NRAO: Chapter 405/406

Chapter 405

According to Kaguya, the Otsutsuki clan had long been embroiled in civil war, and she had originally come to Earth while fleeing a rebellion.

Although her clan had planted God Trees on numerous planets, the God Fruit remained a rare commodity.

This was because, in order for a God Tree to bear fruit, not only did it require the vitality of living beings as nourishment, but it also needed to be cultivated for an extensive period.

As a result, even within the Otsutsuki clan, only a select few were ever granted the privilege of consuming the God Fruit.

Those unqualified to eat it generally did not possess great combat strength.

Otherwise, Kaguya would not have needed to cultivate White Zetsu in preparation for the Otsutsuki clan members who might one day arrive on Earth.

This war, then, was truly on a massive scale.

"Your power is indeed unique, but the enemy is far stronger than you realize. Even I… fear them."

Unlike Orochimaru, Kaguya did not appear calm. Instead, a trace of deep-seated fear flickered in her gaze.

A fear that seemed ingrained in her very soul.

Even after a thousand years, it had not faded.

Orochimaru immediately took note of Kaguya's apprehension, and for the first time, he found himself genuinely curious.

It was a fact that Kaguya feared the arrival of her fellow Otsutsuki.

However, based on his own knowledge, the power displayed by Otsutsuki Momoshiki was hardly enough to pose a real threat to Kaguya.

If that was the case, then what exactly was she so afraid of?

Was it simply the lingering trauma of her past?

Or was the Otsutsuki clan even more formidable than what he remembered?

Orochimaru didn't have the answer, but at this point, he no longer cared.

"They use chakra, correct?"

"Yes."

"Then there's no problem."

Orochimaru smirked confidently.

"As long as the energy they wield is chakra, no matter how powerful they are, they cannot surpass me."

"Moreover, even if they possess other forms of energy, just give me a little time, and I will turn the tides. All you need to do is trust me… and find the coordinates of your homeworld."

Hearing Orochimaru's assured response, Kaguya was momentarily stunned.

Her pale, grayish-white pupils, which could peer into the depths of one's soul, simply stared into Orochimaru's eyes.

A long silence stretched between them before she finally spoke in her usual indifferent tone.

"Orochimaru… you truly are different from other humans."

"Oh? That's quite the honor."

The corners of Orochimaru's lips curled up, accepting Kaguya's words without hesitation.

The original Orochimaru was already an anomaly in this world.

Now, with the mindset and logic of a traveler from another world, he was even more of an enigma.

"Tell me, what is your true goal? Are you simply protecting this planet?"

"No."

Orochimaru continued to smile.

"Protecting this planet is merely a byproduct. As for me… I simply enjoy manipulating the strong and making them dance in the palm of my hand."

"Whether I use raw power or intricate schemes, as long as I can shape the fate of those who consider themselves above others, I find immense satisfaction."

"That… perhaps is what truly sets me apart from the rest."

"Then is that also why you agreed to Black Zetsu's request to rescue me? Do you intend to make me submit to you?"

"Half right."

"Half?" Kaguya frowned.

Orochimaru nodded nonchalantly.

"I do wish for you to submit… but not in the way you think."

"Because I have always believed that if one is to conquer a powerful and noble goddess, then making her my own woman would be far more satisfying than merely forcing her into submission."

"Orochimaru, you are quite bold."

"I'd say so too."

"No one has ever dared to speak to me so rudely."

"Well, now someone has."

Orochimaru's confident smirk, coupled with his brazen words, left Kaguya momentarily speechless.

She was a proud princess of the Otsutsuki clan.

Upon arriving on Earth, she was worshipped as a holy and untouchable goddess.

Even the pretentious emperor of the Ancestral Kingdom, when he sought to claim her, at least attempted to disguise his intentions with feigned gentleness.

She had never imagined that one day, a man would walk right up to her and speak such direct and unrestrained words.

She had no experience dealing with someone like this.

By all logic, her first reaction should have been to impale Orochimaru with her Tomogoroshi no Haikotsu.

And yet, for some inexplicable reason, she couldn't bring herself to feel any anger toward him.

Was it because she knew she couldn't defeat him?

Or was it because he did not bother to conceal his true thoughts?

Perhaps even Kaguya herself didn't know…

—

A few days later.

The Moon.

A castle stood on the lunar surface.

Inside, several individuals clad in white robes adorned with magatama lived in seclusion.

On this particular day, a portal suddenly appeared in an open space outside the castle.

Two figures emerged.

One male, one female.

One with black hair, the other with white.

"Are these all Hamura's descendants?"

"Yes."

Orochimaru grinned wickedly.

"How can we allow potential enemies to rest easy at our doorstep?"

"Though Hamura may have felt guilt toward you, and his descendants may be innocent, in order to prevent them from ever turning against Earth… we must wipe them all out."

"Will you do it, or shall I?"

"I will."

Kaguya's expression remained ice-cold, showing no sign of hesitation.

Even though these people shared her bloodline.

And so, the castle was soon filled with screams of terror.

Within mere minutes, the entire Otsutsuki clan that had resided on the moon—men, women, elderly, and children—had been slaughtered.

Not a single soul was spared.

Including a young boy by the name of Otsutsuki Toneri.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 406

Using the Chibaku Tensei to seal Kaguya within the moon and to guard the Gedō Statue, the younger brother of the Sage of the Six Paths, Ōtsutsuki Hamura, led his clan to the moon, leaving only a branch of their lineage on Earth—the present-day Hyūga clan.

After Hamura's death, his descendants split into two factions due to differing interpretations of his final words.

One faction, the branch family, believed that the world created by the Sage of the Six Paths had been plagued by war for millennia and was a failure that should be erased.

Thus, using the Tenseigan, they massacred the main family members who had advocated for peace.

Toneri is a direct descendant of this branch family. He now lives alone in a castle on the moon, overseeing the Earth.

With the main family completely wiped out and the branch members gradually dying out over time, only a few Ōtsutsuki remain on the moon.

Orochimaru's space-time abilities are not particularly strong, but with the power of the Six Paths and the Rinnegan, opening a portal to the moon is a trivial matter.

He had long known about the existence of people on the moon, yet they had never descended to Earth.

Now that Kaguya was searching for the coordinates of the Ōtsutsuki homeworld, Orochimaru finally had the time to investigate the situation on the moon.

The Ōtsutsuki clan is an aloof and arrogant race.

Especially the war-hungry faction of the branch family—they view humans as mere ants.

In the near future, they may even attempt to destroy the world, much like Kaguya once did.

Thus, before heading to the Ōtsutsuki homeworld, Orochimaru took the initiative to eliminate them before they could invade Earth.

Under these circumstances, eliminating future threats was the goal of Orochimaru's actions.

Toneri was originally supposed to awaken the Tenseigan, possessing enough power to split the moon itself.

But at this moment, he was only around ten years old. He had neither the Tenseigan nor even a normal Byakugan.

He had been blind from birth.

Before the overwhelming power of their ancestor, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, they couldn't even flee.

"Damn it…!"

"Ahhh!"

"Curse you… Die!"

"Aaaah!"

"Who are you…? Who…? Ka… Kaguya…?"

Kaguya's expression remained ice-cold as the veins bulged at the corners of her Byakugan-infused eyes.

With Kaguya's pure Byakugan power coursing through her, the gray bone in her hand mercilessly pierced through the body of the last surviving Ōtsutsuki.

As she watched his body crumble before her, Orochimaru's voice rang out beside her.

"I had originally thought… you wouldn't be able to do it."

"Why wouldn't I be able to?" Kaguya asked indifferently.

A smirk formed at the corner of Orochimaru's lips. "They are Hamura's descendants. Which means… they are your descendants as well."

"Shouldn't you hesitate before striking down your own kin?"

"No, they are the descendants of humans."

"Oh?" Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. "So you're cutting ties so decisively? It seems you truly hate them. Even after I stripped the Ten-Tails' will from you, your hatred remains unchanged."

"I entrusted my power to them so they could protect humanity. Yet, those two traitors not only defied me but turned their swords against me, sealing me away for a thousand years." A cold glint flashed in Kaguya's eyes. "If you were in my place, wouldn't you hate them?"

"Of course," Orochimaru said calmly. "But if you truly hate them so much, why haven't you gone to the Pure Land to kill them?"

To Orochimaru, the phrase "soul eradication" was merely a technical term. In the shinobi world, it was known as erasing chakra imprints.

When a shinobi dies, their spirit enters a place known as the Pure Land.

Ordinary ninjas, due to their weak spiritual energy, exist there in a mindless state.

But those who possess the Rinnegan are different.

The Rinnegan is the eye of an immortal, capable of summoning the King of Hell and wielding the powers of the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

What kind of privileges these eyes grant in the Pure Land, Orochimaru wasn't entirely sure.

But at the very least, they allow one to retain their consciousness.

Just like Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.

He remembers everything from his time in the Pure Land.

With Kaguya's current power, she could easily split off a portion of her spiritual energy and descend into the Pure Land to hunt down Hagoromo.

But…

"Erased from existence…" Kaguya muttered.

After a long pause, a trace of sadness surfaced on her once-impassive face.

Tears welled up in her pale gray eyes and streaked down her cheeks.

"But… they were still… my children…"

At that moment, Kaguya could no longer suppress her sorrow.

Crystal-clear tears rolled down her pale cheeks and fell to the ground.

No matter the world, a mother's love is the most profound force of all.

There are always more unfilial sons than there are cruel mothers.

Think about it, raising a child with such care, only for them to betray you in the end, turning their blade against you…

No mother could endure such pain.

That's why, no matter how much Kaguya claimed to hate her two unfilial sons, she could never truly bring herself to erase them completely.

"Here." Orochimaru pulled out a tissue from somewhere and handed it to her. "Whether you admit it or not, in my eyes, you're just… a pitiful woman."

Almost reflexively, Kaguya accepted the tissue.

Orochimaru continued, "When you break it all down, this entire conflict stems from a failure to communicate. If you had just explained your reasons back then… and if Hagoromo had told you the name of the woman he loved, maybe none of this would have happened."

With that, Orochimaru turned away, walking toward the massive golden Tenseigan.

"Take your time thinking about it. I'm going to check on the Tenseigan."

(To be continued.)