Kaguya Otsutsuki stepped barefoot onto the mess, her long, wet hair clinging to her back.
She paid no mind to the shocked or fanatic gazes of the mortals around her. Her Nine-Tomoe Rinne Sharingan shifted slightly, her gaze piercing through the floating dust to fixate on the Sage of Six Paths floating in mid-air.
That was her child.
And the enemy who had personally sealed her away.
Kaguya opened her mouth, but only a dry sob escaped her throat.
Two lines of clear tears welled up without warning and slid down her cheeks, merging into the puddles at her feet.
The terrifying chakra quietly subsided.
In her first moments of revival, the Progenitor of Chakra who once ruled the shinobi world simply wept before her child like an ordinary woman who had been deeply wronged.
This scene stunned everyone present.
The kunai in Minato Namikaze's hand lowered slightly, the fanaticism in Orochimaru's eyes froze on his face, and even Uchiha Fugaku and Hiashi Hyuga looked at each other, unsure how to handle the tears of such a high deity.
"Hagoromo..."
Kaguya's voice trembled, carrying the weariness of a thousand years. "You... why..."
She wanted to ask why he had broken the seal, why he had appeared before her again, and even more so, whether the terror from the heavens had already descended.
"Kaguya, don't cry, even if you're in a hurry."
A sudden voice broke the eerie, tragic atmosphere.
Gamakon squatted on the table, tilting his head as he watched the goddess crying so piteously.
"Wipe your tears," Gamakon said, his mouth twitching. "Those guys from the Otsutsuki main family won't be here for a few decades. There's still time for everything, so there's no need to start wailing just yet."
Kaguya's sobbing stopped abruptly.
She snapped her head around, her majestic eyes staring intently at the purple toad.
"Decades?"
Kaguya repeated the time unit, and instead of stopping, her tears flowed even faster.
"Only a few decades... and they're coming..."
She wasn't crying because she was moved, nor was she weeping over a reunion.
She was genuinely crying out of pure anxiety.
Only someone who had truly faced the Otsutsuki main family could understand the level of despair and horror they represented.
They were higher-dimensional predators capable of easily wiping out a planet and turning all life into pills.
Decades?
To someone with an immortal body, decades were nothing more than the time it took to take a nap.
That meant the butcher's knife was already at her throat.
"Hagoromo!"
Kaguya looked sharply at the Sage of Six Paths, her body trembling violently from extreme fear and agitation. "You revived me because they are coming, didn't you?"
She took a step forward, the glass shards beneath her feet being crushed into powder.
"Are you going to stop me?" Kaguya's voice grew shrill. "To fight them, I must reclaim the chakra! I must create White Zetsu! I must plant the God Tree! Only then can we survive!"
"Are you going to... stand against me again and seal me once more?"
Kaguya's eyes were filled with wariness and despair.
She assumed Hagoromo had revived her to use her as cannon fodder, or perhaps to stage another drama of a mother and son's 'loving' sealing ritual.
The Sage of Six Paths floated in the air, his staff shaking slightly and emitting a crisp sound.
He looked at his hysterical mother, no ripples in his Rinnegan.
"Mother."
Hagoromo spoke slowly, his voice aged and calm. "I am already dead, merely a wisp of chakra remaining in this world. I do not have the power to revive you, nor do I have the power to stop you again."
Kaguya was stunned.
She lowered her head, looking at her brand-new body.
Though the flow of chakra was somewhat stiff, this was indeed a body of solid flesh and blood, not a dead thing.
"Not you?" Kaguya asked blankly. "Then who?"
Hagoromo raised his hand, pointing his staff at the mortals standing around.
"It is them."
Hagoromo said, "It is these mortals you see before you. They used their wisdom and technology to reconstruct your physical body."
Kaguya followed the direction of the staff.
The blonde youth, the long-haired freak, the lecherous-looking man with white hair, and the two descendants possessing the bloodlines of Indra and Hamura.
Finally, her gaze landed on the purple toad.
"Mortals?"
Kaguya's brows furrowed, a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes. "These insects... how could they?"
In her era, humans were nothing more than nutrients for the God Tree—lowly creatures not even worthy of possessing chakra.
"Times have changed, Mother."
Hagoromo sighed, his body slowly descending until he was level with Kaguya's gaze. "It was these mortals who observed the news of the impending arrival of the Otsutsuki main family. It was also they who formulated this plan to revive you."
"They refuse to sit and wait for death, nor do they wish to be sucked dry by the God Tree."
Hagoromo pointed at Gamakon. "The prophecy brought by that toad united these mortals. They hope to borrow your power to combat the threat from beyond the stars."
He attributed Gamamaru's prophecy to Gamakon.
"Prophecy..."
Kaguya's pupils contracted slightly.
She looked at Gamakon, a figure from a thousand years ago surfacing in her mind.
"Gamamaru?" Kaguya murmured. "Is it that toad's prophecy?"
If it was that toad with the ability of prophetic dreams, it was indeed possible he had seen visions of the future.
"Close enough."
Gamakon swallowed an apple he had found somewhere and patted his paws. "Although I am much more handsome than that old toad, our intel is indeed shared."
"Kaguya, don't keep calling everyone insects."
Gamakon jumped onto Minato's shoulder and pointed at Orochimaru. "This body was created by this guy who plays with snakes. What you're using right now is 'mortal technology.'"
Kaguya felt the chakra within her—though weak, it possessed immense potential.
This body merged the vitality of Hashirama cells, the spiritual power of Indra, and the Byakugan of Hamura.
While it wasn't as powerful as her original form, it had a subtle sense of balance.
"Mortals... could actually achieve this."
The contempt in Kaguya's eyes receded a bit.
She looked at Hagoromo. "So, you want me to believe in these mortals?"
"Give it a try, Mother."
Hagoromo nodded. "A thousand years ago, I chose to believe in the potential of humanity, shared chakra with them, and founded Ninshu. Now that a millennium has passed, perhaps they have found a path that transcends us."
"To fight the Otsutsuki, reclaiming chakra alone is not enough."
Hagoromo's voice became stern. "If you launch the Infinite Tsukuyomi again, the vitality of this planet will be severed. Even if you defeat the main family, there will be no hope left for this land."
"But these mortals are the future and hope of the shinobi world."
"The power erupted for the sake of survival will be more terrifying than any other existence."
Kaguya fell silent.
Black Zetsu within her remained quiet for now.
As Kaguya's will, Black Zetsu understood the current situation better than anyone.
Fighting alone was a dead end.
Since these mortals could create such a vessel and even summon the Sage of Six Paths to talk sense into her, it meant they really had something up their sleeves.
"I... understand."
Kaguya took a deep breath and wiped the tear stains from her face.
She regained her cold, haughty posture. Though the corners of her eyes were still red, her aura had completely shifted.
"Since it is Gamamaru's prophecy, and since it is the choice of my rebellious son..."
Kaguya scanned the crowd. "Then I shall see for the time being just how far you mortals can go."
"However, let's get the unpleasantness out of the way first."
Kaguya raised her hand, a small prototype of a Truth-Seeker Orb forming in her palm. Though tiny, the aura of destruction it emitted made Orochimaru tremble with excitement.
That was it!
Was that Yin-Yang Style?!
"If you cannot stop the main family, I will not hesitate to take back all chakra. Even if it destroys this world, I intend to live on."
This was her final bottom line.
"It won't come to that."
Minato Namikaze took a step forward, a confident smile on his face. "We won't let that moment arrive. Kaguya-sama, welcome to the Shinobi Survival Alliance."
"Don't call her 'sama,' call her 'Ancestor,'" Gamakon interjected. "By seniority, everyone here is her great-great-great-grandchild..."
Kaguya glanced at Gamakon but didn't argue.
She turned to Orochimaru and pointed at her body.
"This body is too weak."
Kaguya spoke bluntly. "The chakra volume is not even one-ten-thousandth of what I had in my prime. In this state, forget about fighting the main family, I couldn't even defeat a finger of my rebellious son."
Orochimaru licked his lips and pulled a scroll from his robes.
"This is only the beginning, Kaguya-sama."
Orochimaru chuckled raspily. "The charm of science lies in exploration. As long as there is enough data and material, the potential of this body is limitless."
"Moreover, we have prepared 'supplements' for you."
Minato clapped his hands.
The side door of the laboratory opened.
Several Anbu from the Sealing Corps pushed in a large cart.
On the cart were several large sealing jars containing the Box of Ultimate Bliss scavenged from the Hozuki Castle in the Grass Village, along with... several struggling White Zetsu.
"The Box of Ultimate Bliss?"
Kaguya recognized the weapon from the era of the Sage of Six Paths at a glance. "That was the thing Hagoromo used to imprison criminals back then."
"Now it can be used to replenish your chakra."
Gamakon explained, "Orochimaru has studied it. This box can convert fear and chakra into pure energy. Coupled with these White Zetsu as primers, it's enough for you to recover some of your strength first."
Kaguya looked at the box, then at the prepared sacrifices.
She suddenly felt that these mortals seemed much 'wickeder' than she had imagined.
This method of utilizing every single resource was almost more greedy than she, the Progenitor of Chakra, had ever been.
"Interesting."
A faint curve appeared at the corner of Kaguya's mouth. "It seems that placing hope in you might not be such a foolish thing after all."
She walked to the Box of Ultimate Bliss and pressed her palm against it.
Black Zetsu's will surged within her, greedily absorbing the energy from the box.
Hagoromo watched this scene, his figure beginning to turn translucent.
"My time is up."
Hagoromo looked at everyone. "My chakra is about to be exhausted. Though this meeting was brief, I am glad to see the shinobi world has juniors like you."
"Grandpa!"
Tsunade rushed forward, trying to grab the edge of Hagoromo's robes, but her hand passed through empty air.
Her grandfather, Hashirama Senju, was gone! How could she be satisfied with this!
"Don't worry."
Hagoromo smiled kindly. "As long as this land remains and as long as people continue to connect with one another, I will always be watching over you from the Pure Land."
He looked at Kaguya's back.
"Mother, take care."
After saying those three words, the figure of the Sage of Six Paths turned into dots of white light and dissipated into the air.
Just a split second before the body of the White Zetsu used as the Reanimation Jutsu sacrifice lost its vitality, the features of Hashirama Senju reappeared. He looked at Tsunade, his eyes full of apology.
"Tsu-chan, this meeting was so short. I really hope we can have a proper talk next time."
Kaguya did not turn around.
But the hand she had pressed against the box paused for a brief moment.
"Is he gone..."
She whispered, her voice unreadable.
With Hagoromo's departure, the pressure in the laboratory dissipated.
But an even more urgent atmosphere enveloped everyone.
Kaguya Otsutsuki was revived.
Though it was as a collaborator, everyone knew this was a double-edged sword.
"Alright, the touching family drama is over."
Gamakon clapped his paws, pulling everyone's attention back. "Now it's time to talk business."
He looked at Kaguya. "Auntie Kaguya, since you've joined the team, we need to set some ground rules. First, regarding those Tailed Beasts still roaming around out there..."
"The Tailed Beasts are a part of my chakra."
Kaguya turned around. Having absorbed the energy from the Box of Ultimate Bliss, her complexion was much more flushed. "They must be reclaimed."