Chapter 26: The End of the Battle and the Birth of the Twins
"Heh… do you really think you still have a chance to win? If I were you, I'd slit my own throat right now. At least then you might get a clean death." Takuya sneered arrogantly as he and his father stood surrounded by eight samurai.
"Heh, as long as the two of you die, the rest will fall apart like rabble!" the leader of the resistance replied with a cold laugh, continuing his relentless assault and giving the father and son no chance to catch their breath.
"But you're no match for us at all!" the captain of the guards shot back with a sneer. As long as father and son coordinated properly, these eight had no chance of defeating them. And once the surrounding soldiers finished off the rest of the resistance, not a single one of them would escape alive.
"Soldiers! For Lady Kaguya! For our future—kill!" Takuya raised his katana high and roared.
"Kill!" Stirred by his cry, the soldiers surged with renewed fighting spirit. The resistance was driven further into desperation, and some had already begun to flee.
Seeing the situation collapsing, many resistance fighters turned and ran. Most of them were wandering samurai—men who had once served noble families or the royal court and lived lives of privilege. They had joined the resistance in the hope of reclaiming their former status, but now that victory was clearly impossible, why would they stay and die?
Those who remained were mostly members of the major clans and the royal family. As they watched their numbers dwindle, anxiety spread through their ranks. Others could flee—but they could not. If they ran, the entire force would collapse instantly and be slaughtered by the encircling soldiers.
"Kato! Withdraw your troops and abandon your post, and once we kill that demon Kaguya, we'll support you in founding a nation for the Kato clan! You'll rule it!" Seeing that they could not win, the resistance leader resorted to temptation.
"Hahahaha! Well, well—look who it is. Isn't this Prince Olo of the Bear Country? The so-called most promising samurai of your nation? What's wrong? Lost your nerve?" The captain of the guards ignored the offer entirely. He had no interest in founding a nation. He had taken this position only to repay a debt.
"Damn it!" the resistance leader cursed in frustration when he saw that the father and son remained completely unmoved.
"Die!" In that instant, the captain seized the opening created by his opponent's lapse and lunged forward, slashing horizontally. The resistance leader panicked and dodged, but the captain's true target had never been him. As Naraku rushed in to assist, the captain drove his blade forward and pierced straight through Naraku's body.
In an instant, everyone froze. No one had expected one of them to fall so suddenly after such a tense standoff.
Blood spilled from Naraku's mouth as he looked down at the blade piercing his abdomen, a bitter smile forming on his face. "Kato… I'll be waiting for you in the underworld." With that, he staggered back and collapsed to the ground, dying with his eyes still wide open.
"Naraku!" The resistance leader, who had some connection with him, roared in fury and charged forward, slashing wildly. "I'll kill you, Kato!"
"Hmph." The captain simply blocked calmly. Faced with such reckless attacks driven by rage, he remained completely unfazed. He could already see that his opponent had lost all composure. This was the perfect moment for their counterattack.
"Wind!" the captain shouted as he raised his blade and brought it down. The force of the strike stirred up a gust that lifted the opponent's wide sleeves and obscured his vision. The man instinctively raised his sword to defend.
"Fire!" Takuya shouted. His famed blade surged upward like raging magma, striking from below. In an instant, father and son executed a flawless coordinated attack. For the two of them, who practiced the Way of Harmony, combinations like this were second nature—they needed only a glance to understand each other's next move.
"Savage!"
The samurai struck by their combined attack collapsed lifelessly, his eyes vacant, his sword still raised in a futile defensive posture.
The sheer effectiveness of their coordinated strikes shocked the remaining fighters. It was impossible to understand how the two had become so powerful. Not long ago, they had only been on par with them, and some on their side had even been stronger. Yet now, out of ten, four had already fallen to the pair.
"Don't let them stay together! Split them up—separate them!" the resistance leader shouted. After losing two more men, he had regained some clarity, but it was already too late. He knew it was only a matter of time before the father and son killed them all—but he still wanted to struggle.
The captain and Takuya had no intention of wasting words. They moved swiftly, constantly changing positions and switching opponents. From time to time, another cut would land on their enemies. Though they themselves were not without injuries, Kaguya's enhancement caused their wounds to stop bleeding quickly. Their opponents, however, were already drenched in blood.
"Hah… hah… hah…" The six remaining attackers panted heavily, despair plain in their eyes. At that moment, the captain and his son suddenly sheathed their blades and stood still.
"What is this supposed to mean? Kato, are you looking down on us?!" the resistance leader roared in anger. He would rather be cut down than be treated with contempt.
"There's no need to continue. Look behind you," the captain said coldly.
The six men turned around. The resistance army they had led was either dead or had surrendered—there was no one left still fighting. Behind them stood ranks of shrine soldiers with raised blades, staring at them coldly.
They understood instantly. There was no longer any chance. Their desperate rebellion had ended in total defeat.
Clang—
The resistance leader—Prince Olo—let out a bitter smile as he released his grip on his sword. The famed blade, symbolizing the royal family's glory, fell to the ground with a sharp metallic ring.
This was the sword once wielded by the founding ancestor of the Bear Country during his conquests. It was renowned across the continent, unmatched in power, and coveted by every samurai. It was also a symbol of royal authority. Whoever wielded it was destined to become the future king—and the strongest among the royal bloodline.
"I warned my father long ago not to be blinded by lust… but in the end, we still came to this," Olo murmured as he dropped to his knees.
"Olo, I know you are one of the rare princes of the Bear Country with true ambition. But if you must blame someone, blame your father. The one who destroyed your nation wasn't anyone else—it was your father, along with those nobles who stood above the common people and oppressed them," the captain said as he looked at the kneeling boy. He had once been Olo's instructor and knew exactly what kind of person he was.
What a pity. A talent like his, dragged down by his birth. Had he been born a commoner, he might have become the leader to guide people into a new era.
"Take us. We won't resist anymore. Like you said… there's no point. Just… when the time comes, make it quick. I don't want to feel pain. It's embarrassing to admit, but I've always been afraid of it," Olo said with a bitter smile, raising his head to look at the captain and Takuya.
The captain looked at the youthful face before him and let out a deep sigh. Who would have thought that the leader of the resistance was this boy?
There had been many older and more experienced men among the resistance, yet it was this sixteen- or seventeen-year-old who had united them all. He had planned the attack, led them in battle for five full hours, and was also the first to abandon resistance completely when all hope was lost.
With a wave of his hand, the captain ordered his subordinates to disarm and bind the remaining six. The surrendered prisoners were taken away as well.
Thus, the battle against the resistance during Kaguya's childbirth officially came to an end.
Looking at the corpses scattered across the ground, the captain ordered that all resistance bodies be dragged outside and burned, while their own dead would be properly gathered and buried together.
Then, he and his son headed toward the courtyard where the childbirth was taking place. When they were still about ten meters away—
A loud cry suddenly rang out, echoing throughout the entire shrine!
The captain and his son stopped in their tracks, listening as though it were heavenly music.
"From this day forward, our young master shall be our faith!" The captain stared toward the courtyard, his eyes shining with fervor. At last—the kingdom of the Rabbit Goddess had a future!
"Takuya, I am Lady Kaguya's captain of the guard. The position of guard captain for the young master… will be yours."
"Yes! I swear to protect the young master with my life!" Takuya declared with the zeal of a devout believer.
"Waa—waa—waa!"
Another cry suddenly followed.
The captain and Takuya froze for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Hahahahaha! Looks like your burden will be even heavier than mine, Takuya!"
The captain had not expected Kaguya to give birth to twins. Now, the future of the kingdom seemed even brighter.
"Hahaha! So what? Who could possibly break through my defense? Who could harm the two divine children?!" Takuya said with complete confidence.
After laughing for a while, the father and son arrived at the entrance to the courtyard—but neither of them entered. Their bodies were still soaked in blood, and they did not dare disturb either the Goddess or the newborns.
Inside, the crying gradually subsided—Kaguya had likely managed to calm the two infants.
In the delivery room, Kaguya lay on the bed, drenched in sweat. On either side of her were the two newborns. Turning her head, she looked at them and smiled happily. But as she sensed the immense vitality and overwhelming chakra within their tiny bodies, her expression gradually turned complicated.
She was overjoyed by their birth… yet also afraid. In her current weakened state, she would soon have to face the Ōtsutsuki.
Fortunately, she had already examined the alternate dimensions. The main pursuit force had been trapped in the ice world. Aside from Shen and a few others who had entered the Origin Space and been killed by her, no one else could possibly find an exit.
Moreover, her control over the dimensions had grown stronger. The pathways between them had all been sealed off. Unless the enemy possessed innate space-time abilities, they would never be able to reach the other realms.
And judging from the situation in those dimensions, no one had such abilities.
That meant she had enough time to recover.
Once she returned to her peak… it would be their end.
At that moment, Kaguya suddenly thought of Shen—the one who had caused her considerable trouble. For some reason, she had a strange feeling… that they would meet again in the future.
And perhaps… not as enemies.
"Mmm…"
One of the babies stirred, letting out soft whimpers. The midwife, having just finished cleaning Kaguya, reminded her that it was time to feed them.
Kaguya came back to herself and began nursing the children, sitting up slightly and holding them in her arms. Then, glancing at the others in the room, a thought crossed her mind.
With a single thought, she withdrew all the chakra she had embedded in their bodies.
She could tell that during her labor, everyone had done their utmost—whether out of sincerity or because of her control. Regardless, she chose to release them.
"Lady Kaguya, the captain of the guard reports that the resistance has been completely subdued. None escaped. The resistance leader, Olo, has also been captured. How shall he be dealt with?" the midwife asked as she entered from outside.
"I have other uses for them. Tell Kato to keep them under strict guard. Once I've recovered somewhat, they will all be taken to the Divine Tree," Kaguya said coldly.
Though her expression showed no open anger, the atmosphere around her felt like a volcano on the verge of eruption.