As soon as Kaede finished speaking—
"Ahhh!"
The dozen Otsutsuki clansmen let out a collective scream as compressed winds tore through them. Blades of air cut their bodies apart into countless fragments.
No blood splattered. Every drop remained suspended, controlled by the storm itself.
"You—!"
Hamura hadn't expected this. Even after showing himself, he had still failed to save them.
"You're far too cruel. They were innocent."
Hamura shouted, putting on the face of righteousness.
"Oh? Do you not hear how laughable that sounds?"
Kaede sneered coldly.
"What… what are you saying? Laughable? They were my descendants, and you slaughtered them! You would even release—"
"Silence!"
Kaede snapped, his eyes sharp with disgust.
Hamura's words were unbearable. Hypocrisy at its peak.
Descendants? If he truly regarded them as his descendants, he would not have hidden away on this barren moon, siphoning their strength generation after generation.
Their decline, their weakening bloodline, their shrinking numbers—all of it stemmed from Hamura feeding on them.
And yet here he stood, pretending to be righteous before Kaede.
It was pathetic.
"Kaede, I don't know why you insist on releasing Kaguya. But she is no ordinary being. Her power was so immense that even my brother and I, together, could not kill her—we could only seal her on the moon.
"Yes, you are powerful. Perhaps you've even unified the shinobi world already. But even if you haven't, with your strength, suppressing any who defy you would be effortless. So why risk unleashing Kaguya—why invite such a dangerous enemy?"
Hamura tried to reason with him.
He was not like his brother Hagoromo, who had hidden himself in the shinobi world, weaving plans from the shadows. Hamura had stayed here, guarding, watching, without grand ambitions.
"Kaguya… perhaps she did become what you call a monster. But no one turns from kindness to cruelty without a reason. You've always blamed her, never once reflecting on your own sins.
"You, Hamura—children born from the divine tree itself, blessed by the world, raised as her sons… yet when she warned you that the tree's power must be kept safe against coming enemies, you ignored her. You gave that power away to others.
"And when she merely sought to reclaim what was hers—you branded her a demon. You sealed her away with your brother, and called it justice.
"No… between you and her, you are the real villains."
Kaede's smile was cold and merciless.
"You… what nonsense is this?!"
Hamura's voice shook.
But deep down, a chill ran through him. Kaede spoke with knowledge so precise, so sharp, it was as if he had witnessed everything himself.
"How… how do you know all this?!" Hamura demanded.
Kaede gave no answer.
"I'll give you one last chance. Step aside. If you do not… I won't hold back."
For the sake of the children he had once held in his arms, Kaede was willing to extend mercy.
But Hamura refused to relent.
The next instant, the moon's surface trembled as countless meteors shifted, hurling themselves down toward Kaede.
"…Why force this?"
Kaede shook his head. He had wanted to spare them, but if they insisted on courting death, he would not hesitate.
A colossal Susanoo erupted skyward—two hundred meters tall, wielding the blade Kyōka Suigetsu.
With one mighty swing, it cleaved down toward Hamura.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Hamura bit into his finger, blood splattering. In an instant, a titanic stone statue appeared, its face his own.
In its massive hand gleamed a greatsword, colliding with Susanoo's blade in a thunderous crash.
The impact shook the lunar surface. The ground split apart into vast webs of cracks, palaces and dwellings crumbling to dust, rocks disintegrating into powder.
The meteors that had rained down were obliterated in the shockwave.
"You cannot defeat me. Stop this while you can."
Kaede's voice remained calm, even merciful.
But Hamura had chosen his path. His stone statue's severed arm regenerated instantly, and it pressed the attack again and again.
Kaede's patience burned away.
Enough.
He raised both hands. In an instant, Kyōka Suigetsu shimmered. Reality itself blurred.
Hamura's stone giant hacked down with ferocity, striking again and again—but every blow landed on illusions. Sword after sword, fist after fist—yet all against shadows.
At last, the giant's energy dissipated. It collapsed into silence.
Hamura exhaled in relief, thinking he had survived.
But then—Kaede released the genjutsu.
And Hamura's eyes went wide.
What he thought was Susanoo… what he thought was Kaede…
In truth, he had been striking the seals themselves.
The forbidden land had been undone.
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's prison was broken.
And Kaede stood unharmed at the side, watching with cold amusement.
"No… no, impossible! How?!"
Hamura staggered back. His Byakugan flared to its utmost. There was no way he could have been deceived. Not by genjutsu. Not even with Rinnegan illusions.
And yet—he had been fooled completely.
His own hands had undone the seal.
(End of Chapter)
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