Inside the Genesis Space.
"Shishou's chakra fluctuations have stopped; he should be done now."
"Shishou seems to be fine; he must have succeeded..."
Kushina, sitting cross-legged in Sage Mode inside Kaguya's castle, quietly sensed Shishou's condition.
She could feel what was happening to him through the special connection they shared.
"As long as Shishou is okay, that's all that matters."
Hearing Kushina's words, Tsunade, Mikoto, and the others all sighed in relief.
To them, as long as Shishou was safe, it was the best news they could get.
Some time passed.
Yugito crossed her arms, frowning, "Why hasn't Shishou returned yet?"
Kushina couldn't answer that either.
The Slug Sage, standing nearby, glanced at the women and said with a slight frown:
"Because Kaguya has escaped."
This was information the Slug Sage had received from its clone in the ninja world.
Among those close to Shishou, only the Slug Sage knew the details about Kaguya; the others were completely unaware.
"Kaguya Otsutsuki!!!"
Everyone gasped in shock.
Thanks to Shishou's explanations, they all knew that Kaguya Otsutsuki was the mother of Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths, and the "Progenitor of Chakra," the ancestor of the ninja world.
Shizune, looking stunned, muttered, "Kaguya Otsutsuki... How is that possible..."
Kaguya was a figure from myth, living in an era that was over a thousand years in the past. How could she suddenly reappear?
But when Shizune glanced at the extraordinarily beautiful Slug Sage, she found herself less surprised.
The Slug Sage had lived for over a thousand years, so Kaguya's return didn't seem that far-fetched anymore.
Perhaps the Slug Sage knew more about the situation?
Tsunade, Mikoto, and the others had similar thoughts and turned their attention to the Slug Sage.
Among those present, the one who might understand Kaguya best was the thousand-year-old Slug Sage.
Seeing their expectant looks, the Slug Sage began to explain:
"Kaguya was originally sealed on the moon..."
The Slug Sage then began to tell them about Kaguya, as well as the events surrounding Shishou's exile and what had happened.
Hearing that Shishou had managed to deal with Kaguya, the very progenitor of the ninja world, Tsunade, Mikoto, Kushina, and the others were all left in shock.
This news seemed both absurd and believable, given Shishou's capabilities.
For a moment, none of them knew what to say, leaving them with expressions of disbelief.
After a period of silence, Konan asked the Slug Sage, "Was it Shishou who released Kaguya?"
Upon hearing this, Tsunade and the others frowned.
The idea of Kaguya's immense power as the progenitor of chakra put a lot of pressure on them.
The Slug Sage shook her head and smiled:
"Not quite. Shishou was afraid she might harm you, so he didn't plan to release her so soon. He intended to wait until your strength had grown more."
"But something went wrong, leading to Kaguya escaping from her seal on the moon."
"I'm sure Shishou will come up with a perfect solution."
The Slug Sage's words left everyone in silence.
Given Kaguya's power, they knew that even if they all combined their strength, they might only be able to match her, or perhaps not even that.
This overwhelming difference in power reignited a sense of urgency and frustration within them, even for Kushina and Rimei Hyuga, who were far ahead of the others in strength.
This was the pressure that came from the progenitor of chakra.
"Slug Sage, I'm going back to train. Let me know when Shishou returns."
With that, Tsunade turned and left.
She trusted that Shishou's methods would ensure Kaguya wouldn't harm them, but Tsunade wasn't about to give up. She wanted to use every moment to increase her strength.
This wasn't about Shishou; it was her own competitive spirit as a woman.
With Tsunade taking the lead, Mei, Yugao, and the others followed suit, leaving to focus on their training. They shared Tsunade's determination not to let Kaguya look down on them.
Watching them leave, the Slug Sage shook her head and smiled.
She hadn't expected Kaguya's emergence to ignite their competitive spirits.
But she saw this as a good thing; otherwise, Shishou might have found himself in a difficult position.
Sighing softly, the Slug Sage thought about how much effort she had to put in to maintain peace within Shishou's "harem."
...
Elsewhere.
On the moon above the ninja world.
Shishou, who was being held tightly by Kaguya, quietly released his clasped hands.
Now that Kaguya had escaped, he had to think of a way to keep her from harming Tsunade, Mikoto, and the others.
After a long embrace, Kaguya finally let go of him.
She then turned her gaze to the moon below, frowning slightly.
Kaguya instinctively disliked the planet that had imprisoned her for nearly a thousand years, and she didn't want to risk being sealed again.
With that thought, she raised her right hand, preparing to erase the moon.
Seeing Kaguya about to destroy the moon, Shishou quickly grabbed her hand and said, "Now that you're free, there's no need to destroy it. I built a palace there."
"Hmph!"
Kaguya snorted, clearly displeased.
But since Shishou asked, she gave up on destroying the moon.
Then, Kaguya looked toward the distant ninja world and said:
"I sense some familiar chakras down there. It feels like Hagoromo and Hamura... Didn't you say they were dead?"
Despite the vast distance between them, Kaguya had sensed Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, Hanabi, and others and detected a connection between them and herself.
Even though Hagoromo and Hamura had sealed her away, now that she was free, Kaguya found herself missing them.
Shishou nodded, "Hamura is indeed dead, and Hagoromo left the ninja world for deep space not too long ago."
"I see."
Kaguya was silent for a moment before nodding.
Then, she extended her smooth, jade-like right hand towards Shishou and said:
"Hand it over."
Shishou was taken aback and asked, "What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb with me. I want the chakra fruit."
Even though Shishou had hidden the chakra fruit, Kaguya was still able to sense its presence. Having just escaped her seal, she had expended a great deal of energy and needed to replenish it.
Shishou sighed and reluctantly pulled out a small piece of the chakra fruit, about the size of a slice of watermelon, and handed it to Kaguya.
Kaguya absorbed the energy from the fruit quickly and then extended her hand again.
"I want more."
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POWER STONE!!!!
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This fanfiction is complete on my P@treon. If you want to read it, you can find it at p@treon.com/Betek.
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