"This world has already gone mad. It must be washed clean with the moon!"
Countless chakra threads surged out from within Toneri's body.
They condensed into one faceless humanoid puppet after another.
Green light glowed from the hollow eye sockets, eerie to the extreme.
They were extensions of Toneri's will—tools meant to carry out "destiny."
"Go."
"Take back everything that belongs to us."
The puppets bowed slightly, then turned into streaks of light, passing straight through the palace walls as they shot toward the blue planet below.
Toneri's gaze returned to the enormous Tenseigan.
This was an eye as special as the Rinnegan—an eye meant power.
His sight locked onto the Hyuga clan's settlement.
He saw the distinction between the main house and branch house, and the ridiculous curse mark of the Kago no Tori (Caged Bird Seal).
"Main house, branch house… how laughable. In truth, you're all wrong."
"The true Byakugan should be used to judge the world—not to protect insects."
"Let me reclaim your lost glory for you."
Konoha.
At this moment, the village was steeped in the joy of a festival.
Lanterns hung along both sides of the streets. Vendors shouted their wares, children's laughter rose and fell—peaceful, harmonious.
The shadow of war had already receded. Under Shinju-sama's protection, Konoha had entered an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity.
And yet no one noticed it—
Dozens of uninvited guests slipped in, soundlessly.
They wore cloaks and hoods, blending into the crowded streets without drawing attention.
Their footsteps made no noise.
Their bodies carried none of the aura of the living.
Their target was clear—only one.
The Hyuga clan's compound.
Hyuga Hanabi, the second daughter of the Hyuga main house, was out playing in the streets with a few friends.
She was bright and innocent, curious about everything in the world.
As for her sister Hinata choosing to follow Shinju-sama, Hanabi didn't fully understand it—but she was sincerely happy for her sister.
Hanabi felt her life right now was what she had always wanted. It was already good enough. She didn't want anything to change.
No shackles of "main house" and "branch house."
Everyone could choose their own future.
Compared to how things used to be, she wanted this new order to last forever.
A mask vendor's stall caught her eye.
She ran over happily and started picking out a fox mask she liked.
And right when she put it on, ready to show off to her friends—
Something changed.
A cold hand clamped over her mouth.
Hanabi's body stiffened instantly.
She tried to struggle, but her chakra was sealed by a strange, sinister force.
Even more terrifying—
She couldn't make a sound.
The crowd around them remained lively and noisy. No one noticed what was happening in this corner.
Several cloaked figures surrounded her and dragged her into an empty alley, clean and efficient.
The whole process took less than three seconds.
In the alley, Hanabi stared in terror at the faceless figures before her.
And she finally saw what was under their cloaks.
They weren't human bodies of flesh and blood—
They were puppets, made of wood and threads.
The leading puppet reached out, its hand moving toward her eyes.
Hanabi's Byakugan snapped open. Through it, she saw green chakra flowing inside the puppet's body.
She wanted to resist.
She wanted to scream.
It was all useless.
Two icy fingers pressed down with perfect precision on her eyes.
Pain exploded.
The tearing agony nearly made her pass out.
Her world plunged into darkness.
Blood streamed from her eye sockets, staining her cheeks.
In the puppet's hand now sat two flawless, pure Byakugan.
It carefully placed the eyes into a specially made container.
Mission complete.
One of the puppets leaned in and left a sentence beside Hanabi's ear in a mechanical voice.
"The filthy Byakugan princess will be purified by me."
"If you want her back, then come to the moon… and accept god's judgment."
After that, every puppet formed hand seals at the same time.
A ripple of space spread out.
Then they vanished without a trace—taking the unconscious Hanabi with them.
All that remained in the alley was a pool of blood.
Shinju Space.
Shinju was processing the various streams of data returned by the system.
Since the system's upgrade, his sensing range had expanded drastically.
Just moments ago, the system captured an abnormal chakra fluctuation.
Its source—
The moon.
That fluctuation was extremely peculiar, unlike any chakra within the shinobi world.
Konoha's emergency alarm blared.
An ANBU appeared before him in an instant via Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique), dropping to one knee with an urgent voice.
"Shinju-sama! Something happened!"
"The Hyuga main house's second daughter—Hyuga Hanabi-sama—was abducted during the festival!"
Shinju's movements stopped.
"What was found at the scene?"
"A pool of blood. According to the medical unit's assessment… Hanabi-sama's eyes may have been taken."
In Konoha—right under Shinju-sama's eyes—such a vicious act was a direct provocation against the whole village.
"Anything else?" Shinju asked.
"The attackers left a message."
The ANBU repeated the puppet's "declaration of war" word for word.
On the moon.
God's judgment.
Shinju fell silent.
He recalled the chakra fluctuation he had just sensed from the moon.
So the trouble had come looking for him.
Not long after, Hyuga Hiashi arrived in Shinju Space, accompanied by several clan elders.
The Hyuga clan head, usually imposing and stern, now looked ashen—his eyes bloodshot.
The moment he saw Shinju, he could no longer maintain the pride of the main house.
Hiashi dropped to both knees heavily, pressing his forehead to the cold ground.
"Shinju-sama!"
"It's my fault! I failed to protect Hanabi!"
"Please… please decide for her! Please save Hanabi!"
"The Hyuga clan is willing to serve you as slaves for generations—only please bring Hanabi back and reclaim the Hyuga's eyes!"
Behind him, the elders also knelt, their bodies trembling with grief and rage.
For the Hyuga, having the Byakugan stolen was a humiliation worse than death.
And the one who was taken—
Was a main house daughter.
Shinju didn't immediately help them up.
He raised his head, as if his gaze could pierce through space itself and see the bright moon hanging high above the world.
The moon.
The Otsutsuki clan—threats from beyond the stars.
It seemed they could no longer hold back and had sent a vanguard.
Hiashi remained kneeling, not daring to lift his head, waiting for Shinju's judgment.
The entire space was terrifyingly quiet.
After a long time, Shinju finally spoke.
"Get up."
Hiashi and the others raised their heads.
They saw Shinju's face—expressionless.
"The moon, huh…"
Shinju murmured softly.
He turned around, looking at the kneeling Hyuga, then past them toward the distant lantern-lit glow of Konoha.
He built this new world to end hatred and bring peace.
Now someone wanted to destroy it from the outside.
Good.
He had been wanting a suitable reason to extend his power beyond this planet.
"Then let your moon become our first stepping stone into the stars."
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For 20+ Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!] [[email protected]/Draumel]
[Thank You For Your Support!]