The Moon.
A mysterious place beyond mortal knowledge.
Ōtsutsuki Hamura let out a quiet sigh and slowly withdrew his gaze.
After a thousand years of vigilance, his descendants had finally reached the point where their ideological divide had become irreconcilable, and they stood on the verge of turning their weapons against one another.
And he had foreseen this day long ago.
When it came to prophecy, Hamura had never been as gifted as his elder brother, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.
Yet perhaps because they shared the same blood, whenever the subjects were his direct descendants on the Moon or in the ninja world, he could still glimpse fragments of the future within the river of time.
More than ten years ago, Hamura had already seen the outcome.
One branch of the descendants he had left on the Moon—the Main Family, those who believed in continuing to watch over and protect the ninja world—would soon be completely destroyed.
The victors would fare little better.
In the end, only a mere dozen or so survivors would remain, barely preserving the bloodline of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
And the time of that catastrophe...
Was this very year.
Yet despite seeing it, Hamura had never chosen to intervene.
He merely sighed inwardly.
Like his elder brother, he adhered to the same principle.
Trust in the wisdom of future generations.
And never lightly interfere with the course of the world.
The path of future generations should ultimately be walked by future generations themselves.
That remained Hamura's belief.
Until two months ago.
A young man appeared.
A young man whose existence stirred an inexplicably powerful resonance within him.
That young man was Higashino Shinichi.
At Konoha's banquet, when asked the question of how peace could be achieved, Shinichi had given an answer:
"Let shinobi return to their true purpose."
Those words made Hamura feel a response echoing across a thousand years.
And it was that resonance that prompted him to intervene for the first time in his life.
Through the Great Tenseigan, he created an unusual disturbance, forcing the Main Family and Branch Family—who had been on the verge of drawing blades against one another—to suspend their confrontation and redirect their attention toward the ninja world.
His goal had been to ease the internal conflict that was about to erupt.
Had he not intervened then, the civil war between the Main Family and Branch Family would likely have begun around this very time.
He had succeeded.
And he had failed.
The conflict had indeed been delayed.
But only delayed.
Driven by the Branch Family's increasingly fanatical obsession, the descendants he had left upon the Moon would inevitably face that brutal slaughter and ultimately descend into complete decline.
A little more than a decade later, only a single lonely survivor would remain.
A child named Toneri.
It was as though that child had inherited the entire Ōtsutsuki Clan's persistence, ideals, fortune, and destiny.
His talent was so extraordinary that even Hamura found it astonishing.
The boy's very existence seemed to be the final cry of a family unwilling to fade quietly into oblivion.
So...
Should he do something?
Although he had long foreseen the destruction awaiting his lunar descendants, Hamura still leaned toward doing nothing.
After all, he had already broken his principles once by intervening.
He believed that even if his elder brother were placed in the same situation, he would make the same choice.
In this regard, the two brothers were alike.
However...
That child who should never have existed...
Hamura fell into thought.
When he had caused the Great Tenseigan's disturbance and delayed the final clash between the Main Family and Branch Family, he had inadvertently created a variable that even he himself had never anticipated.
A child who should never have existed in this world.
His gaze turned once more toward the lunar surface.
...
On the Moon, inside a room within a palace.
A young couple sat together, leaning against one another.
Nobunaga wore a foolishly happy grin as he pressed his ear against his wife's slightly swollen belly, listening attentively for the faint sounds of life that had not yet become distinct.
His wife, Masako, gently stroked his hair.
Her eyes and smile were filled with tenderness and anticipation.
"Masako, do you think it'll be a boy or a girl?"
Although the lunar Ōtsutsuki Clan possessed the Byakugan just like the Hyūga Clan of the ninja world, their Byakugan was actually somewhat inferior when it came to pure Byakugan capabilities.
The Hyūga Clan had inherited a purer Yin Release bloodline from Hamura, while the lunar Ōtsutsuki possessed both Yin and Yang.
Having both made them more well-rounded, but in terms of specialization, they could not match the Hyūga Clan's depth in any single aspect.
Furthermore, the Byakugan's penetrative vision was not the simplistic ability to "see through everything."
What it truly observed were the body's chakra pathways and the flow of chakra.
As such, neither the Hyūga nor the lunar Ōtsutsuki could determine a fetus's gender with a single glance.
Especially not during the early stages of pregnancy.
Hearing his question, Masako smiled softly.
"I think it'll be a girl."
"A girl?"
Nobunaga blinked in surprise before smiling.
"Why are you so sure?"
"I don't know."
Masako gently shook her head.
"But I just feel like this child is going to be a girl."
"A girl would be wonderful."
The smile on Nobunaga's face deepened.
Holding her hand, he looked at her with eyes full of expectation.
"Girls are sweet and thoughtful."
"When she grows up, she'll definitely be as gentle and beautiful as you."
After a pause, he asked, "Then, Masako, what name do you think we should give her?"
Masako fell silent for a moment.
Her gaze drifted toward Hamura Shrine beyond the window.
Softly, she said, "Rei."
"Rei?"
Nobunaga repeated the name quietly.
"Yes. Rei. Ōtsutsuki Rei."
Masako's gentle voice carried a trace of emotion as she explained.
"For the past few days, I've kept dreaming about the Great Tenseigan inside Hamura Shrine."
"In those dreams, it's always shining with a warm, brilliant light, illuminating what was once a barren land."
"For our clan, it's our sun."
"It's because of the Great Tenseigan's radiance that we've been able to thrive and multiply on this land."
"That's why I want to name her Rei."
In truth, the Moon had not always been as vibrant as it was today.
When Hamura first arrived, it had been a desolate wasteland.
There was no water.
No life.
Not even an atmosphere.
Only absolute vacuum.
Apart from near-divine beings like Hamura and the Sage of Six Paths, ordinary people could not have survived in such an environment, much less built a civilization there.
Then one day, Hamura created the Great Tenseigan.
Using it as an artificial sun and employing powers capable of reshaping heaven and earth, he transformed the dead world into an environment suitable for human habitation.
Afterward, he brought a portion of the descendants who had remained in the ninja world—the people who would later become the lunar Ōtsutsuki Clan—to live there.
"Rei..."
Nobunaga savored the name for a moment before nodding.
"A wonderful name."
"I hope this child can one day illuminate and warm this land, just like her name."
Rei—
A name symbolizing light and nobility.
Their daughter would be the direct heir of the Main Family and the future successor of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
For a child like that, no name could be more fitting.
...
Hamura slowly withdrew his gaze.
Ōtsutsuki Rei.
This child, who should never have existed, was precisely the unforeseen variable created by his intervention two months ago.
And she possessed a talent just as astonishing.
The Ōtsutsuki Clan were descendants blessed with both Yin and Yang from birth.
In the future Hamura had originally foreseen, the child named Toneri would be born with all seven chakra natures.
However, he leaned heavily toward Yin.
An incomparably vast Yin Release power existed within him from birth. Even his own eyes would be unable to bear that overwhelming ocular power, forcing him to enter the world as a child without eyes.
Now, however, this child named Rei was also born with all seven chakra natures.
Yet she leaned toward Yang.
From birth, she possessed extraordinarily vigorous life force and an unimaginably powerful physique.
Just like her name, she resembled a blazing sun that would never be extinguished.
Both children were destined to become the final descendants of their respective branches among the lunar Ōtsutsuki.
One Yin.
One Yang.
One male.
One female.
Just as the Main Family and Branch Family had diverged into opposing paths because of ideological differences, those two paths were reflected once more in these children through completely opposite, yet equally extreme, manifestations of talent.
After a long silence, Hamura finally made a decision.
As for everyone else, he could remain uninvolved.
Those were the paths they themselves had chosen.
Whatever destination awaited them, they should bear the consequences themselves.
But Rei was different.
This child had come into existence solely because of his intervention.
Hamura felt responsible for her.
With that thought, his gaze slowly shifted.
It pierced through the vacuum of space.
Through endless clouds and atmosphere.
Toward the blue world known as the ninja realm.
Toward the southeastern coast of the Land of Fire.
Toward the young man whose words had resonated with him so deeply—
The young man who had spoken of returning shinobi to their true purpose.
Higashino Shinichi.
...
At that very moment, Shinichi had no idea that on the distant Moon, a pair of eyes that had watched over the world for a thousand years was silently observing him across the endless void.
After giving a brief report to Koharu and Homura at headquarters regarding the battles at White Sand Bay and Fugaku's defensive sector, and after sharing his analysis of Kirigakure's likely next moves, Shinichi left the command center.
He had only taken a few steps along the path between the tents and was preparing to return to his own camp when something stirred faintly within his heart.
He immediately summoned the personal status panel visible only to him.
His eyes fell upon it.
The section that had previously displayed [Wind Release Proficiency] had disappeared.
In its place were characters radiating a flowing azure glow.
[Wind Release Specialization (Blue): You possess an almost instinctive understanding and mastery of the essence of Wind Release chakra. The power, efficiency, resource consumption, and tactical versatility of your Wind Release techniques have undergone a qualitative leap. You can develop, integrate, and apply Wind Release techniques with significantly greater creativity and practicality.]
'That was quick.'
A smile appeared in Shinichi's thoughts.
It was well within his expectations.
After all, the very first public appearance of his Wind Release Nintaijutsu had come at the cost of two Kirigakure clan heads from the Three Great Noble Clans.
Following that battle, awareness of his Wind Release mastery would undoubtedly leave a deep impression not only among Kirigakure's leadership but also within the intelligence networks of every major shinobi village.
Just a single day had been enough to elevate the Entry from [Wind Release Proficiency] to [Wind Release Specialization].
Based on his current understanding, however, neither the fame generated by this battle nor its subsequent impact would be enough to push it directly into Purple quality.
That would require much broader and deeper recognition throughout the ninja world.
Still, this accumulation should significantly advance the future promotion toward [Wind Release Mastery], saving him a considerable amount of time.
With that thought, Shinichi moved to close the panel.
Yet the strange sensation within his heart showed no sign of fading.
On the contrary, it grew stronger.
More distinct.
"Hm?"
Shinichi felt a trace of suspicion.
His expression remained unchanged, however, as his gaze slowly shifted toward two blue-glowing Entries on the panel.
[Seeking Fortune]
[Avoiding Misfortune]