"So, this is the true foundation of the moon?" Obito's face darkened sharply.
He could see clearly—those puppets were the same models that Otsutsuki Shinichi had been creating! Damn it! That bastard Otsutsuki Shinichi had been deceiving him, still putting on a show even after they arrived on the moon!
If he had brought out these puppets earlier, would things have needed to be this troublesome? And now, after all that effort, he still ended up revealing his hand. What was the point? He gained nothing and lost much.
Hearing the intelligent puppets vaguely mention Hyuga Fuji, Obito's frustration boiled over.
This was utterly humiliating…
Seeing Obito's attention divided by the puppets, a panting Minato seized the chance to move away and regroup with the arriving Kitsuchi and the others.
"Are you all…"
Looking at the remaining, heavily wounded members, Minato paused, his expression complex.
It was evident that they were not doing well.
"…Withdraw."
Minato's countless thoughts and words condensed into just these two.
Kitsuchi and Darui didn't object, but Obito's cold voice echoed, causing their hearts to sink.
"Withdraw?" Obito's tone dripped with mockery and disdain as he swept his gaze over the exhausted ninjas. With a single step, he appeared in front of them, his expression twisted with rage. "None of you are going anywhere!"
From the puppets, Obito had roughly pieced together what had happened. Regardless of why Hyuga Fuji was here, it was too late for him to intervene.
Besides, he had no interest in aiding the Otsutsuki of the moon. Everyone had their own agendas, and now that their strength had been exposed, he might as well let them exhaust themselves against Hyuga Fuji, perhaps creating a chance to take Fuji down.
As for him, his priority was to capture these ninjas during the chaos.
Minato was about to step forward, but several figures beat him to it. "We'll be your opponents next."
The two remaining ninjas from the Land of Lightning, one from Konoha, and Kū from Iwa stepped forward in unison, stopping Minato in his tracks.
Minato frowned. "What are you doing?"
"My lord, the likelihood of us escaping is slim. Please use the Flying Thunder God to take Lord Darui and Lord Kitsuchi away."
The Cloud sensory ninja, C, smiled fearlessly at Minato. "We'll hold him off for a moment while you gather intelligence."
Hearing this, Minato's heart trembled. He wanted to argue, but Darui raised a hand to stop him.
Darui, looking at the two Cloud ninjas, C and Samui, wore a somber expression. "Go. Don't waste their sacrifice."
"…Understood."
Minato wasn't one to be oblivious to the gravity of the situation. He sighed and accepted the plan.
The situation was complicated; Hyuga Fuji and the Otsutsuki on the moon could turn against them at any moment. Gathering valuable intel and leaving this dangerous place quickly was the right move.
With this in mind, Minato grabbed Kitsuchi and Darui's shoulders, using the Flying Thunder God to teleport them to a kunai he had left near the Otsutsuki ruins, ignoring Obito's sour expression.
Seeing his biggest prey about to escape, Obito wasn't about to let it happen. He dashed towards them at full speed, but C and the others intercepted him just in time, slowing him down.
"Lord Raikage, fire at our position!"
C pressed the communication device, making a desperate request to his leader.
In the ninja world, the Fourth Raikage received the message and glanced at Killer B, who was manning the artillery platform. After a brief silence, he issued the command, "B, fire!"
"…Understood," Killer B sighed as he watched the immense chakra gather at the cannon's mouth. He pressed the launch button.
The chakra cannon was one of Kumogakure's research achievements over the past two years, a final weapon capable of long-range strikes.
It was one of the few weapons that could support operations on the moon.
They had expected to use it against enemies after receiving a request for support. They hadn't anticipated this kind of desperate call.
Seconds—or perhaps minutes—later…
A blinding white light shot from the direction of the ninja world, striking the moon and shaking its surface.
A massive shockwave accompanied by a deafening explosion spread across the moon. Dust and rocks were thrown into the air, forming a huge mushroom cloud. Through remote monitoring, Killer B and the ninjas of Kumogakure witnessed the event, their expressions heavy with a mix of emotions.
This scene made it clear that their two comrades would not be returning.
...
Having just arrived near the Otsutsuki ruins, Minato and the others scanned the surroundings, noting that Otsutsuki Shinichi had taken his battle with Shadow to the sky. They breathed a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, Minato's communication device crackled, and a transmission came through just as a figure emerged from the cave.
It was Hyuga Tokuma.
Seeing Minato and the others outside the cave, Tokuma paused, ending his communication before walking over to Minato's scrutinizing gaze.
"My lord, I encountered Hyuga Fuji, but thanks to the intervention of our ancestor, I narrowly escaped. The ancestor said there's a passage between the moon and Earth we can use to leave."
Minato frowned. "Ancestor?"
"Yes, the ancestor Otsutsuki Hamura!" Tokuma produced a scroll, sighing. "In the depths of the cave lies a burial site. Our Hyuga ancestor rests there. He left behind some chakra, and it was with his help that I feigned death to avoid Hyuga Fuji. As for our Iwa comrades… I'm sorry."
At the end, Tokuma glanced at the silent Kitsuchi and sighed.
Otsutsuki Hamura, the brother of the Sage of Six Paths?
Upon hearing that this legendary figure had saved Tokuma, Kitsuchi steadied himself. "It's alright. As long as you've gained something, it's fine. What did the sage tell you?"
"Plenty, including information about the Tenseigan and the Rinnegan…"
Tokuma was about to elaborate when the sky suddenly cracked. Above Obito and the others, a white pillar of light descended, causing the entire space to tremble violently.
The light struck the ground, kicking up massive amounts of dust and rubble. The shockwave uprooted trees and sent debris flying far and wide, a force that Minato and the others could easily feel from their position.
"…"
Darui seemed to recognize it and, looking at the shattered sky, said, "That's Kumogakure's new weapon, the chakra cannon, capable of long-range strikes."
There was no time to be awed by Kumogakure's technology. Minato, watching the crumbling sky, focused his gaze.
"This sky is an illusion. We're likely inside the moon!"
He paused, glancing at Tokuma, then back at Darui, his expression pained. "Your comrades must have realized this and used this method to increase our chances of survival."
The land here wasn't vast; there was no place to hide. Before encountering Tokuma, they had hoped to bring back some intelligence, which was undoubtedly risky.
But with a passage to the moon's surface, their range of movement would expand tenfold, making it harder to capture them.
However… C and the others, who might have had a chance of being captured, likely had none now.
Everyone sighed inwardly.
(End of chapter)