For many people across Konohagakure, tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
Under the moonlight, Neji gently stroked the massive Tenseigan before him. Yet, contrary to what others might expect, there was no joy on his face—only a tightly furrowed brow, as though weighed down by endless worries.
And in truth, Neji did have his burdens.
The first was simple, yet unbearable: he didn't know how to tell Hinata and Hanabi. He didn't know how to break the news of Hyūga Hiashi's death, nor how to explain that the Hyūga clan, in essence, no longer existed.
The second… was the Tenseigan itself.
After gaining control of the Great Tenseigan, Neji faintly sensed that it was resonating with sothing—sothing above him.
Or rather… sothing on the moon.
Recalling what Hiashi had told him before, Neji quickly pieced it together. The Ōtsutsuki Clan on the moon had likely created a Tenseigan of their own.
That one might not match the one before him, but if it could resonate with it, then it was clearly close to maturity.
Beyond that, Neji also had to consider the future of the Hyūga clan.
Should he follow the old path and continue branding the Caged Bird Seal onto others… or—
"If the Ōtsutsuki on the moon could be eliminated, then perhaps the Hyūga clan could finally be freed from the Caged Bird. But the secret of the Tenseigan must also be kept…"
"But to deal with them… unless Hinata awakens her own Tenseigan…"
"To place that hope on her… to force her to bear the guilt of the clan's destruction, to reshape her very personality…"
Neji let out a long sigh. He truly didn't want Hinata to carry that burden. Yet after coming into contact with the Tenseigan, he could vaguely sense that even if he held it forever, his Byakugan would never evolve to that level.
"If there were a choice… I'd rather Hinata never have to carry any of this."
A headache throbbed behind his temples. What had happened to the Hyūga clan was too massive—so massive that all of Konoha already knew. And the Hyūga academy students were still alive. Sooner or later, Hinata would learn the truth.
Perhaps Hiashi had already anticipated that Neji might try to hide it from her?
Neji was not the only one unable to sleep.
The ANBU operatives were just as restless—and far away in the Land of Rain, so was Uchiha Obito.
The ANBU couldn't sleep because today's battle had shattered everything they thought they knew.
Compared to the clash between Keizumi and Hiashi, all their previous battles felt like child's play. Or rather, the power those two displayed had simply gone beyond human comprehension.
As for Obito, he was left utterly baffled after listening to Black Zetsu's explanation.
Keizumi being powerful—he could understand that.
But had Black Zetsu eaten sothing poisonous? What did it an that Hiashi had dug out the eyes of the entire clan and created so kind of Sage Eye on par with the Rinnegan?
And what was this nonsense about it being even stronger than the Rinnegan—strong enough to split the moon in half if fully unleashed?
If the moon were split apart, what would happen to his Eye of the Moon Plan?
And more importantly… did the Sage of Six Paths have four eyes or sothing?
Two Rinnegan weren't enough—he needed two more, these so-called Tenseigan?
"Obito, you need to steal the Tenseigan!"
"Trust . In the entire shinobi world, the only one who can take the Tenseigan out of Konoha is you!"
Black Zetsu kept pushing, convinced that Obito was completely misusing Kamui. That ability was clearly perfect for stealing things.
It allowed infiltration—and anything stolen could be instantly stored in the Kamui dinsion.
"Most importantly, Hiashi never fully unlocked the Tenseigan's power!"
"If you steal it and manage to master it, your strength will surpass Nagato. You might even have a chance against Keizumi!"
Zetsu continued feeding him ideas. Obito was easy to manipulate. First, get him to steal the Tenseigan—then later, trick him into using it to split the moon.
Truly, it was a blessing that Obito didn't think too much. And a blessing that Zetsu had always been there to "help" him think.
"You're saying… if I master the Tenseigan, I could surpass Nagato… even Keizumi?"
Obito's eyes visibly brightened.
"It's not just you. Nagato hasn't fully mastered the Rinnegan either. If he had, how could he have failed to defeat Keizumi?"
Zetsu sighed. In the past, he had deliberately held Nagato back—too much power would make him harder to control.
But now… he genuinely wished Nagato were stronger.
Strong enough to eliminate Keizumi would be even better.
"I'll go to Konoha, gather information—and take the Tenseigan."
Obito was brimming with confidence. Keizumi didn't possess space-ti ninjutsu. Even if he couldn't win, there was no way Keizumi could capture him.
By that logic… it was basically a fifty-fifty.
And while Keizumi hadn't yet gone to request permission from Sarutobi Hiruzen to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique…
As the night drew to a close, he gained sothing else entirely.
Or rather—
From the foundation of Lava Release, he had discovered a way to form a Kekkei Tōta.
"This… is the power of the sun."
As the sun rose, a terrifying scene unfolded within Keizumi's ho.
In his hand floated a fireball no larger than a fingertip.
Or rather…
A sun.
This miniature sun radiated an overwhelming heat—so intense that within monts, his entire house began to ignite on its own.
"Solar Release."
"A new Kekkei Tōta—born from the fusion of Lava Release and Explosion Release. The ultimate expression of extre heat."
"Lava Release and Explosion Release are in constant conflict, constantly balancing each other… and in the end, what's ford is this—Solar Release."
After extinguishing the flas in his ho, Keizumi looked at the power in his hand with deep satisfaction.
Susanoo was powerful.
Wood Release was powerful.
But compared to them, what he truly favored… was still the Lava Release that had accompanied him the longest—even if it had begun to fall behind his growth.
Now, with the birth of this Kekkei Tōta…
That power had finally caught up once more.
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