168. Meet The Ancestor

"Are all white eyes so sensitive?"

Uchiha Gin scratched his curly hair and looked helplessly at the tightly shut coffin lid, muttering, "The farther you can see, the narrower your mind becomes."

"Dear friend of the Earth Shinobi, please don't take it personally; that's just the clan leader's usual temperament."

Just as Uchiha Gin was grumbling and preparing to leave, a calm voice sounded from the darkness.

A slender man stepped out, his hollow black eye sockets conveying an apologetic expression. "Although this moment came earlier than expected, please take a look."

Compared to the earlier middle-aged man with long hair, this man appeared much calmer. He raised his hand slightly, and a purple glowing orb, which had fallen to the ground, slowly floated up and hovered in front of Uchiha Gin.

"Take a look? Oh, you've got quite the unique projector here."

Gin's blue-and-white eyes followed the purple orb as it emitted a bright light. He squinted, closing his eyes instinctively. "Wow~~"

As the purple glow filled the hall, Gin's consciousness was transported to a strange realm. He looked around, noticing no change in scenery; the hall remained, illuminated in purple light.

Gin began to doubt the reliability of these supposed relatives. They couldn't even set up a VCR correctly.

Suddenly, mounds of graves rose around him, transforming into one figure after another. Gin nearly jumped in fright. Just as he was about to summon chakra to deal with these apparitions, a familiar figure reappeared.

"We are the descendants of Hamura."

The long-haired man who had argued with Gin earlier was back, but this time he wore a solemn expression. Walking to the front of the crowd, he approached Gin, explaining in a steady voice, "The Otsutsuki main family..."

"Pfft~~" Gin couldn't hold back his laughter. "The Otsutsuki main family? Even the guys napping in space would wake up laughing at that."

The long-haired man scowled at Gin, clearly losing his patience again.

"My apologies, please continue. I just thought of something funny~" Gin forced himself to look serious.

Knowing that an important figure was about to make an entrance, he didn't want to offend anyone. "Cough. Our main family was destroyed by a branch family that misinterpreted Hamura's legacy."

"Haha, sorry! I just remembered that my family's sow had piglets today and couldn't help but laugh."

Covering his mouth, Gin apologized earnestly, his excuse sounding strangely plausible.

"The remaining branch family members are trying to awaken the Tenseigan again, intending to use it to destroy the world below."

The long-haired man paused, expecting Gin to burst into laughter again, but Gin stayed silent, allowing him to continue.

"Only you can stop them now."

"Huh? You want me to go fight Sukuna?"

"Sukuna? No, you're supposed to face the Otsutsuki branch family."

The long-haired man seemed puzzled. After a moment of thought, he realized no one in the branch family went by that name.

"Sorry, not interested. I just want to go home."

Gin declined the epic quest without hesitation.

This seemed like a task for Naruto and Hinata’s generation; he didn’t want to disrupt their love story and risk becoming a historical villain.

"Rustle~~"

Just as Gin finished refusing, the crowd parted, forming a path. A mysterious figure emerged, stepping towards him. The long-haired man wisely stepped aside.

The figure approached Gin, emanating an ancient and powerful aura that made it hard for Gin to breathe.

Relying on his ocular power, Gin managed to steady himself and looked intently at the elderly figure.

Behind the elder floated three black orbs. He wore a long, ancient robe with a wide collar, decorated with magatama beads. His forehead bore small horns, and his emaciated face was marked by deep lines. His narrow eyes radiated a thoughtful air.

"Ah! You must be…"

Gin stared at the elder with awe, reaching out with a trembling finger, his voice hesitant.

"Heh, it seems my legend still lives on."

The old man, pleased by Gin's expression, let out a slight smile. "You must be the ancestor of the Hagoromo clan, right?"

"Pfft!" Laughter rippled from the kneeling crowd behind him.

The elder shot them a glare, silencing them instantly.

"I am not a descendant of that Hagoromo guy!"

The elder widened his murky white eyes, correcting Gin with a tone of exasperation.

"But you've got horns! The only clan I know with horns is the Hagoromo clan."

Gin pointed at the elder's gray horns, sounding quite confident.

"I am Otsutsuki Hamura, the ancestor of the Otsutsuki clan on the moon. As for the horns, that's because I hold another identity."

The elder gestured to his horns and explained with patience, "I am Hagoromo's brother."

"Otsutsuki Hagoromo? Sounds familiar. Which village is he from?" Gin feigned ignorance, his eyes full of confusion, murmuring as if recalling a faint memory.

"Cough, cough! Has the world forgotten even the founder of Ninshu?"

Hamura frowned, thinking perhaps the Earth Shinobi truly no longer deserved to exist.

"Oh! So that's why it sounded familiar. You mean the Sage of Six Paths! I know him well!" Gin pretended to remember, acting as if he’d just connected the dots.

"That's right. The Sage of Six Paths is my elder brother, your Great Ancestor."

Hamura nodded approvingly, relieved that Gin hadn’t completely forgotten his heritage.

"No, no, no! The Sage is a direct ancestor of our clan."

Gin shook his head in disagreement.

"Hah? Don't go mixing up your ancestry, kid! Your Byakugan is pure; are you really claiming to be Hagoromo's descendant?"

After realizing Gin had been honoring the wrong ancestor, Hamura hastily corrected him, understanding now why offerings had dwindled over the years. The descendants were confusing him and Hagoromo.

"Oh? See for yourself!"

Gin’s blue-white Byakugan eyes flickered, shifting to a chilling scarlet, with three spinning tomoe in each pupil, filling the room with a dark, ominous energy. In a playful tone, he teased, "Do I look familiar to you now?"

"Huh??"

Not only did Hamura freeze, but the crowd behind him erupted into murmurs of shock.

"What's with the Earth Shinobi's eyes?"

"That ocular power... It seems even stronger than the Byakugan."

"I think I've read about it in ancient texts. It’s the same eye that Lord Ancestor’s brother once wielded."

"Wait, this kid’s eyes switch from white to red?"

"Exactly, he's a hybrid!"

"I knew something was off with your chakra! It's so tangled and impure!"

Hamura gazed at Gin, his Byakugan revealing a mix of complex chakras. Not only did he carry the Otsutsuki lineage, but he also bore traces of his brother’s bloodline.

Shaking his head, Hamura mused aloud, "I thought the Earth Shinobi were always at war. Since when did they start intermarrying?"

Despite centuries of warfare between the descendants of his brother’s clans, here was this young man embodying both lineages. Hamura couldn’t help but imagine Gin’s unusual lineage as the result of an unlikely alliance.

"Who knows, maybe my ancestors had an active sexual life."

Gin shrugged, his eyes flickering between red and white like a disco ball. "I didn’t ask for this, but I can’t control the color shifts."

"Fine, even if you're also a descendant of Hagoromo, you undeniably possess the Byakugan."

Observing Gin's unique talents, Hamura felt a spark of hope. Despite years of seeing the Hyuga fall short of his expectations, this young man could finally redeem his legacy, allowing him to stand proudly before his brother.

"Kid, when you return, could you tell people you're an Otsutsuki clan descendant?"