Chapter 385: Reclaiming the Power

"You were my firstborn," Kaguya said calmly. "Of all my children, you inherited the greatest share of my power and wisdom. You should have become my strongest ally—standing beside me to face the trials that lie ahead and protect the order we created together."

"But in the end..."

"...you have always stood against me, using your so-called ideals and compassion to question me... and to hinder me."

Kaguya slowly shook her head. The gesture carried the finality of a judgment already made.

"In that case..."

"...I no longer have any need for your rebellious power."

Hagoromo's pupils contracted sharply.

An overwhelming sense of foreboding washed over him like icy water.

"The power within you was mine to bestow," Kaguya continued. Her voice was cold and utterly devoid of emotion, yet it carried the unquestionable authority of one who stood above all others.

"If I could grant it..."

"...then naturally..."

"...I can reclaim it."

"You can... take it back?!" Hagoromo blurted out, his face filled with shock and disbelief.

Never, not even once, had he imagined that the power he had cultivated through years of hardship could simply be reclaimed by its original source.

It overturned everything he thought he knew.

Kaguya offered no further explanation.

She merely stood there as the chakra surrounding her grew increasingly turbulent.

In an instant—

The danger reached its peak.

Every instinct in Hagoromo's body screamed.

His chakra surged wildly together with Senjutsu Energy. His Sharingan spun rapidly as he instantly channeled Senjutsu Chakra, preparing himself for the coming battle.

Meanwhile, Hamura stood frozen between them.

His eyes darted between his mother's cold, resolute face and his brother's battle-ready stance.

His mind had gone completely blank.

Reasoning?

Persuasion?

Dialogue?

At this moment, they had become nothing more than empty jokes.

Their family had finally shattered beyond repair.

There was no turning back.

Gathering the last remnants of hope, Hamura hurried forward, opening his mouth to make one final attempt to stop them.

But before a single word could leave his lips—

Bzzzz...

An invisible force erupted from the deepest reaches of his bloodline.

Like a set of flawless shackles, it instantly bound both his body and soul.

The light vanished from Hamura's eyes.

They became vacant...

...empty.

His consciousness, emotions, and free will were completely overwhelmed by a command implanted at a far higher level.

The anxious, conflicted, grieving Hamura disappeared in an instant.

What remained was a cold, emotionless executor of orders.

Without the slightest hesitation—

Without even sparing his brother a glance—

He thrust out his right palm.

A tremendous surge of chakra condensed within it before crashing toward the completely unprepared Hagoromo with murderous force.

"What?!"

Although Hagoromo had remained constantly on guard against his mother...

He had never truly lowered his guard against his younger brother.

This sudden, lethal strike from someone he trusted caught him completely off guard.

At the critical moment, years of life-and-death combat experience took over.

Twisting his body by instinct alone, he hastily gathered chakra behind him to form a thin defensive barrier.

Boom!

Hamura's palm slammed squarely into it.

Most of the force was absorbed, but the remaining impact still sent Hagoromo stumbling several steps forward as blood surged inside his chest.

"Hamura!"

"What's happened to you?! Wake up!"

Steadying himself, Hagoromo spun around and shouted desperately.

His eyes searched his brother's face for even the slightest flicker of recognition—

Any trace of struggle...

Any sign that Hamura was still there.

Instead, he found only empty, lifeless eyes.

And an even fiercer assault.

Every movement...

Every technique...

They were all styles Hagoromo knew intimately—forms the two brothers had practiced together countless times.

Now, however, they carried only cold killing intent.

Hamura fought like a flawless weapon.

Every strike aimed directly at a vital point.

Hagoromo's heart shook violently.

In that instant—

He understood everything.

While desperately evading his brother's relentless attacks, he looked toward the calm figure standing amid the ruins.

His voice trembled with both rage and heartbreak.

"What did you do to Hamura?!"

"You've taken control of him?!"

Kaguya silently watched the tragedy of two brothers fighting one another.

Neither her pale eyes nor the crimson hue within them betrayed the slightest emotion.

It was as though she were merely watching a play.

Facing Hagoromo's accusation, she answered indifferently,

"There's no need to worry."

"He is perfectly fine."

"Once I have successfully reclaimed the power within you, I'll remove this minor restriction."

"For now..."

"...he merely needs to obey the proper command."

"'The proper command?'"

"You call ordering him to kill me proper?!"

Hagoromo's eyes widened with fury.

Regret and anger erupted inside him like a volcano.

"Damn it..."

"I never noticed..."

"I thought..."

"I truly believed he was still making his own choices."

He had assumed they simply held different beliefs.

He had even hoped Hamura might eventually stand beside him.

But he had never imagined that Kaguya had planted such a cruel safeguard within her own son.

Perhaps...

Hamura had never possessed the freedom to choose at all.

This couldn't continue.

The agony, rage, and determination in Hagoromo's eyes suddenly froze into absolute resolve.

Like ice that had endured for countless ages.

He looked at his younger brother—

A brother who fought like a puppet while still using the techniques so familiar to him.

His throat tightened painfully.

In that instant, he made a decision.

A cruel decision.

Yet one he could no longer avoid.

Mercy toward an enemy...

Was betrayal of his own convictions.

It was also a betrayal of the future of the Shinobi World.

And perhaps...

Freeing his brother from this existence as a mind-controlled puppet...

Was the greatest mercy he could still offer him.

"I'm sorry..."

"...little brother."

Hagoromo's voice was hoarse, as though every word had cost him everything.

The moment those words fell—

He stopped retreating.

Facing Hamura's next lethal strike aimed straight at his heart, the tomoe within Hagoromo's crimson Sharingan spun furiously.

Instead of withdrawing, he stepped forward.

At an impossible angle and with blinding speed, he slipped inside the opening in Hamura's attack.

He raised two fingers like the edge of a blade.

No flashy ninjutsu.

No overwhelming technique.

He simply concentrated every ounce of his strength—

His chakra.

His Senjutsu Energy.

His pain.

All of it...

Into his fingertips.

Thrust!

A sickening sound of flesh being pierced echoed through the ruins.

Hagoromo's hand drove through Hamura's chest like the sharpest kunai.

It slipped cleanly between the ribs...

And pierced a vital organ.

"Urgh—!"

Hamura's body convulsed violently.

A mouthful of warm blood burst from his lips, splashing across his pale face and staining the front of his robes crimson.

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