Hiroki soon led the others into the Village of the God Tree.
Naruto and Sasuke were completely unfamiliar with this place and cautiously followed behind him, glancing around curiously.
It was already afternoon, with only a few people out and about on the road.
Two young men dressed in white robes came into their view.
When they saw the young Hamura, both of them froze simultaneously.
His appearance didn't quite match what they remembered. Naruto carefully spoke up:
"Sage of Six Paths… you're not dead, right?"
Noticing their gaze, Hayato and Hamura looked at them in confusion.
"Sage of Six Paths? Are you calling me?" Hayato pointed to himself.
"Were Hayato's memories altered too?" Sasuke murmured thoughtfully.
"Young man, what are you talking about?" Hayato shifted his gaze and smiled at him.
"Have you and Kaguya been to the Warring States Demon World yet?" Hiroki asked.
Hayato nodded. "We've resolved any potential conflicts with the local powers there, but Ashura and Indra were very curious about those strange demons, so they stayed behind."
Hearing Ashura and Indra mentioned again, Naruto and Sasuke exchanged glances, looking slightly bewildered.
"Then has Kaguya returned as well?"
Looking at Kaguya, Hayato nodded again. "Mother has returned and should be resting inside the palace."
Earlier, when they first saw Kaguya, he and Hamura had almost mistaken her for Mother.
But upon seeing her cold gaze, they swallowed back the words they were about to say.
Compared to Kaguya Moon, who usually showed indifference toward them but often expressed disdain, Kaguya's attitude felt significantly different.
More importantly, he and Hamura often found themselves holding views that opposed Kaguya's.
"If everything's settled now, why are you still here? Shouldn't you have returned to the Pure Land by now?" Hiroki teased with a smile.
Hayato also smiled, though slightly annoyed. "Father, the Pure Land is really boring. There's nothing there but wandering spirits. Can't I just rest here for a few days? Besides, Mother promised to take me to other realms, but she seems to have forgotten..."
"What did you call him? Father?" Sasuke exclaimed in shock, suddenly lifting his head.
Naruto was equally stunned. During those few days at the Hyuga estate, he had heard some rumors about Hiroki and Kaguya.
But for the Sage of Six Paths to directly address someone as "father"—this shift seemed way too sudden.
Wait a minute—he clearly saw the Sage of Six Paths disappear before, so why did he suddenly reappear? And now he looked younger?
This was all so confusing...
Naruto clutched his head in frustration, struggling to make sense of it all but failing miserably.
"Father, who exactly are these two boys?" Hamura suddenly asked.
Hiroki smiled again. "Why, they're Hayato's sons!"
Kaguya couldn't suppress a smirk, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
"Eh...?" Hayato was taken aback. Just now, he did feel a slight sense of familiarity when looking at Naruto and Sasuke, as though seeing a younger Ashura and Indra.
But even if they looked similar, that wasn't enough to convince him they were truly his sons.
He had children? How come he never knew?
"Father, surely you're joking. How could my older brother suddenly appear with two sons?"
Hamura spoke for him.
"Heh..." Hiroki smirked slightly as he passed Hayato and Hamura, patting both their shoulders. "You two chat. I'm leaving first."
Saying that, he walked away with Kaguya toward Moon's palace.
"Father, you haven't introduced this person beside you!" Hamura called from behind.
Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other, their minds filled with confusion.
In a wooden house.
Kaguya Moon sat cross-legged in an elegant posture, gazing into the distance. Her posture carried a quiet loneliness.
Hearing familiar footsteps and sensing a familiar presence, her lips curved upward slightly as she hummed softly.
"Hmph, finally decided to come find me on your own?"
Turning her head slightly, she saw Kaguya standing beside Hiroki and paused in surprise.
Kaguya Moon walked forward and hugged her. "Moon, weren't you going to take Hamura to the new Pure Land? Why didn't you return?"
Kaguya Moon lightly punched him before slowly pushing him away. "What would I do there when all the Hayatos are right here?"
Actually, she had been thinking about who should guard the Pure Land of another Ninja World.
"This place... is exactly the same as where I lived before..." Kaguya finally spoke.
Kaguya Moon didn't want to chat about these things. She turned serious and said to Kaguya, "How about I manage your Pure Land?"
Kaguya tugged at the corner of her mouth, smiling. "How could that be possible?"
"Your world is reaching its end," Kaguya Moon smiled meaningfully. "You don't have a single competent soul over there."
"Oh?" Kaguya replied indifferently. "I can create a batch of experts anytime."
"Ohhh." Kaguya Moon dragged out the sound, clearly unconvinced.
"Want to give it a try?" Kaguya smiled faintly.
Two blinding lights shot through the air, and Hiroki was left alone in the room.
Hiroki slapped his forehead helplessly as he walked toward the door. "You two are fighting again!"
Cutting to another scene, after some conversation.
Naruto and Sasuke finally understood what was happening.
They had arrived in another realm—an exact copy of their original Ninja World, just a thousand years apart in time.
The two fell into a long silence, emotions flashing across their faces one after another.
Hayato lowered his head, murmuring, "So this is what would've happened if Father hadn't appeared... Me and Hamura sealing Mother, Ashura and Indra fighting for a thousand years... They're the reincarnations of Ashura and Indra..."
Hamura coughed twice, breaking the silence. He strolled toward Naruto and Sasuke, wearing a teasing grin. "Naruto, Sasuke, how about calling me Uncle? Since Father has already brought you two here, it means he doesn't care about past conflicts anymore. You might as well stay here peacefully."
A flicker of anger crossed Sasuke's face as he replied coldly, "According to the generational hierarchy, Hyuga Hiroki must be countless generations removed from Otsutsuki Hamura. Would you dare ask him to call you Old Ancestor?"
"He and Kaguya... such shamelessness! There's absolutely no limit to his audacity..."
Before Sasuke could say anything worse, Hamura quickly covered his mouth, shouting, "Whoa whoa whoa! Not another word!"
Hearing Hamura and Sasuke's conversation, Naruto clenched his fists, his face twisting in fury. "Hiroki Hyuga has been playing me all along! He damn well knows who I'm after… He knows full well!"
He was searching for his biological father, Minato Namikaze – not the Sage of Six Paths, certainly not Hayato Otsutsuki.
Without a word, he stormed off in the direction Hiroki and Kaguya had gone.
Sasuke pushed Hamura aside, sighed deeply, and hurried after him, calling out, "Naruto, don't act recklessly!"
Hamura winked mischievously at Hayato. "Elder Brother, it seems their rebellious phase isn't over yet. Won't you discipline them?"
"..." Hayato grimaced. "Absolutely not one of mine."
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