Chapter 620: Kaguya, My Feelings Are Sincere!
"So if we want to release Kaguya, we should probably go now."
Hagoromo looked at Kenichi.
"Do you want to leave immediately, or wait a little longer?"
Kenichi's expression became conflicted.
Truthfully, he did not particularly want to release Kaguya.
But considering how valuable her presence would be against Isshiki, releasing her ahead of time was probably the better choice.
Naturally, doing so might create other problems.
Quite a few of them, in fact.
Still, Kenichi felt the risks were manageable.
After all, once Kaguya regained her freedom, as long as she did not completely lose control, Isshiki should still be her primary enemy.
And with Kaguya fighting alongside them, their chances of defeating Isshiki would increase substantially.
"I think we can go now."
Kenichi paused.
"Or maybe we should wait a little..."
He rubbed his forehead.
"Forget it."
"Let's just do it now."
"We'll have to face this problem sooner or later."
"It's better to deal with her anger today than suddenly face it tomorrow in the middle of the battle."
Kenichi shook his head helplessly.
He had originally hoped to avoid confronting Kaguya directly.
But the more he considered it, the more troublesome postponing the issue became.
If they waited until tomorrow, too many unexpected factors could interfere with their plan.
Worse, if Isshiki somehow discovered Kaguya's release at the wrong moment, the entire operation could be compromised.
So after weighing everything carefully, Kenichi decided it was better to release her now and see exactly how she intended to react.
If Kaguya insisted on treating him as an enemy...
Then Kenichi would simply have to deal with it.
But if she was still willing to cooperate, even temporarily...
That would be ideal.
"Then I'll begin preparing the unsealing."
Hagoromo nodded.
"But there's another problem."
"If we release Mother now, Isshiki might notice something unusual."
Kenichi looked toward him.
Hagoromo continued.
"Mother is currently sealed inside the Moon."
"If the seal is undone, the Moon itself may temporarily disappear or be heavily disrupted."
"That might not immediately matter during the day."
"But once night falls, Isshiki could notice that the Moon is missing."
"If he does, he may realize that Kaguya has been released."
"That would expose our preparations."
Hagoromo frowned.
This was what concerned him most.
Kenichi, however, quickly thought of a solution.
"I don't think we need to worry that much."
Hagoromo looked at him.
Kenichi continued calmly.
"When you and Hamura originally sealed Kaguya, you used Chibaku Tensei to create the Moon, right?"
Hagoromo nodded.
"Then after we release her, just create another Chibaku Tensei."
Kenichi spread his hands.
"Pull enough material together and reconstruct the Moon."
"That should solve the problem."
To Kenichi, the issue was not particularly complicated.
He understood Hagoromo's concern.
But recreating something that resembled the Moon was entirely possible with the Rinnegan.
Chibaku Tensei was practically designed for something like this.
Hagoromo had probably overlooked the obvious solution because even he was feeling nervous.
Tomorrow, they would confront Isshiki.
If the battle went badly, the consequences would affect the entire Shinobi World.
That pressure was enough to make anyone miss simple solutions.
Still, if they successfully eliminated Isshiki, most of their immediate problems would disappear.
The greater Otsutsuki Clan would remain an unknown threat.
But at least the crisis directly in front of them would be over.
They could worry about the wider clan afterward.
They would have time to research.
Time to prepare.
Time to figure out how to fight whatever Otsutsuki came next.
"You're right."
Hagoromo sighed.
"I was overthinking it."
He looked at Kenichi.
"Then we'll proceed according to the plan."
Kenichi nodded.
That was exactly what he wanted.
Now there was only one thing left.
Release Kaguya.
Hagoromo gave Kenichi a solemn nod.
Kenichi swallowed unconsciously.
He genuinely had no idea what Kaguya currently thought of him.
Still, this could not be delayed forever.
Sooner or later, he would have to face her.
After considering everything one final time, Kenichi steeled himself.
Release her.
Whatever happened afterward, he would deal with it.
Hagoromo began chanting several incantations while forming a hand seal.
The process looked surprisingly simple.
The next moment...
Kenichi felt something change.
It was an extremely strange sensation.
Almost miraculous.
But after that initial fluctuation, nothing else immediately happened.
Kenichi quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
He had been worried that Kaguya's release would cause an enormous chakra disturbance.
If the reaction were too intense, Isshiki might detect it.
Fortunately, no obvious anomaly appeared.
Then...
A pale figure materialized in front of them.
Kenichi felt a chill the moment he looked at her.
There was no mistaking that appearance.
Kaguya Otsutsuki.
"My son."
Kaguya did not even look at Kenichi.
Her cold gaze immediately settled on Hagoromo.
"I truly did not expect you to release me."
She studied him.
"What happened?"
"Has facing Isshiki placed you under that much pressure?"
"Or have you made so little progress over all these years that you've already reached the point where you cannot manage without me?"
Her voice remained cool.
Then a trace of dissatisfaction appeared in it.
"Why must you make me worry like this?"
"Are you still unwilling to reconsider my plan?"
Hagoromo fell silent for a moment.
Then he firmly shook his head.
His position had not changed.
He still could not accept Kaguya's plan to transform the people of the Shinobi World into mindless weapons.
What purpose would that serve?
Besides...
The White Zetsu themselves were not even particularly powerful.
Hagoromo looked directly at his mother with unwavering determination.
Apparently, after being sealed for all these years, Kaguya had not fundamentally changed.
If so...
Then Hagoromo's original plan still had to remain in place.
"You're as stubborn as ever."
Kaguya sneered.
"But discussing this with you now is pointless."
Her eyes shifted slightly.
"Leave."
The next instant...
The scenery around Hagoromo changed.
Kenichi disappeared from his sight.
Hagoromo stared blankly for a moment.
Then he sighed.
He understood Kaguya's personality well enough to guess exactly what was happening.
"Kenichi is probably in trouble now."
He shook his head helplessly.
"Mother is obviously furious."
Still...
Kenichi's idea had truly been outrageous.
Hagoromo could only hope he survived whatever came next.
...
Kenichi felt his head beginning to hurt.
He stared at the cold woman standing in front of him.
His eyelid twitched slightly.
He genuinely had no idea how Kaguya intended to deal with him.
Before releasing her, Kenichi had already returned the consciousness fragment to Kaguya.
He had done so immediately after deciding that the unsealing would proceed.
And now...
Kaguya stood silently before him.
That silence made Kenichi even more nervous.
After all, he knew exactly what kinds of memories had been implanted into her consciousness.
Within those false experiences, practically every boundary of married intimacy had been explored.
Facing the real Kaguya now, Kenichi could not help rubbing his hands awkwardly.
Kaguya looked at him.
Then she too fell silent.
There was a reason she had sent Hagoromo away.
She did not want her son witnessing whatever was about to happen next.
But now that Kenichi was actually standing before her...
Even Kaguya herself did not know exactly what to do.
"You..."
Her voice carried endless anger.
Kenichi remained silent for a moment.
At this rate...
They were probably going to fight.
And that was the last thing he wanted.
He had no idea whether Isshiki could sense fluctuations from Kaguya's power.
If the two of them began fighting now, there was a real chance their preparations would be exposed.
So Kenichi decided to take the initiative.
There was one thing he wanted to test.
The subconscious suggestions he had deliberately embedded into Kaguya's implanted memories.
If they worked...
Excellent.
"Kaguya."
Kenichi deliberately softened his voice.
"I'll cook for you."
Kaguya froze.
Completely.
She remembered that sentence.
Of course she did.
Within those humiliating implanted memories, Kenichi had said those exact words many times.
Especially in the later memories.
Whenever he stood in front of her and spoke those words softly...
Her mind would gradually calm.
Her body would relax.
Because in those fabricated memories, what followed was always something peaceful and comforting.
So for one brief instant...
Kaguya subconsciously relaxed.
Then her expression changed.
Something was wrong.
Those were false memories.
Experiences Kenichi had forcibly implanted into her consciousness.
He had never actually treated her that way in reality.
The realization immediately shattered the conditioned response.
Whatever faint softness had appeared in Kaguya's eyes vanished.
Kenichi caught the change instantly.
So the conditioning had failed.
At least...
It had failed to completely control her.
But Kenichi was not disappointed.
He had never truly expected subconscious suggestions alone to completely dominate someone like Kaguya.
That would have been absurd.
The important thing was that she had hesitated.
Even briefly.
That alone proved she had been influenced.
Her subconscious had responded before her conscious mind rejected the suggestion.
For Kenichi...
That was enough.
He immediately relaxed a little.
"Kenichi Amamiya."
Kaguya stared at him darkly.
"What exactly were you trying to do to me?"
Her anger was unmistakable.
"Do you have any idea how badly everything you did makes me want to kill you right now?"
For Kaguya, having those memories forced into her consciousness had been deeply humiliating.
Kenichi met her gaze.
Then spoke with complete seriousness.
"My feelings for you are sincere."
Kaguya froze.
Silence.
She had imagined countless possibilities for what Kenichi might say.
Excuses.
Justifications.
Apologies.
Perhaps even threats.
But she had never imagined he would respond like that.
For a moment...
Kaguya genuinely did not know what to say.
"Do you really think I'll believe you?"
She finally snapped.
Her expression darkened further.
"But for now, I'll cooperate with you."
Kenichi remained silent.
Kaguya continued.
"I know perfectly well what will happen if Isshiki is allowed to remain free."
"So I'll help deal with him first."
Then her gaze turned colder.
"But once Isshiki is dead..."
"It'll be your turn."
The next instant, Kaguya disappeared.
She did not want to continue looking at Kenichi.
Besides, there were still things she needed to do before tomorrow's battle.
Kenichi stared silently at the place where she had vanished.
He said nothing for several seconds.
Then...
"Kaguya!"
Kenichi suddenly raised his voice.
"Are you still hesitating?"
The laboratory remained silent.
Kenichi continued without shame.
"I'll wait for you!"
"I'll wait until the day you finally understand my feelings!"
His voice echoed through the room.
"I've always loved you!"
Nothing happened.
For one brief moment, it seemed as though Kaguya had truly left.
Then her furious voice exploded through the laboratory.
"ENOUGH!"
....
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