"Where is this? What happened to me?" Danzo's consciousness slowly returned.
It looked like a forest—was this Mount Myoboku?
Right… The Divine Tree had tried to devour his soul.
Before Danzo could fully collect his thoughts, a venomous voice of resentment reached his ears.
"Ah... Why won't you just die? Why are you still alive?"
An all-too-familiar figure—Otsutsuki Hagoromo—was slumped weakly against a tree, staring at Danzo with eyes filled with pure, unhinged hatred.
If his soul had the strength to move, he would have crawled over and torn into Danzo—not just his flesh, but his very soul.
"..." Danzo felt a sharp pain in his head. His soul was damaged.
But compared to Hagoromo, he was still in far better shape.
"Mother, why did you save him? If he had been absorbed by the Divine Tree, you could have obtained a perfect, mature chakra fruit. You could have become the god of this world—why?"
"Kaguya saved me?"
Right—he had sensed Hagoromo's condition while in the Pure Land.
Caught in an immortal, undying state.
He had protected Otsutsuki Kaguya, used his physical body to feed the Divine Tree, and entered its core to fight Hagoromo's soul.
But he hadn't expected the Divine Tree to possess its own consciousness—and it had tried to consume him as well.
Now, as Danzo observed his current state, he realized he had lost his body entirely. With his soul damaged, his condition was… complicated, to say the least.
"My child, are you alright?"
Before Danzo could react, Kaguya suddenly appeared and pulled him into a tight embrace.
A suffocating hug—one that trembled with emotion.
But the warm moment was swiftly interrupted by Hagoromo.
"Mother, he is not your child! Don't be fooled by him! Hamura and I are your true children! Offer him to the Divine Tree, and I will stay by your side forever!"
Though Kaguya gave no response, Danzo, who was in her arms, felt a shiver run down his spine.
In the past, he wouldn't have cared. His contingency plans ensured that Kaguya had no ability to resist him.
But now…
Kaguya held his head in her hands, her teary eyes filled with lingering fear.
"You fool… The Divine Tree is extremely dangerous for our souls. If I had been even a second later…" She shuddered at the thought and hugged Danzo even tighter, pressing his head into her chest.
Thank goodness…
Seeing this, Hagoromo grew even more frenzied. His spectral form flickered, growing more unstable.
"Mother… What are you doing? Wake up! He's deceiving you! Look at him carefully—sense his soul! He is not your child!"
Yet his voice failed to reach Kaguya. She only held Danzo closer, enveloping him in the folds of her robe.
A soft, white glow emanated from her, nourishing Danzo's damaged soul.
The agonizing sense of fragmentation he had been feeling was instantly soothed.
Danzo barely registered anything beyond the overwhelming comfort.
It was addictive—just like the system bestowing power upon his soul.
At the same time, he checked on the contingency measures he had placed on Kaguya.
They were still intact.
Her body had been cultivated using his own flesh and blood.
If his soul were in perfect condition, he could have easily taken over her consciousness, slowly erasing her soul piece by piece.
Even reviving himself using her body—just as she had once done through Uchiha Madara.
...
Inside Kaguya's consciousness space, everything was pure white.
This wasn't Danzo's first time entering someone else's mental domain.
But rarely had he felt so at ease.
The entire space was filled with… affection. No—overwhelming indulgence.
He felt as if he were its rightful owner.
If only Kaguya's consciousness wasn't clinging to him so tightly.
Just like in the outside world, she was sitting cross-legged, cradling his consciousness in her arms.
Danzo tried to push himself away from her chest.
"You need to recover properly. Once I use the Divine Tree's fruit to restore your body, your strength won't diminish at all," Kaguya soothed, her voice filled with warmth.
In her mind, the image of Danzo shielding her and being swallowed by the Divine Tree was etched deeply, refusing to fade.
Once more, she pulled him into her embrace, their souls intertwining. Her pure spiritual energy poured into him, mending his fractured soul.
Before long—
"Mmm…"
Both Danzo and Kaguya let out faint murmurs.
The connection between their souls was indescribably profound.
Danzo could clearly see the memories and emotions within Kaguya's mind.
The Otsutsuki clan—extraterrestrial invaders who planted the Divine Tree.
The nourishment for the Divine Tree.
Fear. Unfathomable fear.
Confusion. Anger. Hatred…
Comfort. Safety. Love… Indulgence.
Danzo suddenly snapped back to awareness.
If he could read her memories and emotions… then didn't that mean—
Kaguya could do the same to him?
His eyes shot open, only to find Kaguya gazing down at him.
Danzo's heart clenched. Had he gone too far?
"So… this is what you were thinking when you called me 'Mother,'" Kaguya murmured with a small, knowing smile, gently caressing Danzo's cheek.
Danzo froze.
What did she mean? What was she implying when he called her 'Mother'?
He needed to make her take that back.
No, no—that wasn't the point.
Before he could say a word, Kaguya leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead.
Her voice was tender as she whispered, "If your life is ever in danger, activate it immediately. I will be your vessel."
Danzo, who had been on high alert, was now utterly stunned.
The memories from earlier were probably all exposed—along with his contingency plans.
But Kaguya's reaction?
And the feeling transmitted through their connected souls… her response was undeniably genuine.
The sensation mirrored the atmosphere of their shared mental space—utterly indulgent.
At this moment, neither of them needed words; they could perceive each other's emotions instinctively.
Danzo stopped overthinking. In the end, all his scattered thoughts condensed into a single sentence.
"Don't worry. That day will never come. I will protect you."
A sly glint flashed through Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's gentle eyes.
"I believe you… Daddy."
"You…"
Danzo's defenses crumbled once again, his mind thrown into chaos.
Back then, he had indeed considered using this to disgust Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, a small revenge for the two times he had been ambushed.
But as time went on and Kaguya treated him with sincere kindness, that thought had completely faded.
Kaguya leaned in again. Their eyes met, and both could feel the subtle shift in each other's deepest emotions.
"Didn't you want to curse that unfilial son Hagoromo? Now's your chance…"
...
Outside.
A pure white light radiated from Kaguya, tightly enveloping both of them. Without reservation, she allowed her soul to merge with Danzo's, nourishing him.
Witnessing this scene, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, who was leaning against a large tree, felt his sunken eyes widen in shock.
Of course, he knew exactly what was happening.
That foolish woman had actually opened her soul to this outsider.
If he willed it, she would instantly become his slave, his vassal.
"…Idiot! You absolute fool! No wonder you were betrayed by your husband, then sealed away by me and Hamura… What a complete fool! You will end up just like me, dying by his hand…"
At this moment, his hatred for Kaguya surpassed even his hatred for Danzo.
...
Before long, his curses gradually weakened. Through the ethereal form of his soul, one could see the tree he was leaning against.
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo's soul had weakened to the extreme, teetering on the brink of complete dissolution. His consciousness was already beginning to blur.
"You will not meet a good end… You will not meet a good end…"
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
Fanfic is finished on Patreon (195 chapters in total.)
Patreon(.)com/Jixo (for only $4.50, read this entire fanfic)