensei again was something the adult Kakashi hadn't prepared for. He wanted to discuss Obito with Minato-sensei, but hadn't yet figured out how to start the conversation.
"Orochimaru, what about you?" the Third Hokage asked. "Do you still have thoughts of destroying Konoha?"
The future Orochimaru smiled enigmatically. "Compared to that, knowing the future, I'm more interested in curing that child's Kekkei Genkai disease."
He was referring to Kimimaro, but Kimimaro wasn't present. Orochimaru didn't have access to more information about the scroll or the future, so he had arranged for Kimimaro to wait outside.
"But I need someone to watch you," the Third Hokage added. He couldn't trust Orochimaru so easily anymore.
Jiraiya spoke up, "I'll do it. I'll take responsibility for watching him."
The Third Hokage looked at his two disciples with a particular gaze.
One was from the future, his appearance even more handsome than in childhood. The other wasn't exactly unreliable, just a bit too lecherous.
"Are you sure?"
Orochimaru shrugged nonchalantly. "No objections here. In my timeline, Jiraiya has been dead for over a decade. Getting a chance to meet and chat isn't so bad."
The Edo Tensei Minato froze slightly, stunned that Jiraiya-sensei had also passed away prematurely.
As if reading his thoughts, the future Orochimaru smiled faintly. "Same as you—killed by his own disciple."