The rain continued to pour, growing heavier with every passing moment.
There were no scattered stars visible in the sky, only a vast expanse of pitch-black clouds.
Yet unlike the surface of the shinobi world, hidden within the moon that floated in the starry sky lay a secret realm unknown to mankind.
It possessed seas and land, flowers, birds, fish, and insects, flying creatures and beasts, and even villages built of stone houses.
Outwardly, it appeared no different from the shinobi world, only far more ancient.
The single distinction was that it was completely empty of people—nothing remained but ruins.
At the very center of the moon's interior, beneath a false sky, the artificial "sun" emitted a soft, warm glow.
Inside that "sun" was emptiness—an endless, boundless void. Islands of varying shapes floated through the air as if they had fallen into a starless universe. Everything appeared hazy and indistinct; there was no ground beneath, only the far edges of the "sky."
Living in such a place for extended periods blurred the line between heaven and earth, filling the heart with an overwhelming sense of nothingness.
For Ōtsutsuki Toneri, however, who had lived inside this "artificial sun" since the day he was born, this small, confined space was his entire world. He had long since grown accustomed to its cold, empty silence.
"Father."
Young Toneri knelt obediently on the floor. With his pale skin and long blue-white hair, he raised his head, empty eye sockets directed at the man before him. "Grandpa Shōji hasn't come for a long time."
He wasn't asking a question so much as stating a simple fact.
He was only three years old. Born without eyes, he could still perceive the world around him with perfect clarity thanks to his exceptionally powerful bloodline.
The "Grandpa Shōji" he spoke of was a gentle, soft-spoken elder who, like the others who had vanished at regular intervals over the past three years, was now gone forever.
"Toneri, Grandpa Shōji will not be coming anymore."
Toneri's father reached out and gently stroked his hair, his voice calm and even. "You must grow up quickly. One day, I too will be gone."
"Like the other grandpas?" Toneri asked.
"Yes." His father gave a slight nod. "You were born to save the world. Right now you simply lack the power, and we will become that power for you."
"Only by keeping a blade constantly at their throats will those who have strayed from the path and disrupted the world's peace and order truly awaken."
Young Toneri nodded vaguely, then looked up again with childish curiosity. "When that time comes, will you come back?"
He received no answer. After a long silence, his father let out a quiet laugh and replied softly, "We have always been here. So what is there to 'come back' to?"
The elder brother of the Sage of Six Paths—the founder of Ninshū—had personally created that shinobi world.
The Sage of Six Paths had established Ninshū with the hope that chakra would become a force that connected people, transforming it into bonds between humans, all in order to build a world without war, where everyone could live together in peace.
But after the Sage passed away, humans began using chakra as a weapon of slaughter. As time progressed, wars broke out again and again. Endless, ceaseless wars… Shinobi had never stopped fighting.
From the moment Ōtsutsuki Toneri was born, the entire branch family understood that destiny now stood with them. The shinobi of the world were destined to be purged. The birth of those warmongering, cruel, bloodthirsty demons had been a mistake from the very beginning!
Just as Toneri's father prepared to continue instilling the branch family's radical beliefs into his son—
Buzz!
An invisible ripple surged through the air. His father's head snapped up in alarm as he looked out the window.
A crescent-shaped island floating in the distance was vibrating with a low, buzzing tremor. Without hesitation, Toneri's father rushed out of the palace and immediately encountered two other men.
The three exchanged grave glances and nodded, then flew together toward the distant crescent island.
Very few Ōtsutsuki clan members still remained alive on the moon. All the women of suitable age had perished years earlier in the war between the main and branch families. That brutal conflict had left only the elderly, the weak, and the infirm.
These three men—including Toneri's father—were responsible for guarding the Ōtsutsuki clan's greatest treasure: the giant Tenseigan.
Buzz! Buzz!
As they passed through the corridor into the island's interior, the invisible fluctuations intensified, causing their long white robes to whip violently.
When they reached the end of the passage and stepped into the vast open space, they saw it: at the center of several circular rails stood a massive eye pupil dozens of meters across.
That golden eye was the true form of the giant Tenseigan. The rings that should have been rotating steadily around it like planetary orbits were now spinning wildly, as if flicked into chaos by invisible fingers.
"What is happening?" Toneri's father's eyes overflowed with heavy alarm. "Why is the Tenseigan suddenly reacting like this?!"
Golden light particles burst from the Tenseigan's pupil like a broken dam of fireflies. The light flowed outward like blood through veins, shattering against objects in tiny sparks before continuing to stream away.
Even though this Tenseigan was still only a prototype, no such anomaly had ever occurred in the past several years.
One of the elders channeled his chakra to connect with the Tenseigan and gradually sensed the direction in which the "ocular power" was flowing.
"Impossible!"
His eyes widened dramatically, nearly bulging from their sockets. In a hoarse voice he rasped, "The Tenseigan is responding to someone's call from the shinobi world!"
"Impossible!" Toneri's father blurted out. "How could those demons possibly be worthy of the sacred artifact's response!?"
The third elder was noticeably calmer. Though equally stunned, he asked the brown-haired elder in a steady voice, "Can you identify who it is or pinpoint their exact location?"
"No." The brown-haired elder frowned and shook his head. "The weather in the shinobi world is terrible. It's interfering with my observation."
He paused, closed his eyes once more, and his face gradually turned pale.
Moments later, he opened his eyes sharply and declared in a grave tone, "The Land of Fire! The general location is near the Land of Fire!"
"Those damned shinobi again!" Toneri's father's forehead veins bulged with rage. "Stealing the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path wasn't enough—they dare try to lay their hands on the Tenseigan now! Unforgivable!"
This giant Tenseigan had been created for Toneri. It was the supreme sacred treasure formed through the sacrifice of countless clan members and the gathered ocular power of innumerable Byakugan. They would never allow the demons of the shinobi world to defile it!
If he ever discovered who had the audacity to do this, he would ensure that person died without a grave!
"Quickly!" Toneri's father looked up sharply. "Set up the seal immediately! Cut off the Tenseigan's connection to the outside world!"
Hearing this, the other two elders exchanged glances, nodded with firm determination, and sat down cross-legged. Toneri's father did the same.
"Seal!"
All three shouted in unison. Their chakra was drained in an instant, their faces turning deathly pale and withered as both their bodies and spirits were squeezed dry. Only then did the violently trembling Tenseigan gradually begin to calm.
Crack.
Toneri sat quietly in his room. He didn't know how much time had passed when the door was gently pushed open.
This time was different. His father's breathing was hoarse and labored, like a broken bellows, carrying the heavy stench of decay.
"Father…" Toneri called out softly.
"Cough! Cough!" A rough, wrinkled hand rested on his head. The voice came out raspy. "Toneri, you've always wanted to see the shinobi world with your own eyes, right?"
The words instantly pushed aside all of Toneri's doubts. He answered without hesitation, "Can I, Father?"
His father remained silent for a long moment. He thought of the two clansmen who had already died, of his own failing body, of Toneri's lonely future, and of the demons that infested the shinobi world…
A flash of deep hatred appeared in his eyes. Finally, he nodded slowly.
"You can."
"Prepare yourself. In a few days, I will take you to the shinobi world."
"I will let you witness the ugliness and sins of the shinobi with your own eyes."
***
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