Speedrunning Naruto to the Top

Hiashi Hyūga led Izayoi and Hinata into a small tea room. The three sat on floor cushions, and as Hiashi busied himself brewing tea, he spoke up:

"Izayoi, have you and Ōtsutsuki Toneri formed an alliance? How much do you really know about him?"

Because he was bowing his head in concentration, Hiashi didn't notice his daughter's odd expression upon hearing that question. Hinata's face suddenly grew rather peculiar.

Izayoi, too, sensed something. He had a hunch about the topic of today's conversation. Instead of answering, he asked, "Uncle, why would you say that?"

"If you two are indeed allied, I don't want you trusting him too much. You need to be on guard," Hiashi said sternly. "That man can't possibly have good intentions toward you."

Hinata nearly ducked her head, hands clenched, desperately holding in the urge to laugh. After all, only she knew that Izayoi was in fact "Ōtsutsuki Toneri." Even her father, her little sister, and Karin were all in the dark. But the more she fought not to laugh, the more her thoughts ran wild.

Imagining her father, always so serious and expressionless, warning her boyfriend not to trust "himself," telling him—just like everyone else—that Ōtsutsuki Toneri was a threat... The whole scenario amused her to no end. Her cheeks kept twitching as she tried not to burst out.

Fortunately, Hiashi continued to focus on Izayoi, or else he would definitely have scolded his daughter for her poor manners.

Izayoi found it interesting. If he recalled correctly, in the Tenseigan movie arc, Hiashi Hyūga himself seemed rather knowledgeable about that moon-based lineage. Did that mean the branch established by Ōtsutsuki Hamura, or some earlier stage of contact with the Hyūga clan, once passed the coordinates for a space-time portal down through the generations? If so, that would be wonderful news.

To date, Izayoi still couldn't truly fly. Even after Tenseigan's second "fetal movement," he could see images on the moon's surface but had not yet found an actual path to get there.

Presumably, the connecting portal was sealed behind powerful fūinjutsu. And those were among the ninja world's most mysterious and eccentric techniques.

No matter how many Wood Clones he sent, he couldn't find that seal's location. Without tearing open that seal, the space-time portal—rich in chakra—remained invisible. Hence his inability to reach the moon so far.

But now that his future father-in-law was discussing Toneri, Izayoi felt a tinge of anticipation: If Father-in-law really does have the space portal's coordinates, maybe I can get to the moon early?

He then responded to Hiashi in a playful, accommodating tone. "Uncle, it sounds as though you have a strong bias against Toneri."

With head lowered, Hinata was forcing down laughter even harder.

Hiashi took a steady breath and replied, "Indeed, I do have a bias. If he'd allied himself with someone else, I might not think so. But the fact that he sought you out suggests he absolutely does not mean well."

"Father, you know about this Ōtsutsuki?" Hinata finally lifted her head, realizing Hiashi was not belittling Toneri but rather emphasizing his surname.

She then gave Izayoi a baffled look. She had always believed that "Ōtsutsuki Toneri" was merely some random identity Izayoi invented. Now it sounded as if "Ōtsutsuki" were a real name—did that mean people truly lived on the moon?

Hiashi's next words left Hinata completely stunned:

"Because... Our Hyūga clan was called Ōtsutsuki a thousand years ago."

Even Hiashi's own expression looked complicated as he said this.

"After becoming clan head, I once flipped through some ancient secrets but assumed it was a piece of mythology some ancestor fabricated. Once Ōtsutsuki Toneri appeared, I realized those old records are real. The Sage of Six Paths' story is real."

Hinata went blank for a moment, as though hearing a fairy tale.

Izayoi said nothing, merely took over pouring the tea, quietly awaiting Hiashi's continuation. Since his future son-in-law was now a top-tier fighter and apparently allied with Toneri, Hiashi had decided not to hold back any secrets known only to the Hyūga clan heads.

Sighing, Hiashi continued, "The tale that the Sage of Six Paths created the moon is true. Fewer people know that he had a younger brother—our Hyūga ancestor, Ōtsutsuki Hamura.

"To guard 'something,' that ancestor led some clan members to live on the moon," Hiashi explained. "As for what exactly that thing was, I originally had no clue. But judging by what Toneri mentioned, it must be the 'Gedo Statue.'

"For unknown reasons—maybe to erase the Gedo Statue's traces, or maybe from internal disputes a thousand years ago—the Ōtsutsuki branch that stayed on Earth changed its name and symbol, becoming the Hyūga clan. At first, the two branches kept in contact, exchanging messages from time to time, and even made an ancient vow. But the Warring States conflicts eventually severed that link. By now it's only a secret clan heads know."

Hinata, wide-eyed, felt as if she had just stepped into a dream. She could hardly imagine that what she believed to be Izayoi's made-up "Ōtsutsuki Toneri" name was in fact her own clan's thousand-year-old surname—meaning the moon really was inhabited, and that was where the Gedo Statue lay. But then, what was this "Toneri?"

Turning to Izayoi, Hinata's expression was utterly perplexed.

Izayoi calmly poured the tea, then asked Hiashi, "What was that 'ancient vow?' Do you know?"

"That's precisely why I caution you to be wary," Hiashi said. "According to the vow, if the best of the moon branch and the best of our Earth branch—one man, one woman—both came of age, they would form a marriage alliance. If that clan still remembers this vow, that means Toneri would be Hinata's fiancé, and he must already know of your relationship with her. He absolutely cannot be sincere toward you. Don't trust him."

From Hiashi's anxious words, it was obvious that even if Hinata had a betrothal to Toneri, his heart firmly sided with Izayoi instead. Even though the others had so-called "Sage Eyes," Hiashi never wavered. Being the father of two daughters, Hiashi's love was typically reserved, but he saw clearly that Hinata and Izayoi had found happiness, and he had come to approve deeply of Izayoi.

Besides, at his current age, Izayoi already had super-tier might. In a few more years, he might surpass even Toneri. Hinata didn't see her father's fatherly love, but Izayoi did, and he held much respect for him.

"I'm gratified that you, Uncle, even knowing of Hinata's old vows, still chose to break that vow in my favor," Izayoi said, clasping a dazed Hinata's hand while smiling at Hiashi. "Since you still recall it, I won't hide it anymore."

Hiashi's eyes widened in shock as Izayoi released his transformation, the black hair swiftly turning white before their eyes, while his blue pupils morphed to bluish-white slitted irises, shot through with cracks—like the destructive glimmer of overwhelming visual power.

In the previous year, the Tenseigan was unknown; it wasn't even as famous as the legendary "Crimson Eye." At least rumors of that circulated. Yet Tenseigan was unheard of until this year, recognized as being on par with the Rinnegan—perhaps surpassing it. However, few had witnessed it up close. Seeing it now for the first time, Hiashi realized it was indeed the Tenseigan.

"Th-this…" Hiashi was utterly stupefied, staring at Izayoi. Only after a long pause did he snap out of it and break into a rueful smile. "You cheeky devil. Now I see why you zeroed in on Hinata from your Academy days, hooking her so soon. Seems you had your designs all along!"

"So that means...my fiancé is actually Izayoi-kun," Hinata said, still snuggled in Izayoi's arms, stunned.

"Indeed. We were fated from birth." Izayoi interlaced her fingers with his and smiled. "The Sage of Six Paths was ancestor to the Senju and Uchiha; to gain each other's powers was to awaken the Rinnegan, bridging Indra and Ashura's lines into that 'power of creation.' That's how Uchiha Madara, at the Valley of the End, got Hashirama's cells and later awakened the Rinnegan. Likewise, the Akatsuki leader's Rinnegan was originally Madara's."

"But the Sage also had a younger brother—Ōtsutsuki Hamura—who possessed the ultimate ocular power, the Tenseigan. Awakening the Tenseigan is similar: so long as two branches' purest blood and the purest Byakugan come into contact, they can reach the same 'power of creation.'"

Hearing that, Hinata gave a soft "Oh…"

"So that's why you have me and Hanabi absorb your chakra every day. No wonder we've grown so much stronger than the clan."

Hiashi smiled at Izayoi too. He finally understood why Hinata and Hanabi had broken their limits: it was Izayoi's doing. And recalling how Izayoi had wholeheartedly aided his two daughters, he was all the more grateful.

At last, he murmured, "So in fact, the Senju, Uchiha, Uzumaki, and Hyūga all trace back to the same lineage. No wonder you can wield both Tenseigan and Mokuton, plus the Uzumaki's powers. That's the secret behind your super-tier might?"

Izayoi's talent rivaled even the likes of Hashirama. Possibly only the Sage or Hamura were above him. Marveling at how Izayoi had hidden in Konoha as a mere orphan, Hiashi asked, "But your parents must still be alive, right? What's going on with that branch?"

Hinata looked hopefully at Izayoi, thinking how maybe he was never truly alone, that he had family out there. But Izayoi's next answer pained her:

"They're gone." Shaking his head, he feigned composure. "Because summoning the Gedo Statue down to Earth caused internal strife, war erupted. I only recall that my father, badly wounded, brought me to Konoha and arranged my identity here, sealing some memories into my mind that would slowly unlock as I grew—teaching me my real mission. Once I awakened Tenseigan, I used far-sight to scan the moon above, and it's empty of life."

"It must have been hard, Izayoi-kun," Hinata said sympathetically, cupping his cheek. She realized he had been carrying out his father's dying wish all along, vowing to remove the Gedo Statue from the world.

Hiashi felt pity too, albeit tinged with an inward relief: if Izayoi was all that remained, the Tenseigan and Mokuton would fully merge with the Hyūga line. Hinata's marriage wasn't "diluting" the lineage but bringing in a nobler "Ōtsutsuki" name. Win-win indeed!

Hence, Hiashi kindly offered, "In that case, think of the Hyūga clan—once called Ōtsutsuki—as your new home, too."

"I'm long since over it." Izayoi forced a brave smile, hugging Hinata closer. Then he looked at Hiashi, "But while Father's memory reveals no coordinates for the portal to the moon, do you, Uncle, have anything like that in your records? I wish to go there and see."

"I don't. The Hyūga clan is a thousand-year heritage with so many archives. The summary scrolls I consulted didn't mention any coordinates. But our repository is full of very old books and scrolls. You're free to look if you want."

"Really?" Izayoi's eyes brightened.

"Of course." Hiashi nodded with a smile.

"I'll help you, too!" Hinata perked up, clenching her fists excitedly. She wanted to find the path to Izayoi's old home—maybe to pay respects to his parents.

The long-misunderstood girl now felt unstoppable joy, discarding her label of "girlfriend" for "fiancée." Indeed, as Izayoi said, they were "born for each other."

~~~

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