On the moon.
Toneri, who had been beaten up and captured by Takeshi and his group, was now being forcibly dragged before the ruined gravesite they had dug open.
In front of the many hollow tombs of his ancestors, Toneri managed to communicate with the fragments of chakra left behind by those who had passed away.
During the conversation, Toneri was "forced" to understand the true intentions of his ancestors, realizing that Hamura's final will had never meant the destruction of the shinobi world.
And so, in this strangely peaceful atmosphere, with his face swollen and bruised, Toneri successfully reconciled with the Anti-Toneri Squad, and the air between them became… surprisingly friendly.
...
"Because of my mistakes, the shinobi world suffered great losses...."
Toneri began repenting in front of Takeshi, but after talking for a bit, he started to feel that something wasn't quite right.
Thinking back on everything that had happened—had he actually done anything wrong?
From the very beginning, it was these people from the shinobi world who had come to the moon, digging up his ancestors' tombs. Look, the dirt they dug up was still piled right there in front of him!
He had only gotten angry and sent his puppets to "teach them a lesson." How was he supposed to know these maniacs were terrifying monsters?
Men, women, old, young—each one of them went berserk and charged at him like they were on some kind of stimulant! What was he supposed to do?
That red-haired woman, for example—she went completely insane, screaming "AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!" while wildly swinging her adamantine chains!
Then that kind-faced old man came at him, roaring "Ah~ Burn! Burn to death!" while swinging his massive club!
And that kid—who he'd only just found out was actually a boy—didn't even lift a finger, just went "Mmm, mmm-haha~" and spammed a Five Elements: Great Bullet Barrage like it was nothing!
Finally, someone yelled "Bomb!" and boom—he exploded.
So seriously, what exactly did he do wrong?
Even so, Toneri still read his confession letter emotionlessly from start to finish.
At this point, whether his tombs were dug up or whether he got beaten no longer mattered. The only thing that did was figuring out how to get this group of lunatics to leave as soon as possible.
After all, the ancestors whose graves were dug up didn't seem to be complaining about it, right?
Unfortunately, things didn't go as he hoped.
Moved by Toneri's heartfelt repentance, Takeshi actually teared up and reached out to invite Toneri to come live with them in Konoha.
Go to Konoha?
Over my dead body!
Toneri was furious. He had already admitted fault—why wouldn't these lunatics let him go? Were they trying to drive him to suicide?!
But of course, he couldn't say that out loud.
"I feel deeply burdened by my sins," Toneri said solemnly. "I've decided to stay on the moon to atone. As proof of my sincerity, I am willing to destroy the passage connecting the shinobi world and the moon."
Destroy it?
That wouldn't do—Takeshi still needed to send people up here to study the ruins.
Panicking, Takeshi grabbed Toneri's hand tightly, terrified that he might run off.
"Toneri," Takeshi said earnestly, "the shinobi world is facing a grave crisis. The Ōtsutsuki are stirring once again, and Kaguya's will continues to sow chaos behind the scenes. Back then, Hagoromo and Hamura worked tirelessly to bring peace and prosperity to our world. As their descendant, you can't just stand by and do nothing!"
Toneri's expression froze.
What the hell? You want me to fight the main branch of the Ōtsutsuki?
Why don't you just ask me to march straight into the Ōtsutsuki homeland while you're at it?!
Absolutely not! No way!
He tried to pull his hand free, but Takeshi's grip was like iron. There was no escaping.
Just then, a kunai streaked across the sky and landed in front of Kushina.
A flash of yellow light followed.
With his trademark line, Minato appeared gracefully before everyone.
"Am I late?"
"Hmm, yeah, a little," Takeshi said casually. "We've already wrapped things up."
Seeing the reinforcements he had called finally arrive, Takeshi released Toneri's hand and asked Minato where the others were.
Toneri saw his chance and tried to sneak away—only for Hiruzen Sarutobi to walk up beside him, massive staff in hand, and start questioning him about Hamura.
Toneri almost swore aloud.
Wow, you people are really good at tag-teaming your interrogation, huh?!
But of course, he only dared to think it, not say it.
"The others are still on their way," Minato explained. "I came ahead to provide backup, but it looks like you've already resolved everything."
He looked around curiously, especially at Toneri.
So this was an Ōtsutsuki?
Quite the… unique look, actually. No eyeballs, huh.
Seeing Minato's interest, Takeshi quickly began introducing Toneri to him.
When Toneri learned that Minato was Uzumaki Kushina's husband, his expression changed from blank to one of genuine admiration.
To marry such a terrifyingly strong woman, this blond man must be even more dangerous than he looked!
He couldn't let that gentle appearance fool him.
"In any case," Takeshi continued cheerfully, "Toneri, you're coming with us—whether you want to or not. Hagoromo and Hamura were brothers, which means we're all brothers too, right? What kind of brothers live apart from each other?"
Still trying to convince him, Takeshi's words nearly made Toneri's veins pop.
Brothers?
What kind of brothers show up out of nowhere, dig up your ancestors' graves, and then beat you up?!
In principle, Toneri didn't want to leave the moon.
But the problem was—Takeshi held all the power right now.
In the end, forced by their overwhelming dominance, Toneri hung his head and followed them on the path back to the shinobi world.
Takeshi was delighted.
After all, he had finally managed to "invite" a living Ōtsutsuki specimen for Orochimaru.
With Toneri's cooperation, Orochimaru would soon be able to develop new technologies capable of countering the Ōtsutsuki.
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