"Feeling like there's no solution?"
Lux smiled as he asked Minato, who nodded slowly.
"Yes, it's like a deadlock. Unless we can truly find a way to kill the Rabbit Goddess?"
Minato sighed resignedly.
Even the Sage of Six Paths couldn't do it—Minato didn't believe he was capable either. He couldn't even defeat Hashirama, let alone dream of killing Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
"That doesn't mean there isn't a simpler alternative."
"Please explain, Sir!" Minato perked up, eagerly asking.
"The conflict between the moon and Earth is fundamentally caused by the vast distance and geographical separation. Guarding for too long makes one prone to corruption—let alone guarding the moon for generations, never changing their hearts? That would be strange..."
"Simply put, how is the border of the Land of Fire protected?"
"Of course, there are specialized ninja assigned to guard it?"
"And why is there never any worry that they'll turn against the Land of Fire or Konoha?"
"Because they're rotated periodically..."
Minato trailed off as realization suddenly struck him.
"If we send people in shifts to guard the seal on the moon, we can avoid this problem!"
"So that's how it is—I never imagined the solution could be this simple!"
This wasn't some genius strategy—it was just that the moon was so far removed from Konoha that Minato hadn't connected the two, causing him to overlook this possibility.
"Don't celebrate too soon. Rotating shifts are only a temporary, rough solution—there are still many issues. For example, who would you send to guard it?"
Lux abruptly poured cold water on Minato's excitement.
Minato's answer caught in his throat as he realized the core issue once more.
This problem seemed simple, but in reality, it was extremely complicated.
Because the ninja world wasn't unified—just deciding who to send was already a major dilemma.
After all, the moon was like a Damocles sword perpetually hanging over the ninja world—capable of guarding Earth from the outside while also attacking any target from within.
Whoever controlled the moon essentially controlled most of the ninja world!
If only Konoha ninja were sent to guard it, would the other villages agree?
Even if they didn't dare oppose Konoha outright due to its overwhelming strength, they would surely resort to underhanded schemes.
And if ninja from other villages were sent instead?
Would Konoha agree? Would Minato and all of Konoha's ninja willingly hand over the moon and its seal to outsiders?
Furthermore, what if a joint team of ninja from multiple villages was sent?
It might work once or twice, but over time, they might end up fighting among themselves on the moon.
Even a small international space station could spark conflict—let alone something as significant as the moon.
Such accumulated tensions would inevitably explode sooner or later.
And if the moon became unstable again, the ninja world would once more face the threat of meteor showers—another disaster in the making.
Minato wasn't foolish—once Lux pointed it out, he could deduce these key issues himself.
So while rotating shifts were feasible, they were still fraught with difficulties and complications—a proper solution needed to be found...
Minato sighed. "I never imagined there'd still be so many problems !"
Lux continued calmly, "National borders and the moon are fundamentally the same—but the moon is too far from Earth, and with Kaguya's seal involved, the issues are naturally more complex."
"You must take note of this yourself. After this battle, Konoha will become the undisputed leader of the ninja world—arguably the only one. And you—you'll become the next protector of Earth and the ninja world. From now on, the problems of the ninja world and the moon, the tensions between Konoha and other villages—you'll have to consider them all carefully."
"You won't always have someone coming to your aid when trouble arises."
Minato froze for a moment, suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his mind before nodding solemnly.
"I understand. Thank you for the warning!"
"I'll do my best to resolve these secondary issues!"
Suddenly transitioning from Konoha's protector to Earth's guardian—the responsibility and pressure were undoubtedly greater. Minato was beginning to grasp the weight of this burden.
Fortunately, Lux had offered assistance and a warning today—otherwise, Minato might never have realized it...
Seeing that Minato had understood, Lux didn't elaborate further.
This roundabout conversation served two purposes:
First, to remind Minato of his changing role and inform him of potential problems so he could adapt early and seek solutions.
Second, to use the real-life example of the Ōtsutsuki moon clan to nudge Minato into accelerating the unification of the ninja world.
Because once the ninja world was unified, the question of who to send for guard duty would no longer be an issue.
Admittedly, this indirect nudge was somewhat cunning.
But who told the Ōtsutsuki moon clan to be too weak to inflict damage on the forces of Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure?
Besides, what he said was still factual.
Even without the moon-guarding issue, just looking at the ninja world—
After this battle, with Konoha's rapid development, the other villages would only grow more envious and resentful, eventually leading to conflict.
It was fundamentally the same as the Ōtsutsuki moon clan's situation.
Since conflict was inevitable, using it now as a warning and motivation for Minato was only natural!
Either way, Konoha stood to lose nothing.
Then, Lux glanced at the Orochimaru duo behind him.
Parallel World Orochimaru 3 immediately smiled and nodded.
Clearly, they had also been "eavesdropping" on Lux and Minato's conversation earlier.
This discussion hadn't been hidden—it was also meant for Parallel World Orochimaru 3.
In his world, though the ninja world was already unified with no inter-village conflicts, the Ōtsutsuki moon clan remained unresolved.
Now that he'd been reminded, after dealing with the Ōtsutsuki moon clan, he wouldn't just focus on scientific experiments while neglecting the strategic importance of guarding the moon.
The conversation didn't last long—Super Chibaku Tensei was nearly complete. All the scattered debris had been pulled back by the terrifying gravity.
It formed a massive oval mountain, 10,000 meters tall, inside the moon—even larger than Earth's highest peak.
But this was less than a tenth of the hollow space within the moon—just imagining how vast the Ōtsutsuki moon clan's artificial living space was...
Just as everyone was sighing in relief, eager to celebrate—
In the distance, the giant Tenseigan, controlled by Aoto's spiritual orb, began acting up again.
Once more gathering chakra, preparing to fire a destructive beam!
Unfortunately, with Lux present, there was no way he'd let it cause havoc.
Before the giant Tenseigan could finish charging, Lux had already taken action—raising a hand.
Six Truth-Seeking Balls instantly formed, shooting forward to become the six anchor points of a barrier, sealing the massive metal orb controlling the Tenseigan.
Six Red Yang Formation—activated!