Moon, in a mysterious and unknown place.

Otsutsuki Hamura slowly withdrew his gaze.

Should he act?

He pondered for a moment.

Then, a layer of deep, unfathomable light rippled within his pure white eyes as he activated his prophetic ability.

The next instant, countless fragments of light surged into his consciousness like shattered mirrors.

"Hidden Jutsu: Unrivaled Hundred Strikes!"

A clear, energetic, and spirited voice of a young girl pierced through the fragmented visions.

Within the scene, a girl holding a long staff was bathed in blazing firelight.

She spun midair, the staff wrapped in scorching crimson flames as it swept out, blasting away a circle of shadow-like enemies. The flames traced beautiful arcs through the air, like a blooming flower of fire.

"Hahahahaha! What's this? Just some minor characters!"

After knocking down the last enemy around her, the girl rested the staff on her shoulder, her eyes curving into crescents as she laughed heartily without a care in the world.

Her smile was bright and pure, like the rising sun dispelling the morning mist, carrying an infectious warmth and directness.

Dazzling and warm, just like her name, Yo, like a true little sun.

Suddenly, her laughter stopped, and her eyes lit up as if she had spotted someone familiar.

Her smile instantly became even brighter, then she stowed her staff and ran quickly in that direction, her steps light as a joyful little cat.

The vision abruptly ended.

Otsutsuki Hamura's eyes slowly regained clarity as he gazed at the fading remnants of light, remaining silent for a long time.

"As expected… a being destined to guide the world's transformation."

He murmured softly, however, even through bloodline connection, although he could glimpse a fragment of the future of the girl named Yo Otsutsuki, he still could not see any fragment of Shinichi Higashino's future.

That boy was like a deep abyss shrouded in mist; his prophetic power could not touch even the slightest outline of his future.

This in itself might be a deeper omen.

Perhaps… even his brother cannot do it either?

This thought flashed through Hamura's mind, and in the next instant, he made his decision.

Then so be it.

Otsutsuki Hamura closed his eyes, as if falling into a deep sleep.

He decided to intervene and protect the child who had come into this world due to his earlier interference.

As for the future entanglements between the Otsutsuki main branch and branch house and the fate of the siblings, Yo and Toneri, born as if destined for opposition across their ideological divide… he would leave that to them.

Hamura's figure slowly faded, as if merging into eternal silence.

...

The same night, Land of Ogres.

The Land of Ogres was an ancient country where theocracy and monarchy were unified, there were no ninja or Daimyo, and the nation was ruled by a shrine maiden.

Legend says the shrine maiden lineage possessed powerful Sealing Jutsu and prophetic abilities, passed down through generations for an unknown span of time.

The origin of this country was no longer traceable. Although it was not recognized as a neutral country like the Land of Iron, before the establishment of ninja villages, wars among major countries were tacitly avoided in this land.

At this time, in the capital temple of the Land of Ogres, inside the shrine maiden's palace, the current shrine maiden Miroku lay asleep on her bed, seemingly trapped in a nightmare. Her brows were tightly furrowed, cold sweat beading on her forehead, as her breathing alternated between rapid and faint.

The sky outside was heavily overcast, and thick black clouds layered upon each other, pressing down so low it felt as if they might fall from the sky at any moment.

The entire world was filled with an oppressive gloom and killing intent, even the wind carrying the scent of decay and dampness.

"Where is this?"

Miroku's consciousness gradually cleared within the haze. She looked around and realized she was not in her familiar palace, but in a desolate land filled with swamps, mud, and miasma.

"The Land of Swamps?"

She quickly recognized the place. However, before she could think further about why she was here…

"Roar!!!"

A terrifying roar, as if coming from the depths of a nightmare, suddenly exploded from afar, along with that filthy, corrupt howl, an immense chakra like an abyss erupted into the sky!

The chakra was pitch black like ink, mixed with ominous dark purple, boiling as if it had life. It stirred the clouds above into violent rotation, forming countless massive black-purple vortexes, like the end of the world had arrived.

"Moryō!?"

Miroku's pupils shrank sharply as she stared in the direction of the disturbance.

Those wildly spinning black-purple chakra vortexes began to rapidly condense, restructure, and take shape.

Moments later, a massive eight-headed and eight-tailed purple shadow appeared in her field of vision like a towering demon supporting the heavens and earth.

The enormous figure radiated darkness, evil, decay, and coldness, spreading across the world like an endless tide, pressing down on one's chest like an eternal glacier, making it almost impossible to breathe.

Moryō… has been unsealed?!

A violent surge of fear rose within Miroku's heart. She immediately realized that she was currently inside a prophetic dream, witnessing a fragment of the future where Moryo would break free of its seal.

Her prophecies had never been wrong, especially when it came to Moryo!

This monster had been entangled with the entire lineage of shrine maidens for a thousand years.

She had assumed that once Moryo was unsealed, it would immediately turn its malicious gaze toward her.

After all, although Moryo did not possess prophetic abilities as strong as the shrine maidens, its connection to their lineage ran extremely deep, so deep that the two could almost be considered two sides of the same coin.

When she saw Moryo in the future through her prophetic abilities, Moryo in that future could likewise sense her in the past.

However, what Miroku never expected was that the colossal, reassembled entity did not look at her at all.

Its eight lantern-sized crimson serpent eyes were instead locked onto the sky, filled with shock and rage.

That once-arrogant, tyrannical demon actually roared in a fury that resembled a defeated dog: "You can't kill me!! Even the Sage of Six Paths couldn't do it back then!! You can't either!!!"

Hm?!

Miroku's heart shook violently as she followed Moryo's gaze upward.

In the sky, a figure stood suspended.

That figure possessed a divine, otherworldly bearing, white robes like snow, upright posture, like a god descended from ancient myth.

Miroku tried with all her might to see its face, but no matter what she did, she could not discern its features.

It was as if the face was covered by some higher, more mysterious force, something mortals could not look upon or perceive.

However, she could clearly see the two items it carried.

The Demon-Repelling Bow and the Demon-Slaying Sword!

These two sacred artifacts were precisely the holy relics enshrined by their shrine maiden lineage for generations within the sacred hall, passed down for over a thousand years.

Yet as time passed, successive shrine maidens had grown increasingly weak, and no one could truly wield their power anymore. They could only be placed high in the attic as symbolic relics of inheritance.

Why were they in this person's possession?! And who… exactly was he?!

Countless questions surged through Miroku's mind like a tide as she stared in shock at that heavenly figure.

Faced with Miroku's shock and Moryo's furious barking, the figure did not respond.

He merely raised his right hand unhurriedly, then a small axe appeared in his palm.