"Goodbye, Mother."
The earth erupted, and the stars themselves seemed to tremble.
With the aid of his younger brother Hamura's power, the Sage of Six Paths unleashed his most formidable sealing technique.Kaguya, his mother, could not be killed—but sealing her away would have the same effect.
And as for the Ten-Tails…Its power was too great. It would have to be weakened.
Yet just as the Sage of Six Paths was completing the seal on his mother and considering his next move, something wholly unexpected occurred.
"Multiple Harem Technique!"
From nowhere, an orange-clad figure leapt into the space between him and Kaguya, instantly conjuring a horde of bizarre, unclothed women—and… unclothed men?
The Sage of Six Paths was momentarily blinded by the swirling smoke and the sight of countless naked women of every conceivable shape and color. Before he could recover, his vision was filled with an equally bewildering crowd of naked men now surrounding Kaguya.
"W–What… is this!?"
His younger brother Hamura was equally dazed by the stunning women whose curves were barely hidden and whose faces were breathtaking.In fact, Hamura's reaction was far more concerning—blood gushed from his nose, and he collapsed to the ground, unable to control his body.
Fortunately, the preparatory steps for the Chibaku Tensei had already been completed. Even without his brother's chakra, the Sage of Six Paths could finish the seal himself.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang…
The naked women and men appeared and vanished in an instant, dissipating into white smoke before the Sage could even take a proper look.
Kaguya, slammed into the mountainside, remained trapped within the pull of the Chibaku Tensei.
"Strange… who would go out of their way to play such a prank?"
Finding nothing unusual about Kaguya afterward, the Sage dismissed the orange-clad intruder as nothing more than a troublemaker. Shaking his head, he turned back to the Chibaku Tensei, watching as the sphere fully enclosed his mother and her presence dwindled within the seal.
At last, his unreasonable and overbearing mother was gone. The world could finally know peace.
Next…
Glancing down at his brother, still sprawled on the ground and bleeding profusely, the Sage sighed, then turned alone toward the Ten-Tails.
"Naruto, while they're distracted, turn yourself into this woman—now!"
"Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!"
Uchiha Kage yanked the dazed Kaguya—still reeling from the sudden crowd of naked men—beneath the earth, hiding her from sight.
"Okay!"
"Transformation!"
Naruto instantly took her place at the center of the Chibaku Tensei.
"Who… are you?"
The white-haired woman, nearly unconscious after being battered and almost sealed by her sons, regained a sliver of awareness as she was dragged underground.
"The one saving you."
Deep beneath the transformed Naruto, Uchiha Kage kept Kaguya in his grip.He didn't know if this ruse would work, but it was all they could try. Whether it succeeded or not… that was fate's decision now.
"What… what did you do to me? My body, my power—"
But before Uchiha Kage could answer, the rabbit-eared woman in his arms began to struggle violently.
"Y–You… you're draining my chakra—my power… Let me go!"
He had no idea what exactly she was muttering, but he held her even tighter.
[Mission complete. Settlement in progress.]
It worked…
After what felt like an eternity, the mission completion prompt flashed in his mind. The woman in his arms finally ceased struggling, allowing him to hold her without resistance.
"Y–You're such an unreasonable man!"
In an instant, the scenery shifted. Uchiha Kage was no longer underground, but in a quiet courtyard lined with a bamboo grove. He and Kaguya sat together in a small pavilion beside the garden.
Were it not for the fact that he still had her in a firm embrace, the scene might have been idyllic.
"Where is this?"
Speaking as though to himself, Uchiha Kage adjusted his grip to hold her more comfortably.
Kaguya herself had changed drastically—her strange, vertical-pupiled Rinnegan was gone, her hair shortened to a normal waist length, and her rabbit ears had vanished. Stripped of her power, she appeared as an ordinary young woman.
Only her eyes still carried the ferocity from before.
Damn this man—he still wouldn't let go…It hurt slightly, and… there was a strange warmth she couldn't quite place.
Kaguya tried to pull away, but her body was so weak she could barely lift a finger.
"I didn't bring us here…"
Huh?
When Uchiha Kage walked to the courtyard's gate, he saw the familiar streets of Konoha spread before him.
The instance was over. Was this Konoha inside the "dream"?
In that case, this quiet, old-fashioned courtyard… was it like the Hyūga compound or the Hokage's residence?
"What are you staring at? There's nothing outside."
From Kaguya's perspective, only an empty forest lay beyond the gate.
"Wait… this feels like the place I lived when I went into seclusion…"
Turning, she took in the courtyard's layout and recognized every blade of grass and tree—she had planted them herself long ago.
"Aren't you just an NPC?"
It was strange. In theory, she should have been nothing more than part of the instance—but Kaguya felt far too real. Her eyes shone with life, her expressions carried thought, and her words had logic and personality.
From their earlier exchange, it seemed she'd actually left the instance with him.Could she be… the real Kaguya?
The thought crossed Uchiha Kage's mind.
"What NP—what are you doing?!"
Her strength was slowly returning, and Kaguya began to struggle again. Not only had he drained her power, he'd brought her here against her will…
"Quiet."
Looking at the now-ordinary young woman, Uchiha Kage ignored her feeble resistance and lifted her into his arms, carrying her inside the courtyard house.
Inside, a bed was already neatly made.