Chapter 381: The System's Final Message
In the ancestral land of the Hagoromo Clan, Gengetsu once again found himself surrounded by the familiar bustle and liveliness.
Without engaging in much small talk with others, he headed straight to the ice cream shop, purchasing a bag of ice pops—Haru's favorite treat—and then returned home.
Peering through the window, he saw Haru sitting quietly, holding a small biography of him written by one of the Yamanaka sisters, with an unopened ice pop beside her.
Unlike before, Haru seemed to have lost interest in the ice pops within her reach. Her large eyes were fixed intently on the book in her hands.
Yet, there had been no sound of pages turning for quite some time.
That was, until she heard the sound of footsteps.
She quickly lifted her head, her eyes red and full of anticipation.
Creak~
The door opened.
A familiar voice reached Haru's ears.
"It seems I bought too many ice pops. There's still plenty left here, Haru."
Thud!
The pages fluttered to the ground.
Without saying a word, Haru dropped the book and threw herself into Gengetsu's arms, her voice choked with emotion, "Gengetsu-niisan, I thought you weren't coming back!"
"Of course not. Here I am again, aren't I? If I'm not mistaken, not much time has passed, right?" Gengetsu said, holding Haru in his arms.
"But it felt like a long time to me," Haru replied, lifting her head from Gengetsu's chest, her expression serious.
For some reason, this time, when Gengetsu-niisan left, she felt deeply uneasy.
She had stopped reading, and even her favorite ice pops remained untouched as she sat there, like an abandoned kitten, waiting in vain for a family member to return and hold her again.
Now, finally, he was back!
Haru hugged Gengetsu tightly, her voice filled with anxiety, "Um… Gengetsu-niisan, you won't leave again, right?"
"Of course not!"
Gengetsu gave her a bright smile.
Since the Limited Tsukuyomi World and the original world were closely connected, and with his control over the Dragon Vein, he could travel back and forth at any time. Naturally, he wouldn't lie to Haru.
"Yay!"
Knowing that Gengetsu-niisan always kept his word, Haru, now relieved, returned to her lively and adorable self.
Her appetite restored, she looked at the large bag of ice pops Gengetsu was holding. Her eyes lit up, and with a sweet smile, she reached out and said, "Thank you, Gengetsu-niisan!"
Gengetsu laughed, taking a step back, "I think I should return these ice pops. Haru, your stomach is only so big, and you haven't even finished the previous ones."
"Please don't!" Haru's face instantly showed concern. "I can handle it! Those… those ice pops were saved especially for you, Gengetsu-niisan."
"Really?"
"Of course!"
"Then can I have all the ice pops in this bag too?"
"…"
"Haha…"
After a playful tussle between the siblings, everything returned to how it had been at the beginning. Haru sat closely beside Gengetsu, contentedly eating her ice pop and reading her book, her legs swinging freely as she relaxed.
When Hagoromo Ruri entered, she was greeted by this heartwarming scene.
A flash of amusement passed through her eyes, but her expression quickly turned serious as she looked at Gengetsu and said, "There's a situation with the tailed beasts. The mission you assigned earlier to capture them was intercepted midway, and now, some of the captured tailed beasts have reappeared. Many have seen them."
"Captured tailed beasts… reappeared…"
Gengetsu quickly understood.
The capture of the tailed beasts had been a task he specifically assigned on his previous visit. Their reappearance was a result of his efforts to stabilize the world.
Seeing Ruri still awaiting his instructions, Gengetsu calmly ordered, "The matter of the tailed beasts has been resolved. Unless they harm people of their own accord, there's no need to concern yourself with them anymore."
Ruri was slightly surprised but didn't question it, as usual. She turned to leave and relay the new orders.
However, just before crossing the threshold, she paused and, without looking back, said in a flat tone, "Gengetsu, it's time to prepare for your wedding." Without waiting for his response, she quickened her pace and left.
Hearing this, Gengetsu was puzzled. "A wedding? With Ruri?"
Ruri had already walked away and couldn't answer his question.
Fortunately, Haru was still by his side.
At this moment, Haru put down her book and began counting on her fingers one by one:
"It's not just Ruri-neechan. There's also Senju-neechan, Uchiha-neechan, Uzumaki-neechan, Yamanaka-neechan..."
By the end, Haru had run out of fingers.
She could only look at Gengetsu-niisan with wide eyes and continue listing them.
When she was finally done, Gengetsu had only one word in response.
"Huh?"
But leaving aside how he would handle these romantic entanglements in this world...
Gengetsu had more important matters to attend to.
He glanced at Haru, who had once again focused on her ice pops and book.
After patting her little head, he turned his attention to the system.
After sealing Kaguya Otsutsuki with his own hands using the Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei, the system panel had emitted a brilliant light.
Only now had it finally returned to its original state.
Accompanied by the familiar ding sound, the system's final notification arrived.
[Ultimate Mission: Fourth Great Ninja War—Seal Kaguya Otsutsuki (Completed)]
[Congratulations to the Host!! You have successfully sealed Kaguya Otsutsuki, the Progenitor of Chakra!! The Ninja World is now at peace, and your renown is unparalleled!]
[Mission Reward: Kekkei Mōra]
[Ding!]
[Ding!]
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the Host on reaching the pinnacle of the Ninja World. From now on, the system's support will come to an end.]
[Though the system has helped along the way, your rise from the lowest-ranked academy student to the strongest in the world, defeating countless enemies, and ultimately becoming the most powerful in the Ninja World was largely due to your own efforts.]
[We believe that you will maintain this drive, and even in the system's absence, you will continue to forge ahead on your path, creating new triumphs!]
[Finally... Good luck, Host!]
"Sigh, I'm going to miss it a little."
As his power continued to increase with the system's ultimate reward, Gengetsu didn't pay much attention to that. Instead, he focused on the system's final farewell message. Reading it word by word, he felt a deep sense of emotion and even a hint of sadness at the parting.
Although the system had been somewhat eccentric from the beginning, and even in this final farewell, it continued to treat him as an underdog who had beaten the odds...
He couldn't deny that it had helped him a lot.
All he had to do was ignore the question marks in his mind and cooperate.
So...
When the system delivered its final farewell, followed by a "post-service rating," just like many products do, Gengetsu glanced at the prompt.
[Thank you for using this system. As a final request, please rate the system's service.]
The rating ranged from 0 to 10.
Still feeling sentimental, Gengetsu sighed softly and without hesitation selected 0.