"Don't think of me like you would yourself. I won't let you have your way."
"I will kill her and take her place, but I will never let this world return to the past."
The "God of the Hour," palm upturned, caused countless water arms to rise from the sea, dragging the Box of Ultimate Bliss down.
The evil god resisted not, merely chuckling and saying, "One day, you will choose to join forces with me."
With that, the Box of Ultimate Bliss completely sank into the sea. The surface grew calm, leaving only one person floating in mid-air.
"I'm just a fake who inexplicably appeared in this world. But who says a fake can't be better than the original?"
The "God of the Hour" gathered wind power with his fists, shaping it into blades. His silver hair whipped around, then snapped off cleanly.
In that moment, his appearance changed drastically. His fair skin turned a pale purple, his robes split down the middle, and his hair stood up like a hedgehog's. His handsome face was gone, replaced by a Ryo demon-like visage.
"You call me a god who controls life and death. Then now, I will be called the God of Death!"
Splash~~
The instant the words fell, a powerful aura surged, whipping the sea into ripples.
"Yomotsu Hirasaka!"
The God of Death waved his hand, and a black rift appeared. He stepped into it and vanished.
…
Land of Ancestors
Neji carried a large bag of food in from the door, shouting, "Kaguya, Aino, come out and eat!"
Ever since Kaguya became famous as the Goddess of Rabbits, many people on the continent rushed to offer her worship. The endless supply of food meant the three of them never had to worry about eating, and they had feasts almost every meal.
In this relatively primitive society, life for them was like paradise to ordinary people.
"Sigh, it's been over half a year. I also want to find a chance to show off my cooking. I feel like I'm getting rusty," Aino said with genuine emotion as she ate the delicious food.
It was true. She was Neji and Kaguya's maid, yet these two never needed her to handle their food, clothing, housing, or transportation. She felt like she might be a fake maid.
"Alright, tonight's dishes are up to you to prepare," Neji said without hesitation, grabbing a large sack of ingredients and placing it in front of Aino.
Aino endured it with tears, knowing she had to follow through with what she had said.
"Neji, eat."
Kaguya sat next to Neji and brought a piece of meat to his mouth, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him.
"Uh, ha ha." Neji gave a wry smile and opened his mouth to eat the meat. Even though they were already a couple, he still felt very embarrassed every time Kaguya fed him.
"Don't just look at me, you eat too. Even if it's for the baby, you need to get more nutrients," Neji said, stroking Kaguya's beautiful silver hair with joy.
After all, they had lived together for half a year. If she didn't conceive by now, Neji would cry to death.
When he learned Kaguya was pregnant, Neji was a mix of joy and worry. He was happy that he was going to be a father, and that Kaguya would have someone even after he left. He was worried that he could truly leave them, mother and child, and go back with a heavy heart.
Even now, Neji didn't know what he should do.
"Forget it, why think so much? I haven't even found a way back yet." Neji mocked himself.
He believed the dimensional rift brought him here entirely because he placed it in Kaguya's original dimension, and the resonance between the two brought him back a thousand years.
Unfortunately, the dimensional rift was a one-time thing; it was gone after being used.
"Neji…"
Kaguya watched Neji's every move, which stemmed from his helplessness. Her heart ached, and her eyes showed hesitation, but in the end, she said nothing.
When night fell, Neji went into the courtyard after Kaguya had fallen asleep. They say one misses home when looking at the moon, and Neji had truly felt this over the past half year.
"What should I do?" Neji lay on the wooden ladder, a hint of despair in his eyes.
In over half a year, there hadn't been even a glimmer of hope of returning. Although Kaguya's presence had given him a sense of familial warmth, he simply couldn't let go of Hinata and the others.
"Damn system, you fail me at critical moments. Half a year, and not the slightest sign of recovery. What kind of support is this?" Neji cursed inwardly.
If he didn't have a bit of faith, if he didn't have any means to deal with the system, he would have scattered its ashes long ago.
"Sigh~~"
"Neji."
Just as Neji sighed, Kaguya had appeared behind him at some point. Seeing his troubled and distressed expression, her heart ached, and she bit her lip.
Without her doing anything, a black rift appeared beside her.
"Kaguya, what's wrong?" Neji looked at the spatial rift beside them, not understanding what Kaguya was about to do.
"Neji, come with me."
Kaguya pulled Neji and leaped to the foot of a mountain range. Before Neji could ask her anything, the Rinne Sharingan in her brow projected onto the mountainside.
Rumble~ Rumble~
The nine-comma red Rinnegan suddenly occupied the entire mountainside. Instantly, the mountain split, and giant rocks rolled down. But before the rocks could fall, Kaguya pulverized them into dust.
Neji watched all this, confused. It wasn't until the mountainside split completely in half that he finally saw what was inside.
"This… could it be?"
A black Uzumaki stood silently in the center of the mountain, still as a painting. However, with Neji's ocular power, he could clearly see the spatial turbulence within, just like what he had experienced in the dimensional rift before.
"Kaguya, you…"
"I'm sorry." Kaguya lowered her head and said softly, "After I ate the Chakra fruit and awakened this eye, I clearly sensed the spatial and temporal shifts here in my original dimension. But I didn't want you to leave me, so I didn't tell you…"
Looking at Kaguya, who appeared like a little girl who had done something wrong, ashamed and worried about being punished, Neji's heart was filled with tenderness.
"This fool, revealing this place. Is she trying to send me back? But what will she do herself?"
Neji hugged Kaguya tightly, unsure what to say at this moment. He had the chance to go back, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to move.
"Alright, with my ocular power, I'm confident I can send you back to your era. Don't hesitate, hurry and go," Kaguya said softly, patting Neji's back, forcing tears back.
Heaven knew the immense torture she endured saying those words, but she had to pretend to be indifferent, just so Neji wouldn't be too conflicted.
"Kaguya, I… I can't bear to leave you."