Chapter 431: Landing on the Moon
"Dad, where is this?"
Yuji looked at this cave, which contained nothing but a pool of water and a green light, and asked in some confusion. He had originally thought the passage to the moon would be some grand teleportation array or a space-time rift, but he didn't expect it to be just a seemingly ordinary pool of water.
Adult Naruto did not answer immediately. His gaze moved from Simba to his own clear reflection in the water, and he remained silent for a moment. Then he looked up at Yuji and asked a question that sounded somewhat absurd:
"Yuji, if I told you that this pool of water in front of us... is the path to the moon, would you believe it?"
His voice echoed in the cavernous cave.
"The moon?"
Yuji repeated subconsciously, almost instinctively looking up.
All that met his eyes was an uneven rock dome emitting a green glow.
Only then did he realize he was still deep in a cave and couldn't see the sky at all, let alone the moon. An embarrassed look couldn't help but appear on his face.
"Isn't the moon in the sky?"
He scratched his head, looking at the bottomless pool before him, unable to connect it with the moon hanging far off in the sky.
Adult Naruto had anticipated his son's reaction. He stood up, his gaze sweeping across the pool and then toward the faint green lights deep in the cave. His tone became distant and solemn as he began to recount an ancient secret buried in the dust of history:
"This path was not naturally formed; it originates from the Six Paths Sage."
Hearing this name, Yuji's expression immediately became solemn.
He had been immersed in the legends of the Six Paths Sage since childhood, knowing him as the source of all Chakra and Ninjutsu in the Ninja World, a near-godlike existence.
However, the other party shouldn't be able to defeat Dad; otherwise, Dad wouldn't have said those kinds of things.
Naruto continued, his voice sounding exceptionally clear in the silent cave:
"Back then, the Six Paths Sage performed the unprecedented ultimate Sealing Jutsu, 'Super Chibaku Tensei'."
He paused, as if sketching that world-shaping scene in his mind:
"With unimaginable power, they peeled away the earth and gathered it into a massive sphere, sealing his mother at its core."
"That sphere was sent into orbit around the Ninja World, becoming the moon we see at night."
The Six Paths Sage sealed his own mother?
Yuji looked shocked. Why would the Six Paths Sage Seal his own mother?
"After the Seal was complete, the Six Paths Sage remained in the Ninja World to spread Ninshu and guide humanity. Meanwhile, his younger brother Hamura, in order to guard the Seal for generations and prevent their mother from breaking out, led a group of descendants to migrate the entire clan to that newly born moon. They established a new settlement there, taking on the eternal duty of guardianship."
Naruto's gaze fell back onto the pitch-black, mirror-like pool:
"Separated into two places yet connected by Bloodline, the Six Paths Sage left behind this passage—a hidden path connecting the lands of the Ninja World to the sealed grounds on the moon."
He pointed to the pool:
"This seemingly ordinary pool is actually a stable and ancient 'gateway'."
"It was created by the Six Paths Sage's heaven-defying mastery of Yin-Yang Release. Passing through this water will lead directly to the interior of the moon, to the 'Inner Moon' space established by Hamura and his descendants."
Yuji felt a surge of excitement. He walked to the edge of the pool, crouched down, and looked carefully at the green water.
"So we can swim to the moon from here?"
Yuji's tone was full of disbelief.
"You could say that, but it's not exactly swimming. Just go straight in."
"Don't worry about breathing or water pressure. Relax and stay close to me."
As Naruto spoke, he reached out his left hand to hold Yuji's, while his right hand easily picked up Simba—who had turned back into a puppy and was looking warily at the pool—tucking him under his arm.
Then, before Yuji was fully prepared, Naruto took a step forward, pulling his son and carrying the dog, walking directly into the pool.
The moment their bodies touched the water's surface, the surrounding scenery instantly distorted and changed.
After stepping inside the pool, the expected darkness and feeling of suffocation did not come.
Instead, a soft and hazy yellow shimmer rose all around them.
This light didn't come from a light source; it was more like the pool itself was glowing, or they were traveling through some kind of luminous medium.
The light wasn't blinding, but it carried a warm and drowsy rhythm, like the pace of a mother's lullaby.
This glow seemed to have a special soothing effect.
Almost at the same time they entered the yellow light field, Simba, cradled in Naruto's arms, began to struggle to keep his eyelids open. His small head tilted to the side, a comfortable whimper escaped his throat, and he immediately fell asleep, even letting out tiny snores, sleeping incredibly soundly.
As for Yuji, although he mentally wanted to stay awake and observe this strange passage, an irresistible wave of weariness washed over him like a tide.
He felt his thoughts slowing down, his eyelids getting heavier, and the yellow shimmer before him began to spin and blur.
He tried hard to grip his father's hand and maintain consciousness, but his body relaxed uncontrollably. The expression on his face shifted from initial excitement and curiosity to a listless look, as if he hadn't closed his eyes for days and nights.
"Dad... I'm a bit sleepy..."
Yuji muttered unclearly as his consciousness began to sink into the warm darkness.
Only adult Naruto remained absolutely awake and calm in this sleep-inducing yellow shimmer.
He steadily held his son's gradually relaxing hand and carried the sleeping Simba, like a steady ferryman, walking firmly through this yellow light passage that existed between reality and illusion.
After an unknown amount of time, when Yuji felt his consciousness clearly return, he saw something he would never forget.
A boundless, deep, and vast darkness, dotted with countless points of light, some bright and some dim, flickering like diamond dust scattered upon it.
That darkness was so pure and so vast, as if it could swallow everything; and those points of light were so distant and eternal, emitting a cold and mysterious radiance.
A starry sky? No, it's the Universe!
Immediately after, his vision captured a more specific scene.
He found himself seemingly standing on a desolate, grayish-white land. Diagonally above his line of sight, a massive, heartbreakingly beautiful planet, interwoven with azure and white patterns, hung quietly against the dark background of the Universe, emitting a soft glow of life.
The Ninja World!
That was the home where they lived, fought, laughed, and cried. Seen from such a distant perspective, it was so complete, so... small yet great.
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