Toneri lay sprawled in the ruins, utterly defeated—he didn't even have the strength to resist.
Hinata stepped forward, just as she had once before, and gently removed Hanabi'sByakugan from Toneri's eye sockets. But this time, Toneri didn't wail in anguish.
Instead, he looked up at her and said, "Finish me. I failed to fulfill Hamura's divine will. Someone like me… I have no right to keep living in this world."
Hinata paused, her gaze steady. "Hamura never wished for the Sage of Six Paths' world to be destroyed."
Toneri let out a hollow laugh. "Hahaha… What would an outsider like you know?"
With a swift motion, a Tenseigan spirit orb appeared in Hinata's palm, and she pressed it gently to Toneri's forehead.
A vision flickered in Toneri's mind—a memory Hinata had drawn forth.
In it, the moon's branch members of the Ōtsutsuki clan knelt on one knee. The aged Hamura stepped forward, his voice sincere: "Princess of the Byakugan, please protect my brother's world."
Hinata spoke softly but firmly, "That's the truth. You've misunderstood Hamura's will from the very beginning."
Toneri stared in disbelief. "How…? Then everything I've done until now—has it all been a joke? Hahaha… I even humiliated myself in front of the girl I love. What's the point of living? I'm done. I'm done…"
SLAP!
A sharp slap echoed through the ruins, silencing him.
Hinata stood, rubbing her stinging palm. Her voice rang out, clear and resolute:
"Everyone's life has value."
"You are yourself—not anyone's shadow."
"So stop worrying so much about what others think. That includes me."
"From now on, live for yourself, Toneri."
With that, she turned and walked toward the distant temple.
"For myself…?" Toneri murmured, then called after her, "Not long ago, a pitch-black demon who called himself Kaguya's child came to me. He wanted me to release Kaguya's true form—Usagi—sealed inside this moon!"
Hinata stopped, listening.
"He was behind the attack on Konoha. I'm sorry… I took advantage of the chaos to kidnap your sister, and that set off all this madness."
"Before you arrived, that demon left. I think he already foresaw how things would turn out. Luckily, I broke our deal, so nothing irreversible happened…"
"And that giant Tenseigan in Hamura's temple—it was forged from the combined Byakugan of all the moon's branch Ōtsutsuki. It holds their deepest wishes and the power to move celestial bodies."
"I, who twisted Hamura's will, no longer deserve it. Princess—no, Hinata, please take that eye. Use its power to protect your world!"
"Consider it… my tiny act of atonement."
Hinata nodded, then turned and walked on.
At last, Toneri's voice drifted after her: "Uzumaki Naruto is a truly worthy man—far better than me. I sincerely wish you both happiness…"
Naruto emerged from the temple, carrying the unconscious Hanabi. He gently set her down.
Hinata approached, returning the eyes to Hanabi's sockets.
"I don't know medical ninjutsu. We'll need Shizune's help to reconnect the optic nerves once we're back…"
"Don't worry. Leave it to me." Naruto placed his palm over Hanabi's eyes, a soft green glow emanating from his hand.
Hinata blinked in surprise. "That's… the Mystical Palm Technique?"
Naruto nodded. "Yeah. Sakura taught me after I finished the chakra pathway surgery."
"How's Sakura doing in the Rain, by the way?"
"She's good. After everything that happened, she's become much steadier. Lately, she's been researching new medical ninjutsu with Namikaze Naruto."
"Namikaze… Naruto?"
"Oh, you didn't know? He's my clone who died, but I gave him a soul and brought him back with Impure World Reincarnation. So, he's basically another me."
"I see…"
Once Hanabi's treatment was done, Naruto said, "Only your chakra can touch the giant Tenseigan in Hamura's temple."
[Technically, only Hamura's chakra can touch it. In The Last: Naruto the Movie, Naruto and Hinata destroyed the giant Tenseigan together, shattering it into countless Byakugan. Toneri tried to absorb them to reawaken his Tenseigan, but was backlashed and defeated. Ultimately, those Byakugan were destroyed in the explosion.]
Hinata nodded. "Leave it to me."
Naruto mused, "Actually, I have an idea. Maybe this time, we don't destroy the eye. In the future, a man named Amado invented a scientific ninja tool called a 'satellite.' Sasori of the Red Sand is trying to recreate it using the Rinnegan's Asura Path, but he's never succeeded."
"This time, I don't want to rely on Amado. His background is shady, and he'll do anything to get results. Besides, science tools can't stand up to top-tier Ōtsutsuki anyway."
"We need to focus on bloodline power. That's the true path."
"So, I want to modify the giant Tenseigan—turn it into a Tenseigan Satellite!"
"A Tenseigan Satellite?"
"Yeah. It'll orbit our planet, monitoring everything that happens. Hinata, if you synchronize your Tenseigan with it, you could keep real-time watch over the entire ninja world. If another schemer like Black Zetsu shows up, there'll be nowhere to hide!"
Hinata nodded. "Okay… I'll do whatever you say, Naruto-kun."
They transferred the giant Tenseigan from Hamura's temple.
Carrying Hanabi, Naruto and Hinata returned to Earth the way they'd come.
Dawn was breaking.
Bathed in the soft morning light, Naruto and Hinata gazed deeply into each other's eyes, fingers entwined, holding each other close.
After a gentle kiss, their foreheads pressed together. Naruto cupped her blushing cheeks, voice soft but with a hint of possessiveness: "Consider this chapter sealed with my stamp. When we get back, I'll pick a lucky day. Three days from now, I'll send someone to formally propose. We'll have a real wedding—a grand one."
Hinata's cheeks turned crimson, her heart racing. "N-no… it doesn't have to be so extravagant. As long as I'm with you, Naruto-kun, I'll be happy…"
But Naruto grinned. "No way. People only get married once—it has to be something special."
With Kakuzu off negotiating in the Land of Water, this might be Naruto's only chance to call the shots!
"Okay, I'll listen to you…" Blushing, Hinata buried her face in Naruto's chest, only to realize—
His heart's beating even faster than mine…
Back in the Hidden Rain, Naruto summoned the village's most important figures, led by the First Hokage himself.
Seeing such a grand assembly, everyone braced for some earth-shattering crisis.
"Naruto… what's going on?"
"…" Naruto kept his head down, silent.
Everyone grew even more tense.
"Don't tell me… the enemy's coming?"
"Alright, everyone—listen up…" Naruto took a deep breath.
Gulp! Everyone swallowed hard, holding their breath in anticipation.
Uzumaki Naruto dropped the bombshell.
—"I'm getting married!"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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