Chapter 259: The Child on the Giant Crab
Watching helplessly as his comrades perished, the elder standing on the altar glared at Hyuga Fuji with a pained expression.
"You'll go to hell with us!"
"The ninja world is already a hell. How could there be a worse hell to descend into?" Hyuga Fuji replied, stepping forward slowly.
The Otsutsuki elder watched as Hyuga Fuji approached, his heart sinking as the puppet army failed to arrive and the power of the Giant Tenseigan remained inaccessible. He instinctively resorted to threats:
"Aren't you afraid I'll detonate the Tenseigan? You should know what's sealed within the moon!"
"…"
Hyuga Fuji remained silent, his gaze deep as he continued to advance.
He had no intention of waiting for the puppets to gather for battle. The time he had given the elder to summon them was merely to ensure he wouldn't have to go searching for them later.
Hundreds of thousands of puppets—those were treasures, already considered part of Hyuga Fuji's assets. As long as the Giant Tenseigan provided energy, they were tens of thousands of free, loyal laborers. Now that the Tenseigan's power was restricted, the puppets had shut down and could be collected later.
The pressure on the Otsutsuki elder grew with every step Hyuga Fuji took. When Fuji closed the gap to within ten steps, the elder roared in rage, gathering chakra in his palm and striking out.
Boom! The elder attacked.
The elder was sent flying.
"Ah!"
A scream tore from his mouth.
Hyuga Fuji instantly closed the distance, catching up with the elder as he flew backward. Grabbing him by the neck, Fuji slammed the elder onto the Giant Tenseigan.
The elder, pinned against the Tenseigan, looked up at Fuji with terror in his eyes. He could feel the chakra in Fuji's hand rapidly severing his connection to the Tenseigan.
"You… you can't do this!" the elder struggled, trying in vain to free himself from Fuji's grip.
As Fuji applied more pressure, the Giant Tenseigan began to crack. The fractures spread rapidly, and soon the entire Tenseigan shattered, disintegrating into countless small Byakugan.
Seeing this, the elder knew he could no longer control the Tenseigan's power. A flicker of despair passed through his eyes, quickly replaced by hatred. "You… will pay for this!"
'Toneri, Shinichi, the future of the moon rests on you…'
With a final, desperate thought, the elder's eyes gleamed with cruelty as he formed hand seals, attempting to draw the floating Byakugan to him.
But before he could complete the seals, Fuji interrupted, gripping the elder's neck more tightly.
The elder felt an irresistible force crushing his body, leaving him unable to breathe. His hand seals were halted, and the Byakugan, now uncontrolled, drifted aimlessly in the air.
"He… will avenge me," the elder managed to gasp out, his eyes filled with a mixture of resentment and despair.
"Let him come," Fuji replied calmly.
The elder's life faded, the light in his eyes dimming until it vanished entirely.
Releasing his grip, Fuji watched as the Byakugan scattered around him. With a wave of his hand, a scroll unfurled, collecting the Byakugan into it.
After securing the scroll, Fuji activated his Byakugan, scanning a radius of ten kilometers.
He chose a direction and began walking.
Otsutsuki Hamura's legacy was the most valuable treasure on the moon, followed by the technological advancements made by the Otsutsuki clan over the years.
Artificial suns, false skies, the creation of alternate spaces—each was a priceless asset.
Even without explicit instructions from the Otsutsuki, the physical evidence was there, waiting to be studied.
…
At the Earth-Moon Passage, Minato and his team rushed upward.
Now that they had gathered some valuable information, there was no need to linger on the moon.
"Hurry!" Minato urged.
The passageway's walls were cracking, with debris and dust falling from the ceiling. Everyone felt the looming threat of destruction.
When the Tenseigan shattered, the puppets ceased functioning, and the spatial passage began to collapse.
If they didn't escape soon, they would be crushed by the collapsing alternate space.
Minato and the others sprinted with all their might. The passageway's deterioration was faster than expected, the cracks spreading rapidly, making the structure increasingly unstable. The shaking grew more violent, and debris rained down like a storm, filling the air with suffocating dust.
A massive crab suddenly appeared ahead, standing atop a boulder and observing the approaching group.
"Be careful," Minato warned loudly, preparing to form a Rasengan to eliminate the crab, which he assumed was the passage's guardian.
But to his surprise, the crab turned around cautiously, revealing a small figure and a puppet on its back.
The puppet was lifeless, but the small figure was a child, around two years old, with pure white eyes, staring unblinkingly at them.
The Rasengan in Minato's hand dissipated, and his pace slowed.
Behind him, Kitsuchi watched the child, silent for a moment before speaking in a somber tone, "It's probably a child of the Otsutsuki clan. Should we save him?"
"We can't leave him behind," Minato said, taking a deep breath. "No matter his origin, we can't let a child die here."
Kitsuchi nodded, as did Darui and Hyuga Tokuma.
With that, Minato approached the child, the giant crab seemingly understanding their intent and offering no resistance.
Minato gently picked up the child, who was about Naruto's age, nodding at the protective crab.
The passage's tremors intensified, the signs of collapse becoming more evident.
Thankfully, with the crab guiding them, the group quickly made their way toward the exit.
Finally, just before the space completely crumbled, they burst out of the passage.
…
Standing at the entrance to the Earth-Moon Passage, Obito was bewildered by the swirling wind.
The passage had disappeared!
"How are we supposed to get off the moon now?!"
He turned to the despondent Otsutsuki Shinichi behind him, his frustration boiling over. "Stop moping! You're the last of the Otsutsuki. If you don't pull yourself together, how do you plan to get revenge?"
Otsutsuki Shinichi's face was pale, his voice trembling, "It's no use. The Giant Tenseigan is gone. We'll have to rely on our own abilities to return. Without the Tenseigan, it's all over…"
This guy was broken.
Listening to Shinichi mutter about his wife, child, and the Giant Tenseigan, Obito frowned deeply, shaking his head in dismay.
(End of chapter)