Hamura looked at Chiga lying on the ground with a bewildered expression. He bent down, reaching out to touch his body.
Hamura quickly pulled his hand back. His palm was emitting thin streams of white smoke.
"What's going on? How can I, an energy body, be burned?"
A sound like a heartbeat echoed from Chiga's tightly closed eyes. Hamura dared not approach again. Instead, he sat cross-legged nearby, murmuring,
"What a strange person..."
Although Chiga had fainted before finishing his words, Hamura understood what he meant. He wanted him to stay close, to guard him.
Because the members of the Ōtsutsuki clan were coming.
The Ōtsutsuki were not benevolent. Their purpose was to plunder the life force of worlds. Wherever they went, desolation followed—entire planets reduced to wastelands.
Hamura and his brother had always been on guard against them.
This man, who claimed the blood of the Uchiha, was clearly also standing against the Ōtsutsuki. That made him, at least for now, an ally.
So Hamura remained by Chiga's side, silently waiting for him to awaken.
In the vastness of space, a black rift tore open. From it emerged Momoshiki, followed by Urashiki and Kinshiki.
Urashiki tilted his head in puzzlement.
"Senior, why did we suddenly stop?"
Momoshiki frowned, his gaze sharp.
"I sensed a powerful ki... from a fellow clansman, no less."
"Hm? Could it be Kaguya?" Urashiki asked.
"No. That woman could never possess such power. Strange... who could it be?"
Kinshiki bowed slightly.
"Lord Momoshiki, the Great Elder sent us to recover the Ten-Tails. We should not delay."
At the mention of the Great Elder, Momoshiki's expression darkened with unease. He gave a sharp nod.
"Very well. We continue."
He entered the portal first, Kinshiki following close behind. Urashiki lingered for a moment, staring enviously at his senior's back.
"How fortunate... to have one's own guardian..." he muttered before stepping through.
Several days later, the three descended near Earth. Without fixed spatial coordinates, their travel had taken time.
Urashiki glanced down at the blue planet and smirked.
"Beautiful world. No wonder Kaguya chose to stay."
Momoshiki scoffed, then turned his gaze toward the Moon.
"That ki... it's grown stronger. I must see for myself. You two, search the planet for Kaguya." Read complete versıon only at 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍
Without waiting for reply, he tore open a portal and vanished.
On the Moon, Hamura's face grew grave. He too had sensed the presence of the three Ōtsutsuki.
"They've come... and there are three of them."
In his current spiritual state, he stood no chance. Even at his peak, facing Momoshiki alone would have been impossible. With Hagoromo absent, all hope now rested on Chiga.
Clenching his fists, Hamura's eyes hardened. His form shifted into a glowing hemispherical shield of milky light, encasing Chiga in protection.
At that moment, Momoshiki appeared within the shrine. His eyes narrowed as he spotted Chiga within the shield.
"He bears resemblance to our clan, yet I have never seen him before."
"No matter. I'll wake him and ask."
Momoshiki's method of awakening was blunt—he raised a fist and struck the barrier.
Ripples spread across the shield, Hamura's face appearing upon its surface.
"Beings from the heavens, you have finally arrived."
Momoshiki's voice was cold.
"And who are you supposed to be?"
"Hmph. Who I am does not matter. What matters is this—you will not be allowed to defile the world my brother created!"
If Chiga were awake, he would have sighed, Another brother complex...
Hamura's chakra surged, condensing a blade of light above the barrier. It descended toward Momoshiki in a brilliant slash.
Having awakened the Tenseigan, Hamura could still wield techniques rivaling the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion.
But Momoshiki only sneered. The red Rinnegan in his palm flared, absorbing the entire sword of light. Then he raised his other hand, releasing a colossal chakra blade that tore into the shield.
The barrier trembled violently. Hamura's expression tightened. He poured his strength into maintaining it, abandoning offense.
Momoshiki pressed on, one relentless strike after another. The shield's glow flickered, growing weaker with each impact. It would not last much longer.
Meanwhile on Earth, Urashiki and Kinshiki appeared before the gates of Konoha.
"So this is the human settlement? Not bad at all."
Before arriving, they had already gathered information from unfortunate victims. They knew of the Ten-Tails' appearance and that a white-haired woman had returned to Konoha alongside the Hokage.
Kinshiki ignored him and strode forward.
"Stop right there!" The two Chūnin guards blocked his path.
Kinshiki didn't even lift his gaze. His massive arm swung casually, and both guards were flung through the air, landing deep inside the village.
Urashiki covered his face with his hand.
"Ah, Kinshiki... so reckless. Would it kill you to be gentle?"
The disturbance sent alarm through the village. In moments, Itachi Uchiha arrived with a unit of Anbu. His eyes widened upon seeing the intruders—their appearance perfectly matched the description Chiga had warned him of.
Itachi activated his Mangekyō Sharingan without hesitation.
Kinshiki looked up, irritation flashing in his eyes. In a blur, his massive frame vanished, reappearing before Itachi in an instant. His fist shot forward.
Itachi's pupils shrank. Even with his Mangekyō, he couldn't fully follow Kinshiki's speed.
The strike halted mid-swing, stopped by a force behind him.
Madara Uchiha had appeared silently at Itachi's back, arms folded, his Rinnegan gleaming coldly.
"What are you," Madara said, voice sharp as steel, "to dare cause chaos here?"