Chapter 394: To the Moon

His final words fell like a final judgment—not only upon himself, but upon Hagoromo's heart as well.

"All these tragedies, this gradual descent into the abyss... how much of it was caused by us, her two sons? Because of our own 'righteousness' and 'ideals,' we failed to give her the understanding, support, and guidance she deserved."

"We shouldn't place all the blame on Mother. We... were also at fault."

"And I can no longer remain here, carrying the weight of that mistake and that regret."

Within the Heavenly Curtain, Hamura's somber confession, filled with reflection and remorse, was like a razor-sharp icicle. It pierced not only Hagoromo's emotional defenses but also sank deeply into the hearts of everyone in the shinobi world watching the vision, stirring an unprecedented and deeply unsettling revelation.

They had never imagined that the great battle, always portrayed as a "righteous rebellion against tyranny" and the "salvation of the world," could be viewed from another perspective—from that of the one being resisted: Kaguya, with her loneliness, fear, and the pain of a mother who had never received her sons' support.

"Lord Hamura... So he was this kind of person? So gentle that he was almost weak, yet so clear-minded that it was almost cruel?" someone murmured, their tone complicated.

In their usual understanding, the younger brother of the Sage of Six Paths and ancestor of the Hyūga Clan had seemed to be little more than a gentle supporting figure who followed his older brother.

"So this is the ancestor of the Hyūga Clan... the source of the Byakugan. No wonder so many members of the Hyūga Clan in later generations are gentle by nature and place such importance on family and rules."

"So this temperament in their bloodline was inherited from their ancestor..."

More people began connecting Hamura's personality with the characteristics of the Hyūga Clan in later generations, struck by a sudden, almost fateful realization.

"But... what difference does regret make, no matter how deeply he realizes his mistakes?" others sighed helplessly. "Everything has already been decided. Kaguya is sealed within the moon, and the world has been reduced to this state... Time cannot be turned back."

Within the vision, Hagoromo's voice was taut with tension. It had lost its usual calm and decisiveness, replaced by alarm, confusion, and a profound reluctance to let go.

He stared fixedly at the increasingly intense pale-blue aura surrounding his brother, as though he sensed an irreversible parting approaching.

"So... Hamura... what exactly are you going to do?! Tell me!"

Seeing the expression on his brother's face, which was nearly on the verge of losing control, a trace of reluctance flashed through Hamura's eyes. But it was quickly replaced by an even firmer resolve.

He gently shook his head. The blue light beneath his feet grew denser and brighter like a rising tide, enveloping his entire body in a soft radiance that was tranquil and almost sacred—yet unmistakably carried the feeling of farewell.

"Brother, I've already told you..."

His voice was soft, yet exceptionally clear.

"This shinobi world, which we 'saved' together, but also 'destroyed' together... I leave it to you."

He raised his head once more and looked steadily toward the lonely celestial body in the sky—the great stone sphere that sealed their mother. There was an almost reverent gentleness and determination in his gaze.

"I... want to go there and stay with Mother."

He paused. His voice trembled almost imperceptibly, yet his sincerity was absolute.

"At the very least... she won't have to be... so alone there."

This decision had nothing to do with power, nor with right or wrong. It came solely from the simplest and heaviest emotional choice of a son overwhelmed by regret—companionship and atonement.

Hagoromo's face instantly turned grim. His lips moved, but he discovered that he could find no reason to stop his brother—or rather, any argument seemed pale and powerless before such a pure emotional choice.

Seeing his brother's expression, Hamura's final concern became a quiet hope. He spoke softly, as though leaving behind his last words of instruction.

"Brother... I will be there, watching over you and watching over this land."

"I hope... you truly can fulfill your wish. I hope that with your strength and wisdom, you can make this world, so deeply scarred by suffering, into a better place."

"If, in the end... under your guidance, this world becomes worse than it was... when Mother was here..."

His voice softened.

"Then I will truly be disappointed. Very, very disappointed."

Those final words of hope were like a heavy responsibility—and like an invisible shackle—settling upon Hagoromo's shoulders.

Once he had finished speaking, Hamura hesitated no longer.

The brilliant pale-blue radiance surrounding him suddenly erupted with its final—and most intense—burst of light!

Within that radiance, his figure rapidly began to turn transparent and indistinct, like a reflection on water scattered by ripples.

"HAMURA—!!!"

At last, Hagoromo let out a desperate cry and reached out, only to grasp at empty motes of light.

Hamura's body completely dissolved into countless crystalline streams of light, each trailing a pale-blue tail. Like gentle stars traveling against the heavens, they rose lightly yet resolutely toward the lonely stone sphere high above, gathering and ascending into its depths.

Only his final words remained, echoing softly through heaven and earth with a trace of relief and solemnity.

"Oh, right... So that future generations will remember... that celestial body... from now on... shall be called the Moon."

The Moon.

With Hamura's figure dissolving into light and entering it, that name became forever bound to the celestial body that sealed Kaguya—and which now had another companion to keep her company.

When the light finally faded, only Hagoromo remained amid the ruins.

He stood frozen with his hand still outstretched, as though half his strength and vitality had been drained away in an instant. Even the purple of his Rinnegan seemed to have dimmed.

He stared blankly in the direction his brother had vanished, then slowly—heavily—raised his head to look at the stone sphere in the sky, newly named the Moon and now carrying an unbearably complicated weight in his eyes.

There, the mother he had sworn to stop was sealed away.

And there, too, had gone the younger brother bound to him by blood, who had departed because of his regret.

He had won.

He had sealed the mother who threatened to destroy the world. He had "saved" the world.

But he had also lost.

He had lost his brother's understanding and companionship. He now bore the eternal regret that had driven his closest family away because of the path he had chosen. And he was left alone to face this world—one he had personally shattered and which desperately needed to be restored, its future uncertain.

A long, long time passed.

At last, a heavy sigh escaped Hagoromo's throat, as though it had been squeezed from the deepest depths of his soul, before fading into the bleak wind.

Within that sigh was a weariness no one could understand.

Slowly, he lowered his hand and straightened his back.

The confusion and pain in his eyes were forcibly suppressed, replaced once more by a resolute, cold light.

His younger brother had gone to the Moon to be with their mother.

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